Whip it up Wednesday

So I was trying to whip up an explosion box and am totally confused...which led me to think about dinner...which led me to this yummo recipe I was going to make for the youth group girls on Monday, which led to THAT being postponed till Monday of this coming up week...but here's the recipe!!

Healthy Chow Mein

1 pound lean pork sliced into thin strips or 1 lb ground turkey

1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 bunch washed green onion, sliced including tops
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1 package frozen oriental style vegetables, defrosted

1 can of bean sprouts

anything else you want to throw in

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

3 cups cooked hot brown rice

2 tablespoons flax seed, optional

In large skillet heat canola oil, add meat (brown turkey first if you're using turkey), celery, green onion, and red bell pepper. Cook and stir until onion is soft. Add soy sauce, chicken broth, mushrooms, oriental vegetables and ground ginger. Cover and simmer five minutes. In small bowl mix 1/4 cup chicken broth with cornstarch and add to skillet. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Allow to boil one minute or until mixture begins to thicken.

Serve over hot brown rice. for chow mein or whole wheat spaghetti noodles for lomein. Sprinkle each serving with a pinch of flax seed, if desired.

Serve with a side of spring rolls for healthy yummy or egg rolls for the less healthy crowd!!
Number of Servings: 4-6

Friday Fives

I think I"m going to alternate between Finish it Fridays and Friday Fives. Since I'm not in the middle of anything except the need to buy a cell phone, I'll do FF

1.What are the titles of the last three books you read all of?
Honeymoon, Cross, Living on Less


2.What are the titles of between three and five magazines you subscribe to or used to subscribe to?
Simple Scrapbooks, Creative Keepsakes, Scrapbooks, etc., (there's a theme I am about to leave behind), More and Oprah

3.What’s on your night table?
A tray I made at a mosaic place; earplugs, a lamp, some peppermints (top)
phone, alarm clock (middle)
wayyyyy too many books to mention (bottom)
a basket with notecards and a pen (hanging off one side) and a plaque from my girlfriend (hanging off other side)
4.What are the three best things that happened to you in the past seven days?
Paul brought me flowers; talked to Judy and got all caught up; and my phone contract came up for renewal

5.What was your senior yearbook quote, and what would your yearbook quote be this year if there were such a thing?
No quote. This year:  Teach me to feel another's woe. To hide the fault I see: That the mercy I show to others; that mercy also show to me. (Alexander Pope)
 
See ya Monday!!

Thoughtful Thursday

I've been thinking alot lately....about alot of things. Here they are in no particular order.

1. It breaks my heart to see my kids struggling. Joseph with the stuff with Lauren, seeing him cry for the first time in years. Seeing him try to balance what he needs to do for himself and what he wants to do for her, trying to navigate fights and confrontations about values not details, and finally realizing it wasn't working. Cassie with the apartment situation and having to carry the lion's share because Chris procrastinates even making a phone call, balancing being a good mom and trying to pack stuff up all while Chris is telling her she's an idiot for doing it. Thinking that he can bully someone, yet again, and get what he wants.

2. I really don't know what's changed between Paul and I but something has happened and I'm really glad. The walls seem to be coming down by him and I just LIKE him again. I've missed that and am so grateful!!
3. I miss my nieces. I know they are growing/grown up. But I miss seeing their faces, knowing what's going on in their lives, summers, winters, all of it. Paul keeps saying that's life, but for me that's loss.
4. I feel like I have too many relationships to maintain. Like I never do a good enough job with anyone, and I don't know how to fix that.
5. My phone is dying. I don't want to get a phone that is going to cost $30 more a month, but I don't know how I'd do it without the calendar. Honestly.
6. I'm loving making cards right now; and sending them right away. Not hoarding them.

7. I think I'm going into menopause!! WHAT???
8. I think I've found a way to blog that works for me and doesn't make me feel like a failure!! Yep!

This just in!!

The Svelte Gourmet Macaroni & Cheese

Serves 8

7 oz elbow or shell pasta (NOT whole wheat)
4 cups cauliflower florets, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups lowfat (2%) shredded cheddar or cheese blend (I used lowfat 4-cheese Mexican blend and it was fabulous!)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
2/3 cup 2% milk (skim would make the fat and calories even lower!)
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp butter, melted
2 tbsp panko bread crumbs
butter spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain well. Steam cauliflower florets until very soft, drain. Let pasta and cauliflower cool a bit while you prepare the other ingredients. Shred the cheese if it's not pre-shredded. Beat the milk, egg and salt together in a small bowl. Mix the melted butter with the panko in another bowl.

Mash the cauliflower with a potato masher, a whisk, or whatever you have handy. Mix it with the pasta until well combined, being careful not to break up the noodles. Take a pinch of each of the cheeses and toss them with the panko/butter. Set aside. Combine the rest of the cheese with the pasta and cauliflower. Spray the bottom and sides of your casserole dish lightly with spray butter, then spread the mixture evenly in your casserole dish. Pour the milk/egg/salt mixture over the top. With your mixing spoon, carefully stir and fold until the milk mixture is combined with the pasta/cauliflower. Sprinkle with the panko/butter/cheese mixture and bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes or until the top just starts to brown. Voila!



For more "magic" recipes, try The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Coursescookbook, available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html.

Whip it Up Wednesday

This was dinner last night. Soooo easy and yummmmmmm!!

Pork tenderloin (1 lb)
1/2 cup Mrs Dash Southwest Chipotle marinade
1/2 cup water
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 bag corn, steamed
1/2 cup or so Sam's fresh salsa (found in the fresh pizza/refrigerator section)

Throw first set of ingredients in crock pot until meat falls apart. I cooked mine on low for 4 hours (I have a FAST crock pot!!) and another 3 hours on warm.

I served this with couscous last night, but make it with brown rice alot.  You can shred this and make it with tortillas too.

Tuneful Tuesdays

Bon Jovi's Hallelujah is my first song choice. Not sure why. I love the song, whether it's Shrek, Jason Castro or Tim Urban singing it. But this is my favorite version, on Lost Highway.

5 Things I love

So I was challenged to come up with five things I love, other than the obvious.

1) I love this picture. I scrapped it today. I got it repritned at Snapfish in 8x10 and the entire page is "the three girls". I was an overlapping member of the three girls and "the three little ones". The ultimate middle child, I guess.
2) I love the smell of lilacs. I literally stop in my tracks when I smell them, trying to find hte source if I can't see it immediately.
3) I love diet Cherry pepsi. It's my current favorite pop.
4) I love uplifting messages.
Heard one at www.parkviewchurch.com this morning. The May 2nd one. It made me glad I've stuck out the last five years.
5) I love my hair straightener. LOL. But really I do. It's 2", it gets super hot and doesn't damage my hair. It's a purple bedhead brand.