Monster Cookies

Tomorrow is our church picnic and we are supposed to bring a dessert to share.  So I busted out my favorite cookbook that my mom made and added to at my wedding showers.  I flipped through and found this great recipe my friend Molly gave me for Monster Cookies. 

Aren't they just mouth wateringly gorgeous?? 

These were baked on my Pampered Chef baking stone.  This batch turned out the best.

Here's the recipe for you just in time for Halloween:

Monster Cookies

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 T. corn syrup

1 1/2 c. peanut butter

3 eggs

3/4 tsp. vanilla

3/4 T. baking soda

4 1/2 c. oatmeal

1 c. chocolate chips (or 1/2 c. chocolate chips & 1/2 c. mini M&M's)

Combine sugars, peanut butter, butter, and corn syrup in a mixing bowl until sugars are dissolved.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.  Add baking soda and oatmeal and mix just until blended.  Stir in chocolate chips and M&M's (if using them).  Form into one inch balls and place on cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 for 18-20 minutes.  Yields about 36-40 cookies.

ICE CREAM!

I decided weeks before we left for vacation that I would attempt to eat ice cream at the Dells.  Well, we went to "The Fudgery" and I figured, if I'm going to try it I might as well go big or go home.   

Just picture it...a giant, crispy, golden brown waffle cone with one scoop of Moosetracks (peanut butter cups, fudge, goodness, etc.) settling into the bottom of the cone.  Heaping over the top edge was sweet caramel ice cream loveliness.  Oh baby.  The girl serving up the ice cream could feel my excitement.  She said, "Oh I know...I get really excited about ice cream too!"  She had no idea.  Seven months is a LONG time to abstain from ice cream.  I savored it.  I loved it.  It was THE BEST ice cream cone I have ever had.  Totally worth the seven month wait.  What a treat! 

After it had been devoured, the waiting game began.  Would I get a migraine?  How long would it take to come on?  Would it be worse than normal?  Well, the next day brought with it a migraine starting on the way home.  I really would like to think it was not because of the sugar, but because of the sleepless nights of vacation.  Our cabin was not air conditioned and my body is a total wuss when it comes to heat and not sleeping.  So the migraine could be attributed to lack of sleep or the sugar. 

Well I was determined to find out. Yesterday we went over to visit my mom and she had Toffee Ice Cream bars so I decided to give it a shot because I've been sleeping like a baby ever since I got home.  Guess what??  No migraine!!!  One more crossed off the 30 before 30 list!  Woot woot!!! 

Now I don't want to get crazy here.  My goal is to reserve sweets for when I REALLY want them. 

I don't want to become additcted to sugar like I did before and I still want to be sugar/sweetener/preservative free in my meals because let's face it, it's good for my body.  But what a relief that I can have a sweet treat from time to time and not worry about a migraine.  It could be that if I ate sugar like I used to, then it could trigger a migraine.  Minimal amounts once or twice a month could be the ticket!! I've found it's all about moderation.  Eat well 90% of the time and "indulge" the other 10%. 

Life lessons...I know there are many many more to come :)

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!

Creamy Mushroom Pasta, Berry Banana Ice Cream & Homemade Pizza

Sundays used to be my least favorite day of the week because it meant that I had to wake up to an alarm the next day, but now they are my favorite day of the week.  It's a day I get to spend the day with my hubby going to worship at church, go grocery shopping, get some good cooking done, read the newspaper, and most importantly, put my feet up and just relax. 

Unfortunately, last night I started to feel "migrainy" and woke up with a big start to a migraine. 

I was desperate for it to not turn into a full blown migraine so I took Tylonol and busted out the ice pack.  It took me through church, but on the way home I started to feel it coming on stronger.  When I got home I took more Tylonol, but to no avail.  It was a migraine.  However, I am thankful because I was able to take my medicine and it worked within an hour. 

Three migraines is way better than ten so I'll take it!

So the Great Migraine Battle continues...

Laura : 26  Migraines : 3

I have been trying to figure out what the trigger was and I haven't had any sugar, got plenty of sleep, exercised regularly and I've narrowed it down.  I think it may have been the huge increase in dairy I have been eating the past couple of days.  The anti-inflammatory research claimed dairy was an inflammatory food, but I didn't want to believe it because I feel milk's calcium and Vitamin D benefits are so important to a healthy diet.  However, I had LOTS of sour cream and butter on my baked potato at Tom's work dinner Friday night plus my fish was swimming in butter. 

I also ate 1/3 of a block of cheese these last couple of days as my snacks.  Then yesterday I made a new recipe...Creamy Mushroom and Shrimp Pasta which has 10 tbsp of butter and 3 oz of cream cheese and washed it down with a nice big glass of milk.  Yeah.  I think the dairy did me in.  So when Tom and I went grocery shopping I got some almond milk to try.  I've heard good things about it so we will see.  It has calcium and lots of vitamins in it and I will continue to eat cheese but will be eating it sparingly.  I will continue to try to figure out these triggers.

Here's my creamy shrimp and mushroom pasta from last night.  Had the leftovers for lunch after church today it was even better the second time around.  I don't even have to convince you to try this because the picture says everything. :)

Here's my afternoon snack...blueberry banana ice cream.  Frozen banana + frozen blueberries + milk + Magic Bullet = yumtasticness (no that's not a word, but it totally describes this concoction)

So I've been telling you all about Tom's famous Sunday night homemade pizzas and I kept forgetting to take a picture before we cut into it and started eating because it's so darn good!  Tonight Tom reminded me to take a picture as soon as it came out of the oven.  His side has pepperoni and Italian sausage.  My side has fresh pineapple.  The crust is Jiffy Pizza Crust and has no sugar :)

We found some great snacks on our grocery shopping adventure this afternoon. 

These are delish and sugar-free!

I got to eat cookies for dessert tonight!!!

On another note, I am wanting to do something different with my hair.  I'm thinking about getting a body wave.  I'm trying to grow it out and the last time I got my hair cut, my hair dresser cut REALLY short layers and I want to do something simple and easy with my hair while it grows out.  A body wave might just do the trick.  Wash, gel, scrunch, go!  Any other suggestions??

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia & How I Met Your Mother

First of all, I wanted to thank all of you for reading my blog.  I have received so much positive feedback about it.  I'm glad you are enjoying reading about my adventures in the kitchen and I have been praying that God would use my blog to inspire you through my writing and of course, lots of pictures. :)  I also appreciate all of your encouragement as you come along with me on my fight against migraines.  This whole not eating sugar thing has taken some serious prayer and lots of support from my amazing husband, family, co-workers and friends like you.  Thank you.

The Great Migraine Battle stats are in:
Laura : 21   Migraines : 2

I tried another Larabar today.  My friend from work was so sweet to bring me an assortment of Larabars this morning.  Cherry Pie, Banana Bread and Peanut Butter Cookie.  Guess which one I tried first???

Well yes of course!  Peanut Butter Cookie :)  It was really delicous and satisfied my sugar craving this afternoon.

I love you Larabar...and it's not just because you have a rockin' cool name ;)

Oh a random note, I love How I Met your Mother.  So I'm writing this as I'm watching Monday night tv in my pjs.  Doesn't get better than this.  Tonight I was really tired so I made a super easy recipe. 

I found a recipe through Pinterest that is a Rachel Ray creation. 

Here it is friends...

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 4 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound total)
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions: Preheat the oven to 400°. In a shallow dish, combine the cheese with the paprika and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in the cheese mixture. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve the fish with the lemon wedges.

**Miss Rachel claims 10-12 minutes, however, I must have had some stubbern tilapia because mine took about 23 minutes to cook through.  I baked it on a Pampered Chef baking pan with foil so I don't know if that affected the cooking time or not.  Just keep an eye on it and when it flakes with a fork it's done.

I served it with couscus, naan, sauted mushrooms and a spinach salad.  Awesome and easy.  Love love love.

Tom also loved it.  I blinked and his fish was gone.  Sweet. 

Well, I'm off to go make some banana blackberry ice cream. 

1 frozen banana + handful of blackberries + 1/4 c. milk + magic bullet = tricking my brain into thinking I'm eating ice cream.  Yessssssss.....

Homemade Sugar Free Strawberry Banana Ice Cream...oh yes.

Just came across this recipe on a Facebook page and immediately made a beeline to the kitchen to make it.  I couldn't wait for the strawberries to freeze so I just had to go with the frozen banana and the fresh strawberries.It just made it a softer "meltier" consistancy.

It is soooooo easy and soooooo good for you.  I won't make you wait any longer.  Here's the scoop...haha get it?  Ice cream...scoop...hehe.  Anyway, here you go. :)

Homemade Sugar Free Strawberry Banana Ice Cream
1 frozen banana
5-6 frozen strawberries
1/4 c. milk

Combine ingredients in blender (I used my Magic Bullet)

Eat straight out of the pitcher of the blender like I did or you can be classy and put it in a bowl ;)

Oh and to update you on "The Great Migraine Battle"....

Laura 14 : Migraine 1

YES!!!!!!!