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©Life of a Foodie and Her Family 2008-2013, Lynn Tabor

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1/31/2012

School Lunch 1/31/2012

Here is Miss V's lunch today

Nutella Roll Up
Danimal Smoothie
Colby Jack Cheese Stick
Berries and Cream Breakfast on the Go Pack
Chips Deluxe Gripz
Peanut Butter Crackers
Oatmeal Raisin Chewy Granola Bar
Horizon Chocolate Milk
Yellow Bell Pepper Slices
Fresh Strawberries

1/30/2012

School Lunch 1/30/2012

Here is Miss V's Lunch

Crunchy Fluffernutter on a Whole Wheat Goldfish
Capri Sun
Danimal Smoothie
Pretzel Sticks
Chewy Granola Bar
Sweet n' Salty Trail Mix
Colby Jack Cheese Stick
Apple slices
Strawberries

1/27/2012

School Lunch 1/27/2012 - Pizza Friday Snacks

Here is Miss V's Pizza Friday Snacks

Capri Sun (lemonade)
Lime Jello
Pretzel Sticks
Peanut Butter Crackers
Colby Jack Cheese stick
Chewy Granola Bar
Apple Slices
Fresh Strawberries

1/26/2012

Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

When I spotted this recipe in my Taste of Home Ground Beef Magazine, I knew that I would have to make it.  In theory it sounds so yummy.  Well after making last night it did not live up to the hype in my head. 

8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
1 pound ground beef
6 bacon strips, diced
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
Barbecue sauce and prepared mustard, optional

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside.

In the same skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Discard drippings. Drain pasta; add to the skillet. Stir in the soup, beef and bacon; heat through.

Remove from the heat and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and let stand for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve with barbecue sauce and mustard if desired. Yield: 4-6 servings.


First I subbed Rigatoni for the penne because that is what I had in the pantry. 

Next....the bacon. I have stainless pans and bacon just does not cook well in them.  I should have went with my gut instict and just cooked the bacon in the oven on a broiler pan like I normally do.  So my bacon was still pretty fatty which I do NOT like....

Then there was the canned tomato soup.  I am not a fan of tomato soup never mind canned tomato soup.  It really did not help this taste very well.  I think it would have tasted better with just a can of plain tomato sauce.

Would I make this again?  I am really not sure.  If I do it will be with some minor changes.

School Lunch 1/26/2012

Here is Miss V's lunch


Flour tortilla with Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter and extra raisins
Apple Slices
Strawberries
Lemonade Capri Sun
Fruit Snacks
Danimal Smoothie
Pretzel Sticks
Peanut Butter Crackers
Berry Jello
Colby Jack Cheese Stick
Chewy Granola Bar

1/25/2012

School Lunch 1/25/2012

Here is Miss V's lunch today.  Can you tell I finally went grocery shopping?


Flour Tortilla with super chunky peanut butter
Florida Strawberries
Red Pepper Strips
Danimals Smoothie
Chewy Granola Bar
Fruit Snacks
Peanut Butter and Banana Breakfast on the go packet
Almond Grunch Granola Bar
Colby Jack Cheese slie
Horizon Plain Milk

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays are her long day at school so I pack a few extra snacks.

1/24/2012

School Lunch 1/24/2012

Here is Miss V's lunch today


Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter on a Whole Wheat Gold Fish
Horizon Chocolate Milk
Colby Jack cheese slice
Fruit Snack
Chewy Granola Bar
Sweet n' Salty Trail Mix
Scooby Snacks
Berry Jello
Apple Slices
Fresh Florida Strawberries, which are soooo delicious right now

(I really need to get to the grocery store today)

1/23/2012

School Lunch 1/23/2012

Miss V has been begging for salad lately.  I made one for her lunch and realized that I didn't have any protein for it.  Hopefully she won't be to hungry in the afternoon.

Salad:  lettuces, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes and craisins (small container of green goddess dressing)
Apple slices
Oatmeal Raisin Chewy Granola Bar
Cheeze its
Sweet and Salty Trail Mix
Fruit Snacks
Colby jack Cheese slice
Lime Jello
Horizon Strawberry Milk

1/20/2012

School lunch 1/20/12 - Pizza Friday

Here is Miss V's snacks for Pizza Friday!

Horizon Milk
Carrots
Apple Slices
Sweet n' Salty Trail Mix
Chewy Granola Bar
Fruit Snacks
Colby Jack Cheese Stick
Lime Jello

(kind of boring, time to go grocery shopping)

Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I keep seeing this in my Taste of Home Fall Baking 2009 magazine and I finally made it last night.  I am going to bring it to a meeting this morning.

INGREDIENTS  Make sure they are all room temp.
3/4 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

FILLING:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

GLAZE:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons 2% milk

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition.

Spoon a third of the batter into a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon; sprinkle half over batter. Top with half of the berries. Repeat layers. Top with remaining batter.

Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm coffee cake. Yield: 10-12 servings.


Unfortunately, I can't show you a slice yet or tell you if it was good or not.  BUT....It does smell great!!!

1/19/2012

School Lunch 1/19/2012

Here is Miss V's lunch today

Peanut butter and Strawberry Jelly on a Whole Wheat Goldfish
Breakfast on the Go Pack, Berries and Cream
Strawberry Yogurt
Gripz cookies
Florida Naturals Fruit Nuggets
Raisin Chewy Granola Bar
Colby Jack Cheese Stick
Lime Jello
Carrots
Apple slices
Horizon Chocolate Milk

1/18/2012

Chicken Parmesan

I made this Chicken Parmesan last night for dinner.  I found the recipe on Food Network.  I did make a couple changes though.  The recipe calls for making your own sauce, but I just used a jar of Newman's Own Marinara

Cooking spray
4 thin chicken cutlets (about 1 1/4 pounds total) (I used 3 breasts and slightly pounded the thicker part)
Salt to taste
2 large egg whites (I just used an egg and a bit of water)
6 tablespoons dry Italian bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 to 5 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle the cutlets with the salt. Lightly beat the egg whites in a medium bowl. Combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan on a sheet of waxed paper. Spread the flour on another sheet of waxed paper. Working with 1 piece of chicken at a time, dip both sides into the flour, shaking off excess. Dip each piece into the egg, shaking off excess, and then press both sides into the breading to coat.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken (in batches, if necessary) and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken, in 1 layer, to the baking dish. Spoon the sauce over the chicken then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake, covered loosely with a tent of foil, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly, about 12 to 15 minutes.

When I took the foil off some of the cheese came off one of the breasts.  So I added more and put it under the broiler for a couple minutes.



This came out really good!!!  I would will definitely make it again.

School Lunch 1/18/2012

Miss V has had the last two days off from school and it was hard getting up this morning. 




Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter on a Whole Wheat Goldfish
Apple slices
Cucumber slices
Carrots
Colby Jack Cheese Stick
Horizon Milk
Cheez it
Florida Naturals Fruit Nuggets
Sweet n' Salty Trail Mix
Chewy Granola Bar
and Lime Jello

1/13/2012

School lunch 1/13/12 - Pizza Friday Snacks

Here is Miss V's lunch.  Friday's are pizza days so she does not need to bring a sandwich or meal, just a drink and snacks.

Fresh Florida Strawberries
Red Grapes
Colby Jack Cheese Stick
Horizon Chocolate Milk
Lime Jello
Smartfood Popcorn
Sweet n' Salty Trail Mix
Florida Naturals Fruit Nuggets

1/12/2012

Turkey Thighs in Spicy Cranberry Sauce

This is what we had for dinner.

1 (16 oz) Jellied Cranberry Sauce (I used whole berry)
1/2 cup bottled chili sauce
1 tbs white vinegar
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 1/2 to 3 pounds turkey thighs skinned (shhhh I used 4 or 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts and told Miss V that it was turkey.  For some reason she is on a chicken strike)

Stir together cranberry sauce, chili sauce, vinegar and pumpkin pie spice and pour into the bottom of your crock pot.

Place turkey thighs, meaty sides down on the sauce mixture.

Cover and cook on low for 9 to 10 hours or on high for 4 1/2 to 4 hours.  I cooked it for 6 hours on low and did flip the poultry once and spooned the sauce over the poultry pieces.

Transfer turkey to a serving dish.  Skim fat from sauce.  Serve sauce with turkey.



My dilema was that it smelled so much like Thanksgiving while it was cooking and I didn't know what sides to serve with it.  I needed to use up a bag of sweet potato fries.  But my head kept telling me that I needed stuffing so I made some up quickly and steamed up some broccoli.

This recipe also came from the Better Homes and Garden Better Than Most Slow Cooker Recipes.  It was a huge hit.

School Lunch 1/12/12

Here is Miss V's lunch


Dark Chocolate Dreams on a whole wheat Goldfish
Apple slices
Sliced cucumber
Carrots
Chewy Granola Bar
Colby Jack Cheese Stick
Florida Naturals Fruit Nuggets
Breakfast on the Go, Berries and Cream packet
Smartfood Popcorn
Lime Jello
Horizon Vanilla Milk

Thursdays are now her long day at school so I packed a few extra snacks.  I am sure she will be starving on the ride home.

Margaritaville Coffee!!

Last night a little birdy showed up on my door step with gifts!  I love gifts!!! 

I have four bags of the Margaritaville Sunrise in Paradise (light/medium roast) and two bags of Latitude Attitude (medium roast).

I just made a pot of the Latitude Attitude for my husband and ooooh weeee it smells good but a little strong for my taste.  I prefer light roasts and did you know that lighter roasts have more caffine?.  I will have him give me he thoughts on it later today.


1/11/2012

Lunch 1/11/12

Here is Miss V's Lunch


Peanut butter and Strawberry Jelly on a Whole Wheat Goldfish
Sliced cucumber
Carrots
Fresh Florida Strawberries
Horizon Chocolate Milk
Chewy Granola Bar
Colby Jack Cheese stick
Cheez-It package
Berry Jello
Florida Natural Fruit Nuggets

1/10/2012

School Lunch 1/10/12

Here is Miss V's lunch:

Horizon White Milk
Peanut butter and Strawberry Jelly on a Whole Wheat Goldfish
Fresh Florida Strawberries
Ants and Red Ants on a Log
Sweet n' Salty Trail Mix
Colby Jack Cheese Stick
Chewy Granola Bar
Florida Naturals Fruit Nuggets
Berry Jello

Plum Sauced Chicken in Tortillas

I just happened to be flipping through an old cookbook called Better Than Most Slow Cooker Recipes from Better Homes and Gardens and spotted a picture of this recipe.  So I decided to make it for dinner last night.  My only problem was trying to find canned plums.  I couldn't so I just bought 1.5 pounds of fresh plums.

32 oz. can whole, unpitted purple plums, drained
1 cup hot-style vegetable juice
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
4 1/2 tsp. quick-cooking tapioca
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. 5-spice powder
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs (I used boneless skinless breasts)
6 x 7-8 inch flour tortillas
2 cups packaged shredded broccoli or packaged shredded cabbage with carrot

Remove pits from plums. Place plums in a blender container or food processor bowl. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Transfer plum puree to a 3 1/2 or 4-quart crock pot. Stir in vegetable juice, hoisin sauce, tapioca, ginger, ad 5-spice powder. Cut chicken into strips. Stir chicken into crock pot.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours, for 2 to 2/12 hours. Remove chicken from crock pot, reserving juices.

Spoon about 1/3 cup from the chicken mixture onto each warm tortilla just below the center. Drizzle with the reserved juices. Top each with 1/3 cup shredded slaw mix. Roll up Tortillas.

Number of Servings: 6

I served this with rice and pineapple chunks.





These were pretty good.  Miss V kept saying how the house smelled to spicy and wouldn't try it.  I told her that she would have to try it before she could eat her pineapple.  Well she tried it and liked it...

They did smell "spicy" but not like a hot spicy if that makes sense.  I don't normally cook with 5 spice powder and I think that is what she was smelling.

1/09/2012

School Lunch 2/9/12

I have noticed that if I don't about Miss V's lunch daily, I forget to do it on the weekends.  So back to my regular daily school lunch posts.


Ham & Cheese on a Goldfish thin.  Normally I would not buy them since they are kind of pricey, but they were BOGO last week at Publix.
Florida Strawberries
Carrots
Simply Go-gurt
Chewy Granola Bar
Sweet & Salty Trail Mix
Horizon Chocolate Milk
Berry Jello
Florida Naturals Fruit Nuggets

Jello....Miss V likes certain kinds of jello, but they don't sell the already made cups.  So I got smart and made up the jello and then poured it into 6 snack size gladware containers and put in the fridge.  It also saves a little money too.

Parmesan Twists

I pulled out my old Betty Crocker Best Bread Machine Cookbook on Saturday and decided to make a batch of Pamesan Twists to go along with dinner which was Pasta and Sauce with Italian Sausage.

3/4 cup water
2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon bread machine or quick active dry yeast
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese


MEASURE carefully, placing all ingredients except margarine and cheese in bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer.

SELECT Dough/Manual cycle. Do not use delay cycles.

REMOVE dough from pan, using lightly floured hands. Place dough in greased bowl, and turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until double. (Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.)

GREASE cookie sheet. Punch down dough. Divide dough into 20 equal pieces. Roll each piece into 10 to 12 inch rope on lightly floured surface. Pinch ends of 2 ropes together, starting at pinched end. Place twists on cookie sheet; tuck other ends under. Mix margarine and cheese; brush over twists. Cover and let rise in warm place 20 to 30 minutes or until double.

HEAT oven to 400°. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm, or cool on wire rack.


Mine only made 9 and I HAD to sample one before I took the picture.  Oh these are super yummy!!!

1/06/2012

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Mix (sorta copycat)

I threw this together last night since I am always running out of the packets.  Also there has been many times I see the box in the pantry and think, "oh I don't need to buy any this week" only to find out that the box is empty and didn't get put in the recycle bin.  I figure I can keep better track with it being in a clear container.


Ingredients:

5 cups of quick oats
1 cup of brown sugar
2 (or so) tsp of ground cinnamon
1 bag of dried apples, chopped into small pieces


I shook the container up to mix, but noticed that the apples still were stuck together.  I separated the apple bits with my hands and made sure that they were coated with cinnamon/sugar and then they were mixed in well.  You could also add a bit of salt to bring out the flavors better.

It came out great!!! 

1/05/2012

Chocolate Cheerios - Review

Have you seen these?????


I am normally very strict about the kinds of cereals.  But lately Miss V has been having some issues of not being hungry or things just don't taste very good.  We go through this a few times a year.  When this happens, I loosen up a bit.

Anyway she spotted these a few weeks ago and had a coupon so into the cart they went.  The next morning she tried them and really loved them.  She had them a few times and the only thing she didn't like was that it turned the milk to chocolate milk. 

So she now prefers to have these as a little snack, but will eat them dry and have a cup of milk on the side.  Personally I loved them even the chocolaty milk.

1/04/2012

Baked Potato Soup

This morning I posted on my Facebook profile that I was looking for a good potato soup recipe since it is chilly and I have lots of potatoes that need to be used up.  I made potato skins for New Years Eve and had a lot of potatoes that were already baked.

A few of my iVillage Moms and friends posted a recipes.  I picked this one from one of my iVillage Moms for Baked Potato Soup.  It was perfect because I could use the already baked potatoes.

4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided (I just used vidalia onions)
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
Cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.


This came out so good!!!

1/03/2012

Tai Pei Vegetable Egg Rolls - Product Review

Every year for New Year's Eve, we love to stock up on "junk" food.  This year Miss V saw these at Walmart and wanted to try them.


They were really good!!!  The sauce was pretty good too!  I would certainly buy them again.

1/02/2012

Cauliflower Gratin

I made this to go along with dinner.  It is from Ina Garten and it came out great!!!

1 (3-pound) head cauliflower, cut into large florets
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cook the cauliflower florets in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter (I accidently used the full 4 tbs and it came out fine) in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and stir until it comes to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened. Off the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the Gruyere, and the Parmesan.

Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of an 8 by 11 by 2-inch baking dish. Place the drained cauliflower on top and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top. Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/4 cup of Gruyere and sprinkle on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the gratin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.