Meatball Noodle Soup and Italian Bread




One of my New Year's Resolutions this year is to make soup and bread on Sundays. While I realize it is not technically the New Year yet, yesterday was Sunday and I was itching to do this one right away. I raided my cabinets, pantry, and freezer and this is what I came up with. It's cheap, filling, and it makes a ton - just the way I like it!

Happy New Year's Eve!

I hate New Year's Resolutions. I always make them, and somewhere around January 23rd, I'm over it. It doesn't matter how good my intentions were that year, it just never works for me. So, a few years ago, I made a resolution to end all resolutions. Yes, I resolved to never make another resolution, and guess what? It's the only one I have ever stuck to!

Mini Meatballs




Maybe it's because I'm Italian. Maybe it's because I like beef. Maybe it's because unadorned spaghetti is so sad to me. But I love meatballs. Not just a ball of meat, meatballs are like mini meatloaves, with all kinds of yummy good stuff rolled up in them.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

We are big hard-boiled egg eaters around here. I buy eggs in two and a half dozen packs and they are gone within a week. Over the years, I have had more than my share of green yolks, sticky shells, and raw centers. But, I'm happy to announce that has all changed. It took dozens and dozens (and dozens!) of eggs and lots of trial and error with several different methods, but I have finally figured out how to make them perfect every single time.

Flourless Banana Cookies




Every year for Christmas, I bake cookies for my family. They each get their own little tin filled with several varieties. Some classics, some new and different. This year, one of my sisters asked me for a banana cookie.

The Best Cranberry Sauce Ever



The only way I could capture the ruby red color of
this sauce was to hold it up to the light.
(I didn't think my family would appreciate me taking pictures
of their plates while they were trying to eat.)



The only cranberry sauce I have ever eaten came from a can. For Thanksgiving this year, I decided to change all that. I bought my first bag of cranberries, selected some sweeteners to combat all that tartness, and got busy in the kitchen.

Smashed Baked Potatoes

When I was a kid, it was my job to peel potatoes. We ate a lot of potatoes. I HATE peeling potatoes. Even today, I am constantly coming up with new ways to make potatoes that don't involve a peeler. When I make mashed potatoes, I use red-skinned or yukon golds so I can just mash those skins right in. I really, really can't stand peeling potatoes. The beauty of this recipe is that you have to have the skins, otherwise you will never get the crispy outside that makes these potatoes so yummy. Perfection!

Roasted Garlic & Herb Potatoes

I love herb-roasted potatoes. I love french fries. If they got together, these would be their love child. Need I say more?

Crispy Italian Tilapia

If you've never had tilapia, you're really missing out. Next to salmon, it is my favorite fish to prepare. It is one of those awesome ingredients that you can do anything you want to it, and it tastes good. Tilapia has a nice mild flavor that pairs well with everything. Whether you serve it up with raspberry sauce, in a packet with lemon and veggies, or pan-fried, you're going to love it. This is one of my easy weeknight favorites. It's so simple, it's almost embarrassing to share!

Eggplant Lasagna

There are 4 people in my house, yet I cook as though there were 12. This is good and bad. Good because extra food means leftovers, which means there is a chance I may not have to cook some other night. Bad because I hate leftovers. Nothing annoys me more than eating the same exact thing twice in a row.

Eggplant Casserole

Eggplant is an acquired taste - you either love it or you hate it. I love it, Andrew hates it.

I grew up on fried eggplant. My mom would bread it and fry it, just like you do when you are making eggplant parm, but we stopped before the cheese and sauce stage and ate it as is.

That was my only experience with eggplant until recently. I started perusing recipes and looking for other ways to serve this pretty purple veggie. This casserole is one of my favorites, and if you have leftovers, you can turn them into Eggplant Lasagna!

Apple Spice Cake - 3 Ingredients!

If I could eat birthday cake every day, I would. I can't get enough of the stuff. But buying and/or making birthday cake when there is no birthday starts to seem a bit odd after a while.

Family and friends stop by and say things like, "Whose birthday is it?"

Then I say, "Nobody's..."

This is usually followed by awkward silence at the realization by all parties that I am eating a sugar-packed calorie-laden once-a-year treat on a Tuesday afternoon for no apparent reason whatsoever.

3 Ways with Angel Food Cake

I love cake.

I love a bargain.

I love recipes that require 4 or fewer ingredients.

This post combines them all, making me one very happy mama.

S.O.S. Mix - Thanks Jillee!

I have this love-hate thing going on with canned condensed cream soups. On one hand, they are quick and easy and the cream of mushroom can be pretty tasty, if you're into that sort of thing. And I am. But the ingredient list can be a bit scary, and how comfortable am I really with a milk product that has been in a can for a year or three? Needless to say, I was super excited to find One Good Thing by Jillee, and her awesome mix that she got from her friend Debbie. I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand and made up a batch immediately.

Food is Mean

Funny thing about food. You peruse cookbooks and watch food shows and have all these wonderful meals you want to make but you seem to be missing one ingredient. Then you finally go to the store and buy said ingredient, bring it home, set it on the counter, and then... Nothing. It sits there for days, mocking you, because you can't think of one single thing to make with it.

Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice

In honor of Crock Pot Thursday, I really wanted to make Ranch Pork Chops, but my slow cooker is a 6-quart beast and I don't think it would handle 3 tiny pork chops well. I really need to get a small one for those days when I'm not trying to make enough food to feed an army AND hoard leftovers in the freezer for another day, since that's about all this one is good for.

White Bean Patties with Garlic-Lime Sauce

Let me start by saying this... If you had told me a year ago that I would be throwing around words like "Garlic-Lime Sauce", I would have laughed you right out of my under-utilized kitchen. Fast forward to today. Not only do I talk about sauces like this - I actually make them! And then I serve them with things like these white bean patties (fritters?) that I made this morning.

Jasmine Rice Breakfast Pudding

Rice pudding is one of my favorite desserts. Don't get me wrong, I love over-the-top, ganache covered, super decadent after-dinner treats as much as the next girl. But there's something about slightly sweet, cold and creamy, simple rice pudding that just works for me.

Then a friend introduced me to "rice hot cereal" - something she had always served her kids for breakfast. For those of you who aren't familiar with this concept, it's a warm breakfast similar to very creamy oatmeal. It's basically cooked rice in milk with a little sugar and maybe a little cinnamon. Sounds suspiciously like rice pudding, no?

Peanut Butter Kisses

These have always been one of my favorite cookies, but I have never made them before. So when I finally ran across the recipe in the Walgreen's circular the other day, I was shocked at how easy they are. Four ingredients and you're in chocolate peanut butter heaven.

Pasta Fagioli




There are foods that I want to like, but I just don't. Maybe that makes me weird, but things like avocados and sweet potatoes are on this list. After years of persistence, my taste buds have finally given in and I love them both now! Pasta fagioli has always been one of them as well, until I decided to make it on my own. This is a very simple and easy soup with lots of yummy broth - perfect for crusty bread-dipping.

Hasselback Potatoes


 

As part of our new budget, I am trying to find ways to stretch our food dollar. We recently bought a 10-lb. bag of potatoes but let's face it, potatoes can be boring. You can only eat them mashed and roasted so many times. To keep things interesting, I have been trying to find fun ways to eat them. Years ago, I saw a picture of potatoes like this and decided to try it out.

French Toast Casserole


French toast without spending an hour at the griddle? You had me at "french toast"! I love this because you throw it together before bed, then let it hang out in the fridge overnight to soak up all the yummy goodness. Roll out of bed in the morning, pop it in the oven, and you've got a happy family. It's like a wonderful bread pudding / french toast hybrid thing... just wow.

Cheesy Breakfast Burritos

The school bus comes earlier and earlier every year, so having a variety of quick breakfasts is a must at our house. I used to eat breakfast burritos like this from fast food restaurants until I had my a-ha moment and realized that I could make these at home for much cheaper, and know exactly when they were made and what was in them. I make a bunch at a time, wrap them in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze them. Throw a couple in the fridge at night and they will be ready for a quick zap in the microwave in the morning. Just don't forget to take the foil off!

Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken - 3 Ingredients!

I have a slow cooker. I have a few of them, actually. But I really only use it for two things - chili and pot roast. I know I should use it more because it is so nice to have a home-cooked meal at the end of the day when all I had to do was spend five minutes throwing it together in the morning. So, to bring it out of hibernation, I added "Slow Cooker Thursdays" to the food schedule.

Meal Plans to the Rescue

Around here, we eat dinner at 6pm. Nothing strikes fear into my heart more than 5 o'clock rolling around and not knowing what we're eating. To combat this tragic situation, I plan our meals in advance. Way in advance. Like I could tell you what we're having three Thursdays from now. To make that easier, we have a loose guideline we like to follow, and some of the  meals we've had on those days:

Cheesy Turkey Meatloaf

See that melty cheese dripping out?
That's perfection on a plate right there.

I followed a pretty standard meatloaf method, but added some cheese inside and barbecue sauce on top. Oh my goodness, it was super yummy - there was only one slice left after we went back for seconds. (Okay, I went back for thirds, but that's nobody's business but my own.)

Coconut Crusted Tofu

We had a massive hurricane come through our area last week (Hurricane Sandy). To prepare, we took the standard measures such as stocking up on water and non-perishables and cleaning up our flood-prone basement. We have a tendency to lose power fairly easily and have lost lots of fridge food on more than one occasion, so once our home was weather-ready, we started eating all of the perishable food.

There were some leftovers, milk, cheese, and the like. We emptied the fridge until one thing remained - a package of extra firm tofu. We have never had tofu before, but it is on my foodie bucket list and it was on sale, so I had grabbed it. Apparently it has a long shelf-life and bore an expiration date well beyond a month, so I figured we'd have lots of time to warm up to the idea. Thanks to Sandy, that plan was about to change.

First Day on a Budget

We went grocery shopping tonight - whoo hoo! After building a list for weeks, clipping coupons for days, and spending hours choosing which things we absolutely needed and which ones we could live without, we finally bought some food. It took longer than usual because I'm not used to standing in the aisle debating different brands and making last minute changes to fit a spending limit. Don't get me wrong, we never blew money at the store as though we were rich, but I definitely have some brand loyalty issues I need to work out if I'm going to make this budget thing work.

The Food Shopping Ban is Over!

Wow... not food shopping for an entire month was SO much harder than I thought it would be. In addition to the fact that we have almost no food left in the fridge or freezer, I had to tweak a lot of my recipes to make do with what I had.

In the last few weeks, we have made our own mayonnaise, chopped up pickles to replace relish, substituted white sugar for brown, used plain cinnamon in place of pumpkin pie spice, ground up grits for cornbread because we had no corn meal or muffin mix, and skipped vanilla in a variety of baked goods. We also halved recipe requirements to stretch what we had (one pound of meat in the chili instead of two, 1/4 c. chocolate chips instead of 1/2 c., etc.). I spent a lot of time online looking up different substitutions because it seemed like every recipe I wanted to make needed one ingredient I didn't have or had recently run out of.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

  

As I have mentioned before, finding time to eat during the day is a hard task around here. And making sure to eat something relatively healthy when hunger strikes is even harder. By the time I have two seconds to grab something, I'm so hungry the potato chips are looking like a much easier choice than some chicken breast and veggies. These super chewy and moist muffins are the answer! The whole wheat flour makes them healthier than other grab-and-go snacks, the oats make them surprisingly filling, and the chocolate adds just enough sweetness to make them seem like a treat. Throw in a glass of milk or a hard-boiled egg and I'm good to go.

24 Hour Apple Butter

Andrew absolutely adores apple butter. (My 5th grade English teacher would be so proud of my use of alliteration there!) I buy him a jar for Christmas every year. We try out different brands, but they all pretty much taste the same. Since we recently went to a pick-your-own farm and came home with 40, yes 40, apples, the first thing I wanted to do was try to make this on my own. It turned out really well. I don't even like apple butter, but now I'm eating the stuff for breakfast every day on wheat bread. Which reminds me, I need to make some biscuits...

Tangerine Chicken and Veggies over Jasmine Rice

We are big on meal planning around here. My worst nightmare is eating the same 5 or 6 dishes over and over again, week in and week out. Since today is Try Something New Tuesday in our house, I had to get creative. I knew I wanted chicken, and I happened to have a dozen or so tangerines that were taking up space on the counter. A quick search online gave me this recipe from Rachael Ray (love her!). But since I don't like hot sauce or curry, I didn't have green onions or cinnamon sticks, and I have this love/hate relationship with couscous, I changed the recipe to my liking.

Unrolled Chicken Rolls (or Cheesy Skillet Chicken)

So I found this recipe the other day where you roll a chunk of cheese up in some flattened chicken breast, tie the rolled-up chicken, brown it in a pan, then finish them off in the oven. It sounded amazing. I immediately took some thin-sliced chicken out of the freezer and started debating on cheddar versus mozzarella while I waited.

When the chicken finally thawed, I pulled out my favorite kitchen string and heated up the oven. I pounded out the chicken to the required thinness (thickness?) and started tucking beautiful cuts of mozzarella inside. With my son's help, I tied up the prettiest little chicken parcels you've ever seen. The rolls took their turn in the pan and then I parked them in the oven. In 15 to 20 minutes, we should have been in cheesy chicken heaven. Note my use of the phrase "should have".

Super-Stuffed Peppers

After reading the recipe, you will probably notice that the
peas and carrots are missing from this pepper.
Yup, I totally forgot to put them in.


The last time I went to the little vegetable stand across the street from the grocery store, they had the nicest looking green bell peppers I had seen in a while. I bought like ten of them. I made fajitas with some, froze some, and saved the best ones for stuffed peppers. So simple, so easy, and you can skip the meat if that's your thing. I personally can live without it, but Andrew is still very pro-meat, so I throw a little in there to keep everybody happy. (When I made the Cheesy Chunky Veggie Soup the other day, his only comment was, "This is good - you should definitely add some meat to it, though.")

A Day in the Life

I remember a time when I ate without caring about calories, fat content, cost, or where my food came from. I used to eat, no lie, 2 bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits and 3 hash browns with a soda and not think anything of it (and that was just breakfast!). Then I had kids, started breastfeeding, watched a few very enlightening movies (Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead and Food, Inc.), and suddenly food became a much bigger deal to me. Yes, we still have processed food in the house, thanks to some very strategic couponing. But those items come out very rarely, unlike before where they were the norm.

I remember when I first started switching over to real food and thinking "I'm going to starve. What the heck are we going to eat? We're going to starve to death. With hundreds of dollars of processed food in the pantry, we're all going to die of hunger. It will be the saddest thing ever."

Sneaky Oatmeal Muffins

  If there's one thing I love more than mini muffins, it's easy cleanup. This recipe does not require mixing bowls or wooden spoons or hand mixers. The ingredients are all tossed into a blender or food processor. It doesn't get much easier than that! You officially have no excuse to not make these muffins. Go, go! Then tell me what you think in the comments below. Oh, and feel free to mix it up and swap in your favorite baby food (pears, sweet potatoes, whatever you want / have on hand).

Surprise Banana Muffins

  

Picky eaters in your house? These are perfect! I love that they have fruits and veggies in them. I am also dabbling in a gluten-reduction thing this week, so I used brown rice flour, but feel free to use whole wheat or all-purpose. You can freeze them (if they last that long) and use them for quick breakfasts or pack them with lunches. Your kids will think they are getting a special treat, and you'll know they are getting fruit and veggie goodness with every bite.

Kitchen Gadgets and Baby Food

I am in love with kitchenware. I have a Keurig, a blender, a toaster oven, a NutriBullet, a Baby Bullet, a juicer, a 2-tiered steamer, a baby food steamer, an ancient (and very heavy!) food processor, a mini 3-cup processer, a rice cooker, three crockpots, a pancake-puff maker, a slider burger maker, a hand blender... the list goes on and on. I am one of those people that has to have cool kitchen stuff.

I always have big plans for every new addition. Sometimes the new item is so beloved it finds an exclusive place on my countertop for easy access (like the blender). Sometimes, the novelty of buying the item is all I can stand and it sits in the back of my pots and pans cabinet, never to be used (the pancake-puff maker).  I also have baking pans of every shape and size (springform, bundt, muffin tops, minis and regulars, insulated and not, with sides and without, etc.). Some people may say I'm a hoarder. I prefer the term "well-prepared".

Roast Your Own Pumpkin Seeds

Since it's October, it's practically a pumpkin-fest everywhere you turn. So naturally, I've been craving pumpkin seeds. I have always bought packaged ones. I have always thrown away the pulpy stuff from inside my pumpkins. I'll bet you can figure out where I'm going here. Yup, I finally decided to roast my own since I had some pumpkins laying around. I don't know how much of a decision it was, considering this is no-grocery-shopping month, and it was this or nothing, so I decided to go for it.

Better-Than-Instant Oatmeal

I always bought those packets of flavored instant oatmeal, but after the Real Food Challenge, stuff like that just tastes too sweet to me. Besides, I can make my own from scratch for a lot cheaper. This is my favorite oatmeal these days.Yes, it takes a little longer than the packets, but it's so worth it.

Frozen PB&J Banana Bites



We used grape jelly, which turned the PB&J part a very deep color.


I bought a big bunch of bananas last week for my daily Banana-Berry Smoothies and Peaches and Cream Smoothies. Unfortunately, I ended up in the hospital for a few days and when I came home, a sad set of bananas were waiting for me on the counter. I had to do something pronto. Since my son loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I thought I'd give this a try. They are awesome! The bananas are so creamy because they are frozen and the peanut butter gives a nice little hit of protein. You could also skip the jelly and just do PB bites, or skip that too and use Nutella. Mmmm, Nutella...

Cheesy Chunky Veggie Soup

I love broccoli. I love cheese. I love broccoli and cheese. Unfortunately, one cannot live on broccoli and cheese alone, so I figured a few extra veggies could help balance things out in this super-yummy soup. Perfect for chilly nights!

Peaches and Cream Smoothie

I have been loving my Banana Berry Smoothies, but today I wanted something different. A quick search in the freezer turned up a bag of peaches hiding behind the berry blend, so I whipped this up.

One Month of No Food Shopping

As I have mentioned in the past, I am addicted to all things food, including the grocery store. You can find me perusing the aisles of my local mega-mart WAY too often. Like three times a week. Okay, four. Five last week, but that was a fluke. Really.

Chicken Broth Recipe

When I was little, I remember my grandmother making homemade chicken soup. She'd be in the kitchen forever with the only pot big enough to hold an entire chicken. She made it seem so simple, but it tasted so good. Now that I'm all grown up, I decided to pull out my own big pot and make some broth. I hate copying other people's ideas, so I pulled out my cookbooks for inspiration. I spent a long time researching recipes, and they all called for chicken bones (which freak me out) and they required you to "skim the scum off the top" at various points in the process. I'm sorry, but I don't think the word "scum" has any place in a tasty recipe. Back to cans for me.

My Son is Underweight

I'm not sure if it's because he's so active or if he just has a metabolism people would kill for, but my ten year-old has always been a string bean. Even back when we were eating processed food and fast food, the scale simply wouldn't budge for him. When he was about two and a half, his pediatrician simply said to let him eat as much of whatever he wanted, including junk food, just to try to get his calorie consumption up. It never worked.

Refried Beans / Bean Dip

We love mexican food, so bean dip and refried beans are pretty common around here. Unfortunately, the store-bought varieties of these classics tend to leave a lot to be desired. Determined to make an easy version that could double as either, I came up with the following recipe.  We use it on our tacos and fajitas, in our chimichangas, and straight up with tortilla chips. The best part? You can use whatever beans you want. Love this stuff!

Snack Cravings Guide

When I was participating in the 7-day real food challenge, I had tons of cravings for foods that were not "real". So I drew up this list and posted in right on the fridge so I had no excuses. Whether you are doing your own real food challenge, or simply trying to snack healthier, this should definitely help. Even though our challenge ended a few weeks ago, I still use this as a guideline when the cravings strike.

Food for Thought

School Lunches

I loved buying school lunch when I was a kid. Bringing my own brown bag fare just seemed embarrassing, but not anymore. Have you seen the cool lunch gear available to kids today? Bento boxes and divided trays that come with their own silverware and cartoon shaped food picks and flower shaped cutters... it's awesome!

Super Simple Chili (A.K.A. Even-people-who-hate-chili-will-love-this Chili)

I hate used to hate chili. I have tried so many chilis, but they were too spicy or too bland, and the beans were always still hard or total mush. I finally realized the only way I was going to get a chili I liked was if I made it myself. I have been serving this up for years and have converted many other chili-haters. Enjoy!

6 Veggie Spaghetti

I grew up eating pasta - a lot of pasta. And I like it in a lot of ways, but a bowl of white spaghetti with some plain tomato sauce thrown on top is just depressing to me. So I came up with this easy alternative, which cleverly disguises tons of veggies for even the pickiest of eaters, husbands and children included!

Easy Granola Recipe

Finding cereal that isn't all hopped up on artificial flavors and colors is not an easy task. Few things make me crazier than seeing a box of cereal (or anything, really) that says "Strawberry flavored". We are big cereal eaters around here, so finding a healthy but tasty option is really important. I don't know about you, but I can only stand brown rice puffed cereal for so long. I refuse to pay $5 for a small 3 cup bag of packaged granola, so I decided to bring out a recipe I used to make often.

Real Food Challenge

I don't remember how it happened, but I stumbled upon Lisa Leake's blog, which chronicles her choice to switch her family's entire diet over to non-processed foods. It was such a simple idea, eating only food that nature has provided for us, yet it read like a gripping novel. I had it open on my smartphone, my tablet, and my home computer just so I had easy access to it whenever I had a free two minutes - I just couldn't stop reading it. I read through the 100 days part, and then went back to read the before and after stuff as well.

More Cheese, Please

I am a total cheese addict. Cheddar, colby jack, port wine, cottage, american - anything but the stinky or moldy cheeses. I can totally live without those. But my favorite has got to be mozzarella. Now keep in mind that this whole loving food thing is relatively new to me. I am used to pre-shredded bagged cheese that is coated in various starches (to prevent caking, or so the bag tells me) and has mold inhibitor (?!) in it.

French Apple Tart

This is one of those recipes that looks way too good to eat. It is the perfect dessert when you are having company or need to bring something to a get-together. I have received so many compliments on this tart - for both the eye appeal and taste. Feel free to change it any way you like - use whatever apples you have on hand, or even pears, and try out different jellies. Make it your own - and don't forget to let me know how you did it and what you think.

Banana Berry Smoothie

I seem to have a new food obsession every few days. I eat something every day (or a couple times a day) until I find something new to drool over. Last week it was mini Triscuits and Garlic and Herb Boursin cheese. This week's fave? Banana Berry Smoothies. I can't get enough! The funny thing is I hate bananas, but the berries make it so worth it.

It's All About the Food

I love food. I love cooking and baking and grocery stores and cookbooks and produce outlets and restaurants and, well, you get the idea.

I was not always this way. I grew up in a "clean plate" house where my sisters and I would sit at the dining room table until our food was gone, or until bedtime, whichever came first. After a while, you just don't really like food anymore - it becomes a chore, not an experience. When I first moved out, I ate simply out of habit. I rarely prepared meals that required more than a microwave and I was terrified of spices. (To this day, I still make my chili with a taco seasoning packet.) To be honest, the thought of spending hours thumbing through cookbooks, comparison shopping for the required ingredients, and then actually cooking a meal that will be eaten and gone in 20 minutes just seemed ridiculous to me.

But then I became a mom. There's something about having kids that forces you to slow down and really learn to pay attention, to live a little, to try new things. Food suddenly became this whole new world for me to conquer and share with my growing family. I love writing weekly menu plans, watching Food Network, reading cookbooks and food magazines, trying new things, and I have not one, but two spice racks! I like to share my own recipes, thoughts about new foods and restaurants, and find the best food around without going broke.

But that's enough chit-chat... Bring on the food!