Cookin For A Purpose

All of you know I enjoy cooking, it's a way to show my family and the other people I care about love. There's nothing more enjoyable when my daughter and hubby tells me how much they love what they had for dinner or when my little one tells me to make sure to make that lunch again that I packed her. I guess you can say it's my "love language".
I've realized recently though that I have not been feeding my family the best stuff possible and that myself has suffered a lot from that health wise. I have suffered from being overweight and with high blood pressure for a long time now. Many doctors have told me I shouldn't have such high blood pressure at such  young age. So I've decided to make a change, and through this make a healthier change in my family.
A month ago I signed up for the 21 day fix program from Beach Body. It combines clean eating with an exercise regiment and I'm hoping to lose weight and create healthier habits in our house. My husband is on board to eat whatever I'm eating (some husbands aren't like this) and my daughter prefers healthier food anyways. I'm hoping to use this blog as an outlet to share this journey and share recipes or tips I discover during my process that might help other people as well!
I've already made some changes and have seen results before the program has even gotten here (it's on back order due to it's popularity). I've cut out all soda from my diet. I used to drink so much soda and maybe a glass of water a day. This week I've had no soda, one tea, and the rest water (thanks to my favorite new water bottle which I will share in another blog post). This is a defeat in itself and today at the doctor I was told my blood pressure was a lot lower than it normally is and that is without medication. I still have to take medicine but who knows maybe I won't in the future. So maybe my first "tip" I can give anybody who might read this is think about something simple you might be able to take out of your diet as your first step. I thought I would never stop drinking soda. Trust me on Monday I was ready to run to the car and grab a Pepsi, but with the support of coworkers I was able to do it.
So, find your support system, let people know what you are doing, and go for it. There will be slips (I know I will) but that victories with be so much sweeter! If you read this and find anything good from it please let me know. That will encourage me to write and share more. ;-)

Perfect Potato Soup

I love soup, especially potato soup. I could eat it on a 100 degree day and be just ok with that. I found a recipe from the Pioneer Woman a couple weeks ago that looked super yummy and easy so I decided to try it out on my family tonight. It was pretty cheap for ingredients too. So if you are looking for a good soup recipe on a cold (or even not cold) day try this out. (I didn't top with cheese cause I didn't have any but I'm sure my two would have loved it) I also didn't take out parts and blend it in the blender, I did smash it up with a potato smasher but we like the potato chunks. I also made this in my Ninja cooker which made it a one pot wonder. ;-)

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/01/perfect-potato-soup/

Perfect Potato Soup
Prep Time:Print RecipeIngredients

• 6 slices Thin Bacon, Cut Into 1-inch Pieces

• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced

• 3 whole Carrots, Scrubbed Clean And Diced

• 3 stalks Celery, Diced

• 6 whole Small Russet Potatoes, Peeled And Diced

• 8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Or Vegetable Broth

• 3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

• 1 cup Milk

• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream

• 1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste

•  Black Pepper To Taste

• 1/2 teaspoon Cajun Spice Mix

• 1 teaspoon Minced Fresh Parsley

• 1 cup Grated Cheese Of Your Choice

Preparation Instructions

 10 Minutes

 

Cook Time:

 20 Minutes

 

Difficulty:

 Easy

 

Servings:

 12

Add bacon pieces to a soup pot over medium heat and cook bacon until crisp and fat is rendered. Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside. Pour off most of the grease, but do not clean the pot.

Return the hot to medium-high heat and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 2 minutes or so, then add the diced potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, seasoning with salt, pepper, and Cajun spice.

Pour in the broth and bring it to a gentle boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get tender. Whisk together the flour and the milk, then pour into the soup and allow the soup to cook for another 5 minutes.

Remove half to 2/3 the soup and blend in a blender/food process until completely smooth. Pour it back into the soup pot and stir to combine. Let it heat back up as you taste for seasonings, adding more of what it needs. Stir in cream, then stir in parsley, reserving a little for garnish.

Serve in bowls garnished with parsley, grated cheese and crisp bacon pieces.

Happy New Year!

After being asked by several people to post my recipes that I use for different stuff I'm gonna get this blog back up and running. So as the New Year comes what kind of goals have you set for the New Year regarding food? Are you eating healthier, trying to plan meals out in advance, trying to eat at home more? What sources are you using to help you with your goals?

One thing I have recently gotten to help with my meal preparation in my Ninja 3-in-1 Cooker. I got it as an early Christmas. If you aren't familiar with the Ninja it is a slower cooker, stove top, and oven in one. The oven does steam baking, which means when making things with oil and butter in the recipe you only need to use half the amount of those ingredients. I've used it for a couple of recipes so far with it and have really enjoyed it. I really like the fact that I can use it to cook things like ground beef for a recipe and then turn around and finish using it for the rest of the recipe, I've done spaghetti a couple times so far in it.

So one thing I'm gonna try to do is post a recipe on here, maybe I'll even venture out and set up a Pinterest site to go along with this as well. (I don't have all day to sit and blog so we'll see) So for today I'm gonna post a really easy dip recipe I made last night for the New Years Party we went to last night.

Easy Sausage Dip
1 pd ground sausage
1 block cream cheese
1 can rotelle tomatoes

Cook sausage, drain fat, and add in slow cooker. Add block of cream cheese and can of rotelle. Mix together and cook on low for a couple hours, if you need it quicker you can put it on high just make sure to stir it. Serve with tortilla chips. Super yummy, easy, and cheap!

Taco Calzones

Ole! These taco calzones were a hit in the Cook household tonight, or as Corey would say "A keeper". They were super easy to eat and for Savannah it was fun because of the dipping. What kid doesn't like to dip. The recipe called for sour cream and salsa on the side to dip them in, I actually mixed the two together for a yummy creamy sauce. So whip these up one night for a quick and easy dinner the whole family is gonna enjoy. 

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1 8 oz package shredded cheese
2 pkgs pizza crust mix ( I just used the pillsbury pizza dough so I didn't have to mix up the mix it made it quicker)
Salsa, Sour Cream

Instructions
Cook ground beef
Stir in taco seasoning and 1/2 cup water Cook 4 min then set aside.
(If using mix)
Combine crust mix, 2/3 cup cheese, and 2 T taco seasoning. Stir in 1 cup water. Cover, let stand 5 min. Divide dough into 6 balls. Roll out each piece to 6 inch circle.
Divide meat and cheese and place in middle, fold over and seal with fork.
(With the premade dough, I just rolled it out and cut out the circles with a knife. It didn't have the other seasonings in it but it was quicker)
Bake at 375 for 20-25 min.
Dip in salsa and sour cream.

New Product Spotlight: Progresso Recipe Starters

Ever see a coupon or advertisement for a new product and wonder if it's really worth buying? I do ALL the time, especially things that are supposed to make things easier with cooking. Well I hope to every once in a while spotlight a recipe I make with one of these new products. Tonight I used one of the flavors of the new Progresso Recipe Staters (there was a coupon in last weeks paper). The recipe I made was called Meatballs and Mashers (think Ikea Swedish Meatballs but MUCH better). So pick up a can and try it out. I am going to try and get a different flavor this week and try a different recipe. It was so quick to make, seriously 15 minutes, and was very yummy. Except Savannah told me she doesn't eat balls, but that's just her being two. :-) What is a new product you have tried and enjoyed? Please share!

Ingredients
1 can (18 oz) Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ creamy portabella mushroom cooking sauce
1/2 cup Progresso® beef-flavored broth (from 32-oz carton)
24 frozen cooked meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter)
1 bag (16 oz) frozen red bell pepper and onions for stir-fry, thawed and drained on paper towels* (I used fresh bell pepper and onion and it worked just fine)
2 cups hot mashed potatoes

• Steps
• In 3-quart saucepan, mix all ingredients except potatoes; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened.
• Serve over mashed potatoes

King Ranch Casserole

When judging what I cook I say it was either a hit (put it in the "save" folder) or miss (don't ever make that again), well tonight's dinner was a little bit of both, I'll explain. Corey and I loved it, we had seconds in fact, Savannah however didn't enjoy it because it was "spicy". As a newer mom, especially of a little one who is actually eating all of what we are eating now, I don't try to make her anything special, I don't want her to think I am a short order cook, so I am learning even now how to maybe tweak a little bit of recipes so that she can enjoy them as well. Her telling me she doesn't like peas mean I am going to not make peas anymore, but her saying something is spicy will make me remember this next time around. So if your kiddos aren't eating something, is it because it's green, or may it be a particular spice. This dish does have a little heat to it, so next time I think I will omit the chili powder, and I'm sure all of us will hh jjpoj it! The following recipe was really easy to make and had elements that could be made ahead of time (the whole dish could be made ahead of time and then cooked if desired). Great for working moms or moms who just have to much to do during the day and need something easy but yummy to go to as well. I am also putting this on my list of meals to bring to friends that need something brought to them!

King Ranch Casserole

10 corn tortillas

3 skinless boneless chicken breast

1 bag frozen seasoning veggies

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can rotel tomatoes

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

8 oz bag shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven at 350 degrees.

Take chicken breast and boil it for about 20 minutes. Drain from water and chop up. (This step can be done ahead of time, especially if you like preparing ingredients on one day) 

Take chicken, veggies, soup, rotel, chili powder, and salt, and mix together in a bowl, set aside.

Take tortillas and cut into 1 inch strips.

Spray the bottom of 13x9 dish. 

Place 1/3 tortilla strips on bottom of dish. Place 1/3 of the chicken mixture and place on top of tortillas. Place 1/3 of the cheese on top.

Make 2 more layers like this. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly. 

Enjoy!

Happy Teddy Bear Day!!!

In celebration of Teddy Bear Day (and Grandparents Day too) I thought I would jazz up Savannah's breakfast to make it a little more fun. Sometimes an extra little step can bring a big smile to your kids' faces. I hardly EVER make breakfast. I am not a morning person (none of us are in this household) so mommy cooking breakfast is a big treat. I realized I had bread and bacon that needed to be used, so I decided to cook up some french toast, eggs, and bacon. But now for the teddy bear twist. As most of you know I love to bake, baking is truly my thing, so I dug through my 1000000 cookie cutters and found my teddy bear one, and took two pieces of the bread (mommy and daddy don't care if our bread is in the shape of bears) and cut her bread into bear shapes before cooking. When she saw her little bear toast she was so excited. So next time when you are trying to do a little something special for your kiddos think of something simple like this just to give them that extra smile. So for those of you who don't have a french toast recipe here's a really simple one you can jazz up however you want. 

Easy French Toast

6 Pieces of bread (any kind really that you have will work)
2 Eggs
2/3 cup of milk
Whatever seasoning you want. I used about a teaspoon or so (I didn't really measure) of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pie Seasoning. 

Warm up a griddle on the stove. Take the eggs, milk, and seasoning and whisk together. Take the bread and coat both sides with egg mixture. Brown both sides of bread on griddle. Top with powder sugar, fruit, syrup, whatever you like. Enjoy!!!