Thoughtful Thursday

This Thursday I am going to do something different and talk about website the I like. I like food quite a bit if anyone has noticed. I cook a lot and in all honesty I would rather cook then eat out most of the time. One of  my favorite food sites is kraftrecipes.com (www.kraftrecipes.com). They have a number of not just recipes but entertaining ideas as well. Here are some of my favorite ones:

Pizza Calzones
I personally use biscuits or puff pastry to make theses. Also, I like to food process the toppings together so that it will onto the dough easier.


Cold Veggie Pizza
Usually when I make this I put cheese, broccoli, carrots and some other veggies on top. In the mixture that goes on the crust I put ranch powder in it too for some additional flavor.


BLT Deviled Eggs
Being from the South, you know I love a Deviled Egg. This puts a twist on the regular one with one of my favorite foods EVER:Bacon. I have a very large love of bacon and most things that include Bacon.


Spinach Lasagna
When I make this I usually still add sausage or beef to the mix. I have grown to like spinach over the years and figured out one why to get other people to eat it is to put it in items and cover it or mix it in with food they like (kind like what people do to there kids).

And this is one cake that I want to make at some point.

Tuxedo Cake
It looks pretty easy to make. I make try making this for Thanksgiving or Christmas, to get away from making the same ol' Pumpkin or Sweet Potato pie.

I might make something this weekend (if its' the cake I'll make sure to post it). Well, off to Earth Fare to get my 5 items for $5. If you ever get the chance, sign up for their emails and text messages (if you opt in to them) because every week you will be able to get free food items and they usually have a 5 for $5 where you get certain items for $1 each for a certain number of days. Until then, Laters......

What I am reading:November

HAPPY ELECTION DAY!!!! I hope everyone who is registered to vote gets out and does just that. My motto is this:If you do not vote, then you can not complain about anything (that was also my motto in college being on EC in my sorority when people did not want to be apart/take leadership positions). Anywho, I finished reading most of (actually all of them but one) the books I had a while back. So, this month I am posting about the books that I am about to start reading right after I finish watching the 5 Year Engagement:

God Never Blinks:50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours By Regina Brett


The Best Advice I Ever Got:Lessons from Extraordinary Lives By Katie Couric


My Fair Wedding: Finding Your Vision...Through His Revision By David Tutera


Somebody is going to die if Lilly Beth doesn't catch that bouquet:The Official Southern Ladies' Guide to Hosting the Perfect Wedding By Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays


The Class of 1861:Custer, Ames, and Their Classmates After West Point by Ralph Kirshner

The reason for the two wedding books is because I am planning my cousin's wedding in May and she hasn't done anything at all (she doesn't even have her dress picked yet).

That's it for now. Happy Tuesdays and Laters......

Fall eats and treats

Happy Halloween!!! This year I did not dress up even though what I was going as this year would have been real funny but I did not get the stuff to make it and the holiday being on the week has kinda made me feel blah. I am a slacker I totally admit that not with just Halloween but my blog too(not like anyone is reading anyway) but I have been busy trying to see what I need to do about finishing my second degree in Nutrition. Speaking of nutrition, the last time I was at the bookstore (yes, I still go to the bookstore and no, I do not own a kindle or iPad) I found this food magazine called Eating well. They have a lot of healthy recipes and also different article about food that are more informative than some I have seen in other magazines. Here are some of the recipes that I am planning on making from the magazine in the next couple of weeks:

Apple Cupcake with Cinnamon-Marshmallow Frosting


Chicken & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo


Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie


Rice Pilaf with Shrimp


Peanut Butter and Pretzel Truffle


Ravioli and Vegetable Soup


Chocolate-Covered Berry Marshmallows

All of these and more are on www.eatingwell.com. Until next time, Laters....

Food for Thought

Recently I have come to a decision: I have decided to go to Graduate School. I had originally planned on doing that after College: part one (that is what I call the time I spent getting my Communications degree). I am going to try to go get my Masters in Nutrition. There are many reasons on how I come to this decision. Hopefully, everything can workout and I can combine so many of the things I love into one career.

With that being said I though I would talk about some of my favorite food items that will not add to your waistline and are still tasty.

The Laughing Cow Cheeses



I personally like the Original and the Garlic & Herb spread (thelaughingcow.com). With it being 50 calories (original) and 35 respectively, you can eat this with feeling blah after. I put it on apples, crackers, french bread or you can be like my boyfriend and make it fried cheese out of it (not healthy but so good).

Barbara's Bakery
 
If you are like cookies I do you will love these. They are animal crackers (for those of us like me who still like to play with there food every now and then) and they taste really good too. The two flavors I like are the Vanilla and the Chocolate Chip. You can by them online at the website (barbarasbakery.com)starting at $.99 and they also sell them at Publix and depending on where you live at Whole Foods and The Fresh Market.

Nature's Valley


 


I use to not be able to be eat snack bars (I am allergic to coconuts which for some reason many bars contain coconut oil) but now I eat the Nature Valley Bars (naturevalley.com). Let me rephrase that I eat the Protein Bars now but I use to eat the Granola Thins. The thins are great snack and only 90 calories but I found out they were made with coconut oil (which I figured out when my lips started to swell). The Proteins Bars are great for a snack. I usually eat them in the morning since it holds me over for a couple of hours.

Ocean Spray Juice



Ever since I was little, I have been drinking Grapefruit juice. I usually by Ocean Spray (oceanspray.com) but I have tried other brands as well. However, some of those have fallen flat i.e. tasted gross. I am one of the few people who actually like it but it is a good alternative to drinking water all the time which is what I drink usually. Ocean Spray also have some other juices that are really good for every day use or for mixing to make drinks such as the Cran-Gran and the Blueberry-Pomegranate if you want to try something different.




Those are couple of things I am eating/drinking right now beside fruit and vegetable these days. Until next time, Laters....

Thoughtful Thursday

Here are some thought for today. Laters.....

Fall DIY ideas

Since it October and Fall most of this months post are going to be about the season and the month of October. I have found some crafts that I want to make this fall from Pinterest:


This candy corn wreath I want to try to make before Halloween. My only concern is that my boyfriend will go eat the candy corn before I get a chance to put it on the wreath.

This one can be used up until Thanksgiving (I would add some more color on the wreath though).
           
Acorn mirror

This wreath is a different way to do a fall wreath and all you have to buy is the later you want. You could probably use real or fake leave on this.

Cool idea for a centerpiece for a Halloween party or get together.

Have a great start of the week and until next time, Later......

Weekend treats

     I was going to post this on Saturday but I got kinda busy. Ok, that is a major lie: I ate to much food at Gameday party at my friend's house and ended up following asleep. Here is what I made to take out to my friend's party: Spinach/Artichoke Dip.

Before I tell how I made it I want to put out there that I cook in what my friend Kevin likes to call it "the grandma way": that is where you do not measure ingredients, kinda like some of our grandmas. I will tell you how much of everything I put in the dip:
 - 1 bag spinach, cooked and dried
 - 1 cup of Light Hellmann's mayo
 - 1 package cream cheese, soften
 - 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
 - One packet of vegetable soup
 - 2 tablespoons garlic powder
 - 2 cups mild cheese

First thing I did was put the artichokes in my food processor since they come whole. You can cut them yourself but it easier to process them. If you do not have a food processor a blender will work will also. If the cream cheese is soft enough, I sometime go and add all the ingredients into a blender. On this day however, I could not do that since half of my things are in my sorority sister/one of my best friend's apartments in Birmingham (side note: I had planned on moving to Birmingham but still have not found a job there). I ended up mixing it by hand:
    
This was after a little bit of mixing by hand. I put the dip into some rolls I bought that were shaped like footballs and a bread bowl I made. After filling the rolls and bowl with dip, I put the rest of the cheese (1 cup) on top of the 6 rolls and the bread bowl. I cooked all of it at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes (depending on the oven you are using). The end results were this:
 Rolls before cheese                                         
      
         Rolls after cooking

              Bread Bowl
 
You can tell I have issues routing my pictures to post but y'all have the idea (if someone could tell me how to rotate them the right way that would be awesome). The dip was a big hit at the party and my friend was made at me because I forgot to bring her some of the cookies and cream cake I made a couple of days ago
                
 
Until my next food project or gameday, whichever comes first. Laters.....