Pottery and Pirate's Booty!

Last week my sis-in-law and I celebrated our birthdays together by going to paint pottery.  Today was the pick up day...it's always a little nerve-racking because you think about how much money you spent on the item and how much time you put into it and what if it looks like a pre-schooler did it??  But then you remember that you had a wonderful time painting it and it is what it is-yours.  And you will love it no matter what because you put your heart and soul into it...well at least your mom will love it ;)  Anyway, it was all good because when I went into the "pick up" room I saw a bowl and I thought I want that bowl.  Well, guess who's bowl it was??  This girl's.  Aw yeah.  It turned out exactly the way I wanted it.  It is a multi-functional bowl, so right now it's holding some gorgeous juicy apples.  It matches my kitchen along with another piece I made that is a utensil holder.  I'm excited!! 

Another great thing that happened to me today was finding an AMAZING new to me food product from "Pirate's Booty"  The name in itself makes it awesome already.  But what is inside of the clever packaging makes it double awesome.  Yes I know I just time warped back to 5th grade with that saying, but it's gotta be said.  Just hearing the name "Pirate's Booty" doesn't give you much clue as to what the product actually is, which just happens to be my most favorite snack of all time...cheese puffs.  Oh I have missed you cheese puffs and now I can have you because the wonderful inventors of "Pirate's Booty" made it sugar free, preservative free, nut free and DELICIOUS!  Here's a pic.  It's on sale at HyVee for 2/$3!!!!  Can you believe it??  All that crunchy, cheesy goodness for only $1.50!!!  I will most certainly have to go back tomorrow and stock up. 

Well, the house is smelling very cozy right now because I'm baking up some Apple Pineapple Crisp.  Sugar free love in the oven.  The recipe is in my last post. Mmmm...it's ready so I'm off to have some dessert!

Mexican Stuffed Shells & Apple Pineapple Crisp

Hey I'm back...it's been so beautiful out that I haven't taken much time to be on the computer.  We just had some friends from Sunday School over and they brought their boys.  We had an awesome time eating, playing Xbox Kinect, and taking a nice long walk through the neighborhood.  Once again I tried out a new recipe when I was having guests over and so far both recipes have been a complete success!  Yesterday I made these Mexican Stuffed Shells and baked them for the first 30 minutes, then put them in the fridge for today's lunch.  Since we were coming from church I wanted to have the meal as close to ready as I could so as soon as we got home I heated up the oven and stuck them in for 20 more minutes to bake with the cheese on them.  PERFECT! They were so delicious.  Husband and kid approved!  Pretty simple too!  YES!!  Here's the recipe, but I doubled it for 6 people.  Sorry no pictures...they got gobbled up really fast!

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey)

1 package taco seasoning (I used my homemade taco seasoning with no sugar)
4 ounces cream cheese
20 jumbo pasta shells
1 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese

For toppings:

tomatoes

Sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a pan brown the ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Stir together and mix well. Set aside and cool completely.

While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to package directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board or baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

Pour salsa on bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with 1-2 tablespoons of the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Evenly cover shells with taco sauce. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes with the foil removed. Top with green onions or olives if desired. Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.

The next recipe I want to share with you is Apple Crisp.  Hmmm...how do you make apple crisp without adding sugar??  Well, my aunt found this yummy recipe and you don't need a grain of sugar, because the baked fruit gives it all the natural sugars you need.  It's even gluten free for all you gluten free peeps!  It is adapted from http://www.food.com/.

Apple Pineapple Crisp

Ingredients

• 4 medium tart apples ( She used Jonathons)
• 1 cup canned crushed pineapple in juice
• ½ cup quick oatmeal or ½ cup regular oatmeal ( not instant)
• ¹⁄₈; teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 bananas, frozen

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray an 8X8 square baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Peel, core, and slice the apples.
4. Put them in the pan.
5. Add the canned pineapple and mix it all together.
6. Put the frozen banana in the microwave until it is defrosted and mushy.
7. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, add the oatmeal and cinnamon and stir well.
8. Peel the banana (it will be runny) and add it to the oatmeal.
9. This will clump up and be very sticky.
10. Put the oatmeal mixture on top of the apples.
11. I use my hands but it is sticky and not real easy.
12. You may, if you want, spray the top of the crisp with cooking spray or olive oil spray but I didn't find it made much difference.
13. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the topping is starting to brown.
14. Serve warm or cold.

The Great Migraine Battle Update:

January: 4
February: 4
March: 10
Pounds lost: 18
Inches lost: 18
Sugar free 85 days and counting!  Nut free for 1 week and counting!

Grillin' and chillin'

You know when you get a whiff of someone grilling up something amazing for dinner and you get a little jealous??  Watch out neighbors.  Here comes the whiff...tilapia and asparagas sizzlin with a little lemon pepper, dash of salt, drizzled with some olive oil and garlic...oh yeah.  Squeeze a little lemon on there and you've got yourself a meal.

Neither Tom nor I had ever grilled tilapia before so I looked it up online.  Pretty easy.  Spray your grill with non-stick spray.  THEN light it.  Very important.  Okay so now spice up your fish however you like.  Place on grill at 300 degrees.  5 minutes on each side.  Throw your asparagus on after the first 5 minutes.  Easy.  No heating of the oven.  BAM!  You've got yourself a healthy dinner :) 

These are the days I miss having a nice adult beverage.  Nothing crazy...maybe just a glass of wine.  Yeah that would be nice.  But unfortunately, I havn't been able to reintroduce anything in March.  I've had seven.  Yes SEVEN migraines so far this month.  However, I think I've found the culprit.  Let me explain.  At the beginning of the month Tom and went to Aldi's (great store) and found a great price on pstachios.  I love me some pstachios so we got a great big bag of them.  I was so proud of myself for getting a heart healthy snack I could actually eat!  So I've been rationing them out for the past two weeks taking 1/4 of a cup every day for my snack at work.  Well, the past two weeks have been awful for migraines and I also had weird stomach issues. 

Well, I finally decided that those little nuts were the only different thing I had been eating for the past 10 weeks, so I googled "migraines and peanuts" and yes, sure enough nuts are a HUGE trigger for migraineurs (that's what we are called-kinda cool to actually have a name.  Hello my name is Laura and I'm a migraineur. Haha.)  Okay back to business.  Apparently there are food allergies and then there are food intolerances.  Food allergies cause drastic physical issues such as extreme swelling or even death.  Food intolerances cause stomach aches and head pain, but not death.  It's just your body's way of telling you that it doesn't process foods well.  Migraineurs can actually be "intolerant" to certain foods, but there is no intolerance test...only allergen tests so you have to do an elimination diet as I have been doing this year.  As a result of this research I have concluded that I am intolerant to refined sugars and nuts.  So I'm cutting nuts out of my diet, which isn't a huge issue, but that means no more homemade sugar free peanut butter cups...super sad face :(  And I've been having almond milk with my cereal every day because I thought maybe dairy was the issue.  One step closer.  I also think a bulk of my issues come from hormone inbalances, which can be tested via a saliva test.  That's my next step! 

Here are the running totals:

January total migraines: 4
February total migraines: 4
March migraines to date: 7
That brings my total to 15.

But I am still very thankful because I could have had 30 by now.  The average number of migraines I had per month prior to the anti-inflammatory food plan was 8-10.

Pounds lost : 16

My pants have been falling down and I was rockin the low rise ghetto look at school so my awesome co-worker brought me a whole bag full of dress pants, khakis and capris the next size down that she doesn't need anymore cause she lost a bunch of weight in the past couple of years.  Go her!  She totally rocks my world. 

Now I'm off for another bike ride to soak up this incredible weather. :)

Check your pulses...

Today reminded me of the John Mayer song "Great Indoors."  I encountered situations where kids didn't want to go outside and play.  What the heck?  They were excited to go home and play video games but there was no mention of being outside.  Some kids even prefered to stay in at recess instead of go outside and play and to that I say no way, go out and play

(yeah that rhymed but I didn't mean for that to happen.)

What is going on with this not playing outside concept?  Today I escaped outside on my lunchbreak for five minutes of heaven.  Tonight I went out for another bike ride and was surprised by the lack of both kids and adults enjoying the extra dose of amazing weather.  Now I wasn't always this gung ho...(is that how you spell that phrase??)  Anyway, I wasn't always all about being outside.  I spent too many of my summer vacations indoors wasting countless hours watching t.v.  Now my day just doesn't feel right without at least moving my body in some sort of exercise.  Maybe I'm just getting wise in my old age.  ;) 

I wonder how we can make the change for kids.  Technology is great, don't get me wrong, but I think it's really hindering the appreciation we can have for the great outdoors.  Have we forgotten that there is fun to be had beyond the flawless megapixelled screens?  It begs the question, "What can be done about this?" I want to know can I make a big enough impact on my students begin to make a change, to bring up a new generation of people who appreciate, love, care for and enjoy the beauty of simply being outside instead of a generation who becomes increasingly dependent on electronic stimuli.  I don't have the answer, but I hope to find one soon.

Here are the lyrics to John Mayer's song..."The Great Indoors"

Check your pulse it's proof that you're not listening to
The call your life's been issuing you
The rhythm of a line of idle days

Scared of a world outside you should go explore
Pull all the shades and wander the great indoors
The great indoors

Lamplight makes the shadows play
And posters take the walls away
The T.V. is your window pane
The view won't let you down
So put your faith in a late night show
I bet you didn't even know
Depends on how far out you go
The channel numbers change

Scared of a world outside you should go explore
Pull all the shades and wander the great indoors

Though lately I can't blame you
I have seen the world
And sometimes wish your room had room for two

So go unlock the door
And find what you are here for
Leave the great indoors
Leave the great indoors

Check your pulse it's proof that you're not listening to
The call your life's been issuing you
The rhythm of a line of idle days of idle days

----------------

 

**So next time you have the chance to go explore this great big world God made to enjoy, don't hesitate.  Go for it and grab some sunshine.  You won't regret it.

Work it!

Blue skies. Birds chirping.  Slight breeze in my hair.  Sun on my face. T-shirt. Capris. 76 degrees.  Summertime.  Wait, what?  It's March?  Oh I somehow forgot and I LOVE it! 

Praise God for this AMAZING weather.  Yesterday I spent about 4 minutes outside (going in and out of work and then going in and out of the house) so today I took full advantage of the great outdoors. 

I busted out my beautiful blue beauty of a bicycle.  Here she is.

It was a beautiful ride. 

 I ignored my thighs when my they said, "WOMAN, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING??"

I promptly told them, "Shush yourselves and work it!"

So they did.  It was a refreshing ride.  The best part was that I can tell that I've lost 16 pounds and have been working out on the eliptica so it was way easier.  I love the feeling of the wind in my hair and the freedom that being on a bike gives you.  It was just what I needed.  I didn't even mind when I got whooped and whistled at by highschool boys.  I just smiled and waved.

I think that's what I need to do in life in general.  Smile and wave and let it go.  Life lessons on a bike.  Love it. :)

Awesome Guacamole!

This weekend our Relay for Life team hosted a Pampered Chef fundraiser and it was awesome!!  Our consultant donated 20% of all sales to our team and we raised $566!!!  We had a Mexican Fiesta with fajitas and guacamole.  I made the guacamole recipe this afternoon and it was really easy and delicious.  I've never cooked with avacado before and it was really simple.  Here you go...

Awesome Guacamole

2 avacados-mash to the texture you like

Add:

1 finely seeded/diced jalepeno pepper

1 seeded/diced roma tomato
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 finely diced onion
1/2 c. cilantro
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp fresh orange juice

Yum!

Cozy Homemade Mac 'n Cheese

It's been a great week :)  I won't lie, while it has been really stressful, but I can't help but think about the truth.  I am so blessed.  The issues I had this week were so paltry compared to the struggles of so many. 

Yeah I have a cold and have had a couple of migraines but Jesus loves me, I'm still healthy, been blessed with a rewarding job, a cozy house to come home to, a supportive husband, caring family and loving friends.  I think I'm going to try really hard to start waking up everyday in prayer thanking God for 5 specific things instead of groaning and smacking the snooze.  I tend to get caught up in the negative so easily and eventually all that focusing on the negative becomes a habit. 

Instead, I want to get caught up in thinking about all the blessings in my life.  Here we go... 

So tonight I am definitely thankful for my family recipe for cozy homemade macaroni & cheese. 

Comfort food to the extreme.  Oh yeah. 

Looks like quite a bit of work, right? Nah.  It's easy. Really easy.

No secrets.

Boil shells for half the regular cooking time.  Strain.  Return to pan on medium flame.  Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk.  Add 7 kraft singles.  Add 2 tbsp. butter.  Bring to a boil stirring frequently.  Salt/pepper to taste.

DONE and YUM!

The Great Migraine Battle:

January: 4

February: 4

March: 4

Prior to sugar free: 8-10 migraines per month so I've avoided at least 10 migraines since the beginning of the year.

Sugar free: 69 days

Pounds lost: 16

Gonna keep on keeping on and I think it's about time to invest in some new pants! :)

Lasagna Roll Ups

Yesterday began as an uneventful day...we ran some errands, did some work around the house, relaxed, made lasagna roll ups and then I decided to go read on the bed while Tom watched t.v.  All of a sudden I feel a thump and some creaks underneath me.  Hmmm...I tried to peer over the edge and heard "crrraaaaack" again so I hopped off and checked it out.  The jucture of the side rail and the footboard had completely split.  Good grief!  Now I know I'm no skinny minny but I'm not the Hulk either.  That metal part is supposed to be secured into the wood with two metal pins.  Clearly, the metal pins were no match for me reading atop them.  Great for the self-esteem I tell ya.

So we didn't trust this to hold us both as we slept last night so there was much mattress moving to be had before going to bed.  First, we moved the full sized mattress along with all the bedding out of the guest room and into the 3rd bedroom (apparently I'm a bit of a bed hog and Tom was not going to be sharing a full sized bed with me for who knows how long...hehe.) Then Tom adjusted the full frame to a queen frame slicing his wrist in the process so I promptly and unsuccessfully put gauze and tape on the wound.  We then proceeded to move our queen sized mattress from our room into the guest room.  Can I mention we had just washed the sheets and just made the bed a mere 2 hours before??  So we got to completely unmake and remake the bed twice in one evening.  Ahhh well.

But amidst the unexpected inconveniences we decided that we have so much to be thankful for.  We are thankful that we have a house to sleep in, a guest bed, a 3rd bedroom to put all the extra mattress and bedding things in, and most of all, we have eachother. 

The technician is supposed to come tomorrow so hopefully things will be back to normal in no time.

Anyway, prior to the whole bed frame debacle, I made a yummy dinner. 

Here's the recipe...

Lasagna Roll-ups

8 lasagna noodles

1/2 pound lean ground turkey

1 T olive oil

1 clove garlic

1/2 onion

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 egg

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 T fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 T fresh oregano, chopped

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat a large pot of water to boiling over high heat.  When it reaches a boil, salt liberally and drop noodles.  Stir occasionally and cook to just al dente.  You want to leave them slightly more firm since you'll be baking the pasta.  Drain noodles and set aside.

Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add turkey and brown.  When almost cooked through, add tomatoes and reduce heat to medium low.   Add 1/2 of the basil and oregano, then add the crushed red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Simmer for about 15 minutes. 

In a small bowl, lightly beat egg.  Add ricotta, Parmesan and remaining basil and oregano and stir together.  Spray pan lightly with cooking spray.  Add enough sauce to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.  To assemble, on a drained noodle, add a spoonful of ricotta mixture.  Top with a spoonful of meat sauce and roll up.  Place seam side down in pan.  Continue until you've used all the noodles.  Top each with a little more meat sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella.  Bake approximately 25 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Have a great and blessed Sunday!

There's no time like Gnocchi time!

You like the title??  Haha...I thought it was pretty good.  Normally I can't think of cute puns, but last night I dreamed that I got a gig as a stand-up comedian at a Christian bar....yeah I don't know if there is such a thing, but all I know is that I was funny.  Not just oh she's pretty good, no I was AMAZING in my dream.  I was cracking myself up all night long.  It was refreshing to have a good dream and not my regular someone is hunting me down/chasing me/yelling at me/trying to kill me dream. 

Anyway, it's been quite the week.  Something every night, but it was all good stuff.  The week flew by and I am so glad it's Saturday.  I passed up countless temptations this week...cake, cookies, dips, cupcakes, beer bread, wine, chex mixes, chips, mac n cheese, strawberry limeade (my fav) so I am going on 63 days of no sugar.  Wow I can't believe it's been that long.  It is getting easier, but it's not easy.  Someone told me yesterday to just have a tiny bite and that it wouldn't hurt.  I told her that yeah I could have a tiny bite, but then the next time I would have just a small piece and in no time I'd be eating a whole carton of ice cream.  It's best for me to just stay away all together.  I made my favorite kind of cupcakes to take to work for my co-workers b-day.  That was stupid.  I wanted to lick the icing off of the knife SO BAD!  Then I got a little on my fingers putting them in the cupcake carrier.  Did I lick???   NO!  Immedietely I washed my hands.  It's tough, but definitely worth it.  Here's the stats:

Migraines in January: 4
Migraines in February : 4
Migraines in March: 2 (yeah it stinks especially because we are only on day 3 of the month)
Pounds lost: 14.5
Inches lost: 15.5

I'm really pleased with the results of this whole anti-inflammatory food eating.  (Did you notice how I tend not to use the word "diet"??  That word doesn't make sense to me because if you are eating then you aren't on a "diet" in my book.  If you want to continue on the path you have begun then it's not a "diet".  It's simply what food you are eating.  Diets are temporary.  I don't plan for this to be temporary.  This is life.  That's my rant.  Now I'm done.

Anyway, normally I would have had at least 20 migraines by now and only having 10 is AWESOME!  I'm still wanting to decrease them more though.  So this morning Tom and I went to this pharmacy nearby.  I'd been told by at least 4-5 people that I "HAVE TO GO THERE!" So after the fifth person told me, I finally went.  It's a place where you just go in and talk to the pharmacist, no charge.  They are focused on natural wellness and supplements.  The pharmacist was really knowledgeable and nice.  She seemed confident that if I take this magnesium compound that it will decrease my migraines even more.  It's different from the magnesium supplement found in stores.  So I got the compound and I am supposed to take 3 pills nightly before bed.  I am excited to see how it works, but only time will tell.  Also, it's safe to use during pregnancy, which will be great for when that time comes. If this doesn't work after a couple of months I can take a saliva test, which will test my cortisol and hormone levels.  That might be the next step in trying to combat these migraines.

So onto the gnocchi.  At Aldi, they had some prepackaged gnocchi (pronounced no-key) which is a potato pasta in a solid oval shape.  So I boiled it up, added some spaghetti sauce, spices and voila!  Gnocchi!  High-class baby.  High class for only $2.59 to serve 4.

There's no real recipe for this.  Boil, warm sauce, add whatever spice you want. 

Top with cheesy goodness. 

Combine.  Eat.  Love.