Recipes from Mom-A Guest Blog from our loyal follower, Jessica

I honestly never thought of my friend, Jessica, as much of a cook.  She's always running through McDonalds, Wendys, or Taco Bell drive thrus or to Little Caesars to get a $5 fast and ready pizza.  All of the sudden, she's sending me pictures of these amazing dinners she's been making.  An even bigger treat was the day she dropped off a bowl of Mostaccioli, still warm.  Yum!

Now, she's started sending me recipes.  Did she not get the memo?  I'm TRYING to eat healthy which is especially hard with all these temptations.  I'm sure these recipes could be "healthified" with a few substitutions but for those of you that want to go full force, Jessica's sharing the recipes with you!

My taste buds thank you, Jess!



Being a full time teacher and mother of two very wild boys I find it hard to plan out meals and look for them in cookbooks so I turned to my favorite cook for her advice. My favorite cook being my mom. Since I don't live close to my mom (780 miles away) I only get her cooking about 4 times a year. She used to cook the mostaccoli and bring it to all the family gatherings weddings, graduations, and birthdays. My family loves it so much I figured I better get the recipe and start cooking it for them as well. I also have heard her talk about her homemade Chicken Pot Pie so while I was home at Christmas she made it for my family. We loved it so much I came home and within 1 week called her for the recipe. My husband never eats leftovers and he will eat both of these. The last recipe is something that I found at Wal-mart. While picking up my chili seasoning I found these McCormick spices that were pre-packaged and had all the measurements for a given recipe and so I tried it and we love it. Trust me all these recipes are simple to make and very tasty. My kids are picky eaters and they will eat everyone of these meals.
I hope you enjoy these!
Jessica

Mostaccioli

Doesn't this look delicious?  Believe me, it was!



1-jar of spaghetti sauce (I use the large Prego with mushrooms you won't need it all)
1- box of the mostaccioli noodles or you can use penne noodles
1-2 cup bag of mozzarela cheese
Parmesan cheese

1 pack of Johnsonville mild/sweet Italian sausage

Cook noodles as package says. Pre-boil the sausage so that it cooks out the grease. After noodles are cooked put them in a large bowl. Take the sausage out after precooked. Then slice them in pieces. Pour sausage in bowl with noodles and add as much sauce as you desire. Pour in as much parmesan cheese as you wish and mix. You also can add in some mozzarela cheese too. Stir all together in a bowl. Then pour in a baking dish and cover the top with mozzarela cheese. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes covered with foil and then take off aluminum foil and cook until the cheese is a golden brown.

Chicken Pot Pie

2-Pillsbury Soft Pie Crusts (refrigerated kind they don't say soft on them)
2 cups diced chicken
1-can Veg-All (mixed vegtables corn, green beans, peas, and carrots)
2-Cans Cream of potatoes (you can use 1 can cream of chicken and 1 can cream of potatoe she uses the potato for both for more potatoes in the pie)
salt and pepper for taste
little milk to make it creamier

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Put one crust in the pie pan and poke a few wholes in the crust so that air comes through to cook the bottom. Then pour in all the ingredients. Put the other crust on top and wrap the edge with aluminum foil. Cook for 45 minutes on 350 and then take off foil and cook for 15 more minutes. Enjoy!

Everything poured in the bottom crust.

The top crust on and ready to bake.

Ready to Eat!



Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Potatoes2 tsp Paprika
1 1/2 tsp crushed rosemary leaves
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp course black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
3-4 chicken breasts or 6 bone in chicken thighs (whichever you want)
1 1/2 lbs small red potatoes cut into 1 inch cubes

1. Mix oil and all spices in large bowl. Add chicken and potatoes toss and coat well. Arrange chicken and potatoes in single layer foil lined 15 x 10 x 1 inch backing pan sprayed with no stick cooking spray.

2. Roast, uncovered in preheated 425 F oven 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender, turning potatoes occasionally.



This looks pretty healthy and amazing!

Thank you, Jessica!  We are always looking for great meals our kiddos will eat!

Healthy Eating is Living Green-A Guest Post

My cousin, Jennifer, writes a blog about living green: journeytoagreenlife.blogspot.com.  I am really impressed with all she's shared through her blog. Her blog includes great tips for living a healthier life.  I was especially interested in her post about green household cleaners.  They are safer and cheap!

I asked Jennifer if she would be willing to write a guest post for our site.  I know many of us our looking to make healthy changes as our New Year Resolutions.  Jennifer has offered some great suggestions to head us in the right direction. 

After reading this post, remember to head on over to journeytoagreenlife.blogspot.com to get more great suggestions!  Thanks again, Jennifer!

Shannon

Healthy Eating is Living Green, Recipes Included!!

I have been experimenting with only home cooked foods and I am going to share some of my ideas with you. My goal is to not buy anything in a package other than the staples and some hard to produce items.

I have been on a journey to living a more green life. In this journey I have begun changing the eating habits of my family. My interest is piqued any time there is a new health news report on foods or eating habits. Having a son with multiple food allergies has also raised my awareness of the ingredients in the prepackaged foods we purchase. I have found the only way to feed my family the best and control the exact ingredients in the food we eat is to make it myself.
My son Eli was allergic to dairy and soy for the first year and a half of his life (I say "was" because he has since outgrown the soy allergy). He is also allergic to eggs, nuts, and a few other foods. There was only one brand of frozen French baguette's that he could eat because they did not contain any dairy, egg, or soy. This began my "basic foods" home cooking. I started making my own pizza crusts, rolls, and bread so that Eli could enjoy some of what the rest of us were eating. I realized that it was not only easy to bake these basic foods myself but it really didn't take much time either. The taste was unbelievable! It is unnerving the amount of ingredients and preservatives that are in some basic foods such as bread and pizza dough. Anyways this started my experimenting and opened my eyes to some healthy alternatives to pre-packaged foods.

When I grocery shop I pretty much buy the basic staples and anything that I cannot create myself within a reasonable budget and time frame. Anything I buy prepackaged I always check the ingredients to make sure there are not lots of fillers or unneccessary ingredients. Here is a great site you can find info on all those hard to pronounce ingredients and what to look for and avoid:
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/healthy-ingredients
Some of the things I have started making from scratch are tortillas, bread, waffles, pizza crusts, sweets like cookies and pies, and seasonings like chili and taco seasoning. My shopping lists usually consist of staples like flour, sugar, sunbutter, rice, meats, eggs, milk, spices, nuts and seeds and apple juice(this is something I have not found a way to produce better or more efficiently than the manufacturers). I try to buy my produce from local produce stands or farms to keep it green. I have found that in doing this my grocery bill has decreased and the amount of money we spend on eating out. These savings are a great way to buy some organic products that typically cost more.

My next big recipe will be making fresh cheeses. I haven't done so yet but my mindset is "if it can be done, I can do it myself". I am currently looking for somewhere to purchase unpasturized goats milk so that I can make some that the entire family can enjoy. Below you can find some of my recipes and try them out yourself. I do most of my baking dairy and egg free so you can always substitute real eggs and dairy where I use egg substitute and soy or rice milk. I have found that this way of cooking and preparing meals it great for a budget and your health. You will find you can be very satisfied with your meals and at the same time be consuming less calories and sodium than if you were using prepackaged foods or eating out and consuming no nitrates. I even sneak in fresh spinach in my brownies and anywhere else I can hide the vibrant color from my older kids. I always use fresh veggies as my fillers in homemade breads, sauces, soups, and even meatloaf. This is a great way to get picky kid to eat their share of veggies sometimes without even knowing:) Enjoy!

Fresh Salsa
3 fresh tomatoes
1/2 medium onion
1 green chili
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp vinegar
Blend all ingredients in a food processor and serve

Homemade Hamburger Buns
2 tbsp dry active yeast
1 cup plus 2 tbsp warm water
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg replacer
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 to 1 cup of fresh chopped spinach
Dissolve yeast in warm water, stir in oil and sugar - let stand 5 minutes. Add egg replacer, salt, white flour, and 1/2 cup of wheat flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking to your hands. Fold in spinach. Knead 5 minutes. Divide into 8 pieces, shape into a disc. Let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes.

Turkey Chili
1 lb. ground turkey
1 green pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1 zucchini chopped
1 yellow squash chopped
3 tomatoes chopped
1 can tomato paste (you can substitute tomato soup for a healthier option or homemade tomato sauce))
homemade chili seasoning to taste (recipe below)
Saute turkey and veggies in a dash of olive oil. When cooked thoroughly add tomatoes, and tomato sauce and season. Simmer for at least an hour to let all the flavors meld.


Homemade Chili Seasoning
1 tbsp paprika
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp seasoned pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Store in an airtight container and season chili to taste. You can double or triple the recipe to save on time and have a larger amount on hand.

Pizza Crust
1 cup warm water
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cups flour
1 pack quick rise yeast
Top with favorite pizza topping and bake at 425 until browned.

Zucchini Lime Carrot Bread
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded unpeeled zucchini
1 cup finely shredded carrot
1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg substitute
1/2 tsp lime zest
Im a mixing bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, sal, baking powder, and nutmeg. In another bowl combine sugar, shredded zucchini and carrots, olive oil, egg substitute, and lime zest and mix well. Add flour mixture and stir until combined.
Pour batter into a 8x4x2 inch loaf pan and bake at 350 for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Great for a healthy breakfast alternative to pancakes or poptarts.

We would like to thank Jennifer for sharing her wisdom and expertise.  If you have something you'd like to guest blog about, please let us know!