Back in January I started a program with one of my co-workers (and 43 other people) called Feel Great in Eight. The basis of the program is to create better habits in your life. You get points for eating fruits, veggies and other good items that were on the list. You received negative points for items that were on the bad list and for eating after 8 PM. You also received points for reading your scriptures, praying, exercising, and doing a daily calendar item. It was actually a fun program and I was feeling great by the end of it. At my last weigh in on March 12th I was down eight and a half pounds, which make a grand total of 20 since the end of September when we moved to South Salt Lake.
One of the calendar items we had to do is try a new "healthy" recipe. We tried the following recipe. They are REALLY yummy! I think we have made them three time already. I would definitely suggest trying them.
Banana Nut Muffin
Preheat oven to 350
Begin with:
5 smashed bananas (I sometimes add one extra. I use a mixer.)
1/4 cup canola oil
2/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
Mix all together then add:
2 1/3 cups wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp nutmeg
mix all together again
Stir in 2/3 cups chopped walnuts. (We have been chopping extra nuts and put them on top)
Makes 12 big muffins. Spray muffin pans and fill to the rim. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Ready for the oven
They look yummy!
March for us means Pi Day and this year we had a HUGE turn out. We had around 30 people show up, which was crazy, but it was a lot a lot of fun. Zoey wasn't sure what to do with all the people in our house, especially the kids. We have pizza and pie like we have had the last several years (well at least since we have been married) and then just sat around a talked. We have a bunch of ward members show up which was fun.
Pi Day also mean that Shaun and I have know each other another year! I am so glad that I went for left over pie that very first time! I love Shaun so much!
The spread (minus the pizza)
Lots of people!
More people!
I have so good news to share! I get to start school at the end of May!! I am so excited. I was able to arrange my schedule at my current job so that it will work for me to go to classes (no more 10L shifts!!). I am so excited to finally be able to start. It is amazing how everything has worked out so that is even possible for me to think about starting. I just need to continue to have faith that everything else will fall into place!
Sunday we made yet another pot roast. Each time we make our pot roasts they get a little better. We have done chuck roasts and cross rib roasts. Sunday's roast was a cross rib roast. I wanted to document the recipe (sized for a 5.5qt slow cooker).
Our Ingredients:
1 30oz roast
1/2 onion
8 celery sticks
8 red potatoes (could have been more, but it is all we had)
1lb carrots
3/4 cup water + 3/4tsp beef bullion
2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1.5-2.5 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions:
We start by salting the roast and preparing the vegetables. Sprinkle kosher salt over all sides of the roast. Cut all the celery, potatoes and carrots and put them in the bottom of your slow cooker.
Start warming water and bullion mixture on medium heat. Once mixture is warm add worcestershire sauce and keep warm until you are done with the next step.
French cut the onion and start heating a 12 inch sauté pan over medium-high heat (Do not use non-stick for this as you will be deglasing later). Put oil in the pan as it heats. Once pan is hot add onions and cook until onions are soft, but stop before they start to caramelize.
Once the onions are done pull them out of the pan. Immediately give the pan another shot of oil and put the roast in the pan. Sear for 30 seconds to a minute on each side. You want a nice deep brown color on the roast. Once you are done searing the roast remove the pan from the heat. Remove the roast from the pan and place it on top of your vegetables in your slow cooker.
Remove any extra vegetable oil from your sauté pan. Deglase the pan by pouring the water/bullion mixture into the pan. The pan should still be hot enough to instantly boil some of the liquid. Use a whisk or spoon to break up any bits of meat residue stuck to the bottom of the pan. Leave on medium heat until you are ready to use it.
Put the onions on the roast. The french cut and sauté helps with this as the onions are less likely to fall off of the roast. If the onions fall off and into the vegetables and liquid they don't caramelize as well during the cooking process. Once the onions are on the roast pour the deglasing liquid from your sauté pan over the roast.
(At this point we sprinkle a Lipton onion soup dry mix over the roast. I am inclined to try a roast without it next time to see how it works.)
Cook on low for 6 hours.
Notes: This cooking method with the cross rib roast resulted in a piece of meat that was firm, but not chewy. The same method with a chuck roast results in pieces that tend to fall apart a little more. Adding too much cooking liquid is the quickest way to get overly soft vegetables. In the past I have also tried using a dry rub mix instead of just salt on the roast; It definitely adds some nice flavors.
Shaun and I really do love cooking! We especially love trying new things. Some of the yummy things we have made recently are Anniversary Chicken, homemade waffles with homemade strawberry syrup, and "Davinci's Horse" Burgers (name still in the works).
Anniversary Chicken
Recipe:
6 chicken breasts 3 green onions
1/2 c. teriyaki sauce 1/2 (3 oz) jar real bacon bits
1/2 c. Ranch dressing Chopped fresh parsley
1 c. shredded cheese
In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken and saute 4-5 minutes, until lightly browned. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in 9X13 pan. Brush with teriyaki sauce. Spoon on Ranch. Sprinkle with cheese and green onions. Add bacon bits. Bake 25-30 minutes. Garnish with parsley
**Note: I didn't follow the exact recipe. We used less chicken since there was just the two of us. There was extra teriyaki sauce, which I just poured into the casserole dish. I also only used about 1/3 of a cup of Ranch dressing, but that is what I needed for the amount chicken we had. I also didn't use fresh parsley... Just the dried stuff...
Homemade waffles & strawberry syrup
Shaun made these for us the other morning. It was REALLY yummy. He followed the waffle recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook we have. For the syrup he took 3/4 lb strawberries, 3/4 cup sugar and just enough water to cover the strawberries. He then cooked it on medium/medium high heat until it reduced.
"Davinici's Horse" Burger
These burgers were a lot of work, but REALLY good! Shaun ground a chuck steak and garlic with our meat grinder attachment we have on our KitchenAid. He then formed them into patties and put them on our grill. We then topped the patties was sauteed mushrooms, Davinci gouda, A1 sauce, and a little horseradish! They were SO yummy!!!
By Donna Meadow (Woman’s Day Magazine-Feb 17th, 2010)
Yogurt Sauce
1 cup plain Greek yogurt 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
¼ cup water ¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp garlic powder ¼ tsp salt
Meatballs
To cut down on prep time, buy prepared turkey meatballs. Just roast for the last 10 minutes or use the follow:
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs 1 large egg
1/3 cup water 1 tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp ground cumin ¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp pepper
1 lb lean ground beef 1 lb medium zucchini cut into ½ in rounds
2 tsp olive oil 1 medium red onion, cut into ½ in thick wedges
3 plum tomatoes, cut into 4 wedges Warmed pocketless pitas
Lettuce (optional)
1. Position racks to divide oven in thirds. Heat oven to 500ºF. You’ll need 2 rimmed baking pans lined with nonstick foil.
2. Yogurt Sauce: Mix all sauce ingredients in medium bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve with meatballs.
3. Meatballs: Stir bread crumbs, egg, water, minced onion, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until blended. Add beef; stir with fork until thoroughly blended. Roll rounded tbsps into balls; place on lined baking pan.
4. Put zucchini and red onions on other lined baking pan; toss with oil. Place vegetables on top rack, meatballs on bottom. Roast 20 minutes.
5. Remove pan from oven, turn browned vegetables over, then push to one side, and add tomatoes; turn meatballs. Roast meatballs and vegetables 5 minutes more or until tender; toss together.
6. Serve on pitas with lettuce if desired. Top with yogurt sauce
Per serving :363 cal, 31g protein, 17g carb, 3g fiber, 19 g fat (9 g sat fat), 132mg chol, 450mg sodium
NOTES: We decided that next time we do this recipe that we are not going to add the water to the yogurt sauce. It was REALLY runny.
Another thing we learned is that you really do need to oil the foil when you line you pans. Otherwise the meatballs just sticks and makes a huge mess out of them.. It also makes it hard to flip them over like the recipe calls for.
Also, we didn't put in the tomatoes, since neither of us are huge tomato fans and because we couldn't find an tomatoes that looked good.
