A perfect omelet

We are an egg eating family I decided.

For breakfast, for lunch, for dinner - it is always an easy protein.

I believe an omelet is a perfect, satisfying meal when you have nothing else made.

Mexican Omelet

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 whole eggs

4 egg whites

2 tablespoons milk, 1 % is always my choice

1/2 cup onion, chopped fine

1 red pepper, chopped fine

salt and pepper

1 cup grated cheese, cheddar or colby jack

toppings: fresh chopped tomatoes, salsa or corn.

In a medium size bowl, add eggs, egg whites, and milk. Whisk until well mixed.

In a large skillet on medium heat, add olive oil.  Add chopped onion and pepper and saute until vegetables are tender.

Turn heat to low and pour egg mixture over vegetables. 

Place a lid on top of the pan and let cook on low heat until eggs are cooked through. This will take 7-10 minutes.  Once eggs are fluffy, add cheese and cover with lid again for an extra 2 minutes of until cheese is melted.

Top with toppings of your choice.

Enjoy!

Healthy butternut squash soup

I love fall.

I love soups.

I love fresh vegetables sold at farms.

While picking up pumpkins and apples ..

I had to buy some freshly picked butternut squash.

This soup is perfect!

Its healthy, made from all fresh whole food & simply delicious.

adapted from: Wholefoodsmarket.com

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

1 onion. peeled and chopped

1 carrot, washed and chopped

1 stalk of celery, washed and chopped

2 tablespoon olive oil

4 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

 In a large pot, preferably cast iron,  heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until onions are translucent, around 5 minutes, stirring often. Add squash, chicken broth, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to boil. Once it has been brought to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook covered for 30 minutes or until squash is tender. 

Turn off heat and let soup slightly cool.

Add 1 cup applesauce and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Stir to combine.

Add the soup mixture into a food processor or blender. puree soup on medium speed until well pureed.  You will probably have to do small batches of soup at a time in your blender.

Once pureed, pour fresh soup into bowls to eat or into mason jars to store in refrigerator. 

Enjoy!

This soup can also be frozen in the freezer up to 1 month. You may have to thin the soup with some chicken broth when ready to eat.

TIPS-

To learn how to peel and chop butternut squash,

here is a great website to show you how.

click HERE

(ps I LOVE this website)

For different variations of soup,

wholefoodsmarket.com

has fun twists on this soup

click HERE

Amazing granola

I love granola,

but I also know you have to be careful with what granola you eat.

Some store bought granolas are high in fats & sugar. ( always read your labels)

On top of a sweetened yogurt - you surely are eating a sugary breakfast!

This recipe has been adjusted so that you can actually eat granola - without the guilt.

Ingredients:

8 cups old fashioned whole oats

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup wheat germ

1 cup coconut flakes (sweetened or unsweetened .. your choice :))

1 cup flax seed, ground

8 ounces almonds, chopped coarse

8 ounces cashews, chopped coarse

8 ounces walnuts, chopped coarse

8 ounces sunflower seeds, shelled

1 cup raisins, optional (reduces sugar if not added)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 teaspoon vanilla

Preperation:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix together oats, sugar, wheat germ, coconut, flax seed, all nuts, and raisins in a LARGE bowl and combine.  You may have to divide this mixture in half into two bowl if you can't find one large enough. You can even add it all into a stock pot. It will be only used for mixing.

In a medium saucepan, add water, oil, honey, peanut butter and vanilla. Bring to a boil. Once it has been brought to a boil, boil for 1 minute, remove from heat and pour over dry mixture. Stir until well combined. 

Spread mixture onto 2 cookie sheets and bake for 1 1/2 hours, stirring about every 30 minutes. 

Cook until granola is done to your "crunch" satisfaction. 

If you like a chewier granola, cook less.

A more crunchy granola, cook longer.

Enjoy over a small bowl of greek yogurt that has been lightly sweetened. 

Always read your labels!!!

Recipe adapted from: abountifulkitchen.com

Grandma Faye's traditional hot cocoa recipe

Growing up ...

I loved to sled, ski and do anything in the snow.

My sisters and I would bundle up,

put on our snow clothes and gloves,

& play outside until we were so cold our lips were numb.

Mom would be inside and have her famous hot cocoa ready when we were done.

Rich & creamy ... I love this hot cocoa mix.

Recipe:

18 ounces carnation dried milk

18 ounces plain coffee creamer (dry)

16 ounces Nestle Quick chocolate milk powder

1-2 cups powdered sugar

Combine all in large canister and serve all winter long!!!

Enjoy with a nice cream on top.

crockpot shredded chicken

This is a staple in our home.

If I have moist, shredded chicken ready ... my recipes seem endless!

After a busy day of picking up kids, cleaning, laundry & sports .. cooking seems to be the last thing you want to do as a mom.

But wait, don't pull out the frozen lasagna that seriously has no taste 

(and is loaded with who knows what),

just add a reminder to your phone to put chicken in the crock pot that morning.

Then, your meat is ready and a simple sauce, cheese and tortilla, or salad,

will make your family a healthy, easy dinner.

Recipe:

1 lb. natural boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup water

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

Put all in slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-7 hours.

Shred with two forks

& 

most of all,

ENJOY!

** If you know you are going to make a certain kind of food that night you can add different seasonings to season your meat with.

Example - Mexican: garlic salt, chili powder, & cumin.

Italian: oregano, basil & onion powder

Chocolate Brownies with Cocoa Cream Cheese Frosting

These brownies are divine!

Moist, rich brownies smothered in a cocoa cream cheese frosting -

wonderful!

Perfect for parties or large gatherings.

This recipe is adapted from: Cooking Classy

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, & salt. Set aside.

In a seperate mixing bowl, mix sugar, brown sugar, and butter with wooden spoon until fully mixed together. Stir in eggs and vanilla and mix until just blended. 

Add half of the flour mixture that was set aside & stir with wooden spoon until just combined. Add milk and mix in slowly while adding the other half of flour mixture. Stir all until just combined. The batter will be very thick.

Grease a 8x8 cooking dish with butter and flour or cooking spray. Spread the brownie mixture evenly on the bottom and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Cool completely. 

Frosting recipe:

5 oz cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoon butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder

In a large mixing bowl, with a hand mixer, whip together cream cheese & butter until light and fluffy on medium speed. Add in vanilla, powdered sugar and cocoa until light and fluffy.

Spread over top of brownies

&

ENJOY!

Shark Cake

My little boy LOVES sharks - seriously, just loves them.

We had a "ShArK" party that was lots of fun!

We made this shark cake & it was a hit!

SHARK CAKE tutorial:

Bake 2 cakes in a 9x13 can pan. 

When cool, get a large dinner plate and place on 1 cake.

Cut along the edges of the circle with a sharp knife.

Repeat cutting out circle on cake 2.

Take out circle on cake 1 and set aside.

On cake two - take out circle and cut the circle into a moon shape for the tail (as shown above)

Cut out 3 fins either out of the rest of the circle or the extra cake in the pan.

Put shark together on a large tray.

For frosting, add a couple drops of blue food dye to your favorite frosting, but leave 1 cup of the frosting white. If you do not want to use dye, use blueberry juice from a frozen bag of blueberries.

For a classic buttercream frosting click here.
Now, start frosting!

Start with the mouth. With a frosting spatula, spread the white frosting over the large circle into a mouth shape. However you want it to look. We did ours like above.
Now, frost the rest of your cake with the blue frosting.
Make sure you frost the creases well so it blends together.
For the mouth,
we bought black "red vines" licorice and peeled off strings of licorice.
We cut, laid, and peiced them into a perfect smiling mouth.
For the eyes,
we bought licorice circles, the ones that come in the plastic tubs with black and all different colors of licorice, and then we just placed a glob of frosting on top. If I had to do it again - I would buy Junior Mints .. much easier :)
For decorations, we just cut fish out of cardstock paper and taped them onto a toothpick.
You can add fun blue sprinkles, or whatever you would like!
Enjoy!