Yummie'ness in a glass

Yummie'ness in a glass. That's what my latest recipe tastes like. This is my first attempt at making a greek yogurt smoothie and it's pretty dang great. I haven't decided if I like greek yogurt. I love this.

Here's what you need:
1/2 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
1 T sugar free white chocolate pudding mix
1 T cocoa
1/4 to 1/2 cup skim free milk
5 to 6 big fat frozen strawberries

Put all ingredients in pitcher of blender and blend on max power.

Now a couple of SMTs -
*I added strawberries at the end but it took a bit to crush them. Crush them first with the skim milk. Then add the remaining ingredients.
*Sub chocolate chocolate pudding mix for the white chocolate.

Brilliant first attempt, yes? You Sneaky Mommy!

ChaCha's Greek Apple Harvest Breakfast

I stopped eating the flavored greek yogurt a while ago because it has about as much sugar as a candy bar. Mom suggested mixing in sugar free pudding mix to plain greek yogurt. I love it! It has a little bit of an after taste on its own so I love to mix in apple and cereal. The tartness and moisture of the apple cuts the thickness of the yogurt.

3/4 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt mixed with 1tbsp Sugar Free Pudding Mix (cheesecake, white chocolate, etc)
1 cup apples chopped into cubes
1/3 cup bran flakes or chex for glutards
MIX MIX MIX

Salad love

I have a new salad love. I refer to this salad as HCR rice cracker salad. It helps me to remember some of the ingredients. H for ham, C for carrot and R for red pepper. I was looking for something to add to rice crackers and lettuce. Is it wrong to build a salad around rice crackers? I don't think so. Here's the ingredients for a single serving:

HCR RICE CRACKER SALAD

1 to 2 slices deli ham
1 handful of pre-shredded carrot
1/4 red bell pepper, julienne slices
small handful of rice crackers
2- 2 1/2 cups romaine lettuce
1 T rice vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 tsp evoo
pinch black pepper
Toss first 5 ingredients. Make dressing by rapidly whipping rice vinegar and evoo and black pepper together with a fork. Drizzle desired amount of dressing. There will be a little left over, I think.

SMT -
*I chose to use rice vinegar in this because it is the mildest of vinegars. This allows the sweet flavors of the carrots and peppers to come through. Put these flavors all together and you have a nice sweet and sour flavor. Really light and delicious. Think it will be really terrific after a day at the beach.
*Cha'ch wants to substitute for the ham. Think she could sub B.H. Golden Classic Oven Roasted Chicken Breast.

Kissin your faces!

And we're on our way...

And we're on our way, Girls. My first recipe post is Unstuffed Italian Peppers. I made this version of stuffed peppers for Dad when I just didn't have enough time to do my stuffin'. This worked to our benefit because I found I didn't need as much oil as the original recipe called for. This is the result:

Unstuffed Italian Peppers

4 servings white or brown rice, cooked

1 to 2 tsps evoo

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 red, orange or yellow bell peppers, seeded and diced

1 can diced tomatoes, approx. 15 ozs

1 can tomato sauce, 15 ozs

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

3 dashes tabasco sauce

black pepper, to taste

2 to 3 T grated parmesan, optional

1. Heat a large skillet over medium low heat.

2. Add evoo, onion and garlic. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes, until the onions become somewhat translucent.

3. Add ground beef and brown.

4. Add red pepper, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried oregano, Worcestershire and tabasco sauce.

5. Bring mixture to a rapid slimmer. Add black pepper, to taste.

6. You can eat this right away or you can let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes to let flavors marry.

7. Serve over rice of your choice and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

SMT (Sneaky Mommy Tricks/Tips):

*Substitute Italian turkey sausage for ground beef.

*Substitute Srirach for Tabasco.

*Sub orzo for rice if you aren't cooking for a glutard.

*I don't really care for green peppers and neither does your Dad. He says they 'repeat on you.' That's a yankee explanation for the fact that green peppers make you burp a lot!

*Simmer with a lid on the skillet prevents the moisture from evaporating and the dish drying out.

*Sprinkle of parmesan cheese gives a salty flavor to the dish without the salt. 22 calories per tablespoon of parm. That's a lot of cheese for a garnish.

So there you go, Unstuffed Italian Peppers. Thinkin about tweaking it a bit. G. (that's how ChaCha refers to Giada) includes shredded zucchini in her stuffed pepps. Maybe toss in a handful of slivered baby spinach towards the end of the simmer. Just cook until it begins to wilt. Will let you know if and when I do. Let me know if you do!

Kissin' your faces!

Hell-bent on healthy home cooking...

Hell-bent on healthy home cooking starts now. Girls, this is for you and yours. Going at this like I'd go after Jack with a wooden spoon. The plan is to create a master file of go-to recipes of dinners, menus and treats. I also plan to build a list of standard items to keep in your cabinets, fridge and freezer. Having these on hand will ensure there is always a healthy alternative to grazing in front of the pantry door for 30 minutes before giving into ordering in from the taco guy, agian! Will try to include how-to's, skills and tricks I've picked up over the years. Which brings your Nonnie Sue to mind. I'm going to reach out to her and get her to be our 'guest blogger'. She knows lots of tricks. (You sneaky Nonnie!)
Expect first recipe tomorrow. Love you, too much.