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!

Cold Day, Hot Soup

First, I use the word, "cold," very VERY loosely.  Living at the beach where it typically doesn't drop below 50 degrees I can't really complain...and yet, I still do...anytime it get below 60 that is!

We lead a rough life!

I'm am slowly turning into a Southern Belle...wait, no...a Southern GIRL!  A few things that living down here means though is that there is a limited time when wearing turtleneck sweaters is appropriate and soup is not as widely sold in restaurants as it is in the 'burgh and other Yankee cities!

I've found a few recipes lately that I really like.  Like I said before, I'm really digging my Everyday by Rachel Ray subscription.  Below is another winner from her December 2011 issue that I've modified a little.  It's perfect for a cold (or if you live at the beach, cold-ISH) day!

Cheesy Chicken-Potato Soup (Everyday by Rachel Ray - December 2011 issue) MODIFIED
Serves 4, Prep 5 minutes, Cooks in 20 minutes
Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter
2 cups leeks, chopped (white parts only)
1 1/2 lbs of red potatoes, halved or quartered depending on size
1 qt chicken broth
1 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (this made it SO easy)
7 oz of shredded cheddar
4 tbsp of sour cream
Red pepper flakes

Prep your potatoes and leeks

In pot, melt butter over medium heat; cook leeks 2 minutes
Add potatoes and cook 5 minutes
Add broth; bring to a boil.  Simmer until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes.

I always use granules instead of buying stock!

Remove one-third of the potatoes, reserve.
Puree remaining soup with 1 cup water (this part was tricky b/c my food processor was not big enough)
Stir in chicken, reserved potatoes, cheese and sour cream and red pepper flakes (to taste)

Serve topped with a little more sour cream, if you'd like

This was pretty easy and came out really well.  It would be really quick for lunch on a winter day.


Can you eat soup in warm weather?  What's your favorite cold weather food?

A Break From the Scissors and A Tasty Dinner

No, I'm not giving up couponing, I just feel like that is ALL I've talked about on this blog recently.  I never intended for this to turn into a coupon blog - there are already so many great ones out there and I don't think I can compete!

So, sorry to all of those I have bored with my % saved and my grocery trips for the past few weeks.  I'll start talking about fun stuff again, I promise!

My wonderful mother got me a subscription to Rachel Ray's Everyday Magazine for Christmas this year!

My Mommy and Me in Vegas a few years ago!

Note to self: You know you're a married woman when you're asking for magazines about food/cooking/etc for Christmas!

I've already gotten my first two subscriptions and I LOVE IT!

I really want to bake cookies every time I read this issue!

Confession time: I am currently seeking treatment for a DINNER RUT.  I was starting to DREAD menu planning for the week.  In my mind I was cooking the same thing over and over!  Darrin didn't seem to mind, although I'm pretty sure he'd eat the same thing every night if I cooked it, just to make me happy!

He's so good to me!

I decided it was time for a change!  So after much blog reading, magazine scouring, and soul searching...okay, maybe that's taking it a bit too far...but anyway, I started feeling pretty adventurous and have started cooking outside of my comfort zone.  And man am I digging it!  This little Italian girl is backing away from pasta and sauce and embracing some new things.

I really like the following recipe and hope you all do to.


Glazed Pork Loin with Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes (Everyday by Rachel Ray - December 2011 issue)
Serves 4, Prep 15 minutes, Cooks in 50 minutes
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs pork loin, tied
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp grainy mustard
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 lb brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
thyme
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bear, cut into chunks

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Season the pork all over with salt and pepper and place in the center of a roasting pan.

In a small bowl, stir together the mustard, vinegar and brown sugar and brush over the pork.  Scatter the brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes and thyme around the pork.  Sprinkle with oil, any remaining mustard mixture and salt and pepper.  Stir to coat.

Place and oven and roast, tossing the veggies occasionally until they are almost tender - about 30 minutes. (At this point the recipes says if the veggies stick add 2 tbsp of water, but I didn't have that issue).

Stir in the pear and roast until the veggies are tender and the pork is at 150 degrees (about 15 minutes).
Let the roast sit for 5 minutes, then thinly slice and serve with the veggies.

I served with extra mustard for dipping!

If you're looking for something really good and pretty easy, I highly suggest giving this a try.  Lots of veggies and lean pork make it a pretty healthy meal!


What's your favorite pork recipe?  Have you ever been in a "food rut?"

Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup

As I'm sure you know by now, we are BIG fans of the slow cooker!  It's a life saver on those nights when Darrin has to be somewhere by 6:30 and I don't get home from work until close to 6.

We also love Mexican.  I do a lot of chili (which I know isn't Mexican but it has a similar flavors and can be made pretty spicy).  I needed some new Mexican-inspired slow cooker meals.  I browsed a lot of site and finally came up with a combination of about 10 different recipes.

Ingredients:
1 lb of ground meat (typically I'd use ground chicken but I went with ground turkey this time)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn, drained
2 cans of stewed Mexican tomatoes
3 10oz cans of enchilada sauce
Homemade chips (see below)
Cheese, jalapenos and sour cream for topping

Cook the meat in a skillet until browned

Add meat, beans, corn, tomatoes and enchilada sauce to the slow cooker, stir to combine
Cook on low for 8 hours
(See, SO simple!)

I also make homemade chips.  They are way healthier and I like them a lot better.  I buy the taco size corn tortillas and cut them into 8 wedges each.  I typically cut up about five for one meal.  Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil and arrange the 'chips'.

These are so yummy!

Spray a little bit of olive oil cooking spray and top with some salt.  If you like flavored chips you can also add a little garlic powder or cumin or whatever else you'd like.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes.  Word of warning, once they start to crisp up they go from cooked to burned REALLY fast so keep an eye on them after the 9 minute mark.

We topped our soup with cheese, jalapenos and sour cream and it was so good!

Easy and healthy...can't beat that!

Plus, we had enough for leftovers the next night!

I feel like we've been doing a lot of soup recently.  Does the weather inspire your cooking?  Any good soup recipes?  

A Different Kind of Pasta

We love pasta!  I'm not sure that was loud enough, so let me try it again...WE LOVE PASTA!

Growing up in an Italian family pasta was a staple food and every common meal.  I remember eating sauce - or gravy if you're aiming for authenticity - off the stove with a spoon while my mom was cooking it (an all day process in our house!). 

I love sauce (and must admit my recipe is pretty darn good), but there are so many things you can do with pasta that does not include a meaty red sauce!  

I decided to try something new a few nights ago and it turned out really well so I wanted to share it with all of you.


Pasta with Sausage, White Beans and Kale
1lb of ground sausage (I'd typically use chicken sausage but the store was out so I used turkey)
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
1 cups of kale, chopped
2 cups of chicken stock
Crushed red pepper, to taste
8 oz of pasta (I used whole wheat angel hair), cooked and drained
Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese, to top


Brown sausage in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil
When almost cooked, add in onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes

Add in white beans and cook another minute or two

Make sure they're rinsed good!

Add chicken stock and red pepper flakes (if using) and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes
Add kale to skillet and cook until wilted

I just tear the kale into bite size pieces

Season with salt and pepper, to taste
Reduce heat and simmer for about 4 or 5 minutes
Add to bowl with cooked pasta and toss with a little bit of cheese

Our plates topped with a little bit of cheese

We really liked this dish.  It's full of fiber and really good.  I would probably have added 1 cup of white white after the beans and then about 30 seconds later or so added just 1 cup of chicken stock but I didn't have any white wine.  


Do you have any favorite pasta dishes?  Did you grow up with a particular style of cooking?

National Coffee Day and Another Crock Pot Success!

So today is National Coffee Day!  In my mind, this should probably be a holiday we celebrate like Christmas.  And most companies agree - today is (or rather was) the day to get a free "Cup of Joe" at your favorite coffee establishment!  So many local coffee houses participated around here today - I'm just sad I didn't get the chance to visit them all!

I can't wait for the Starbucks to bring back their winter cups!

Today was also another day of Crock Pot experimenting at the Overholt house.  Like I mentioned before, Wednesday nights Darrin has a church commitment.  He is a Small Group Leader for 7th grade boys at our Church and they have their Worship Night on Wednesday. 

Darrin at 14 (he's on the far right!)

So before Darrin goes and shapes the minds of today's youth, I have 45 minutes to feed him.  Tonight we tried "The Best Slow Cooker Chicken Ever," a recipe I found on www.thenest.com and thought sounded pretty good!

Here's the recipe:

1 lb ground chicken
1 onion, diced
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sun dried tomato pesto
1 tbsp flour
1 can died tomato
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
2 red peppers, chopped
1 zucchini, diced

Brown the chicken in a skillet and add to your crock pot
Add onion, chick peas, and salt to the chicken
In a small bowl combine the flour and pesto and stir til combined
Add the vinegar, sugar, and diced tomatoes (plus a little more salt) to the pesto mixture
Pour over the chicken, onion, and chick peas

Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours
Stir in the peppers and zucchini and cook on high for another 45 minutes or so
Serve over brown rice

My thoughts...it was YUMMY!!  I just wish it had more sauce.  Next time I plan on doubling that part of the recipe...but this will totally be added to my arsenal of easy dinners...and I'm looking forward to the leftovers.

Can't wait til tomorrow!

Now since Darrin's gone I must go clean off the DVR - I record a LOT of shows and I'm loving some of the new ones this year.  Check back tomorrow for more in the fun and exciting life of Alissa...maybe I'll break down my thoughts on this fall's TV Line up! But first...

Did you 'celebrate' National Coffee Day?  Do you prefer to make your own coffee at home or stop somewhere and pick some up?

Indian Night at the Overholt's

So I'm not sure about you, but I definitely have my "go-to" dinners.  Now I'm Italian so most involve pasta and some type of red sauce but occasionally a Mexican-inspired dish sneaks in, or, now that I'm married to a 'meat and potatoes' kind of guy, steaks and burgers on the grill. 

As Darrin and I are settling into married life (today is our 19th day anniversary by the way!), life is starting to take over again.  On Tuesday nights we both have small group.  Thankfully his small group meets at a restaurant so I don't have to worry about feeding him on those nights.  Wednesday are a different story.  He has another church activity that starts at 6:30 and doesn't end til almost 9.  I get home after 5:30 so that's not a lot of time for me to get dinner ready and let him eat so he's not ready to eat his own foot when he gets home at 9!

I've decided this is the perfect opportunity for me to start using my crock pot more.  I pretty much make two things with my crock pot, but that's going to get really old REALLY fast! So I started searching for crock pot recipes.  I have a Betty Crocker Crock Pot recipe book that's pretty good and I've also been searching the web for some good ideas.  I'm a little obsessed with TheNest.com right now and there are a handful of great slow cooker recipes there and the Facebook Group I joined, CrockPot Girls,  has a lot of great ideas too. 

Tonight I decided it was time for me to "Go big or go home!" and break out an all new recipe for dinner.  I decided to stray from the tried and true cuisines and go Indian!  I made Slow Cooker Chicken Curry tonight and I we really liked it.  I'm a "tweeker" so I always change a recipe after my first try and this one is no different, but right out of the book I'd give it a solid 3.5 out of 5!

Ingredients:
3 TBSP flour
3 TBSP curry powder
1 1/2 TSP cumin
1 TSP salt
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cubed
2 medium potatoes, pealed and diced
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, bias cut
1 jalapeneo, diced
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 can light coconut milk
Cooked rice

Mix the flour, curry, cumin and salt in a large food storage bag.
Add the chicken and shake to coat
Place the chicken, potato, onion, carrot, garlic and jalapeno into the crock pot
Cover with 1/2 cups water
Cook on low 6-8 hours (I did 8)
Add the coconut milk and turn heat to high
Cook for an additional 30 minutes
Serve over rice

A few modifications I would make: Season the veggies with salt and pepper before cooking.  I thought this dish lacked a little salt.  Also, the next time I make this I'm either adding another jalapeno or lots of red pepper flakes - there wasn't enough heat for me.


One word of warning - the prep is a little much for the morning.  There is a lot of pealing and chopping.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get all of my stuff done this morning. If you tend to cut it close in the AM (I couldn't push it any more if I tried in the morning) give yourself an extra 10 minutes or so, just to be safe.  I'd assume you could probably dice and coat the chicken the night before and just leave it in the refrigerator overnight, but I'm not sure I'd try that - 

 I'm a little afraid of chicken, as I'm sure you'll find out!

All things considered, this is actually a pretty healthy dish, yummy and easy dish.  I used brown rice for added fiber and of course light coconut milk instead of regular but I doubt anyone could tell the difference.  It also made a pretty decent amount so this is dinner tomorrow too - only two week into marriage and I'm already learning the beauty of leftovers!

Any good slow cooker recipes out there?  I'd love for you to share some of your favorites!

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!