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New Year, New You - MyMagazine Sharing Network 11 Feb 2019 10:42 AM (6 years ago)

• ONE (1) Sample Pack of Nature Made® Multi Adult Gummies, 2 ct.

My thoughts: I have been taking prenatals for years (from fertility treatments processes, pregnancy, and currently breastfeeding) so I passed these along to my aunt. She liked them - said they had a great flavor. 

• ONE (1) Osteo Bi-Flex® Ease, 7 ct.

My thoughts: This isn't a product that I would normally use, so I passed this along to a neighbor who was very appreciative. 

• ONE (1) Sample of Sensodyne® Rapid Relief Mint Toothpaste

My thoughts: I really like sensodyne products, but for some reason don't buy them very often? I enjoyed it and will definitely buy it 

• ONE (1) 16 Day Trial of Metamucil®

My thoughts: Again, not a product I'd need, but I passed it along to my uncle who uses it every day and couldn't believe I didn't want to try it. He told me all the benefits he sees from the product, and honestly could have been a walking commercial for it! 

• ONE (1) ChapStick® Total Hydration Lip Balm

• ONE (1) Sample of One A Day® Nature’s Medley Multivitamin

• ONE (1) Sample of Listerine® Ready! Tabs™, 8 ct.

• ONE (1) $2 Coupon for any ONE (1) Pedialyte® AdvancedCare™ Plus Product

My favorite product was absolutely the chap stick!! Seriously, best chap stick I've ever had! I'm a big fan of making my own because I have a hard time finding something that is moisturizing and lasts more than 10 minutes. This one does it all! Highly recommend! 



While we were given free samples and discounts on products mentioned above, the opinions are our own. 

Kroger Simple Truth Vegan Pizza Crust 24 Nov 2018 12:02 PM (6 years ago)

I was super excited to get this kit from MyMagazine Sharing network. We love pizza, so this was a super easy product test for us! Our kit included a free pack of 2 vegan pizza crusts, an oven mitt, a pizza cutter and coupons for various toppings.

For our first pizza night, we made a pepperoni pizza and a chicken,  artichoke,  and spinach pizza.

I baked the pepperoni pizza on a cookie sheet and the other directly on the oven rack  The pepperoni pizza crust ended up much softer, while the other turned out very crispy. Both were hits! But my preference was definitely the chicken,  artichoke and spinach.

Dove Dry Shampoo Review 8 Nov 2018 9:00 AM (6 years ago)

As a member of the MyMagazine Sharing Network, I periodically receive free or reduced cost items to check out and tell you about. Recently, I received a fall beauty kit containing the following items: 

• ONE (1) Sample Pack of Dove Dry Shampoo

• ONE (1) Sample Pack of Garnier® SkinActive® Soothing Facial Mist with Rose Water

• ONE (1) Maybelline® Eyestudio® Master Precise All Day Liquid Mini Eyeliner

• ONE (1) Sample Pack of Love Beauty and Planet™ Shampoo and Conditioner

The first item I tried is the dry shampoo. The following are my opinions on the product. 

Kroger Fuel Points Fueling Our Weekends 1 Oct 2018 3:49 AM (6 years ago)

While I hate that summer has ended, I do enjoy the fall festivals happening all around. This weekend, the weather was gorgeous and we hit the road! Thanks to Kroger and Kroger Fuel Points, all that driving was a little more affordable. Earning fuel points is as easy as grocery shopping. Getting rewarded for doing something you already do is about as easy as it gets!

As a participant in MyMagazine Sharing Network, I sometimes receive free and/or discounted promotion items. For this campaign, I received free fuel points. All opinions expressed above are my own. 

Vitaminwater Active 9 Aug 2018 4:09 AM (6 years ago)

I received free samples and coupons as part of a MyMagazine Sharing campaign for Vitaminwater Active. The thoughts and opinions expressed below are my own. 

When I first saw the Vitaminwater Active samples and coupons, my first thought was my husband because he is a construction worker and we go through tons of gatorade. So. Much. Gatorade. I let him try the first bottle after work one day. He had the orange mango flavor.

He really liked it, so we went back to try other flavors.


My daughter is six months old, but let's be honest.....I'm not back into my workout routine yet. But, I do drink Body Armor a few days a week to help with staying hydrated because, well, breastfeeding. There are those that swear by blue gatorade or red body armor, or standing on your head while drinking cucumber infused water.....it goes on and on. It comes down to hydration though. I drank the strawberry black cherry variety and it is delicious! The lemon was ok - probably not ever going to be my pick.

Now, my pump bag looks something like this when we're out and about:


During my IVF process, I was considered "high risk" for ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome. One of the nurses told me that if I drank electrolyte beverages along with a high protein diet before and during that whole process, I could alleviate some of the worst symptoms. So last year, I spent nearly three months living on vitaminwater - as in at least three of them a day. And I liked those a lot, but the strawberry vitaminwater active is my new favorite! I still ended up with OHS last year, but even though my ovaries were so big they were touching (OUCH!!!!) I was able to avoid hospitalization and draining of fluid. Obviously, we can't be certain the vitaminwater kept me out of the hospital, but I do think it absolutely helped to balance the electrolytes in my body.

Team Sweet Trail Mix 7 Jun 2018 4:02 AM (6 years ago)

As part of the MyMagazine Sharing Network, I sometimes receive coupons and/or free product to try from Kroger stores. I recently received a box with a bag of pretzels and a tin of almonds, along with lots of coupons for items to make trail mix. It also came with a challenge: pick your side (sweet or savory) and create a trail mix recipe featuring the Kroger brand ingredients!

The timing on this was perfect as it coincided with a cookout we were hosting on Memorial Day weekend. Picking a side was easy - obviously sweet!

In a bowl, I mixed together:

Pretzels (I had to use gluten free ones because most pretzels contain soybean oil which my daughter can't have and for some reason the only ones that didn't were gluten free)
Marshmallows (Kroger brand)
Peanuts (not Kroger brand because they have soy protein added to them. I have no idea why, but it was very disappointing to see)
Banana chips (broken into pieces)
Raisins
Dairy/Soy free Chocolate Chips
Almonds (Kroger brand - which I received for free)

The trail mix was a huge hit. Half of it was gone before I could snap a pic! It was a great salty/sweet combo and it was all dairy and soy free, which was a bonus for me!


I received free products from MyMagazine Sharing Network and coupons for some of the products mentioned above. The opinions are my own. 

Ripple Pea Protein Milk 1 Jun 2018 4:15 AM (6 years ago)

Shortly after my daughter was born, we found out she has milk and soy protein intolerance. What does that mean? She can't digest milk and soy proteins, such as whey and casein. I'll spare you the details, but the poor kid was in so much pain until we figured it out. For me, since I'm breastfeeding, I can't have anything with dairy or soy in it because the proteins pass along to her. Fun times. We didn't figure it out until she was a month old, so those first few weeks were ROUGH for all of us. But once we had a diagnosis, we had a game plan going forward. I made the choice to breastfeed so that means I have to watch everything I eat. Let me tell you, dairy and soy are in everything. I have to read labels constantly because things like peanuts can have soy protein in them. Why???? I have no idea. But that was the one time I didn't read a label and we paid for it.

In the beginning, I experimented with lots of different non-dairy "milks". I found that I like different varieties for different purposes. The nut based milks are fairly common so they were my first tries. When I saw the pea protein milk, I was skeptical. I like peas, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to drink them. I started off with the original unsweetened variety. It was not my favorite to drink, but it is definitely my choice to make mashed potatoes with.

Then I tried the chocolate. O.M.G. It tastes like a melted Frosty. For me, it's a bit too sweet to drink straight, so I often dilute it with some unsweetened.

Another thing I like to do with the chocolate is make smoothies. This recipe promotes lactation, but is safe for everyone :)

In the blender, combine:

1 c Ripple Pea Protein Chocolate Milk
1/2 c raspberries
1/3 c oats
1 Tablespoon Flaxseed
1/2 Tablespoon sunflower lecithin (optional)







I received free Ripple Pea Protein Milk from MyMagazine Sharing Network. The opinions expressed above are my own. 

The Fresh Side of Private Selection 23 May 2018 4:08 AM (6 years ago)

A while back, I received an email from MyMagazine Sharing Network and I decided to join. I shop at Kroger on a semi regular basis, so it seemed like a good fit - and I do like free/discounted stuff! Speaking of free stuff....disclaimer: I received free promotional items and coupons for items I purchased at Kroger. Related to the Private Selection produce that this post is about, I received an apron, a veggie spiralizer and several coupons for produce.

The first mission I participated in is "The Fresh Side of Private Selection". We're go through lots of produce, so I knew this would be an easy one for us. The first item we purchased was the artisan lettuce. We go through a ton of lettuce (and I do not like iceberg) so we were able to use this in a few ways:

Egg Rolls in the NuWave Oven 22 Mar 2016 5:05 AM (9 years ago)

I love re-purposing leftovers. Especially if I can do so without anyone realizing they are leftovers. So when I had about a pound of ground pork already cooked and little bits of veggies in the fridge, it seemed like the best thing to do would be to mix it all together and wrap it up. And because I'm a big fan of texture, I wanted to get the egg rolls crunchy all the way around without frying them. The NuWave was going to be my friend again.

Start out by heating up the filling. This was great because the meat was already cooked and I had some of the veggies already cut, so minimal prep was needed. And the filling can vary by what you have on hand. I seasoned it all with a bit of salt and some crushed red pepper.




Then make the egg rolls. Some are prettier than others. It's ok. By the time I was done, I had mastered the egg roll fold.




After 9 or so minutes, egg rolls were ready to flip. Cook on the other side and they are ready to go!

Italian Chicken and Brussels Sprouts in the NuWave Oven 21 Mar 2016 9:39 AM (9 years ago)

I like kitchen gadgets. A lot. Maybe one of my favorite gadgets is my NuWave Oven. At first, I thought it was another one of those infomercial "as seen on TV" schemes. I mean really, cooking meat from frozen in 25 minutes using infrared technology that produces juicy meat with crispy skin that uses 85% less energy? What kind or sorcery is this? But seriously....it works. Ok, maybe their claims are slightly exaggerated. But not by near as much as you'd think. I find myself using the NuWave about once a week or so. And no, NuWave isn't paying me to write this...nor do they even know about it. This is all me here.

I was kind of surprised by the lack of NuWave tested recipes out there. Maybe it's not so popular with the food bloggers? Well, it should be. My 17 year old step son cooks dinner one night a week at our house and about 90% of the time he reaches for the NuWave. In fact, he got his very own for Christmas...and was super excited about it. He loves it because he can make a great dinner for all of us without standing over the food in the kitchen. To give him credit here, he was the one who discovered the deliciousness of cooking brussels sprouts in the NuWave.

Start out by placing halved brussels sprouts in the bottom tray, mixing in 1-2 tablespoons bacon grease

Add the rack and place chicken thighs on rack. Season with Italian Seasoning, garlic and salt


Put the dome on and set the cook time for 15 minutes. Flip chicken over, give the brussels sprouts a stir, and set the timer for 15 minutes again.



Finish everything off with some cracked pepper. It's really important you don't add pepper before cooking because it will burn and make your food taste funny.

Now I'm sure the NuWave folks weren't intending on cooking the veggies in bacon grease AND the drippings from the chicken above. That may even fly in the face of their nutritional claims, but I don't mind. I gave up all grains and refined sugar. I'm keeping my fats. All the fats.

Ingredients:

1 lb brussels sprouts
1-2 tablespoons bacon grease (optional, but who doesn't want bacon grease??)
chicken thighs (thawed)
Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper

Halve brussels sprouts and add to bottom tray of NuWave. Add the rack and place chicken thighs on rack. Season both side of chicken and turn the NuWave on for 15 minutes. Stir veggies and flip chicken over. Turn on for another 15 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through).

Paleo Salmon Patties 17 Mar 2016 4:08 AM (9 years ago)

What you'll need:

1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 6 oz cans salmon, drained
2 eggs
2 tablespoons parsley
2 teaspoons dill
salt and pepper
coconut flour
coconut oil

Sautee onions, peppers and garlic in coconut oil until softened. Set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, mix together salmon, eggs, parsley, dill, salt and pepper. Mix in peppers and onions. Using a large scoop or a measuring cup to ensure uniform size, make patties and dust each side with coconut flour. Add patties to hot pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons coconut oil. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side, or until browned and outsides are set.

Mashed Cauliflower with Herbs 2 Mar 2016 8:26 AM (9 years ago)

In my continuing quest to cut carbs, cauliflower seems to be king. Want pizza? Sure! Cauliflower can do that! Need breadcrumbs on top of your casserole? Cauliflower can do that! Want mashed potatoes with your meatloaf? Well, cauliflower can do that too! And you won't miss the potatoes at all with this recipe!

Start out by chopping a head of cauliflower

Then add it to a pot with some water and boil until tender

Drain, return to pan, and mash


Add in butter and herbs, then give it a whisk to fluff it up

Turnip and Parsnip "Pasta" 15 Feb 2016 4:44 AM (9 years ago)

If you haven't tried veggie noodles, you don't know what you're missing. Seriously. There is a wide variety of choices out there, making it super easy to get the perfect veggie and meat pairing. And you know, low carbs and stuff.

Sauteed Turnips and Parsnips

1 medium turnip
1 parsnip
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil or ghee)
1 1/2 c spinach


Run the turnip and parsnip through the spiralizer using the medium blade.

In a large skillet, melt the butter on medium low heat, then add the garlic and stir until soft and fragrant. Toss in the veggie noodles and cover. Cook on low for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Then add spinach. Cover and let the spinach wilt.


Serve with roasted salmon for a sweet and savory mix.

Garlic and Herb Oven Roasted Salmon 15 Feb 2016 3:57 AM (9 years ago)

The other day, I was able to snag a few salmon fillets at the store and I've been trying to figure out how I want to cook them this time. I usually toss them in a skillet with some butter, garlic and a splash of lemon juice, but I wanted something a little different this time, and I didn't want to have to babysit them while I fixed the side dishes too. Oven roasting seemed like my best option. And after I tasted it, I doubt I'll fix them on the stove top anymore!

Breakfast Pizza 2 Feb 2016 3:00 AM (9 years ago)

My husband has been a good sport with all the crazy breakfast foods I've fed him lately. Spaghetti squash for breakfast? No complaints from him. But he did suggest that we try something else for the next week. He wanted eggs, sausage and bacon, which is normal breakfast fare, so we had that for a few days. But we both (very quickly) realized that a breakfast consisting of just protein didn't keep us full for very long. We were back to the dilemma of keeping veggies in breakfast (for the fiber), yet keep the meaty breakfast that he likes.
Enter breakfast pizza

If you haven't tried cauliflower crust pizza yet, you're really missing out. I use the recipe here, and make adjustments as needed.

For the breakfast pizza, I used that recipe, but left out the garlic and used all mozzarella cheese and baked the crust for 8 minutes at 425.

I skipped the sauce and just used cheese and toppings so it would stand up to reheating throughout the week. For toppings, I used 2 cups of spinach and a few diced jalapenos, then crumbled bacon and sausage, along with a little ham, and a final bit of shredded cheese on top. Then back into the oven for 8 minutes.

If you really wring out the water from the cauliflower after it's cooked, the crust of the pizza holds up great to being reheated. Adding a layer of cheese on the crust before adding the toppings creates a moisture barrier, which also helps the pizza keep its structure. And to make it even better, I even got a text this morning letting me know how much he liked breakfast!

Coconut Banana Chia Pudding 1 Feb 2016 4:42 AM (9 years ago)

So when I first started seeing all the chia seed recipes all over the place (and by that I mean Pinterest), I actually laughed. People eat chia seeds? Really? And make "pudding" out of them? No way. All I could picture was a chia pet style bowl with green stuff growing out of it. Ummm, no. But I eventually caved. The first recipe I tried was chia seeds, milk, cocoa, and maple syrup. Even after blending it, it was still weird. The taste wasn't bad, but I couldn't get over the texture. The only reason I even tried again was because I had bought a bag of chia seeds, and I was going to use them one way or another!

Mashed Rutabaga 1 Feb 2016 3:52 AM (9 years ago)

Root vegetables are a winter staple around my house. Well, more like a year round staple, but especially in the winter. Fresh produce in the winter can kind of be tricky, and when we have crazy weather around the country, it's even trickier. But root vegetables are usually fairly reliable. And comforting. I don't know what happens when you mash a root vegetable, but it's almost magical. Well, maybe not magical, but it's warm, and creamy, and buttery, and delicious. So basically the same thing as magical.

If you don't cook with rutabaga, you should try it out. And this is one of the easiest recipes to start with. If you can make mashed potatoes, you can make mashed rutabaga. It's pretty much the same; peel, chop, boil, mash, season, serve.

What you'll need:

Rutabaga (I used 2, but I was counting on enough for dinner and lunch for us)
Butter
Milk
Seasonings of choice
Optional: Crumbled bacon and shredded cheese

Just like potatoes, start out by peeling and chopping the rutabaga and then boiling under tender

Then mash


I like to put in the butter and seasonings during the mashing part just to really work them in. I used some dried onion flakes, 3 tablespoons butter, salt and pepper and some poultry seasoning. Once it's mashed down with a few chunks remaining, whip in milk until it's thick and creamy, just like mashed potatoes.

I like to top it off with a few pieces of crumbled bacon and some sharp cheddar cheese.


Rutabagas have about half the calories and carbs of potatoes, which makes a nice swap if you're counting those kinds of things.

Roasted Turnip Homefries 29 Jan 2016 9:04 AM (9 years ago)

Comfort foods are awesome. I know, that's why they're called comfort foods, right? But seriously, sometimes some deep fried potatoes with seasoned salt is all you can think about. And that's rough when you're trying to watch what you eat. So we have to get creative. And sometimes lie to the ones we feed so they aren't aware that they're raving about how much they love the homefries and keep asking what I did differently. But then we eventually tell them that it's actually turnips, not potatoes, that they love so much and we watch their very, very confused faces.

Root Vegetable Noodles with Oven Roasted Chicken 25 Jan 2016 4:36 AM (9 years ago)

Unless you are still one of the carb loving, noddle eating, gluten devouring folks out there (that I secretly despise and am constantly envious of), then you may have run across or even tried one of the gadgets that makes "noodles" out of vegetables. The "Veggetti" is one of my favorites. It's easy to grab it and turn zucchini into noodles in a matter of seconds. But in my experience, it is kind of limited to zucchini and yellow squash. And even those need to be fairly small or you end up pulverizing the vegetables (and your hands). Even Alton Brown has something to say about it.


So I've been on the search for something a little more versatile. Especially since we officially gave up pasta this month. (Although we haven't eaten any in almost a year) I finally found one and ordered it.



It was a bit tricky to figure out at first. I'm not going to lie....the Veggetti was fairly self explanatory, but this required some actual thought. But once we figured it out, we had noodles made out of turnips, carrots and parsnips in a matter of just a couple of minutes.

Don't mind my messy counters. I wasn't exactly planning on sharing the video with everyone-just wanted to send it to a couple of people to let them know that this one actually works!

While my husband was creating the noodles, I had put the chicken in the oven and started sauteing some onions and garlic in a couple tablespoons of butter on the stove. The noodles were added to the onions and garlic and cooked until tender, but not mushy.






Recipe:
1 Medium turnip
1 Medium parsnip
2 Medium Carrots
1 onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
Roasted chicken (or rotisserie chicken if you're in a hurry)
(Optional) Parmesan cheese

Saute onion and garlic on low heat until fragrant. Toss in spiralized vegetables and cook on low until desired tenderness. Top with chicken and sprinkle cheese on top.



Note: The above links will take you to the products advertised. If you buy it, I may receive monetary compensation for the referral, however I did not receive any compensation (monetary or otherwise) for this post. 

Spaghetti Squash Breakfast Bake 4 Jan 2016 4:09 AM (9 years ago)

So a few weeks ago while I was at the doctor's office, it was suggested to me that my normal breakfast (banana, 1 Tbsp nut butter, and a whole wheat wrap) was too carb heavy and I should switch to 2 eggs and citrus fruit instead. *note: the nutrition facts below were created at http://www.caloriecount.com/. I am making the assumption they are correct and haven't bothered to double check their numbers. 

Current breakfast

Proposed breakfast

While I didn't necessarily agree with their proposed breakfast, I tried. I really did. But it turns out eating citrus every day seemed to aggravate my stomach. A lot.

So I set out to find a different breakfast that was lower in carbs, but didn't bother my stomach. And if I could add in some nutrients, that'd be cool too. So for the first try, I wanted to keep the eggs as they suggested, but add in some veggies, and I didn't want to have to make it every day. So I came up with a breakfast bake I could make over the weekend, portion out, then freeze for a grab and go breakfast.

New breakfast

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, then drop the heat down to 350 and continue baking until eggs are set, which was about another 10 minutes for me. That gets cut into 9 pieces and frozen. To reheat, cover and microwave on about 50% power for a minute or two.

If I kept it at 2 eggs per day, that would be 18 eggs and I'd probably need a bigger pan to bake it in, but here's what the nutrition would look like:

Cheesy Chicken and Kale 18 Nov 2015 3:34 AM (9 years ago)

Sometimes Pinterest is my Google. Seriously, I often feel like my phone should come with an option to say "OK, Pinterest....show me recipes using chicken, kale, garlic and cheese." And yesterday was one of those times. I was trying to decide what to fix for dinner, so I just typed in the ingredients I wanted to use and behold...all of these great recipes came up!

One immediately caught my eye. It's probably because I could see all the cheesy goodness. I used her recipe as a starting point for dinner. It sounded so good and I figured I could make some changes to suit our tastes, and switch out the pasta for spaghetti squash, Ugh, giving up pasta is hard.

What you'll need:

2 lbs chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 large spaghetti squash
1 medium onion, diced
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 c chicken stock
1-2 Tablespoons butter
1-2 Tablespoons flour (equal amounts of butter and flour)
5 ounces baby kale, cut into manageable pieces
2 c Italian blend shredded cheese
Milk
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste

So I started by getting the spaghetti squash in the oven. I used a rather large one knowing I was feeding 2 teenage boys and my husband as well. I generally cook for 8 so we have plenty for dinner and for lunch the next day. After the spaghetti squash had been in the oven for about 30 minutes, I started in on the rest of the ingredients. First-saute onions in some olive oil.


After about 5 minutes, I added in some garlic and let that simmer for another few minutes. Then the chicken and herbs.


I let that go until the chicken was no longer pink on the outside. By this time, the spaghetti squash was done, so I pulled it out of the oven so it could cool enough for me to touch it.


Back to the chicken....
Push all the meat to one side of the pan and drop in a tablespoon or two of butter and let it melt, then whisk in an equal amount of flour and let that cook until it stiffens up. Add in about a cup of chicken stock and mix everything together in the pan. Keeping a simmer going, add in the kale and the cheese. After a couple of minutes, the sauce will start to thicken. Add milk until it's nice and creamy. Then add in the spaghetti squash and make a mess all over the stove top as you stir it all together. A final seasoning with salt, pepper and some red pepper flakes and it's ready to go.

I was going to add in some spinach too at this point, but I decided since we were having a salad with it and there was spinach in the salad, that was probably enough. Next time I make this, I'm going to toss in some capers though. The brininess would be perfect in here! But even without the capers, dinner was a hit with everyone. There was just enough left for the husband and I to have lunch today.

DIY Outdoor Christmas Tree Decorations 16 Nov 2015 3:40 AM (9 years ago)

I managed to make it half way though November before the Christmas decorations came out. That's some sort of record for me. Because the husband and I are both still kids when it comes to Christmas, we have to set a limit on how many decorations we buy each year, and that includes lights. This year, he opted to buy a few of the inflatable outdoor decorations, and we had to retire a couple, so it really didn't feel like we added anything this year. While we were out shopping this weekend, we saw some outdoor decorations for sale that I knew we could make ourselves. The decorations were basically tomato cages turned upside down, then donned with tinsel, lights and some decorations. They were $9.99 each, which wasn't a bad price, but I knew we could make some with items we already had around the house, which essentially makes them free. I can do free!

I grabbed three tomato cages from the garage. We had a few that have been through many garden seasons and were starting to fall apart, literally. I figured these would be perfect for this because I don't have to undo it all to use them again in the spring. But, with just a few snips, they could be ready to go for garden use if we needed to.

Mine were a bit mangled, so I started by straightening them as much as I could, then flipped it upside down and tied the top together with zip ties. Have I mentioned I love zip ties? I think half of our house/garage/chicken coops/fencing is held together with zip ties.

Next, add the lights and tinsel, wrapping around the "trees", securing with zip ties along the way. Then add your ornaments and a tree topper. We used star ornaments as the tree toppers.

Lightened Up Casserole 13 Nov 2015 6:34 AM (9 years ago)

One of my favorite comfort foods is chicken and broccoli casserole. It doesn't matter what time of year it is or what the temperature is outside, that's the one meal that always hits the spot for me. And the best part is it's made from leftovers.

Last night I was trying to figure out what to make with the leftover turkey breast I had, it came to me that I could fairly easily tweak the chicken and broccoli casserole recipe to make it work with the turkey, and lighten it up in the process. Today I entered the ingredients into the Recipe Calculator to see what the nutritional difference was between the original recipe and the new version. The amounts may be slightly different, but for the quick comparison, it will do. Here's the original recipe:

And the Nutrition Information
These swaps cut out over 100 calories, 16 g of fat and 20 carbs per serving!! That's not to mention all of the increased vitamins and minerals!

Raised Trench Carrot Harvest 19 Oct 2015 5:05 AM (9 years ago)

Last year we grew the most delicious carrots. The problem was we left more carrots in the ground than we actually brought up. I don't know what the secret is to digging up carrots without breaking them and never did figure it out. This year, I knew we wanted to have our own carrots again, but we had to figure out a better way to harvest them. After thinking about it, we came up with the idea to build boxes that would act as raised trenches. Oxymoron, I know. But that was the best term I could think of to describe what we were doing.

We stared by building boxes out of 1x6's, adding square supports in the corners. Each board is attached with screws so we can easily take the boxes apart at harvest. We used untreated wood knowing the boxes would probably only last a year or two.

Before placing them in the garden, we dug out a trench about 3 inches deep so the boxes would be partially below ground level. Then we filled them up with dirt and planted the carrot seeds.

After the top board was removed, we could start to see some decent looking carrots.

After removing the bottom board, we just pushed the rest of the box backward so it was easy to move the dirt away and grab the carrots.


After a quick rinse and trim, we ended up with a decent amount of carrots. Next year, I'm thinking about adding chicken wire over the top of the boxes so the critters can't get in there and dig up the veggies!

Fried Cupcake Squash 4 Sep 2015 3:55 AM (9 years ago)

As much as I love all things fall, it's always disappointing to see the end of the gardening season. We still have a few things left, so we're savoring them as long as possible! Since the cupcake squash were a new addition this year, we're still looking for different ways to fix them. The other night as I was staring at them, I wondered if they could be fried like zucchini. I mean if you can fry oreos, Pepsi, green beans, and butter, why not cupcake squash?

While the oil was heating in my cast iron pan, I set up my assembly line of frying essentials.

First is the flour. I used whole wheat and seasoned it with Italian seasoning and salt. Next, a couple of eggs--scrambled. The last bowl is breadcrumbs. I used a mixture of panko and some of my random frozen bread crumbs. (Whenever we have bread or crackers that start go to stale, I run them through the food processor and add it to the bag in the freezer. Currently, there is a mixture of whole wheat rolls, rye bread, and multigrain crackers.)

And I cut up the squash. I sliced it, then cut the slices into quarters just to make the frying process easier.

When the oil was about 325 degrees, I dropped the coated pieces in. I used my smallest cast iron pan for this because I like to work in small batches and I think it keeps the oil at a more consistent temperature. About 3 minutes per side was perfect for these.


After each side gets a nice golden color, set them on the rack and add some finishing salt.




The cupcake squash really have two very distinct phases. When we first pick them, the seeds are still very soft and more like zucchini. But as they ripen, the seeds and the inner flesh become more like typical fall squash. The late/ripened squash are much better suited to scooping out the seeds before cooking. Fried cupcake squash really needs to be made with the earlier squash where the flesh and seeds are still very tender and juicy.