RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Super Crock Pot Soup!

A few weeks ago I picked up a can of Beef in Gravy at Dollar General. I've been buying various types of their canned meats for storage. They are cooked, good for 1-2 meals depending on how you prepare them and have a long shelf life. While I'm not a SHTF Prepper, when I watch the news, I have to wonder and figure ANY preparation is better than none at all.

I did this meal in my 1.5 qt Rival Crock Pot. I purchased mine several years ago at Walmart and it's still going strong.

The whole concept behind this meal was to have everything in can storage for quick meals. Dollar General doesn't carry canned potatoes so I picked those up at Walmart. You can find them in any standard grocery store. I'm also going to check $ Tree next time I go and price compare.

So here are the ingredients:

That's it. I drained the vegetables and the potatoes but left the diced tomatoes juice.

I dumped everything into the crock pot, gave it a stir and set the temp on HI. Two hours later I had this:

At first, I didn't think there would be enough juice but as you can see, the cooking brought the juices out and the 1.5 qt is brim full. I barely had room to stir.

One very delicious bowl of soup. You might wonder why I added potatoes since there are potatoes in Veg-All. Usually the mixed vegetables are more carrots than anything and since I don't do crackers with my soup, I wanted the extra filler. I like potatoes. LOL

Beef in Gravy - $2.50

Diced tomatoes - .68

Diced potaotes - .68

Mixed vegies - 1.25 (maybe I should buy them at WM next time!)

COST - $5.11

SERVINGS - 4

Next time I want to add a beef gravy packet to the mix and see if I get more of a stew. That and a personal size loaf of Guiness Brown Bread should hit the spot.

Share your soup recipe! I don't think we're out of the cold yet. Even if we are, now is the time to begin preparing for fall.

Enjoy the Journey!

RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Banana Bread

Traditionally, when we hear banana bread, we think of this fabulousness baked in a loaf pan.

I like mine cold, smeared with real butter... or served as the base for a chicken salad sandwich. I know that sounds like a really weird combination, but trust me on this. It is delicious! I first had the chicken salad on banana bread at the Twin Towers in Detroit MI years ago. One of those food combinations you remember in a good way. 

Bob and I've been wanting to try the Red Copper 5- Minute cooker like the one shown below:

Our thought was this would be something good for me to cook single meals when he's out on the boat. Less microwave more home cooked or if we want to do something like individual pizzas where I can pile in the vegies while he is strictly meat/ cheese.

We've done the customary omelet and it was good. That said, an omelet is just as easily done in the skillet. 

So I thought I'd try banana bread for Bob. One of his favorites. I've started making banana bread with a Spice Cake as a base but I found a Banana Cake mix by Duncan Hines to give it that extra punch. 

First:

Mix the dry cake mix with:

1 tsp of ground nutmeg (I use fresh)

1/2 tsp of ground cloves

1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

You can adjust these measurements to your taste or substitute 1 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice for the first to then adjust the cinnamon.

In a separate bowl slice up 2 ripe bananas then mash them up with a potato masher or mixer.

Add:

1/2 C Applesauce (I've taken to buying the individual servings - 1/2 cup - until I can replenish my                                                    homemade)

1 C. warm water

Mix these to combine then add the dry cake mix mixture and stir just til combined. My favorite tool for this is a 3-pronged salad serving fork I got with our flatware set. While I have great tools in my kitchen, this has become my favorite 'mixing' tool. 

Preheat the 5- minute cooker until the green light comes on. Then open up the cooker and place to 2 ice cream scoops - roughly 3/4 of a cup - of the cake mix into the well, close the lid and snap closed. Cook for 5 minutes. 

HOT!! Carefully transfer to a plate. I sprinkled the top with cinnamon - sugar while still warm. Powdered sugar would also be a good option.

Banana Bread for breakfast. This only took about 10 minutes total from start to finish. We got 6 of these from one bowl of batter. I barely made it through one while Bob ate two. He wrapped the remaining three in waxed paper, slid them into a zippy bag and put them in the freezer in our 'breakfast' bin. 

RECIPE WEDNESDAY - Chicken Yakisoba

My focus with Recipe Wednesday is to serve two purposes:

1) Try some of the many recipes I have on Pinterest Food board 

2) To try to showcase healthy - or at least quick - meals. 

This week I went strong on the vegie's for my 'incorporate more' challenge and went for this recipe Chicken Yakisoba recipe at Alicesweettooth.com  The recipe incorporated multiple foods I love into one pan (with the exception of precooking the ramen noodles)

I had everything but ginger and fresh carrots. I had some baby carrots in the freezer I need to use up (very few were actually usable) so I tossed those in just to add 'flavor'. I'm not a cooked carrot kind of person anyway so this worked... and one more 'old' thing out of the freezer. Yay!

The recipe in general looks like it will make a lot - and it does! But only 1 Chicken Breast. Nope.. If I'm going to eat on this for 3 or 4 meals I want chicken in at least every other bite. I used two. I also added some fresh button mushrooms sliced (would have preferred Portabella but local grocer didn't have any) and half of a green pepper julienne. If there is onions in a stir fry in my opinion green peppers are a must.

I also passed on the hot sauce. I'm not a 'heat' gal. But I don't think the recipe lost any flavor due to the lack of the hot sauce.

Loved this! In fact, I've ate out of it twice and I'm seeing more enjoyment today. Like a lot of foods, the more you reheat them, the better the flavors. 

Enjoy the Journey! 

Fluffy Coffee

NOTE: I've had multiple request about my 'fluffy coffee' so I have bumped this post up from it's original place of February 2012. The content has not been edited.

Okay... so yesterday's weigh-in, not so good. I'm up 4 pounds! I'm trying to figure out how that happened as what I can eat has been limited. I have a wisdom tooth pushing against a molar. It's loose. I also have 2 cavities. Yes, I see dental work in my immediate future. But I already know he won't do anything unless I let him do the full X-rays. That isn't happening until the wood splitter is paid off. So a couple more months at least. In the mean time, I eat what I can. This means I'm not eating the salads and fresh vegies I would like to be eating.

However, I have surmised that it might not be so much of what I'm eating as 'how little' I'm eating. My body may very well be in starvation mode since all the stuff I have a taste for, my teeth don't want to endure so I'm not eating a lot.

On the upside - I still haven't been drinking soda! I am so proud of myself for this one. I'm down to 2 of my fluffy coffee's a day - most of the time. One in the morning and one in the evening if I have a late writing night. I'm also using the standard 9 oz. pedestal coffee mugs - not a huge cup.

My Fluffy Coffee is truly the 'necessity is the mother of invention'. I knew I was going to miss my Borders Caramel Mocha coffee during my writing sessions when we moved to the wilderness. So I set about creating my own. I do have to add, THIS version is a lot lower in caffeine and in sugar than Borders' version. I don't use 'espresso' at all - let alone 2 shots for a medium coffee. I use Folgers Caramel Drizzle coffee for a drip coffee maker. I also drink it the 'lightness' of tea as my husband refers to it. I don' t like my coffee to eat a hole in my stomach. I like to enjoy the flavor.

The Mocha base recipe comes from an old homemade Hot Chocolate mix my mother-in-law shared - minus 1 VERY SWEET ingredient. My Hot Chocolate base does not have Confectioner's Sugar. In fact, the ONLY sugar is in the Nestle Quick 'No Sugar Added' cocoa mix and the non-dairy creamer. One cup of my Fluffy Coffee contains less than 8 grams of sugar. Granted, that's one half of a daily allotment, but when I consider the big picture, it isn't so bad. When I think of what I've saved by not drinking soda, I'm way ahead of where I used to be.

Fluffy Coffee:

Cocoa Mix:

6 C. Nestle Quick 'No Sugar Added' Cocoa

3 C. Powdered non-dairy creamer

Mix this all up really well. Store in an airtight container.

Make a pot of the Folgers Caramel Drizzle coffee to your strength preference.

You may use whatever beverage cup size you choose. The size will determine the amount of Cocoa Mix. Fill your mug approx. 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mix. (the more cocoa, the creamer your coffee)

If you're used to a sweet coffee, add 1 Splenda or Truvia packet

Fill the rest of the way with fresh brewed coffee.

Decorate the top with a dollop of Sugar-Free Cool Whip, scant drizzle of Hershey's Lite or sugar free Syrup and Hershey's Caramel Syrup (sorry, no sugar free available for this one)

Enjoy!

There you have it. The recipe so many of you have asked for :-) And a picture to entice you to try it.

Continuing the journey

Happy New Year!

Okay, I know we're three weeks into 2012, but trust me I had a really good reason for not getting in here before now. New Years Eve I got hit with a serious sinus infection. I did virtually nothing but veg and sleep for almost 12 days! Without going into details, suffice it to say I was miserable. Thankfully hubby had come home 3 days before and we'd taken care of Christmas. New Years Eve... not so much celebrating. The Nyquil and I were in bed by 9 p.m. LOL Hubby rang in 2012 without me.

In case you're curious as to how hubby did on our challenge... he lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks. I am so proud of him. To keep him on track, I've been keeping an eye on calories. He is a stickler for staying within his calorie range throughout the day, allowing room for his low-cal fudge bar or 1/2 C of no sugar added ice cream for his late evening snack.

And yes.. he is measuring everything! I've tried for years to teach him the visual measuring system I've talked about on here with no success. Now he's using the measuring cups and spoons as well as the food scale. Did I mention I'm proud of him? LOL He lost another 6 pounds the 3 weeks he's home. That's good. The initial 15 was his body adjusting to the new way of eating. Now he's on the even keel of 2 pounds a week.

Thanks to being sick, I relied a little too much on my Mello Yello to keep the throat cleared of junk while I was sick. I didn't gain nor lose a single pound while he was gone. On the up side - I've lost 2 pounds since Monday. I'm watching my calories to keep me on track, too. It will help as over the next three weeks I begin to plan meals ahead of time for when he comes home again. We can look at the list and put a meal together rather than having to figure everything up first.

One of the programs I used to use and am going back to is Fit Day.com.

And that's my topic for tomorrow.

Enjoy the Journey

Recipe Wednesday

Yep... I might actually get us all on track before this summer is over with.

We're looking into satellite internet. I am just too engulfed in business right now to get it all accomplished on Dial-Up. I wouldn't change my living location for anything, but a faster internet connection would certainly be my one luxury request :-)

Last fall I found a website called Hungry Girl . If you've never heard of Hungry Girl, sign up for her newsletter! She shares great, healthy alternatives or 'swaps' to our favorite foods.

I was introduced through a recipe for Chocolate brownies. Now who doesn't crave those on occasion? Well, unless you don't like chocolate and I understand there are a few of you out there. I'll be trying an alternative to the following recipe this week and if it's a success, I'll share it next week.

For this week, the recipe is incredibly simple, healthy and great for those of you who are Vegan. Take 1 standard sized boxed Chocolate Cake mix. I prefer Milk Chocolate as the dark seems to 'promote a slight aftertaste'. Add 1 standard can pureed pumpkin (like for making pumpkin pie)

Mix these together - Just THESE TWO ingredients. Do Not follow the cake mix directions. You won't need eggs or oil. The moisture comes from the pumpkin.

Bake in paper-lined muffin cups and bake at 350 for about 15 min or until done.

I bake mine in a 9" 'PAM' sprayed cake pan. Then I cut it into wedges.

I love mine warm with a dollop of Sugar Free CoolWhip.

Next week, I want to try this with a Spice cake and raisins. I'll let you know how it turns out!