Basil Spaghetti with Cheesy Steamed Tomatoes

Cheese you say??  Oh you've got me hooked.  

There's pasta too??  Oh yeah. 

Fresh garden grown tomatoes??

Basil AND garlic too?

Too good to be true!

This was dinner tonight, paired with a spinach and kiwi salad and it was a meal.  Woot woot! 

Bonus: Husband approved :)

Here's the recipe so you can try it at home...

Basil Spaghetti with Cheesy Steamed Tomatoes

Serves 6-7 Approx. 250 cals/serving

1 box (13.75 oz.) spaghetti noodles

3 large tomatoes (cut into thick slices)

1/4 c. parmesan

1/2 c. mozzarella cheese

2 garlic cloves (minced)

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp basil

salt and pepper to taste

Boil spaghetti according to box directions.  As spaghetti is boiling, coat a large skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Lay tomato slices in skillet, sprinkle salt and pepper, parmesan cheese and mozzarella over tomato slices.  Cover and simmer on medium/low heat.  Once spaghetti is cooked, drain and toss noodles with remainder of olive oil, red pepper flakes, minced garlic cloves, and basil.  Serve cheesy tomatoes on top of seasoned spaghetti.

Oh and guess what?? 

I hate to speak too soon, but I just had to share my migraine count for the month of July to date:

 3!!!! 

Praise God! 

I know the month isn't over, but thus far, it's so much better than the last two months!

Jan. 4

Feb. 4

Mar. 12

Apr. 5

May 12

Jun. 11

Jul. 3 (to date)

Looks like the hormone therapy is working!!!  YES!!!!!!!

We'll see how the last half of the month goes.  Don't worry...I'll keep you updated. :)

One Skillet Chili Mac

"Yes, hello!  I'll have the Chili Mac Supreme- no onion please."  Wow, I have no idea how many times I've said that phrase.  Steak n' Shake is my FAVORITE fast food sit down restaurant.  Oh baby I love that place.  Unfortunately, it always has a huge icky puddle of grease at the bottom of the bowl when you are done (unless you use enough parmesan cheese to soak it all up with and I would not suggest it...speaking from experience)  Well, the other day I was rummaging through my recipes in order to have some semblance of organization and came across a Chili Mac recipe from WW.  It sounded pretty easy so I gave it a shot tonight.  The recipe is at the bottom of this post. 
Holy guacamole! It claimed to make 8 servings, but I can never quite believe WW of what they consider a serving, but this time they were right.  Here are my leftovers!! 

Then for dessert I could have had these bad boys...

Yeah, those are my famous Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Still haven't tasted them, but no one and I mean NO ONE can stop me from SMELLING them...and oh do they smell like heaven.

So since it's a no go on the cookies I opted for this as my dessert.

Yes, I know.  Definitely not the same, but still pretty tasty. 

So tomorrow I'm going to a running/jogging/walking club with my friend from work.  I've never been a runner.  NEVER.  Not kidding.  Who was always the very last kid to finish running the mile in high school??  This girl.  I was even on varsity tennis sophmore through senior year and I STILL came in last. 

 Anyway, that was before I knew the absolute freedom of an inhaler.  I was diagnosed with "Exercise Induced Asthma" last year and wow, one dose of that inhaler really makes a difference.  So I'm going to give this club a shot.  I mean they accept walkers and I can certainly walk...maybe we'll even try a jog ;)

The Great Migraine Battle Rages On.....

Jan. 4
Feb. 4
Mar. 12
Apr. 5
May 0

Pounds lost : 19.4
Inches lost : 20.5

No refined sugar, no nuts, no MSG, no high fructose corn syrup, no cane juice <----this is SUGAR silly health food makers!  You can't fool me! 

I was finally able to do my saliva test.  It wasn't bad at all.  Remembering not to eat or drink anything 2 hours before each test was the tricky part.  Also, I couldn't wear chapstick.  But it's all good and it's now flying off to the lab.  I'm really eager to get my results!!!  Maybe this is the next piece to the migraine curing puzzle!

Chili Mac Recipe
Serves : 8
Old Points Value : 5

1 lb. ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
29 oz. diced tomatoes
4 oz. canned green chilis
2 tsp chili powder
2 1/2 c. canned tomato juice
1 1/2 c. uncooked macaroni
31 oz. canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Spray large skillet with cooking spray.  Brown turkey and onions until fully cooked.  Stir in diced tomatoes, green chilis, chili powder, and canned tomato juice.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in uncooked macaroni and pinto beans.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Mmm.....mmm good!

Chicken Alfredo Roll-Ups





After a field trip day, usually the last thing a teacher would want to do is experiment with a new recipe, but I've been pumped all week about this recipe.  I mustered up my energy and went to work boiling noodles and making homemade alfredo sauce.  If you would have told me even 6 months ago that I would be spending my Friday night whipping up homemade alfredo sauce I would have laughed right off my chair.  Well folks, it happened and guess what...it was COMPLETELY worth the effort (and pretty easy too!) If you can measure, throw ingredients into a pot and stir you are golden.  Absolutely delicious!  So much cheesy goodness!  Word to the wise-just because it's sugar free doesn't mean it is fat free.  This is not the definition of health, but wow is it good.  Here you go...

Chicken Alfredo Roll Ups

9 lasagna noodles
2 1/2 c. alfredo sauce (it is optional to make this yourself...I've attached the homemade recipe below)
2 c. cooked shredded chicken
2 c. shredded Mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350.  Boil lasagna noodles al dente. Spray an 8x8 pan and pour alfredo sauce in the pan just enough to coat the bottom.  Combine chicken with alfredo sauce and then spoon and spread onto lasagna noodle.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and roll.  Roll carefully.  I do about three rolls per noodle.  Then place seam side down into pan.  Continue until all noodles have been filled and rolled.  Pour remaining alfredo sauce on the top of the roll ups.  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes. 


Homemade Alfredo Sauce

1/2 c. butter
2 c. heavy cream
2 oz. cream cheese
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
2/3 c. parmesan cheese

Melt butter over medium heat in sauce pan.  Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add cream cheese and heavy cream.  Wisk until smooth.  Add garlic powder, oregano, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese.  Wisk frequently and simmer for 15 minutes to thicken. (This is nice because while this is simmering, you can start the water boiling for your noodles.)

Tomorrow is my saliva test!  Woot woot!  Who wouldn't be excited about collecting 4 vials of your own spit through out the day???  Awesome blossom!  Nah, it's really not going to be too bad.  I don't have to do it on a school day but I won't lie, spit grosses me out.  I don't know why, but it always has.  At least the test doesn't involve needles or blood so I am extremely thankful.  This is painless and I am very thankful that I am able to get this test.  I pray that the results will be able to uncover more of the mystery as to why I get so many migraines.   

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.

Pulled Pork, Spaghetti Aglio & Banana Bread

The other day I threw a pork roast in the fridge to thaw that had been in the freezer for a couple of months.  I was so pumped to make my first crockpot pulled pork.  I got a great recipe at my wedding shower for it, so I couldn't quite remember what the recipe called for.  Well, I definitely should have taken a peek at the recipe BEFORE I defrosted it.  It calls for a can of beer, onion soup mix and worchestershire sauce.  The latter two ingredients contain sugar and alcohol is an inflammatory food too.  Bummer.  Well, needless to say, my house smells fantastic and Tom can eat it so it's not a total loss.  It's not sugar free, but for those of you who don't care about that here's the recipe...

Pulled Pork by The Rupes

6 lb. boneless pork roast
1 can beer
1 pkg Lipton onion soup mix
2 tsp worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp season salt
1 tsp garlic salt
dash pepper

Cook 6 hours in crock pot on high. Shred and return to juice in crockpot.

Here's what I made for myself for dinner tonight...

a fancy-shmancy sounding Italian dish that is super EASY! 

Boil the noodles...dash on the spices...toss and voila!

Spaghetti Aglio

Ingredients

7 ounces of spaghetti
2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons of chili pepper flakes
1/4 to 1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1.     Cook spaghetti according to the directions on the package, until it is al dente.

2.     Strain spaghetti and place in a large serving dish.

3.     Add minced garlic, chili pepper flakes, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss.

       Serves 2 to 4.

       Tonight I also baked some banana bread with no sugar...I snagged a little piece when I pulled it out of the oven and it was really moist and yummy.

Coziest Banana Bread
Ingredients:
¼ cup milk of your choice (I used almond)
6 Tbsp. olive oil
6 Tbsp. maple syrup (I used about 4 Tbsp)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups mashed ripe bananas (approximately 5 medium bananas)
2 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup chopped nuts or seeds ( I didn't use this)
¾ cup chopped dark chocolate (1 standard 100 g bar) – optional  ( I didn't use this)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line an 8” x 8” cake pan or loaf pan with baking paper, or lightly oil and dust with flour, shaking out excess.
3. Put the milk, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and bananas in a blender and blend until smooth.
4. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Add banana mixture and combine using as few stroked as possible. Fold in nuts and chocolate.
5. Pour into a cake pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (I baked mine 55 minutes) 

Oh and here's the update on the Great Migraine Battle:

Year to date:

Laura : 42  Migraines : 7

As an added bonus I've lost 12 1/2 inches and 11 1/2 pounds since starting this "no sugar so I don't get a migraine lifestyle" at the beginning of the year and these results definitely help me out when I'm craving chocolate. 

No migraines and more health!  Woot!

Migraine x 4 plus a couple recipes

Hi friends.  I'm back.  It's been quite the struggle to keep up with normal life this week.  It started with waking up to a migraine at 2am Monday morning.  I took my meds and I was able to get up and go to work.  Then I was greeted once again by a migraine at 2:30am early Tuesday morning.  I took my meds and thankfully I was able to go to work again.  Then I woke up at 6:30am on Wednesday with another migraine.  I had to call in and take my meds.  The medication took away a big chunk of the pain, but I was still feeling the migraine.  Plus was completely exhausted and jittery from all of the meds so my day consisted of sleeping, sleeping and more sleeping.  Tom left for work and I was sleeping, he came to check on me for lunch and I was sleeping, he came home from work...guess what?  I was sleeping and then he came home from Bible Study and once again...his wife was sleeping.  At some time during the night, the migraine had come back full force and had to take the meds again.  Ugh.  Thank the Lord I woke up pretty much pain free this morning...still jittery and exhausted, but I could deal and I HAD to get back to work. 

Well thanks for listening to my rant.  I have no idea why I had so many migraine attacks.  Maybe it's due to my time of the month.  I don't know what I could have eaten because I've been so diligent in my eating and exercise.  I am thinking about going to a holistic doctor since my General Practitioner, Gyno, Chiropractor, Neurologist haven't been able to do much for me even though they have definitely tried.  I've heard some good things about getting tested for food allergies, hormones, etc. from friends and co-workers.  I just don't want to shell out more money for something I don't know will work.  It's so frustrating.  Any suggestions are appreciated!

The Great Migraine Battle continues...

February- Laura : 12  Migraines : 4

Year to date- Laura : 40  Migraines : 7

Here's a couple of recipes I tried the past couple of days...

Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta

• 8 oz fettuccine or linguine
• 10 tbsp butter, divided
• 8 oz fresh, sliced mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 2/3 cup boiling water (from your noodle pot)
• 1 lb cooked shrimp

Boil your pasta according to package directions. While your pasta is cooking, cook your shrimp if necessary and reserve.  If your shrimp are pre-cooked and frozen, quickly thaw them under running water.  In a large skillet melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms until soft and brown.  Season with salt and pepper.

Reserve cooked mushrooms and melt remaining butter in the skillet.  Add minced garlic, cream cheese, and herbs.  Simmer cream cheese mixture until well blended. Get a scoop of boiling pasta water from your noodle pot and mix it in, stirring quickly to smooth out the sauce.

Keep sauce hot and add shrimp and mushrooms, mix well and simmer (stirring often) until everything is hot and thickened, about 10 minutes.  Toss sauce with cooked noodles and serve.

This was AWESOME!

 This is a homemade whole wheat biscuit from Hodgson Mills.  It's the same mix I use to make pancakes.  Delish!  You should definitely try this mix.

 This was the most disappointing meal I've made since I tried to make whole wheat macaroni and cheese.  It looks good doesn't it??  It's Cilantro Lime Tilapia Tacos.  I may have done something terribly wrong, but I did not like it.  Tom ate it.  I did not.  I had puffed wheat cereal with almond milk instead.  I have included the recipe in case you would like to try it because it really does sound good.  I don't know...maybe I cooked the garlic too long and it got bitter.  I'm not sure. 

Ingredients:

·         1 lb tilapia fillets, rinsed and pat dried

·         1 tsp olive oil

·         1 small onion, chopped

·         4 garlic cloves, finely minced

·         2 jalapeño peppers, chopped (seeds removed for less heat)

·         2 cups diced tomatoes

·         1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

·         3 tbsp lime juice

·         salt and pepper to taste

·         8 5-inch white corn tortillas

·         lime wedges and cilantro for garnish

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Sauté onion until translucent, then add garlic. Mix well

Place tilapia on the skillet and cook until the flesh starts to flake. Add jalapeño peppers, tomatoes, cilantro and lime juice. Sauté over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, breaking up the fish with the spoon to get everything mixed well; season to taste with salt and pepper and add tomatoes.  Meanwhile, heat tortillas on a skillet a few minutes on each side to warm (no oil needed). Serve a little over 1/4 cup of fish on each warmed tortillas

Creamy Shrimp Mushroom Pasta & Chicken Lime Fajitas

Hey friends.  I'm back :)  It's been a few days and I have a couple of new recipes for you. 

I also found a great new blog that is full of sugar free and gluten free foods.  http://simplysugarandglutenfree.com/

The blogger's name is Amy and her sugar and gluten free lifestyle has allowed her to get rid of her migraines and depression!  This is so exciting!  I'm not sure about going gluten free too, but I will definitely look into it. 

So far I am still not eating refined sugar, sweeteners, MSG, red meat, alcohol...but I have reintroduced enriched flour, which doesn't seem to have an adverse effect on the migraines.

I had been going strong on my no-migraine streak this month until I woke up with one at 2:30 this morning.  It even hurt to touch my forehead.  Thankfully, I was able to take my medication and woke up with only some wooziness this morning. 

So....

The Great Migraine Battle continues: (February Edition)

Laura : 11 Migraines : 1

Year to Date:

Laura : 39 Migraines : 4

It's still awesome though because normally I would have had at least 12-15 by now. 

I am EXTREMELY thankful :)

Ok so here's the first recipe for you:

Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta

• 8 oz fettuccine or linguine
• 10 tbsp butter, divided
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 3 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1 tbsp basil
• 2/3 cup boiling water (from your noodle pot)
• 1 lb cooked shrimp

1. Boil and salt a large pot of water and cook your pasta. 
2. While your pasta is cooking, cook your shrimp if necessary and reserve.  If your shrimp are pre-cooked and frozen, quickly thaw them under running water.
3. In a large skillet melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms until soft and brown.  Season with salt and pepper.
4. Reserve cooked mushrooms and melt remaining butter in the skillet.  Add minced garlic, cream cheese, and herbs. 
5. Simmer cream cheese mixture until well blended. Get a scoop of boiling pasta water from your noodle pot and mix it in, stirring quickly to smooth out the sauce.
6. Keep sauce hot and add shrimp and mushrooms, mix well and simmer (stirring often) until everything is hot and thickened, about 10 minutes
7. Toss sauce with cooked noodles and serve.

Here's the second recipe for you:

SUPER EASY recipe right here friends.  I was brave this morning because I've never tried this recipe before and we were having friends over for lunch for the first time.  So I threw this in the crockpot before church and hoped for the best.  It was a hit!

Crock Pot Chicken Lime Fajitas

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast (frozen is fine)
• 1 c. frozen corn
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 c. salsa
• 3 Tbsp lime juice

Place chicken breasts in crockpot.  Add all ingredients on top of chicken.  Cook 4-6 hours on low.  Shred chicken and cook for an additional half hour.

I hope you enjoy these recipes!  It's really exciting that my blog has been viewed over 1,000 times in just over a month.  Thank you for your support and I hope that it has helped you in some way. :)

Cajun Seafood Pasta and Southwest Chicken Tostadas

Prepare yourself for a taste sensation when you make these two meals.  Seriously.  These are two of my favorite meals I've made the past month.  You should try them for sure. 

Last night I made Cajun Seafood Pasta...yummm.  I wasn't sure about the "cajun" part, but it was just the right amount of spice.  I found some wheat fettunccini made by Hodgson Mills (same company that makes the awesome pancake mix) and oh it was good.

I won't make you wait any longer...here's the recipe.

Oh yeah check out that creamy goodness.

Cajun Seafood Pasta
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. fettuccini
1/2 lb. shrimp (I bought frozen)
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 c. fresh grated parmesan

Directions:
Boil fettuccini.  Combine heavy whipping cream with basil, thyme, salt, pepper, parsley, and red pepper flakes.  Simmer for 7-8 minutes to thicken, stirring occasionally.  Add cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted.  Add shrimp and drained noodles.  Toss together and serve :)

Crispy Southwest Chicken Tostadas
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup shredded cheese (You choose your type)
1/2 c. sour cream
Tostadas or tortillas

Directions:
Cook and shred chicken.  Cook rice.  Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Stir together until warmed.  Add the cheese until melted.  Remove from heat and add the sour cream.  Stir until well mixed and serve on shell of your choice!  Garnish with tomatoes.

Oh and I added pics to my last post.  :)

The Great Migraine Battle continues...

Laura : 7  Migraines: 0 

YES!!

Chicken Florentine Casserole and Spinach Artichoke Pasta

New month.  New recipes.  New commitment.

For the month of February I am continuing to stick with the anti-inflammatory diet because well...it worked.  So no-sugars or sweeteners, no preservatives, no MSG, no alcohol, very little dairy, and red meat sparingly.  Tom is eagerly awaiting my full reintroduction of red meat.  But, this month I am introducing enriched flour back into my diet. I just love those little oyster crackers and tortellini.  I love tortellini...and I have yet to find a whole wheat version.  So my experiment continues.  I will keep you up to date concerning my battle against migraines. 

Currently...for the month of February

Laura : 1  Migraines : 0

YES!

So last night my big mouth got me into commiting to yet another lifestyle change.  I was complaining to Tom that I didn't feel like exercising when I got home from work because by the time you work all day, commute home, fix dinner, do the dishes, the last thing you want to do is go sweat.  I want to lay around in my pjs and watch "How I Met Your Mother" on tv.  So he said, "Well, what if you got up with me in the mornings and exercised?  You'd have plenty of time to workout, shower, eat breakfast and get to work if you got up by 6."  Groan.  That was me groaning by the way, not him.  He knows I'm not a morning person but he knows that it's probably the best thing for me.  He's such a good husband.  So I think, okay I can do this.  Plenty of people have the energy to work out in the morning and work full time too. 

So I say okay...I'm commiting the month of February to getting up at 6 to work out before I leave for work.  I did it.  It was hard.  It felt like the longest workout of my life.  My body hates me when I get up early.  It doesn't like to stand up straight, be in any sort of light, let alone move quickly enough to actually burn any calories.  BUT, I didn't think I could go an entire month without chocolate either and I did. 

So here I am making the commitment. 

Let's look on the bright side.  Maybe there's a morning person inside of me just waiting to bust out.  Maybe I will get used to it and even....gasp....look forward to it! 

I was feeling all sorry for myself today at work and then a co-worker who teaches exercise classes was talking to me about her having to get up at 4:30AM...to teach her class.  4:30.  Okay I'm a huge wuss.  I get to sleep in an hour and a half more than she does AND I don't have to lead the exercise either.  AND I'm not a mom.  Wow.  Props to her.

Anyway, let's talk about food.  A topic I always love to think, write about, and of course taste test. 

On Monday I made Chicken Florentine Casserole.  It was pretty delicious.  I really like spiral pasta.  It's cute and it makes me happy. :)

Mmm....my photography is slowly getting better.  Photographing food is hard.  Tricky to capture the texture.  Don't worry. I'll keep making food so I can keep practicing ;)

Here's the recipe adapted from Pinterest:

Chicken Florentine Pasta

Ingredients

·         4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pre-cooked, cut into cubes

·         1 box frozen spinach, thawed & squeezed to remove excess liquid

·         2 Tbsp minced garlic

·         1 Tbsp olive oil

·         2 Tbsp flour (I used whole wheat flour) 

·         1 Tbsp lemon juice

·         1 1/2 cups no-salt added chicken broth

·         1 tsp dried oregano

·         1/2 tsp black pepper

·         1 cup low fat cottage cheese or ricotta ( I used ricotta)

·         2/3 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

·         1/2 pound whole grain pasta (I used brown rice spirals)   

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mist a 9 x 11 baking dish with oil. Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add flour and whisk for 30 seconds. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Add lemon juice, oregano & pepper. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat and add blended cottage cheese, spinach, chicken, Parmesan cheese & pasta. Stir to combine. Place in casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden & bubbly.

This morning I forgot to thaw out meat (imagine that??  I was probably so tired from working out that my brain didn't work...just kidding)  :)

So tonight's dinner was Spinach Artichoke Pasta

I had HIGH expectations for this meal because I love, love, love spinach artichoke dip.  It was good.  It wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be, but the same thing happened to me with the movie, The Titanic.  Everybody raved about the movie, they said it was the greatest movie of all time.  They said you wouldn't even realize you were sitting there for 3 hours. 

I saw it.  I did not rave about it.  I left to pee while Jack was handcuffed to the pole.  It seemed like it would never end.  I know what you are thinking....is she CRAZY?  That was an awesome movie.  You loved that movie.  It's history for heaven's sake.  I know I know.  But these are the things that happen when your expectations are set too high. 

Hence, tonight's dinner.

It is a very good dinner and I should not put you off in saying it was "good" instead of fantastic. 

You should definitely try it.  Here it is.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

4 Tbsp. minced garlic

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 c. sour cream

1/4 c. white wine or chicken broth

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. grated parmesan

1 can quartered artichoke hearts (chop finely)

1 pkg chopped spinach (thawed and drained)

1/2 Tbsp. hot sauce

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Dash salt and pepper

13.5 oz. pasta ( I used whole wheat penne)

Directions:

STEP 1: Cook pasta.

STEP 2: While you are cooking the pasta, start making the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mince the garlic and cook it in the oil until it is slightly tender (1-2 minutes).

STEP 3: Add cream cheese, sour cream and white wine. Stir until everything is evenly incorporated. Reduce the heat to medium/low.

STEP 4: Add milk and parmesan cheese. Stir it in until the parmesan has melted in and is evenly incorporated. Stir in the hot sauce and thawed/drained spinach.

STEP 5: Drain the can of artichoke hearts. Chop them and add to the sauce. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes if desired.

STEP 6: Add the cooked and drained pasta and stir to coat. Serve warm.