Sloppy Joes With A Twist

Thanks to my friend, Jill, this is my new favorite Sloppy Joe recipe. It totally has a great twist to it.

Ingredients:
Splash of extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1.5 pounds of ground beef or turkey
Kosher Salt, just a little bit
Pepper to taste
2 cups of ketchup
1/4 cup of yellow mustard
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper - who would have thought?
1 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs red wine vinegar - another surprise

Directions: THIS IS SO EASY
1. Add the oil to the pan and saute the onion
2. Add meat, salt, and pepper. Fully cook.
3. Add ketchup, mustard, cayenne pepper, sugar, and tomato paste. Stir well.
4. Add red wine vinegar at the end and stir.
5. Place on your hamburger bun. I like to add mayo and a slice of cheese to mine :)

Notes:
The onion isn't overly powering so I like it that way the recipe calls for it to be made. Also, the 1 tsp. of cayenne adds such a good kick. It's not too spicy at all. If you're like my husband and you love spicy food, kick it up a notch.

I hope you like these as much as I do!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Yikes, it's been a while since I've updated the good ole' recipe blog. Here is my "go to" dip recipe. 

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:
1 cup of ranch dressing (I like Hidden Valley the best)
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese (I use the light version)
1 whole cooked chicken (I just pick up the cooked chicken at Sams Club, original flavor)
3/4 of a cup of Franks Red Hot original sauce
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Leave the cream cheese out until it reaches room temperature
2. Pull apart chicken to make small pieces
3. In a bowl, combine the chicken pieces, ranch dressing, & Red Hot sauce. Make sure all ingredients are combined well
4. In an 8 by 8 square pan, layer the room temperature cream cheese on the bottom of the pan
5. Place chicken mixture on top
6. Cover with cheddar cheese
7. Heat in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is nice and bubbly, about 20 minutes

Notes:
This is best served hot with celery and thick crackers. Yum :)
Feel free to add tabasco for if you like things nice and spicy.

Strawberry Sprite Cake, LOW FAT

This cake is sooooo easy. I totally stole the idea from Angela's blog. She said it was a Weight Watchers recipe so it instantly caught my eye as I'm trying to lose 15 pounds.

Ingredients:

Strawberry Cake Mix

Sprite or Sprite Zero

Sugar Free or Fat Free Cool Whip, thawed

Strawberries

Directions:

1. Mix together 12 ounces of Sprite Zero and the cake mix. DO NOT add the eggs and oil. Literally just the mix and sprite zero. It will be slightly lumpy. And don't ya'll use that whole thing of Sprite Zero in the picture. I just measured out my 12 ounces :)

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until done. The cake will not rise and it will be a little sticky. It's okay because it's still delish!

3. Let cool

4. Enjoy with cool whip and strawberries on top. It's like a strawberry version of angel food cake. YUM!

Fresh Homemade Applesauce

I LOVE FALL!!! I bought a big bag of Empire apples at Fairmount Orchard on Signal Mountain this week and wanted to make Lauren some yummy applesauce :) Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Apples - I used around 12 small Empire apples

Water

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Cinnamon - Optional

1. Core apples. Cute into chunky pieces and place in a crock pot.
2. Cover 1/2 of the apples with water. It's important not to cover the apples or they will turn out super watery. You can always add water later if you need to.

3. Cover apples with 1/4 cup of sugar

4. Add as much cinnamon as you would like
5. Cover and cook on low heat 3-4 hours. Just check on them during the cooking process to see how soft they are getting.
6. When they get soft, just mash them up to the consistency that you like. Serve warm or cold....yummmm!

Easy Breakfast Tacos

So I bought some low fat tortillas and was thinking what I could make with them. Growing up in Texas, we always had breakfast tacos when we went out to restaurants or at home. I would just love it if we had some good places here to get them BUT we don't so I made my own!

Ingredients:

4 eggs (for 2 people)

Green pepper, sliced thin

Onion, sliced thin

Mushrooms, sliced

Tomato, sliced thin

Low fat or fat free shredded cheese

96% fat free tortillas

Directions:

1. Scramble eggs as you would normally. I always beat mine in a bowl and add a tiny bit of milk and then scramble

2. Add all veggies to the eggs while they are cooking

3. Add egg mixture to your tortillas

4. Add cheese on top

YUM YUM :)

Yummy Snack

So I love to snack - who doesn't, right?!?! This is one of my favorite, guilt free snacks, when I'm craving something crunchy!

1 serving tostitos baked chips

Salsa

Onions

Green Peppers

Cheese slice

• Place 1 serving of chips in a bowl
• Cut the cheese slice into little pieces and place over the chips
• Microwave 20 seconds
• Cover with salsa, onions, and peppers

YUM!!

Notes:

• You can always use a different kind of chip. I just choose the baked as I'm on weight watchers
• I use the 2% american cheese, the Wal-Mart brand. It's only 1 point per slice
• I like a chunky salsa because I feel like I'm getting "more" for my point value
• I love onions and peppers and they have 0 points so I load my bowl up. But you can always eliminate!

JCrew Flip Flops

JCrew flip flops are on sale right now for only $9.99. (Select Styles). My mom & I each got 2 pairs this weekend. They are FABULOUS, squishy yet so comfortable, some have a wedge which I love, and they are super nice and not cheap. Go get some!!!

Mexican Chicken

I totally took this recipe off of http://www.kellyskornerrecipes.blogspot.com

It just looked so yummy so I wanted to try it. I LOVED it so I had to share.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked & cut into pieces
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can of rotel
• shredded cheddar cheese - I totally use the whole bag
• 1 package of small corn tortillas
• Doritos, I use the salsa flavor but you can use any flavor you want

Directions:

• Bake chicken at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cooked. Cool and cut into bit size pieces
• Meanwhile, mix together the cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and rotel
• Line a 10 by 13 pan with the corn tortillas (just rip the tortillas into pieces) and crushed doritos (I used about 1/4 of the bag)
• Place the bit sized chicken on top of the tortillas & doritos
• Cover with the soup and rotel mixture
• Cover with shredded cheddar cheese
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
• Take out of oven and cover with more crushed doritos

Notes:

• I used the low fat soups and low fat shredded cheese and it turned out great
• You can eliminate the doritos but we really liked it with them. It adds an extra crunch & yummy flavor
• You can always add onions, peppers, or anything of that nature to the soup/rotel mixture for extra flavor
• Serve with refried beans & Mexican rice

YUMO :) and EASY!

Homeade BBQ Chicken Pizza

Nothing bothers me more than wasted food...okay, maybe some things :) For example, I really don't like grilling 4 pieces of chicken, only eating 2, & then forgetting about the other 2. A couple of nights ago, Todd & I grilled chicken & I needed something to make with the other 2. BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA!!

Ingredients:

• Pizza dough. You can buy this all ready to go in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, usually where the cheeses are. I bought the 3 mini pizza pack but you can buy 1 large pizza if you'd like
  
• 1 green pepper, sliced thin
• 1 red pepper, sliced thin
• 1/2 of a red onion, sliced thin
• BBQ sauce, pick your favorite
• Pizza shredded cheese pack, use 1 cup or more if you'd like
• boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into cubes. I used 2.5 breasts for 3 mini pizzas

Directions:

1. Cook Chicken in the oven or grill it. Let cool. 
2. While the chicken is cooling, spread the BBQ sauce over the pizza crust(s) until the crust has a layer of sauce
3. Add chopped chicken
4. Add the thin slices of peppers and onion
5. Bake at the temperature and time that is on the back of the pizza crust package
6. Take out of oven and cover with shredded cheese
7. Continue baking until cheese is melted

Notes:

This turned out amazing!!! I just loved it! I used Sticky Fingers' BBQ sauce (Carolina Sweet flavor) and low fat shredded cheese

Artichoke Chicken

This is so yummy! I like this served with rice & a vegetable as you can pour a little bit of the topping on the rice.

Ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) can of artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

3/4 cup of mayo

1 dash of garlic powder (around 1 teaspoon)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 slices of swiss cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the artichoke hearts, parmesan cheese, mayo, and garlic powder

2. Place chicken in a greased 13 by 9 baking pan

3. Pour mixture evenly over the chicken

4. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked

5. Take out of oven & place swiss cheese slices over the chicken

6. Bake until cheese is bubbly

Notes:

• I really don't like "heavy" foods so feel free to alter the amount of mayo you use. I used a low fat kind but you can always use the regular kind for a richer taste.
  
• You can always "play" with this recipe and add spinach, mushrooms, onions, etc. I just used what I had on hand
  
• This would be easy to serve kids as the artichokes are "hidden" in the cheese :) sneaky sneaky...

Watergate Salad

Nice & Low Fat!

Ingredients:

• 1 (3.4 ounce) instant pistachio pudding mix
  
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice - do not drain
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows - you can add more if you like
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, found on the baking aisle
• 8 ounce container of frozen whipped topping

Directions:

• In a large bowl, mix the pudding mix, pineapple with juice, marshmallows, & walnuts. 
• Fold in whipped topping

Notes:

• Do not use fat free cool whip. The consistency just isn't the same. However, I do use Sugar Free most of the time

No More Harsh Chemicals

Looking for a way to clean your house without using harmful chemicals? Simply use water and vinegar and viola, you have made your own cleaner. Seriously, it's so easy, cheap, and cleans like a charm. Why spend so much money on other products when you can simply make big batches of your own?

My own recipe:

1 gallon of water - save your milk jugs!

1/2 gallon of vinegar

Mix together and there ya go!

We always keep spray bottles with this cleaning solution all around the house. It cleans on granite countertops like a charm, cleans our bathroom, the hardwood floors, etc. We love it!

Cleaning Machine!

I have fallen in love with the Shark Steam Mop. After a horrible incidence of our beloved little dog, Belle, getting sick from household cleaners, we have now moved on to the Shark Steam Mop. It only uses water that steams so it's 100% safe. It cleans our hardwood floors like a charm and is very easy to use. FYI: You can get it at Sams for cheaper than other stores.

Sugar Cookies With Royal Icing

Cookies:

Okay  you can totally make these homeade but when you are pressed for time, go the easy route. Pillsbury has sheet sugar cookies at the grocery store. Just get cookie cutters & cut out the shapes you want & follow directions on the package.

Royal Icing:

1 box of powdered (confectioners) sugar

2 egg whites

Food coloring

Beat all ingredients on a high speed. It's so incredibly easy and the most yummy icing.

Place your icing in a piping bag of your choice & fill in your cookies. It's easiest to trace the cookies first and then fill in the centers.

I'll post pictures next time I make a batch but seriously, it's soooo easy and the best little treat to take to gatherings :)

Poppy Seed Chicken - YUM YUM YUM

This is the perfect dish to cook when company is coming over or you just want to feel nice and warm on the inside. It's Yummy!! Serve with rice and a green vegetable for a perfect dinner.

Ingredients:

1.5 - 2 pounds of uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in cubes

16 ounces Low Fat sour cream

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup OR cream of chicken, your choice

2 tablespoons of poppy seeds. I don't measure. I just throw a bunch in :)

1 can of mushrooms, any size & optional

1 sleeve of low fat ritz crackers crushed

2 tablespoons of melted butter

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into cubes if not done so already & place in a large mixing bowl

2. Mix together the chicken, sour cream, cream of mushroom, can of mushrooms & poppy seeds

3. Put in a greased (spray with Pam) 13 by 9 baking pan

4. Add crushed Ritz Crackers on top

5. Pour melted butter on top of crackers

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until Chicken is cooked

***This recipe is so divine and very easy to make. I substituted Low fat sour cream instead of using the full fat kind. I also used low fat ritz crackers instead of regular ones and I bought the healthy request cream of chicken soup. Finally, I only used 1-2 tablespoons of butter, instead of a whole stick that another recipe calls. That sure is a lot of butter - I may be from the south but  I'm no Paula Deen :)