Meat Pies and Kale Chips

We've been given the gift of time!  Brooke and I have had a lovely morning.  I was going to work today, but my mother-in-law went out of town and my mom has the flu.  So, we enjoyed a bonus day together which has been a lot of fun!  I managed to squeeze in a short workout before she woke up.  For those of you who have Comcast ON DEMAND, you can get free workouts!  Go to the sports and fitness category and take your pick!  I did a few very short workouts this morning - wanted to see what the 5 and 10 minute workouts were all about.  Well, the cardio strength one I did kicked my butt!  My legs have been shaking all day which I just love!!  Exercise is very important to me, but I'm lucky, lately, to get in more than a 30 minute run 3-4 days a week.  So, for the past few weeks, I've been trying to incorporate short walks and short periods of time when I can squeeze in some squats and push-ups.  In fact, during Matthew's baseball game a couple weeks ago, my friend, Debbie, and I went to a spot where we were away from the fans but could still see the field and we did burpees, mountain climbers, push-ups, squats, sit-ups, stretching, etc. - for about 25 minutes and it was a GREAT workout!

Today began with a nice breakfast.  We had steel cut oatmeal with chopped up strawberries and blueberries - a little pat of Smart butter and some honey.  Delicious!

Then we had some errands to run - pick up car from service, stop by Whole Foods to pick up some "specialty" items, and then we stopped by Breadwinner and picked up lunch for my mom, who, like I mentioned above, is sick.  After we dropped off lunch at my mom's house, Brooke and I enjoyed lunch outside.  I felt like she was in the car so much this morning so I didn't make her sit - she had a "walking" lunch.  I sat at the table enjoying my black bean burger and beet and blue salad while she came over and took little pieces of cheese and turkey and ate them while she walked around the backyard.  Well, I got soo into the deliciousness of my lunch, and suddenly Brooke got quiet.  I peered around the corner and she had discovered where Sandy had gone to the bathroom and she was touching it.  EW!!!  I ran over to her, scooped her up and took her into the kitchen where I washed her hands 3 times.  Please don't call DEFACES on me!  I'll blame it on Breadwinner!  Their food is THAT good!

Anyway.  I wanted to share a fun recipe with you that my family LOVES!  It's so simple and easy to prepare.  These are my take on traditional Lebanese Meat Pies. 

First, brown a pound of ground beef.  Then drain the fat and season it with salt and pepper, an entire lemon, squeezed, and a dash of yes, cinnamon.  Set meat aside to cool.

Take a package of crescents (I use the reduced fat crescents because the regular ones are too buttery for my taste) and unroll them.  Press two triangles together to make one rectangle. Add a scoop of meat and roll up however you like.  Make sure that the meat isn't piping hot when you do this because it'll make the crescent very difficult to wrap up.  Place them on a cookie sheet sprayed with PAM.  Bake according to the crescent's directions. 

These are marvelous ! They are very basic, but if you flavor the meat with enough salt and pepper and lemon juice, that mixed with the buttery crescent is all you need.  It's hard for me to eat just one!  And they make GREAT leftovers. 

I got my Eat Right Atlanta basket last week and it included some kale.  I LOVE kale!  It's a "super food" in that it's sooo good for you.  I trimmed the leaves from their thick stalks and then tore the leaves into "chip size" pieces.  I placed them on a cookie sheet, drizzled some olive oil over all, sprinkled salt and smoked paprika over them and baked them at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  I checked them often because there is a very fine line between when they're done and when they become ashy tasting. 

Let me just tell you that they were wonderful!!  Brooke and I ate them all!!  I can't believe she ate them but she sure did!!  So, try it with your kids - they might surprise you!

Enchiladas and Fondue

The weather has taken a turn, my goodness!  Out with the Winter sweaters again!  Brooke has become accustomed to a plethora of outside time on a daily basis - be it in our culde sac or at the baseball field.  She is going a little stir crazy today - not that it's 30 degrees or anything - but I just don't have desire to feel chilly outside - so inside we remain... .This cold weather is making me in the mood to eat Chicken Pot Pie ala Allison (my sister-in-law).  I shall blog about that later this week. 

For now, I want to share with you what I did with my leftover smoked chicken last week.  Last Sunday, we smoked 4 big chicken breasts on our Big Green Egg.  Mmmm mmmm - they came out juicy and delicious.  The five of us only finished off 2 of them, so I decided to shred the meat from the other two and make enchiladas!  I also had some leftover black beans and rice that I wanted to use, so I put that in my enchiladas as well.

There's no real recipe here - just using leftovers.  I make enchiladas when I have leftover baked potatoes, brisket, pot roast, etc.  Here is what I needed:

I used flour tortillas (I've tried to use whole wheat but my boys won't eat them), Mexican shredded cheese, Old El Paso enchilada sauce and my leftover black beans and rice.

I assembled the enchiladas:

Just a little chicken, rice, black beans and a sprinkle of cheese. Then I rolled them up & placed them side by side in a Pyrex and poured the enchilada sauce over all of them. Lastly, I sprinkled the dish with cheese.

I popped them in a 350 degree oven and baked them for about 25-30 minutes.

I probably could have used another can of enchilada sauce, but I only had one so that's what I used!  They came out delicious and my family polished off every single one! 

I also made a very quick fondue the other night.  I thought I took pictures of the "process" (hardly a process with only 2 ingredients and 10 minutes of time), but I can't locate them, so I'll just tell you what I did!

I poured 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream into a small pot and heated it up.  Then I added 6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I stirred until it was all smoothly mixed together.  I added a pinch of salt and folks, I had fondue!!  While it was heating (on low), I cut up strawberries and pound cake (freezer section at Publix - Sarah Lee, I believe).  I gave the kids a plate with the fruit and cake and a small bowl of fondue, a toothpick and they were in heaven!!  The amounts I used were perfect for us - if you are entertaining guests for dinner, I would double this recipe. 

Surprise your family with this and they'll think you're the greatest!!  Or make it the next time you have guests over for dinner.  I served everyone and then sat with the pot that had the chocolate sauce on the sides and bottom and I practically licked it up!!  It was delicious!  Chef, beware!  This stuff is too yummy to resist!

Vomit Flavored Salad Dressing

I have just written the post that you're about to read below.  I have come back up to the top to say that I am tired and a little slap happy right now.  I'm really cracking myself up with my blog title.  Who needs wine when you're sleep deprived?  Seriously, I'm so tired that I'd probably fail a sobriety test with absolutely no alcohol in my system.  :).  So, I hope I haven't offended anyone with my title.  Read on....

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I have three kids.  That is something I truly never thought I would say.  Still makes me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside (for many years, I thought I would be the mother of only 2).  How wonderful it feels to be blessed with three wonderful (and at times, frustrating), beautiful (and at times, well, dirty) and healthy children.  I love when we're all together chilling out at home - that is starting to happen less and less as the boys' sports commitments grow as well as their desire to spend more time with friends.  As exhausting as it can be preparing a meal while chasing after a toddler and raising my voice at the boys to please put their dirty clothes IN the hamper (not beside it, around it, in the hallway, bathroom, etc.), I do love when we're all together.

That said, it's nice to have a bit of a break as well.  Now, when we had just one child, it felt like a break when we had a babysitter.  When we had just the two boys, it felt like a break when just one of them spent the night out.  And now with three kids, it is still a break when one of them is away.  Tonight I had the pleasure of spending time with Champ and Brooke - two nights in a row, actually!  There's a certain calm in the house with just the 2 out of the 3 kids here.  We ate dinner (black beans, yellow rice and a salad) and followed that with a little stroll down the street - such a good time to chat with each other and talk about whatever is on our minds.  Champ and I put Brooke to bed and then he and I played a fun game before reading a little of his book.  I love evenings like this!

Do you know what I also love?  (I'm starting to feel a little bit like Laura Linney's character in The Truman Show, but I promise I'm only sharing this stuff because I like it - that's it - no other reason).  I love Wallaby Organic Creamy Australian Style Lowfat Yogurt. 

This stuff is DELICIOUS!  Now, I'm a big fan of Greek yogurt - mainly for its high protein content.  While this Wallaby yogurt is not Greek yogurt - in fact, it has more carbs and less protein - it's amazingly creamy and delicious.  It costs 99 cents at the Fresh Market.    I just finished one (vanilla flavored), and I'm so sad right now that it's gone.  It's like dessert - but it's guilt free!  Perhaps I'll open another one.

I also recently discovered sweet potato tots at the Fresh Market. 





These things are to die for.  They are sooo good.  Brooke and I love them.  My boys prefer regular tator tots to these, but I'll continue to make them and hopefully they'll come around.  They are so good... I encourage you to pick up a bag next time you're at the Fresh Market!!  They are crispy on the outside and wonderfully sweet on the inside...mmmm mmmm!

It's funny - I was at the Fresh Market a few days ago and I saw this new yogurt based salad dressing on the shelf.  The bottle looked kind of cool - it was a Caesar dressing - and it looked creamy and delicious from what I could tell.  I thought that it would be really great to be able to enjoy a HEALTHY Caesar dressing.  So, I bought it, all the while thinking that I would blog about how tasty it was.  Well, we were having salad that night and I used it.  (I'm kind of feeling sick right now just recalling this).  I wanted to make myself like it, so I chewed my salad and kind of concentrated on the flavor - when really, I didn't like it at all.  I didn't say anything for fear of changing the rest of my family's minds if they were enjoying it.  So, I continued to choke it down.  Well... leave it to ol' honest Matt to say, "uh...this dressing tastes kind of like vomit."  Let me tell you that he nailed it with that comment.  He was exactly right!  It was SOOO disgusting and gross, this dressing.  We had a great laugh over it - all of us - and we ditched the salad for the evening.  The dressing is still in my fridge because I hate to throw away a brand new bottle.  Let me know if you're interested in trying it!  :)

Tonight, we had a simple dinner of yellow rice and black beans. We put a big dollop of sour cream and salsa on top and serve it with a salad - and that's our meal!  It's EASY, economical, protein filled and delicious!  I usually drain the black beans and then cook them in a small pot in hicken broth.  They taste so good! 

I'm thinking that tomorrow night I will shred the chicken that we cooked on our Big Green Egg two nights ago and make enchiladas.  We love Mexican food at our house!

That's it for now.  I'm tired after a long day and my big boys are just getting home from a late baseball game (I still think that a 7:30 baseball game on a weeknight is too late for such young chaps).  Time to call it a night and rest up for another wonderful day tomorrow!



Delicious and Healthy Snacks

Snacks..we're always looking for creative ways to keep them new and fun for our kids... and healthy!  I have found that keeping a big bowl of fresh fruit on my counter is a great way to invite them to something healthy at any time throughout the day!  I love cuties.  Have you tried these yet?  They are delicious and sweet - easy to peel and just the perfect size!  Try them before you buy them, though - open up the container and try one because they can be sour - so check first.  That might be illegal - I'm not sure - but I'm a rule breaker by nature, so I'll continue to do it until someone tells me otherwise :).

Avocados... my boys LOVE guacamole -and avocados are rich in good fats and calories, so I LOVE this food for them.  I mash one up and add a little salt, pepper, garlic powder, hot sauce and fresh lime juice - and they eat it all up!

And who doesn't love apples?  Whole or sliced with some peanut butter - they make a great snack - and there are so many kinds to choose from!

Trader Joe's is near my house and I've enjoyed experimenting with some items there.  Actually, for the longest time, I could not even THINK about Trader Joe's without feeling sick to my stomach.  It all stemmed from my Trader Joe's excursion when I was newly pregnant with Brooke.  I had no nausea when I was pregnant with my boys, but Brooke was a different story.  I walked into the store and picked up one of everything, it felt like, and in the middle of my shopping, I started feeling sick.  I checked out, drove home and figured that I was nauseous because I was hungry.  So, I ate a lot of the food I had just bought and then got really sick.  And that's all it took - it was over a year before I could even step foot into a Trader Joe's.  Now I love it again!  I recently picked up this bag of chips... Quinoa and Black Bean - and they are amazing!  They are crunchy with a great and very different flavor - but still maintain a pretty simple taste. 

I was also looking at all of the different hummus when a gentleman convinced me to buy this Tomato and Basil Hummus Dip.  Now, I'm a pretty plain Jane.  I like hummus to taste like its main ingredient - chickpeas.  But this man went on and on about how great this hummus was, so I bought one - and it did not disappoint!  It's tangy and delicious with pita chips.  I highly recommend it!  This is a snack that my kids love to eat, too - hummus and pita chips. 

But their preferred hummus is Sabra, Supremely Spicy.  It's pretty darn good!  And spicy!

Pistachios are something I like to have out on the counter, too.  They are fun to crack open - very tasty and a great source of protein.  My parents know how much my boys love them so they bought them each a 3 pound bag from Costco.

I'm so excited that fruit is about to be REALLY good and in season.  Nothing like some freshly cut COLD watermelon.  Yum...

Apricot Bar Recipe

Thank you, Beverly, for asking me where you might find the recipe! 

Here is the recipe for the Apricot Bars ala Giada
1 (13 oz) jar apricot jam or preserves
8 dried apricots, chopped
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 packed cup light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
16 TBS (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg beaten, at room temp
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam. 

In a small bowl, mix the jam and apricots.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.  Stir in the oats and walnuts.  Add the butter, egg, and vanilla and stir until incorporated.

Using a fork or clean fingers (I used my fingers), press half of the crust mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan.  Using a spatula, spread the filling over the crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge of the pan.  Cover the filling with the remaining crust mixture and gently press to flatten.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until light golden.  Cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Cut into bars and store in airtight container.

Manual Labor & Apricot Bars

I love blogging. Thank you for reading my blog.  I realize that I need to step it up and start blogging ahead of time - I should be blogging about all things Easter BEFORE Easter - so that I can share the few ideas I have with you and maybe you can do something with them for your own family. I shall make that a priority, but if I fall short, please know that it's because my "life" is getting in the way (and I write that with warmth in my heart and a smile on my face).

So, my apologies for letting 10 days go by in between blogs! Last week was Spring Break for Champ and Matt took him to the beach and Orlando for a few days. They had a ball! When they got back, Matthew left with his friend, Jeff, for Florida for a few days where he spent Easter - our first Easter without him. :(  While he was very much missed, it did the boys some good to spend so much time apart.

Before I get to Easter, let's talk pre-Easter. On Wednesday, Brooke and I hit the ground running. We hit 3 stores before I dropped her off at Mimi's. I needed to finish up my Easter basket shopping and things go so much more quickly when I don't have to mess with the car seat, stroller, snacks, etc. - so she enjoyed the day with Mimi while I shopped as fast as fire spreads. I was in and out of stores so fast it would make your head spin. I squeezed in a half hour of luxury as I enjoyed a pedicure with my sweet mom. More enjoyable than having my own feet pampered was watching her relax and enjoy her pedicure. My mom is the sweetest, most hard working woman in Atlanta and she deserves to have a pedicure every day for the rest of her life. I love her more than I can even begin to put into words.

On our way home from our pedicure outing, we drove by our neighbor's house who was having a couple of trees cut down.  We have a nice large area in our backyard that was in desperate need of mulch, and I was in the process of pricing out wood mulch versus rubber mulch when I had the thought to ask the tree cutting people if they would dump their truckload of mulch on my driveway. Well, they did!! They backed up their truck and dumped a huge pile on the driveway - for free!! I was so excited.

Here is what we started with.

I'm a little disappointed with this picture because it doesn't look like that big of a pile, but folks, it was the size of a small-medium car. I was standing on our front steps pointing my phone down on the pile which makes it look smaller than it was.  The more we shoveled, the bigger the pile grew, it seemed. Matthew and I worked on it for 3 hours the first night. I thought it would be a fun surprise for Matt to come home and see the backyard all covered! Little did I know that it would be three days later, many man-hours and hundreds of trips to the backyard before the pile would disappear.

Matt, Champ and I worked on the pile for 3 or so hours the next day and we had the pile down to a level that didn't make you cringe at the thought of moving it. I woke up Friday morning and went on a short run with Sandy and as I walked up my driveway, I glimpsed at the pile and decided to attack it. And let me tell you that it was quite possibly the best workout I've ever had. My heart rate was up for two hours while I shoveled mulch into two large baseball buckets and ran them to the back, up the stairs and dumped them. I jogged back down, grabbed the shovel and did it all over again - and again and again and again.... until the pile was gone. I felt like a contestant on the Biggest Loser or something - when they have to work so hard doing something like that and they're sweating and tired and in agony but yet so happy to have accomplished what they did... that was me!  I was fighting for immunity!  In fact, I had the thought that perhaps I was born to work on a farm or do some type of hands-on labor - because I love it. I love the simplicity of it - I love the hard work and sweat that comes with it - the satisfaction...

Have you ever seen the movie, BIG BUSINESS with Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler?  I watched it many moons ago (1988 is when it came out) and I loved it!  While shoveling the mulch, I thought that maybe I have a twin sister somewhere who is working on farm (you'd have to have seen the movie to understand what I'm saying - 2 sets of twins separated at birth - one set ended up in the city and the other in the country...)... I think this would be a fun movie, actually, for our own kids to watch.  Makes me smile just thinking about it. 



Anyway, we had the mulch all laid out and the house ready to entertain.  On Easter Eve, Champ and I dyed Easter eggs. 

After an amazing sermon at church, we had Matt's family and my family over for Easter lunch. It was so fun and lovely!  We enjoyed a Honey Baked Ham, sweet potato casserole, potato casserole, cabbage salad, green beans and a strawberries and cream trifle (made by my sweet niece, Kendall, a.k.a. up and coming chef!)... The kids hunted for eggs.  It was a beautifully delightful afternoon, complete with just about the most emotional Master's ending I've ever seen!  I was crying right along with Bubba!

So, let's talk about Giada for a minute.  She led me to a blue ribbon in the Chili Cook off. She's so fun to watch on the Food Network because she makes everything look SO EASY and effortless, in addition to the fact that she is gorgeous and seemingly very sweet. My friend, Tara, gave me her latest cookbook, , as a housewarming gift. Thank you, Tara! I love cookbooks so much. I never buy them for myself, so it's SUCH a treat when I am given one. The day I got it, I couldn't wait to get home, change out of my work clothes and into comfy "play" clothes, pop open an ice cold Blue Moon and just read it from cover to cover.

First, I made her Apricot bars. Mmmm mmm. These are delicious! They are cut and in the fridge now and everyone in my house loves them! I wouldn't call these "healthy" by any stretch, but they do have some dried apricots and oatmeal in them. While we are being inundated with billboards and commercials addressing our very serious childhood obesity epidemic, I'm on a quest to put a little meat on the bones of my crazy active boys, so I don't mind using butter and extra sources of fat or calories for him every once in a while.  These Apricot bars taste like cobbler in the form of a bar.  They are delicious and my whole family just loves them!

First, I pulled out the ingredients I needed - dried apricots and apricot jelly.

I mixed the jelly and chopped dried apricots together.  You'll notice that there is some grape colored jelly in the bowl.  That is exactly what it is because I only wrote down "apricot jelly" on my grocery list.  So, I picked up a jar of jelly and when I got home, I was a few ounces shy of the 13 oz jar it called for - so I improvised and added some grape jelly. 

Then I mixed the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda together - then I added the oats and walnuts.  Lastly, I added the melted butter, egg and vanilla.

 I put half of the above mixture into a Pyrex and then poured my apricot filling on top - topping it with the other half of the oatmeal mixture. 

I baked it for 35 minutes - let it cool for an hour (though I was impatient so I dug into a corner with my spoon and enjoyed every bit of it) - cut into bars and store in the fridge.  Delicious!