Pasta Salad (9SP per serving, 2 servings)

4 oz ditalini uncooked (Cook before adding to recipe)
6 oz fat free greek yogurt
1 oz light mayo
1 can white albacore tuna in water
Chopped carrots, celery, onion to taste
Paprika, garlic, salt and pepper to taste

That's all folks!
So yummy!
Serve cold!

Tuna Pepper Boats

Easy 3 point lunch?!
YES!

1 can  albacore tuna in water, drained (1SP)
2 tbsp Kraft light mayo (2SP)
Jalapeños to taste
3-5 mini bell peppers, sliced in half, cleaned

After mixing the tuna, portion it into the pepper halves, I put a jalapeño slice on the bottom and topped them with jalapeños.

Easy as that!

I've used greek yogurt, fat free, for a mayo sub, 2 tbsp is 0SP. It is much thicker, I typically don't mind but I took the points since I was skipping the bread.

Friday Virtual Meeting via Connect

Friday Virtual Meeting

I know that to change my lifestyle it can't just be about food and exercise. It has to be about me.
Connect user: rebsmom03 posts a meeting focus every week. This is where I will keep track of my weekly responses to the prompts she posts.

Get Out of My Seat!

What I'll Do: Use the FitBreaks app!

When I'll Do It : 20 times per day

Where I'll Do It: Between my classes, or even during my classes!

How Long I'll Do It: Every day

General Tso Sauce (3SP)

General Tso Sauce

I love this sauce.

No, really, I mean it!

This sauce is the best!

This is something I have made for a while, from the best recipe blog. 

This recipe is from Seonkyoung Longest.

Here is her original recipe:

• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 1 Tbs. sambal
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce
• 3 Tbs. white vinegar
• 2 Tbs. Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
• ¼ cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp. corn starch

I have changed a few things based on what I have available in my kitchen cupboards.

My Ingredient List:

1 Tbsp sambal oelek

3 Cloves garlic (grated or minced)

2 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp Better Than Bouillon Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base

2 Tbsp sugar

1⁄4 cup(s) water

Instructions:

Per Seonkyoung Longest's blog:

"Stir the sauce we made earlier and add into hot pan. Keep stirring as the sauce gets thicken as syrup and boiling, it takes about 1 to 2 minutes."

I throw in my cooked chicken or shrimp, and serve over rice!

It's so delicious!

2 servings at 3 SmartPoints each

Asian Inspired Soup (9SP)

Asian Inspired Soup

Yeah, yeah, I know that this might be not P.C., but I couldn't think of a better name!

This is an extremely simple recipe, to the point of.... I shouldn't even call this a recipe. 

Here's the deal, throw things in a pot, simmer, eat.

Okay, there is a little more to do, but it is so simple!

Ingredients List:

2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base

10 medium uncooked baby carrots

1⁄2 cup(s) uncooked onion(s)

1⁄2 cup(s) soy sauce

4 clove(s) garlic clove(s)

1 Tbsp ginger root

1⁄2 cup(s) jalapeño pepper(s)

1⁄2 cup(s) uncooked celery

40 item(s) cooked shrimp

4 1⁄4 oz uncooked udon noodles

3 1⁄2 cup(s) uncooked cabbage (shredded or chopped)

Instructions:

1) In a medium saucepan, combine bouillon, 2 carrots, onion, soy sauce, garlic cloves, ginger root, jalapeno, and celery. Add water. (I'll be honest, I don't know how much I added, 3 cups?)

2) Simmer for 15-30 minutes to infuse flavors.

3) Add noodles, cook for time indicated on package. Scoop out noodles and portion into 2 bowls.

4) Add shrimp to broth, poach until cooked. Split the shrimp between the 2 bowls.

5) Lastly, toss in the cabbage, once wilted split cabbage and broth between the two bowls.

TA-DA!!!

2 Servings at 9 SmartPoints each

#1 in Creamy Factor! Oh so VERSATILE!

I love creamy!
Creamy makes everything better, pasta sauce, pasta salad, sandwiches, dessert, EVERYTHING!

http://www.californiaavocado.com/avocado-variety-browser/

+

http://products.usa.fage.eu/fage-total-0-6-oz

=

#1 Creamy Factor

I saw this on Pinterest and couldn't resist trying.
What started as a pasta salad recipe, ended up as a
"PUT THIS ON EVERYTHING" recipe!

The recipe is absolutely delicious and utterly simple,
I've adapted from the original recipe here.

I used:
1 Ripe Avocado
1 1/2 Tbs Lime Juice
4 Tbs Fage 0% Plain Greek Yogurt
(SIDE NOTE: Greek yogurt is the ultimate in creaminess, use it as much as possible!)
1 Clove Garlic
A Handful of Cilantro
Salt to Taste
Optional:
I added serrano as garnish, it would be great pureed into the dressing.
Some ranch dressing powder would jazz it up too.

Toss everything in the food processor and blend.
It is as simple as that!

This makes enough for a pound of pasta,

OR
1/2 a pound of pasta

AND

A couple of chicken wraps
Wrap, chicken, radishes, and CREAMY AVOCADO LIME DRESSING

AND

A couple servings of Quinoa, Black Bean, and Chicken Salad
(Made with chilled cooked quinoa, black beans, and shredded chicken, and a dollop of dressing.)

AND

I think I can thin it down a bit and end up with a delicious dressing too.

And it is a great dip for veggies!

I will make this again and again and again!

(Weight Watchers - Points for the whole lot? 10PP for the WHOLE RECIPE!)

Pizza Night, From Thought to Table in 20 Minutes

How do you get food on the table when you are short on time?

This was not the question I had in mind when I made pizza tonight,

but it all happened so fast that I am adding pizza to my mental

"Oh, darn, I'm hungry and I only have half an hour"

list of recipes, it is also being added to the

"There is nothing in the house but ingredients and leftovers". 

I can't be the only person with these lists. 

The first list "only have half an hour to eat" is pretty common for everyone.

I have found, though, in eating healthier, I try to be sure not to have pre-made

or pre-packaged things in the house because I binge.

So, I sometimes end up at the end of my fresh groceries

a couple days before pay-day or grocery-day.

ANYTHING can become a pizza, so this is my new go-to recipe.

This pizza has a great fold-able crust, and you can make it without turning on the oven!

The griddle has been my friend lately, it hasn't left the counter since I arrived home from CT a week and a half ago.

For the crust, I used a “pinned” recipe from the blog “4youwithlove”.

The actual recipe is a dough and herb combination for focaccia bread,

I only used the dough portion.

This makes a roughly 12”-ish pizza, perfect for splitting or a larger sized personal pizza.

For the dough

½ Cup Warm Water

1 Tbs Sugar

1 Tbs Yeast

1 Cup Flour

(I eliminated oil and salt from the original recipe because I grilled with oil on the griddle-top and seasoned it with the pizza toppings.)

Always combine water and sugar, first, until sugar is completely dissolved, then add the yeast and allow to proof for a couple minutes. (This is how we make sure the yeast is alive, you should see the liquid get creamy, foamy, and tiny air bubbles on the surface.)

Add flour and knead until smooth and elastic.

Roll out the dough until you find the size, shape, and thickness you prefer.  I like mine about 1/8 inch thick, and in whatever shape I end up with.

Set your griddle to 300’-325’.

You could make these crusts ahead of time,
freeze them on a cookie sheet,
then drop them in a freezer bag.

Using 1 Tbs oil, oil your griddle-top or oil each side of the dough. Place your pizza crust on the griddle.  As it cooks you should see air pockets form in the crust and the bottom will start to brown.  Cook for about 5 minutes then flip and cook 2 minutes on the other side.  

Add your toppings to the pizza and allow to cook for an additional 3-5 more minutes until cheese is melted or toppings are heated through.  

I topped mine with a couple tablespoons of sauce, a few ounces of fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and pepperoni, finished with a dash of red pepper flakes and green onions.  

Now, you can serve the pizza as is, or if you are okay with turning on the oven, I stuck mine under the broiler to finish melting the fresh mozz and to crispy-curl the pepperoni.

I love when pepperoni curls!

And check out that thin.

 but not crunchy crust!

To summarize:

Mix up dough - 5 minutes

Brown one side of crust - 5 

minutes

Brown other side of crust and 

heat toppings - 5-7 minutes

(Optional) Broil to crisp up the 

top of pizza - 1-3 minutes

Grand Total: 20 MINUTES!!!

I can't wait to  try pesto, cherry tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella,

or arugula, spiced pork, and sriracha,

or chicken, alfredo sauce, and broccoli, or....

(The crust without toppings, including the tablespoon of oil for cooking is 17 PointsPlus for the entire crust, 9 PointsPlus if it is cut into 2 servings.)

The Protein, Carb, and Vegetable Equation

In my new quest for more healthy eating, I have adopted the equation

P + V + C = HSJ

Protein + Vegetable + Carb = Healthy Satisfied Joanne

This means I can make whole meals that incorporate all of the things I focus on , or I set them seperately on the plate.  Like most people I can only stand the same old thing so many times.

I love salad and stand alone vegetables, but I have been trying to find other recipes to use as my vegetable component on my plate.

Today's new recipe was adapted from Bon Appetit magazine.

Marinated Kale and Green Bean Salad

Ingredients

Dressing

2 Tbs Olive Oil

1 Tbs Lemon Juice

1/2 Tbs Honey

1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Salad

1/2 bunch of Kale, center ribs and stems removed, cut into peices

1/2 lb fresh Green Beans

Preparation

Combine dressing ingredients in a large bowl.

Add kale and toss to coat.

If you want the kale to be still crisp, let this marinate for 30-60 minutes.

If you prefer a wilted salad, let this marinate overnight.

Before serving, blanch the green beans and add them to the kale and toss.

Season to taste with salt and pepper

(original calls for a grated hard cheese, but I didn't want the extra points)

MY REVIEW

I loved this!  My non-kale-eating friend loved it!

It was fresh, perfect for the hot summer night.

It had a great tangy-sweetness, with just a pinch of kick from the red pepper flakes.

It was just what I needed to fill out my meal.

Chicken with barbeque sauce - 4 points

Marinated Kale and Green Bean Salad - 8 points

(point value of whole dressing recipe, zero points for kale and green beans)

Corn on the Cob - 2 points

Whole Meal - 14 points (if you eat the whole salad, which you may!)

Weight Watchers and Joanne... A Love Story

Weight Watchers and I have had an on again off again relationship over the years.

We met in high school and WW kept me happy and feeling good about myself.  We drifted apart over the years, like high school relationships do.

Then a couple years ago I started wanting a relationship again.  And I spent some time with a few different diet plans, but I never really felt that connection I was looking for.   I had some good times, but we always parted ways, I always felt unsatisfied.

I finally swallowed my pride and started talking to WW again.  I was very excited as we started a relationship again.  I started moving too fast.  I was trying to eat far below the points WW suggested.  I was grumpy, unsatisfied, and NOT COOKING!  I was focused only on fat-free, sugar-free, “non-food” food dates.  So, I started cheating.  I started to go on secret high point dates, but still show up for my low point veggie filled dates.  I started to get angry with WW for no reason; it really was entirely my fault.  But, finally, I lost it and broke it off completely with WW.

A year or so went by, and I found myself looking at pictures.  You know what that is like; you look at pictures and think of how things would be different or better, somehow, if you had stayed together.  So, after a lot of soul searching and asking myself what was important, I contacted WW online. 

WW took me back!!!

This time WW looked and acted a little differently and that worked well for us.  We spent more time together via my cell phone.  We laid down a few important ground rules.  And I can happily report that we are in a happy, committed, and productive relationship!

Now, to depart from the analogy, I wanted to share my three ground rules.

1)  I can eat whatever I want as long as I plan for it.

2)  Don’t be afraid to eat my daily points AND my weekly points.

3)  Water, vegetables, and movement are the only things I have to focus on.

These rules are what keep me sane and on track.  They translate to:

1)  This is about lifestyle, it is MY lifestyle.

2)  This is about eating more HEALTHILY, not about calorie consumption.

3)  EVERYBODY should focus on these things.

And so, there it is folks, my “relationship” with Weight Watchers.  Like any couple we argue, disagree, and have bad days.  But we always make up, and the good days outweigh the bad (no pun intended). 

All my following posts will have the recipes with Weight Watchers adjustments and PointsPlus values, which I have calculated myself.  I hope this can help someone looking for good food and good cooking!

New Beginnings, Again.

Here it is July 25th.

Do you know why today is great?

Because it is only 5 short months away from Christmas.

I love Christmas!

I love the music (I listen to Christmas music from October to January).

I love the decorations (I have 2 trees, 6 boxes of decorations, and I live in a 2 bedroom apartment).

I love the food (cranberries, chocolate, cinnamon, ham, mashed potatoes, cookies, soups, breads).

But mostly it is about family and tradition.

Last year I ended up going home to Connecticut for just three days for Christmas.

We did some traditions the same, made some new ones (like calling my sister-in-law in Australia),

and some have been left behind.

It was wonderful and as I think about Christmas this year I want to be sure to have the food traditions I love even though I won't be going home.

I know I cannot possibly make everything at once, nor do I want to.

I have to make a menu planner, that is the only way I will make the things I want.  <--- That thought made me realize that this is true about my day to day eating habits.

I love to make new and interesting things,

but I certainly don't make them as often as I would like because I don't plan for it!

So I am making a "5-months-til-Christmas" resolution.

I am recommitting to meal planning!

It is the only way I will put to use all the flagged pages in my stacks of cooking magazines.  

So, where to begin?

I asked myself the following questions:

1)  How far ahead do I want to plan/shop?

2)  Do I plan for every day?

3)  Where do I plan?

4)  What do I plan?

5)  HOW DO I STICK TO IT?

Then I figured out some answers.

Q1)  How far ahead do I want to plan/shop?

A1)  I am a planner.

I like to know what I am doing roughly two weeks in advance.  So, I figure if I plan my schedule two weeks in advance, I can schedule my menu two weeks in advance.  This schedule is also conducive to the every two week paycheck schedule.

Q2)  Do I plan for every day?

A2)  Yes and no.

Yes, I need to have a plan for every day.  No, that plan does not have to be a new recipe.  I can schedule days to eat out, order in, eat at a friend's house, or have leftovers, I can even schedule a day to "wing it". 

Q3)  Where do I plan?

A3)  I found this great editable PDF monthly meal planner online at http://www.noordinarymomentsblog.com/2012/01/monthly-menu-planner-editable-pdf.html.  I really like it, but I hate to print off things I am only going to throw away.  I suppose I could make a binder of recipes with notes on them, but I figure I can do that fairly easily on my computer.  So I am trying out different methods, as long as they are computer friendly.

Q4)  What do I plan?

A4)  When I was home this past month I ate at a very balanced table. 

I have a father that is traditional "meat and potatoes with a side of vegetables" eater.  My mother is diabetic and likes to have lots of options on the table.  We always had a lean protein on the table, a carb, and at least 2 vegetable options.  I decided to try to follow that model; protein, carb, and vegetable.  Plus, I have a goal to plan lunches too.

Q5)  HOW DO I STICK TO IT?

A5)  I think the first step is to be kind to myself in not feeling like I am bound to the menu or a failure because I have strayed from it for a day.  I also have taken a screen shot of the menu and uploaded it to my phone to be in sight regularly.  That same picture is my desktop wallpaper.  

I am looking forward to trying this!!!!

The notes on days with no numbers are breakfast, lunch, and other cooking notes.
The letters in parentheses indicate where this recipe is coming from.
(P) - Pinterest  (BA) - Bon Appetit  (S) - Saveur 

Estonian Kringel or Twisty Cinnamon Ring

I know I am not alone in "pinning" more recipes than I will ever make, and then to top it off, NEVER, looking at said pins.  Well, when I needed an easy and yummy brunch-like treat, I looked through my pins, found my inspiration, and went for it!

This is the end result!

I love the twirly look and all the nooks and crannies for icing.
Cool, right?!
Estonian Kringel
Fancy, right?!
NOPE!!!

Find your favorite cinnamon roll recipe and make your twirliness happen by following these steps.  (p.s. I realized I was out of yeast, so I made mine with a no yeast dough, it was a fantastic tender recipe that I can't find again!!!! Hopefully I can find it again!)

I baked mine in a Demarle round, NO MESSY, MELTY, STICKY, GOOEY SUGAR to scrub!!!

Strawberry Shortcake to Start Off the Weekend

When my roommate told me she had some strawberries that I could use, 

I immediately thought of making strawberry shortcake.

Then, she told me she had never had shortcake before!

Sooooo....

I made shortcake!

When making something so classic I HAVE to go to my vintage Betty Crocker cookbook.

I halved the following recipe to make 4 personal shortcakes:

2 cups AP flour

2 Tbs sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/3 c shortening

1 cup milk

Bake at 450'

(Obviously, I make these in a cute flower tray from Demarle!)

Pop them in half, fill with whipped cream and macerated strawberries!

YUMMM!!!

No bread household and a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

These are so simple and perfect for someone like me who rarely keeps bread in the house. In fact I am always looking for bread cheats. I love the Pillsbury can of French bread. It makes a great simple French bread for dinner or can be spread with pepperoni and mozzarella, chicken and swiss before being rolled up. I have also made Jacques Pépin's quick soda bread for an easy option. Also, drop biscuits are a five minute option. The bread for these is a flatbread made from your favorite yeast roll dough, homemade or frozen. When you use frozen dough one roll for each piece, or combine two to make a large flatbread to fill like a gyro.  Once the dough is ready to shape, roll it out to your desired shape and toss it on your preheated surface; grill, griddle, pan.  They don't take long to cook since they are thin, just a couple minutes on each side.
To fill this sandwich all you need is chicken, buffalo wing sauce, lettuce, and feta.  ENJOY!!!

An old fashioned machine for an old fashioned cook

I am the proud owner of a cavatelli maker! Look at the picture, so beautiful with the original box and all. In case you don't know, this thing makes cute little shell shaped dumplings. I whipped up a batch using the recipe in the little pink pamphlet in the box. I served them with some fresh tomatoes, dash of basil, fresh mozz, and sprinkle of olive oil.
I really liked the cavatelli. I feel they need a more toothsome sauce. Bit they are soft and light, just delicious.

Follow up: I had some from my freezer with a bit of homemade Alfredo, very nice, with I had some broccoli. Very easy from frozen. I also was a little heavy handed on the salt I'm the water. These babies sucks up a lot, so over salted water will lead to quite over salted dumplings.

When a plan comes together...

Trying to pull together a meal I landed on rye bread and chicken, maybe a chicken sandwich.  With Jacques in my head, I decided to try an open-faced burger, he had done one with salmon the night before. A bit of crusty bread, a dash of milk, cilantro, onion, and a chicken breast, all tossed in the food processor. After forming the party I pit it in the fridge to set. Thinking of another Jacques recipe I tossed some grape tomatoes into a pan with some hot oil and crushed garlic, as they began to break I tossed in some water and let them mixture thicken up. A dash of salt and some fresh basil finished off the sauce. A sear and steam for the burger and I was ready for assembly.
Pan toasted marbled rye, soft chicken burger, smother in tomato basil sauce, finish with feta.
I love it when a plan come together!

Orange You Glad for Oranges!!!

I have been up to my elbows in oranges today.  Last week, I went to the ASL Club Halloween party.  One of the activities was orange carving, we ended up with a lot of oranges that were about to go to waste. So I took them home with me.

I made many different orange-y things!

I juiced a lot of oranges, by hand, while watching TV.  I got over 2 quarts of juice.

With the juice, I made a double batch of muffins.

 

I used a recipe from Family Circle Magazine.

Orange Muffins 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated orange zest

I added cranberries to half and chocolate chips to the other half.

The only thing I changed was the oil, I don't keep vegetable oil,

so I used my coconut oil instead.

I looked at the piles of orange peel, thought it was a waste. 

I found a few uses for orange peels online, so I cleaned my peels and set them aside.

One of the things I found was candied orange peels.

I figured I would give it a try.  It was a fairly simple process.

I followed the process, boil in water, simmer in syrup, roll in sugar, allow to dry.

 

These are slightly bitter, slightly sweet, and gummy.

They are quite good!

 

This is orange simple syrup, the syrup the peels simmer in.

I will use it to sweeten my herbal tea.

The peels were dried for later uses, they will be ground up,

for bath salts and for later use in cooking.

Some of the peels before drying went into olive oil with some anise.

In a couple weeks this should be delicious flavorful oil.

HOORAY FOR ORANGES!!!!

Homemade Breakfast Sandwiches

I love breakfast foods, but I don't eat breakfast often.  I prefer sleep to breakfast ;)  This breakfast was something to try out an idea from Pinterest. Baking eggs in muffin cups for breakfast sandwiches, the post says they are easy to freeze for quick defrost, but I have not done that yet.

The eggs cooked quickly and deliciously.

(Quicky pop and fresh biscuits)

 The easiest way to cook bacon is on the silpat in the oven, the second best way is in my Cuisinart Griddler.  (I hate spending money on bacon, expensive fat, instead I buy bacon bits and pieces and freeze in bags.)

The final product! YUMMY!!!

Freezing Foods, My latest obsession!

I think I may have talked about freezing food when I posted about budgeting and coupons before.  I have done a lot more freezing since then that I wanted to share.

CHICKEN - I eat a lot of chicken, I like that you can flavor it easily and it is used in lots of ethnic cooking. It is honestly much cheaper than beef, and that is the biggest reason I use it a lot.  I recently bought roughly 9 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast.  The following are the three ways I prepared and froze my chicken.
Breasts - I usually wrap my breasts individually then bag them for freezing.  I have been thinking of how much waste this creates.  So this time I cut the chicken into my portioned sizes, and placed them on my Silpat to freeze for a bit, then I just placed them in two bags.  The pre-bagging freezing prevents major sticking to each other in the freezer.  I defrost these by dropping in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes, the 4 oz portions thaw quickly.
Chopped - Some of the chicken I chopped into bite size chunks. These I sauteed and portioned into freezer bags.  These I will use when I am throwing together something healthy, but don;t have a lot of time, salad, pasta, curry.
Restaurant Shredded -I just started freezing the cooked shredded chicken and it is AWESOME!  For this batch I threw some chicken in the crock pot on low with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a few bay leaves, then covered with water.  The next morning I woke up to a delicious smell.  The first time I did this I took the chicken out and attacked it with two forks, this time I used a post from Pinterest.  I took the piping hot chicken and put all 5 large breasts in the bowl of the Kitchen Aid, added the paddle attachment, and turned it on medium-low for 10 seconds.  This is not an exaggeration, in 10 seconds my chicken was shredded, a little over-shredded to be truthful, should have gone slower.  But this is what it looked like.

I have frozen some of this in my muffin tray, with a touch of water.  It is great for quick easy portions for lunch.  I have thawed and mixed up a lunch serving of chicken salad, BBQ chicken, and buffalo chicken.  This is also easy to add to a fast soup.  LOVE IT!!!

PRODUCE/OTHER
Herbs - Cilantro sometimes goes bad in my fridge.  It shouldn't because I love it in lots of dishes, but sometimes I buy too much or forget I have it.  I have made cilantro cubes!  Cilantro chopped or pureed with a bit of water or olive oil, then frozen.  I have dropped this in beans as they cook up for refried beans, thaw and drop in the blender in salsas, or add to a curry for a bright finish.  This would be great for fresh basil in your winter pasta sauces, or for freezing pesto.
Lemons - Freeze your lemons after squeezing for zest later, just toss in the microwave for a few seconds and zest away! Also can add to sauces, especially a braise, so good subtle citrus!

Tomatillos - Do you use tomatillos?!  I love these little guys!  But I don't always use them fast enough, or need that much salsa.  So I have started peeling and washing these gems when I get home, toss them in a bag in the freezer.  I pull them out as I need them, defrost in the microwave, and toss in the blender with a couple cilantro cubes, add a half can of diced tomatoes and chiles, and you have a fast easy homemade salsa!
Coconut Milk - I love to make Indian inspired dishes, but cooking for one, I do not need a whole can of coconut milk.  I normally can get three uses out of a can, one in the pan, and two in bags in the freezer.
Canned Beans - Same as above, but I usually do half a can in a bag.  A warning is that beans lose some texture in the freezer, so I tend to use the frozen ones in soups or to make re fried beans.
Tomatoes - Toss diced tomatoes in a freezer bag for soups or pasta.  I also love this method for tomato paste, when frozen flat in bags, I just pull out and toss in warm pasta sauce and it thickens it right up.
Broth/Stock -  A tip for homemade broth and stock, after cooking chicken in a crock pot you can add a mirepoix mix to the broth and cook it a few more hours.  Strain out everything for stock, or puree the veggies to make a gravy.  I then pour this in muffin trays and freeze (you could use ice cube trays).  Less waste and easy to add to homemade soups.

Lastly, I am trying to do some premade smoothie mixes, I will update how it goes.


I hope some of this was helpful!

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

Laurie has been very busy this semester, and struggling to eat decent food when she is just too tired to cook when she gets home.  We go the idea to make Mini Chicken Pot Pies.  So one Saturday morning we mixed up a quick batch of Easy Flaky Pie Crust (This really was easy.  Flour, oil, milk, salt. Not sure I would use it for an actual pie, but it was fast and easy for our purpose.)  On the stove we made up a gravy packet using broth, added frozen peas and carrots, then some shredded chicken.
Cutting circles out with a bowl, we pressed them into the muffin pan, filled the cup, and just folded over the top to make a lazy top crust. 

Obviously we didn't make enough to fill the whole pan.

 Then into the oven at 425' until golden brown.
Pull them out, let them cool.

 Once they were completely cooled, we placed them into freezer bags. and tossed them into the freezer.  Laurie defrosted two at a time, and had quick, homemade, healthy, portion controlled dinner.  I am so glad we tried this!

NOT Cooking.... But crafty and homemade chalkboard!

So... I have recently become addicted to Pinterest.  I love that I can stack my recipes, crafts, and thoughts, etc. Aaaaanywaaaaayyyyy..... I found a recipe for chalkboard paint.  So I gathered products and mixed the recipe, one cup of paint and two tablespoons of non-sanded grout.

BEFORE

 

AFTER

Isn't it cool?! and oh so easy!!!