Easy Fried Rice

Do you ever have those evenings when you look at the clock, realize it's after 5pm and you haven't even thought about what to make for dinner?  Yeah, me either.  ;)

Seriously though....there are some meals I always have ingredients for, and this is one of them.  This meal has saved me at the last minute more than once!  It's also a great way to use up leftover rice, meat and veggies.

Ingredients:

Rice {I like to use brown}

1/2 onion, chopped

2 eggs, scrambled

1 lg. can chicken {or any meat of choice...leftovers work great}

1 bag frozen veggies {any kind}

4-5 Tbsp. soy sauce

1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Saute the onions and veggies in oil over medium/high heat....

I just throw the veggies in frozen {I usually use the peas-corn-carrots-green beans mix, but this is all I had}.  On another burner, scramble the eggs....

When the veggies are cooked, add the rice {I microwave it first, but you don't have to} chicken and eggs.  Add soy sauce {I don't usually measure - just add to taste} and heat through.  Salt and pepper to taste....

**If you like your rice a little richer, add a couple Tbsp of butter, let it melt into the rice and stir it around.  You know, like they do at those Japanese hibachi places.  Yum!**

Throw together a quick side salad, and you're good to go.

Not the prettiest salad I've ever made, but I used what I had.  That's the beauty of this meal....there are no rules.  Just do what you want and use what you have!

What Can PB2 Do For You?

I absolutely LOVE peanut butter.  It is definitely one of my weaknesses...I could eat it straight out of the jar {which I sometimes do} or on just about anything {pretzels, chocolate, apples, bananas, celery, carrots, graham crackers, saltines, ice cream, etc.}  Lucky for me, I found a great-tasting, healthier substitute....

It's an all-natural, powdered peanut butter that you reconstitute with water.  Check out the difference in the nutrition info....

That's almost too good to be true!!!

I eat PB2 almost every day and enjoy every guilt-free bite!  I first learned about PB2 online and ordered it off of Amazon, but have since found it at Kroger.  It's now a staple on my shopping list.  :) 

Peeps-On-A-Stick!

So, I volunteered to bring Easter treats to my daughter's preschool class {before I knew there was a peanut allergy and a dairy allergy}.  Peanut-free?  No problem. Dairy-free?  Not quite as easy {for me, anyway}.  I feel very blessed that none of my kids have food allergies, but it makes it tough to know what to bring in situations like these.  When I was at Target the other day, I found some really cute "Peeps on a stick."  Aha!  Peanut-free AND dairy-free!  I figured I could make them cheaper and cuter myself, so I bought more Peeps than I'd ever bought before and headed home to make my masterpieces.

I think they turned out really cute!  Although, I feel a little like these are staring at me....

Claire is so excited to take them to school....I've never met a kid who doesn't like a marshmallow.

What is it with kids and marshmallows???  My kids act like they're the greatest things on earth.

Personally, I think they're kinda gross.  But maybe if I dipped them in chocolate....

Yes....I'll definitely have to try that later!

Corn Salsa {Like Chipotle's}

I needed to bring chips and some kind of "dip" to a large family function the other day.  I wanted to bring something different than the usual chips & salsa or mexican dip, so I decided on corn salsa.  I found this recipe about a year ago and have yet to meet someone who doesn't love it.

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. bag frozen corn, thawed

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 jalapenos, finely chopped 

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

2 limes, juiced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

**I remove the ribs and seeds from the jalapenos, so it's not too hot.  Careful not to touch your eyes!**

Mix all ingredients together and serve with chips.  {I doubled the recipe.}

It really does taste like Chipotle's.  I love how fresh and vibrant the flavors are.  It would be a great side dish for just about anything you can put on the grill....makes me so anxious for summer!

Afternoon Snack

Nonfat plain Greek yogurt

Berry flavored Fruit Stix {sweetened w/ Truvia, not artificial sweeteners!}

1/4 cup blackberries

{106 calories, 0g fat, 16g carbs, 2g fiber, 15g protein}

A much better choice than the Reece's Pieces calling screaming my name from the freezer.  I don't always make the right choice when faced with chocolatey food temptations....but I did this time.  That makes me happy!

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Chili With Sweet Potatoes

I was looking up dinner ideas in the grocery store parking lot the other day using my ZipList app.  I love how you can find recipes and add all the ingredients to your list at the click of a button.  This vegetarian chili recipe looked really good and a little different, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I give it extra points for being a crock pot meal too!

Here are all the ingredients you'll need....

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped {I only had orange}

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 28oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes {I used two small cans}

1 15oz can black beans, rinsed

1 15 oz can kidney beans, rinsed

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped

1 cup water

Whoops!  I forgot to get the cocoa powder in the previous picture....

Dump it all in the crock pot....

Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours, and that's it.  It doesn't get easier than that!

I loved the sweetness from the cinnamon and the smokiness from the cumin.  I'm the only one in my family who loves sweet potatoes, so I knew I was taking a risk with this one.  And the verdict???  Everyone loved it!  Even my picky little princess ate a whole bowl!

You can find the original recipe and nutrition info here.

Zombie Snack

I had a bit of a "free day" today and allowed myself to eat a few too many treats. After the sugar/carb headache set in, I was definitely in the mood for something healthy.  I decided to have a grapefruit while watching The Walking Dead with the hubs tonight, and I couldn't help but get a little grossed out by the "remains" of my snack.

Semi-Homemade Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Sorry....  It's been a few days since I've posted.  Our lives have been run by basketball recently, so I find this post very fitting.  Our oldest son is in Boy Scouts and needed to make a cake to sell at the annual camp fundraiser this weekend {which I just so happened to be in charge of....why I volunteer for these things is beyond me}.  We found an idea on Pinterest that was just perfect for our 12-year-old basketball fanatic.

I don't love plain old cake mix cakes {they don't taste that great} but I don't love making cakes from scratch either.  A woman my husband works with gave me a great recipe for a doctored-up cake mix a few years back.  It's been my go-to cake for birthdays and special events and I always get rave reviews.  I usually make it in a bundt pan, but this time I used two round cake pans instead.

Ingredients:

1 cake mix - the kind with pudding in the mix {I usually use vanilla or chocolate, but any kind will do.}

1 small box instant pudding {vanilla, chocolate or whatever you have on hand}

1/2 cup sugar

8 oz. sour cream

4 eggs

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 cup chocolate chips

powdered sugar

Combine first three ingredients.  Add oil, water, eggs and sour cream.  Mix well with wire whisk or hand mixer.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Bake in a greased and floured bundt pan at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out on cake plate and dust well with powdered sugar. 

*If using 2 round cake pans, follow baking instructions on the back of the box.

**For this cake, my son and I put cream cheese frosting between the layers of cake and frosted the outside with more cream cheese frosting {colored orange}.  We then used Reece's Pieces to decorate it.

Out of all the cake mix/pudding mix combinations I've tried, I've got to say, my favorite is yellow cake mix with vanilla pudding mix and milk chocolate chips.  The one in the picture is chocolate cake mix, vanilla pudding mix and dark chocolate chips....that's a combination I haven't tried before, it just happened to be what I had on hand.  I hope the lucky winner enjoyed it!

Light Lunch

Lunch is probably my LEAST favorite meal of the day.  I'm not a big fan of leftovers or sandwiches, but I don't want a hassle either.  I just want something quick and easy.  I know it's bad, but I usually don't even sit down for lunch {or breakfast for that matter}.  As a mom of young kids, there's always something to do or someone to help....sitting is overrated anyway, right?  This is what I had for lunch today {two of them}....

Ingredients:

Lettuce leaf 

3 slices oven-roasted chicken lunch meat

3 slices cucumber {halved}

1 cherry tomato {quartered}

1 tsp. dijon mustard

Fresh ground pepper 

{2 wraps: 80 calories, 1g fat, 6g carbs, 1g fiber, 10g protein}

There you have it....fast, easy, healthy AND can be eaten standing up.  Perfect!

*Note: For a more substantial meal, add a slice of cheese and a piece of fruit.

Low Calorie Snacking

Yesterday, as I was searching for some new 100 calorie snacking options, I found this....

88 Snacks Under 100 Calories

It has lots of great ideas....and a bunch I hadn't thought of before.  I hope you find it as helpful as I did.  It never hurts to mix things up a bit!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ever get stuck in a dinner rut???  I feel like I've been making the same things over and over, and I desperately needed to do something different.  I pulled this recipe out of a dusty corner of my brain and I'm so glad I did!  A friend of mine gave me this idea a long time ago, and I'd forgotten all about it until recently.  I was so excited to liven up the dinner routine a bit....it was like finding money in the pocket of a jacket you haven't worn since last year!

Here are the ingredients you'll need....

1 lb. Ground chicken

1-2 cans water chestnuts {finely chopped}

1/2 cup peanuts {coarsely chopped} 

1 bunch green onions {chopped}

Beef & Broccoli seasoning packet

2 Tbsp soy sauce

3/4 cup water

Mix the seasoning packet with soy sauce and water and set aside.  Brown the chicken in a skillet.  Add water chestnuts, green onions, peanuts and sauce mixture. Heat through.

Wrap in lettuce {I used iceberg}.

I served this with a side of coconut rice {I'll post that recipe later} and edamame. Easy.  Healthy.  Delicious.  

Easy Baking

Do you ever feel like baking, but don't feel like dealing with the mess and all the ingredients?  I do!  {Especially since I have a hard time not digging into any type of homemade batter/dough.}  I wanted to make a little treat for the kids the other day, so I turned to one of my old staples.  It's so easy and only has three ingredients....

1. Cake mix {any flavor....I usually use carrot or chocolate, but this was all I had}
2. 15oz. can pumpkin {NOT pie filling}
3. Chocolate chips {about a cup....I like the mini ones}

Mix it all together....

Spoon into mini muffin tins {or onto a cookie sheet if you prefer cookies} and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes....

Let cool {or not!} and enjoy.  Not one of my healthiest recipes, but definitely better for you than regular cake.  

The kids loved these with the yellow cake mix!  It was the perfect treat after playing in the snow.

Movie Night!

Remember that junk-free{ish} week I had not too long ago?  Well, let's just say this week was a little different.  I'm a sucker for a girls' movie night and can't resist the perfect opportunity to indulge in a bunch of stuff I would otherwise feel guilty eating.  For some reason, all the rules go out the window on nights like this.  You gotta love it!

At least we had some healthy popcorn and some mixed nuts.  There were some apple slices in there too, but they weren't worthy of this picture.  Haha!

What type of movie would warrant this kind of girls' night binge eating, you ask?

Don't act surprised.....did you really expect anything different???

HOOTENANNIES

Hooten...what???

When I was a kid, one of my all-time favorite breakfasts was HOOTENANNIES {aka: German pancakes or oven pancakes}.  My mom would make them on weekends and snow days, so naturally, I associate them with fun and excitement.  Well, today just happens to be a snow day for my kiddos, so I thought I'd make them something from my childhood.

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 stick butter {I never said it was healthy!}

Melt butter in a 9x13 pan as oven preheats to 400 degrees.  Blend eggs, milk, salt, sugar and cinnamon in blender for one minute.  Add flour and blend one minute more.  Pour into 9x13 pan with melted butter.  Bake 20-25 minutes.  {My oven must run hot....I only baked it for about 15 min.}  Top with fruit, syrup and powdered sugar.

*Note: You can 1/2 the recipe and bake in a pie plate.


This is what it looks like when it comes out of the oven....

{I love how it gets all puffy in the corners!}

Guilt-Free Spaghetti!

We have a couple of really picky eaters at our house.  Our youngest two kids could have buttered noodles with parmesan cheese for every meal and be totally content. Tonight for dinner, I made spaghetti and meatballs {yes, the frozen kind}.  That way, the hubs and oldest two kids could have pasta and meat sauce and the youngest two could have plain noodles.  Everyone's happy, right?  Not quite.  I love pasta, but the guilt sets in if I indulge too much....I'm not sure why I won't let myself have a bowl of noodles, but have no problem eating chocolate chips or M&M's.  I guess I'd just rather splurge on something sweet.  Anyway, here's a little trick I've been using on spaghetti night....

It's so easy and so yummy!  I don't even miss the pasta!

**Don't forget to remove the seeds before baking!

I used half of a spaghetti squash and topped it with 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce and 1 serving of cottage cheese {Breakstone's Live Active 2%}.  I also stirred it around and microwaved it a bit to warm everything through....it didn't look as pretty, but it tasted good!

{229 calories, 3g fat, 42g carbs, 10g fiber, 14g protein}

Thai Red Curry with Chicken & Vegetables

I love Thai food....it's probably one of my all-time favorite types of food.  I love how unique and bold all the flavors are, and how they combine into something so delicious.  It really is like a party in my mouth.  Eating out is definitely my first choice when it comes to Thai food, but I do enjoy making curry at home from time to time.  This is a super-simple recipe.  I got the idea from a friend as we were leaving the gym the other day.  She has a great recipe for Chicken Panang {which I love} and said this is easier and pretty close, so I decided to give it a try.

Here's everything you'll need {with the exception of the chicken}....

The sauce is really easy.  Just follow the instructions on the back of the bottle of red curry paste.

Pour the coconut milk into a large skillet and bring to a simmer....

Stir in 2 Tbsp curry paste and 1Tbsp brown sugar {I used 1/2 Tbsp agave} and return to a simmer....

Add the veggies {I usually just use red bell peppers, but I decided to add a little broccoli this time} and simmer until crisp-tender....

Add shredded cooked chicken and basil and heat through.  Salt to taste.  It's THAT easy!

Serve over jasmine rice and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 can light coconut milk

2 Tbsp red curry paste

1 Tbsp brown sugar {or 1/2 Tbsp agave}

1 red bell pepper, sliced

2 cups fresh broccoli florets

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Handful of fresh basil

Jasmine rice

Salt

Follow directions for sauce on the back of the curry paste.  Add veggies and simmer until crisp-tender.  Add chicken and basil.  Heat through and serve over jasmine rice.  Salt to taste.

*Note: Using fish sauce in the curry is optional {see back of curry paste}.  I didn't have any on hand, so I omitted it.  Next time I'll have to give it a try.  Also, in hindsight, I wish I would have 1 1/2x'd the recipe for the sauce since I added more veggies.  I like my curry a little soupier.  

Food Flashback

A couple years ago, Scott {the hubs} and I went to Puerto Rico.  Before we met, he lived there for two years while serving a mission for our church.  He always talked about how much he loved it there and how he wanted to go back and visit.  Well, his wish finally came true when we went there to celebrate our 12th anniversary.  It was our first big trip EVER and the first time we had left the kids for more than two nights. Needless to say, it was a much needed vacation and we had so much fun!

One of the main things I look forward to every time I travel is the food.  I love trying new things and expanding my foodie horizons.  The food in Puerto Rico definitely did not disappoint.

At the top of my list of things to try....FRESH COCONUT WATER.  It was so refreshing and so fun to watch them chop the top off the coconut right there in front of me.

We had plantains at just about every meal, but this was probably my favorite way they were served...

...as MOFONGO.  It's basically double-fried plantains mashed with garlic and extra pork fat.  Certainly not healthy, but soooo delicious!  Underneath that dome of mofongo were strips of perfectly cooked steak.  I'm drooling just thinking about it. Can you see the TOSTONES {fried, smashed plantains} in the background?  Nothing like plantains with a side of plantains!

The seafood was amazing....

I wish I could remember what this was called....

And one of the most memorable parts of our trip....the kiosks of food on the side of the road.

This is Scott with a PINCHO {grilled, barbecued meat on a stick with a big piece of fresh bread on top}.  He ate these all the time on his mission and loved them.

After hiking through the rainforest, we stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall bakery and had a couple of  sandwiches.  This doesn't look like much, but it was awesome! {Sorry for the poor picture quality.}  The bread was warm and crispy on the outside and deliciously soft on the inside.  

It was definitely a trip I'll never forget.  I can't wait until our next adventure!