These caught my eye on Pinterest. Kevin & Amanda call these Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bars. It makes more sense to me to call them You Can Have it All Brownies. You layer chocolate chip cookie dough (Kevin & Amanda give a recipe for the dough, while I used a large roll of refrigerated dough), followed by Oreos, and brownie mix prepared as directed. If you read the comments, you’ll worry for nothing. You have to make sure you cover them with aluminum foil for 30 minutes and bake for another 25 minutes. There will be some ooey gooey unbaked stuff drizzling down your plate. Is that a problem for you? Please click the highlighted link above for the recipe.
Oven Tacos
2. Oven Tacos
What, dessert before dinner? I love this recipe from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures because it’s so handy for a large family like mine AND it gets the fiber and protein of beans into my kids with no complaints. Oh, they knew they were there, but they kept eating.
Greek Pasta Salad
3. Greek Pasta Salad
If you love Greek Salad like I do, you’ll love this unique twist on pasta salad. This would be great to take to a picnic or potluck if you can keep from eating it yourself. I’m not as wild about the big mushrooms, but I don’t think I would miss them. I found this recipe on my go-to site, All Recipes.
Breakfast Cookies
4. Breakfast Cookies
Are you aghast at eating cookies for breakfast? You mean as opposed to donuts, Pop-tarts, and sugar-coated cereal? These cookies have the protein of peanut butter, the goodness of oats, and they’ve got to be better for you than most preservative-laden bakery items. Even if they’re not, I don’t care, because they’re DELISH. 🙂 I modify this AllRecipe’s concoction to include Rice Krispies (yes, you’ll need SIX CUPS) and chocolate chips.
Bean and Bacon Casserole
5. Bean and Bacon Casserole
Growing up in South Dakota, the pot luck dish I looked forward to most was my aunt’s bean casserole. I think she called it 3-Bean Casserole or some other number of beans. But because I didn’t care about the number of beans as much as the fact that there was BACON in it, I’m calling it Bean and Bacon Casserole. AllRecipes calls it Calico Bean Casserole. I need to doctor it up more next time, but it was pretty close to what I remember. Think beans, bacon, hamburger, and a brown sugar barbecue flavor. Yum. This was also a popular dish at Chuckwagons when I was growing up.
Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal
6. Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal
My kids just aren’t wild about traditional oatmeal. Too bad because I really love it. I was very excited to find Lynn’s recipes for baked oatmeal because I was sure we’d both love it and we do. It tastes like a soft granola bar. I sprinkled it with mini chocolate chips and drizzled milk over it and everyone slurped it up. What’s wonderful is this can be prepared in advance.
Pretzel Fruit Pizza
7. Pretzel Fruit Pizza
I LOVE salty and sweet and this really delivers in both ways. I used the blender to pulverize the pretzels. It made creating a yummy crust much easier. The cream cheese topping includes lime juice which is another flavor I’m crazy about. And who doesn’t love berries? I suppose if they make your lips swell, you wouldn’t like them as much, but hopefully that’s not you. Check out this AllRecipe’s link to make this great light dessert. Perfect 4th of July dessert, yes?
I grew up eating Hamburger Helper, the Cheeseburger Macaroni flavor, and I've never outgrown my love for it. I still make it because it's cheap, it's fast, and it's tasty. The problem is it's made with stuff I can't pronounce. I know there is no way it can be the best choice for my family.
So I was particularly intrigued by Laura's ability to break up with HH and start a new love affair with a recipe made from scratch. Honestly, after the taco corn fritter meal, I was pretty skeptical. But I made it exactly as directed, using whole wheat pasta (not my favorite because it can tend to be tough) and white cheddar cheese that I shredded quickly using my Pampered Chef Ultimate Mandoline. I happily used whole milk to ensure it would be as creamy as possible. I served it up, took a bite, and…
It wasn't exactly like Hamburger Helper. I was worried. But the more I ate, the more my old Hamburger Helper was like a high school honey–long forgotten! The whole wheat pasta was tender, my husband loved it, and the kids who normally eat it were satisfied (c'mon, if everyone ate it, I'd think I was dreaming). Leftovers were particularly yummy I thought.
The great news is it's good, it's better for us, and it doesn't take long to make. I cooked the noodles 15 minutes from the time they started simmering. That's when the milk and cheese mixture really started to thicken.
Do you have any other healthy meal makeovers to share with me?
I've definitely lived the extremes where eating is concerned. But now I would like to eat and serve healthier fare without becoming looney about it. Know what I mean? To that end, I'll be posting some of my food forays in the hope that it will be of some help to those who would like to do likewise.
During one of my healthy eating frenzies, I accumulated a grain mill, a 50-pound bag of whole wheat, and lots of raw sugar. I didn't want to feel like my investment was all for naught, so I decided to include Heavenly Homemakers in my healthier eating journey. I love that Laura makes kid-friendly food, provides weekly menus, and uses many of the staples I've acquired.
My first meal attempt was her taco corn fritter recipe. My mother made delicious corn fritters and the idea of adding cheese and ground beef to them really appealed to me. The good news is I've enjoyed some of Laura's recipes. The bad news is that this wasn't one of them. Pretty much everyone hated these fritters. I think the problems were a) the honey makes them brown before they're cooked through and b) Fritters are better when made out of flour rather than corn meal in my opinion. Even though my first effort failed, I did not give up! Stay tuned for more adventures in healthier eating.
I have a kitchen filing drawer full of recipes. They are a mix of precious heirloom recipes, old Specific Carbohydrate Diet recipes I no longer use, recipes from friends, and recipes culled from magazines. While this system of organizing recipes has served me well, I wanted to adopt a new approach in keeping with how I use recipes today.
Unless I am searching for an old family favorite, I am unlikely to go drawer diving for a recipe anymore. I typically go to AllRecipes.com and then follow the recipe on my iPad. Although I like the website, am a supporting member, and have their iPad app, I did a little research to see what was the best method of accomplishing what I wanted. Some approaches I considered:
– Scanning my recipes to Evernote – www.plantoeat.com – Paying BigOven to convert my recipes for use with their website from an iPhone photo – Scanning my recipes to specific computer folders – Emailing myself recipes that would then be archived in Gmail folders – Entering everything into the Shop ‘n Cook software I have on the Mac
Ultimately, the time, expense, or lack of features (e.g., no way to menu plan or create shopping lists) made me decide against each of these. Here is the super fast and effective method I decided on:
1) Go through recipes section by section and throw away any that I know I won’t use 2) Check on AllRecipes.com for the recipe. If I haven’t tried the recipe I am searching for, I look for a top-rated recipe for the same thing and throw away the original. I add the digital recipe to my AllRecipes box. 3) If I can’t find the recipe by name, or if I can’t find a close enough match, I click on ingredients and search for the signature ingredients. If a find a match or something close enough, I make the addition to my digital recipe box. 4) If I can’t find what I want in AllRecipes, I add a new tab to my browser and search for the recipe by name or ingredients on Google. If I have the recipe from a magazine, I include its title in my search terms. I typically find not only the recipe, but a great photo to go with it. I scan several search results until I find the recipe I want. I highlight the URL in the address bar. Right click and choose copy. Now return to my AllRecipes.com tab. Click on my Recipe Box. Click on options at the top and choose Add Weblink from the Dropdown options. Left click in the URL box, then right click and choose paste. Enter and I have the option of selecting no picture or from the images on the website. Categorize my link at the bottom as appetizer, main dish, etc. Save it, preview it, and add the link. The recipe now appears in my box. I throw away the paper recipe unless it’s a keepsake. 5) Make a pile of recipes that I can’t find. Hand enter these on AllRecipes.com (I don’t have many). I will scan the picture to add to these recipes if I have one and care to take the time. I throw these recipes away when I’m done unless they are heirlooms. 6) Scan or photograph precious recipes. I should have a digital version of these in my recipe box now, but typically the handwriting and stains mean a lot to me. I will make sure I have a backup of these scans. I will add the originals to a recipe scrapbook I am creating. 7) Access my recipes from my AllRecipes iPad app and get cooking! I love seeing the modifications people make to recipes, having a shopping list, and just letting the app inspire me with yummy-looking recipes that I may want to add to my box. I also love the built-in timer. If you are an AllRecipes user, look up melphd. By the way, I haven’t been given anything in return for this promo. 8) Enjoy or utilize the freed up recipe space.
This recipe is fabulous for those on a Specific Carbohydrate, vegetarian, gluten-, or dairy-free diet as well as anyone who loves mushrooms. My family is wild about them and they’re a great appetizer to serve for the holidays.
Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms
Serves 6, but I cut in half to serve 12 3 T. olive oil 6 large portabella mushrooms, stems removed (finely chop 1/2 cup stems and reserve) 1-2 T. red dry wine 2 med. Onions diced 2 cloves garlic minced 2 T. Chopped fresh rosemary or 2 t. dried 1 med. yellow bell pepper, diced (replace with green bell pepper to make it Christmasy!) 1 med. red bell pepper diced 1 T. wine vinegar salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl mix 2 T. oil and salt and pepper. Rub mushroom caps in mixture. Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Set aside. Reduce oven to 300. In a large skillet heat remaining T.’s oil over med-high heat. Add wine onions garlic rosemary. Cook stirring often until onions are soft about 5 mins. Add bell peppers and reserved chopped mushroom stems and cook, stirring often about 5 mins. Stir in vinegar and salt. Reduce heat to low and cook stirring occasionally, 10 mins. Reduce from heat and let cool slightly. Fill mushroom caps with mixture and place on baking sheet. Just before serving bake until heated through about 10 mins.
I have made my own milk when I nursed six babies, but that's not exactly what I'm talking about. I haven't had any kind of milk to drink for seven years. I quit drinking regular milk when I was 17 and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. The doctor advised me to "avoid dairy" so I was drinking soy milk for many years. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet prohibits soy products and none of the commercial almond milks are legal because of the added sugar. So when I got an ad from Digestive Wellness for this SoyQuick milk maker that can be used to make almond milk, I was excited to try it. Yes, you can make homemade almond milk without a fancy gadget, but it is SO quick and easy to make, I feel it's worth it. I now have "cereal" with almond milk on dried mulberries and other dried and fresh fruit. It's wonderful! My son drinks soy milk and I haven't tried making my own soy milk yet. I'm very ambivalent about him drinking soy milk and have wondered if he would be okay switching to lactose-free milk. If I try it, I'm sure I would save a lot of money. A half-gallon of soy milk is over $3. With the price of groceries and the number of food-related health problems going up, it may be time to consider making more of your own food.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
