The Dip That Saved Me

I got a Kitchen-Aid Mixer for Christmas. I haven't used it. My oven has been used once since January. My kids are getting sick of pancakes and my husband misses meat. Yes, I am pregnant and am so nauseous that my once beloved past time of cooking for my family has been thrown aside. There is however one thing that I have been craving. It doesn't smell up the whole house and I could eat it by the bucket-load. This dip has literally become my alternative to pancakes and french toast and cold cereal. If it's weird please don't tell me-I don't think I want to know!

Tomato, diced
Large bunch of fresh cilantro, llightly chopped
1/2 stalk green onion, minced
dash or two of lemon juice
handful of chopped black olives
dash of garlic salt

I could eat this stuff straight from the bowl- but then again, I am pregnant. It is also pretty good on corn chips. Matt (my husband) likes to throw in a handful of grated cheese, which is good, but lately- I like it just the way it is.

Pinterest

Who else is in love with Pinterest?!? It is my new online recipe book. A few of us (that I know of) are on Pinterest so you should come follow us! You can find me as TBeautyBox I have lots of food boards. (Ladies of this blog if you want to throw your Pinterests on here ;-) feel free) I was so excited to find a certain recipe last night. It is a Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Weight Watchers. I love the recipe and was devastated, but then I never really took the time to track it down again ha! So I was thrilled to come across it on Pinterest last night. The cookies are very low in calories and fat and are delicious. I have yet to make them but I wanted to share the recipe on here with you.

And just a little shameless promotion for myself. I also have a website that is centered around beauty Tristan's Beauty Box  I do video makeup and hair tutorials and other fun videos. I post product reviews and such. It is a lot of fun! You can also add my website to your Google Readers by copying and pasting the address into your subscriptions. Thanks!! www.tristansbeautybox.com 

WW Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
– 2 tbsp light butter, softened
 - 2 tsp canola oil
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, dark-variety
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp table salt
- 1 large egg white
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, about 1/2 cup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
In a medium bowl, cream together butter, oil and sugar. Add vanilla, salt and egg white; mix thoroughly to combine.
In a small bowl, mix together flour and baking soda; stir into batter. Add chocolate chips to batter; stir to distribute evenly throughout.
Drop rounded half-teaspoons of dough onto one or two large nonstick baking sheets, leaving a small amount of space between each cookie. Bake cookies until golden around edges, about 4 to 6 minutes; cool on a wire rack. Makes 24 servings.
Serving size is 2 cookies
Each serving = 1 Weight Watchers Point

Loaded Cheesy Rice

2 Cups of Uncooked Rice

Make according to directions with Chicken broth instead of water and adding some minced onion

Melt in about 2 Cups of Cheddar Cheese.  (Enough to coat all of the rice)

Place in bowls topped with sour cream and bacon bits

This was not an all around hit in our house.  Exactly half and half, actually.  It tastes like the rice version of a loaded baked potato.  I dug it, personally, but the potato purists felt it would be better to stick with the good stuff.  LOL

If I ever make this rice again, I think I might add broccoli.



Crock Pot Cajun chicken

I found this recipoe HERE along with a ton of other Crock Pot recipes.

11/2 to 2	lb.	meaty chicken (breasts, thighs, drumsticks)
		non-stick spray coating
2	tbsp.	nonfat milk
2	tbsp.	onion powder
1/2	tsp.	dried thyme, crushed
1/4	tsp.	garlic salt
1/4	tsp.	white pepper
1/4	tsp.	black pepper

Remove skin from chicken. Rinse chicken, pat dry. Spray inside of Crockery Pot with nonstick coating. Arrange the chicken, meaty sides up in Crockery Pot. Brush with milk. In small bowl mix onion powder, thyme, garlic salt, white pepper and black pepper. Sprinkle over chicken. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours (high 4 to 5 hours) until the chicken is tender and no longer pink.



What are you looking for when there is nothing to find?

You ever spend a ton of time staring at the fridge or pantry, only to close the door, and come back a few minutes later to nothing?  There's nothing there that you want.  It can be frustrating.  What are you looking for?

My doctor told me we are often thirsty when we go foraging for munchies.  It seems to be true for me.  Instead of looking in the pantry, go to your sink and get one of your 8-10 glasses of water for the day.  It helps your digestion, complexion, and puts you in a better mood.  We get dehydrated easier than we think and drinking more fluids helps head aches and dizziness more often than not.

And a plus side?  When you drink the water you are supposed to be having, you aren't eating all of those extra calories.  So stop looking for things that aren't there and be healthier!  

(On a side note, I've been really thirsty lately...  I think I have a non-alcoholic drinking problem.  LOL)

Traditional Irish Potato Leek Soup

I tried this new recipe from a cook book I received for Christmas (and impressively I only made one change to the recipe) - It turned out wonderfully and so I'm sharing here.

Serves 4-6

4tbsp butter

1 onion chopped

3 leeks, sliced (from the base to about 1/4-1/2 way up the green stocks)

2-3 potatoes (depending on size) sliced

3 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I used one box or organic chicken stock)

S&P to taste

2/3 cups heavy cream, to serve (optional)

2tbsp snipped fresh chives to garnish

(I added one half package of cream cheese)

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks, onion and potatoes to pot and saute until onions and leeks are softened. Poor in stock, bring to a boil, the reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Return contents to pot, add softened cream cheese and S&P. Combine contents thoroughly and bring back up to temp.

Ladle into soup bowls, swirl with heavy cream and garnish with chives.

A Girls Best Friend

Carrie and I have found on more than one occasion that some of our best work (cleaning or cooking) is accomplished while we are on the phone with one anther. The kids are at school or have gone to bed (I may be up late because I have to work the next day) and laundry needs to be folded or the dishes need to be put away, or we need to make dinners or birthday cakes etc. BUT we've been working or cleaning or cooking or running after others all day and we are less than inspired.

Sometimes the best inspiration is a sister or best friend. Once on the phone we encourage one another to finish our tasks and at the same time entertain one another through the process with stories from the previous few days. Before we know it we're laughing and catching up and the laundry or dishes have practically done themselves.

Next time you find yourself staring down a pile of work and feeling less than inspired...grab your phone and get to gabbing! Before you know it the work will be done :-)

Cumin Tomato Rice

Basmati Rice

Butter

Tomato diced

Cumin seeds

Cumin powder

Turmeric (just a pinch for color)

S&P to taste

Follow the instructions on the package for the basmati rice. Add cumin seeds, and some cumin powder to the water and butter while the rice is cooking. After the rice is cooked through taste and add extra cumin powder S&P to taste. Dice up tomato (either one large or a handful of cherry tomato's) and add to rice.

-Enjoy

Weekly cooking

I've been working nights at the hospital for almost a year now and find that it can be very difficult to get myself motivated to cook when I work multiple shifts in a row. By the time I get home from a 12 hour shift I am less then inspired to a whole lot more than shower and sleep. Unfortunately not cooking can be very hard on the pocket book.

Taking a page from my mothers book (who is a very smart woman who successfully raised three very busy young girls on a budget) I spent the evening on a day off cooking and preparing for the days ahead.

I love cooking and so I took the time to pick out new recipes to try. However, If you aren't a huge fan of spending hours cooking -going with fast and easy go to meals works very well for this! By picking a single day to dedicate some time cooking...you can save yourself hours of time the rest of the week. You can prepare packed lunches as well as dinners for at home. If you want to make a more than will keep in the fridge for a few days...try a few freezable classics for the end of the week.

Curry or Vindaloo Chicken

I've recently been inspired to learn to make Indian food. A friend from work who is actually from India has been giving me tips and tricks and I have come to learn the basic make up of most curries is essentially the same - from Vindaloo to Masala to Green Coconut Curry the big difference comes in the combination of spices and the finish.

Start with the basics - your choice of meat (you can use chicken, turnkey, pork, lamb) onions, garlic, ginger, and the combination of spices you are using. I like using the microplane grater for the garlic and ginger.

Saute onions until very soft and slightly brown. Add garlic and ginger last and only cook a few moments to prevent burning.

Add spices (and if making masala add the tomato paste here too). Make a thick paste with the onions and then after cooking the spices though a few moments add in the meat.

Add the stock to allow for enough moisture to simmer the meat and prevent the spices from being burned. The longer and slower the meat simmers the more tender it is.

Using a spatula or spoon keep the mixture moving. If you walk away the mixture will burn and stick to the bottom of the pot creating a burnt flavor.

Once cooked through taste and add additional S&P as well as any heat spices such as cayenne or red curry to taste.

If you are making masala add the heavy whipping cream here. If you are making green curry add the coconut milk here. - Wait to add the cream until after the meat is cooked all the way through. Simmer for a few moments after adding and then plate while hot.

Serve over rice and garnish with a bright green herb (cilantro is a very popular choice in Indian cuisine). Traditionally curries are served with Naan or rice pancakes and with yogurt. When eating you add the yogurt to the meat and rice to help make the mixture creamy and to cool off any heat from the spices that may be a little to hot.

Chicken Masala

2lbs boneless chicken diced into bite sized pieces.

1 large yellow sweet onion diced small.

2 cloves garlic diced or mashed into a paste

1/2 tsp fresh ginger

5tbl EVOO

3tbl butter

1 small can tomato paste

chicken stock as needed

Heavy cream

4tbl masala spice mix

1/2 tbl turmeric

S&P to taste

cayenne or spicy red curry to taste (for heat)

Suate diced onion's in oil and butter until soft and slightly brown (not burned or crispy). Add garlic and ginger- saute until fragrant. Add spices and cook through but be careful not to burn.

Add can of tomato paste and combine thoroughly.

Add chicken to the pot and add 1/2-1 cup chicken stock to help all spices to coat chicken. Simmer until cooked through.

Add more chicken stock until you have a good amount of gravy. Slowly stir in heavy cream. Add S&P and any additional cayenne to taste.

Serve over Basmati rice and naan.

Garnish with cilantro or parsley.