True Love and Noodle Love

Happy Monday!!!

I am ending the night with some true love… The Bachelor finale.  Do you watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette?  I just can’t help myself.  I am a sucker for that show.  I can’t wait to see who Brad chooses! 

Today, I want to talk about convenience foods.  Lately, my life has been so busy that I am doing a terrible job of planning ahead and cooking meals for myself and my family.  I think that poor planning is one if the biggest pitfalls of getting (and staying) healthy.  Some nights I am coming home at 9 p.m. and I am starving… so I eat whatever is quickest. 

Sometimes it’s frozen convenience foods, like this lasagna we had last night. 

Good, yes.  Best ingredients?  Probably not.

But today I cooked two meals that only took a few minutes, but turned out pretty tasty!

Today, I had several meetings with teachers planned, so I decided to make chili. 

I planned to make this into chicken chili, but the grocery store was out of those convenient packages of grilled chicken strips.  Grrrrr…  So at the last minute, I added Morningstar Farms crumbles to the chili.  I love all the Morningstar Farms products.  This chili was delish with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream mixed in.  And it took me just FIVE minutes to prepare this in the slow cooker!  Now, these directions are to prepare the soup in a slow cooker for a lunchtime meal.  But you could definitely make this on the stovetop, too!  (Much quicker!)

Sorta Homemade Slow-Cooker Veggie Chili

• 1 pack Bear Creek “Darn Good Chili” Soup Mix
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 12-oz package Morningstar Farms “beef” crumbles

Preparation: Fill slow cooker with 7 cups of hot water.  Turn on high for an hour.  Add tomato paste and stir so that it breaks up.  Add the chili packet.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes.  Add crumbles and cook 2 more hours on high.  Serve with chips, cheese, and sour cream!

Then tonight, I decided to try something new.  My friend Diana over at The Chic Life is constantly making these Noodle Stir Fry dishes, like this one.  I’ve been wanting to try this!  So tonight I did! 

I cooked Udon Noodles, and then drained them and set them aside.  I stir-fried my broccoli and edamame in a skillet with a little canola and sesame oil, and some reduced-sodium soy sauce.  When everything was almost cooked through (to crisp-tender) I added the noodles to the skillet and added a sprinkling of sesame seeds. 

And wow… this was so good and took only a few minutes to prepare!  The longest part was cooking the noodles!  I will definitely make this again… SOON!  SO much better than getting takeout!

OK… the Bachelor is getting INTENSE!  I’m gonna have to give it my full attention…

Good night!

Mexican Chicken Stew and Spiritual Gifts

Happy Sunday to everyone!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  We had another weekend of amazing weather here in South Carolina.  Today, it was about 80 degrees here!  Can you believe it?  In February???  The weather in the south is so unpredictable in the spring and fall.  It could be 80 one week and then 40 the next!  I actually would like it to be just a little bit cooler.  When we start running the air conditioner, our power bill skyrockets!  I was hoping for a few more weeks or months of little-to-no air conditioning. 

This morning, I slept in a little (until 8:00)!  Woo hoo!  Amazing.  I used to think sleeping in meant sleeping until noon.  Now if I sleep until 8, it’s a small miracle!

I have a new breakfast favorite. 

Toasted whole wheat flat bread, topped with ham slices and a fried egg.  LOVE runny eggs!  This breakfast will really stick with you for a while, too.

While I ate, I was busy taking a “Spiritual Gifts” quiz.  Stay tuned for more information on that.

I quickly ate lunch and then threw ingredients in the crock pot for dinner tonight before heading out the door to Zumba!

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we had a “Souper Bowl Party” at work. 

Everyone brought in soups and stews, and we voted on our favorites.  I have been wanting to make the winning stew for a couple of weeks, so today I finally did! 

This PRIZE-WINNING recipe is courtesy of my coworker, Jennifer. 

Mexican Chicken Chili:

• 1 package of boneless chicken breast
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of black beans, washed and drained
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• 1 can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis
• 1 large jar of salsa

Dump everything in the crockpot and cook until the chicken shreds when stirring.  Great on rice, baked potatoes, chips, and as burritos. Top with sour cream, shredded cheese, and jalapenos.  EASY!

Well, you know me… I never stick to a recipe completely.  The only changes I made were due to available ingredients in my pantry.  I started with 3 frozen chicken breasts.  I added in a cup of frozen corn kernels, 2 cans of light red kidney beans (I didn’t have black), and 2 cans of Ro-Tel.  I omitted the salsa and the taco seasoning.  I added some cumin, diced onion, and cayenne pepper.  I cooked on high for 2-3 hours, then turned it down to low for an hour.  I took out the chicken, shredded it, put it back in, and stirred.  Then it was ready to go.  I ate it like a chili, with tortilla chips on the side and cheddar sprinkled over the top. 

It was delish!  If I’d had sour cream on hand, I would have used that as a topping, too. 

Thanks, Jennifer for the recipe!

So… about that quiz from this morning… I wasn’t sure whether I was going to write about this today or not… because I normally don’t get too spiritual on my blog.  But I decided I am just gonna “put it out there” anyway.

Our Sunday School class is reading a book called Equipped for Every Good Work.  It’s all about finding out what your spiritual gifts are, so that you can find places and ways to be involved in the church.  I was really interested in taking this quiz to see what my gifts might be.  Ryan and I both took it.  This quiz was no joke!  200 questions!!!  It took me 2 cups of coffee to get through it.  It turned out that my spiritual gifts were Faith and Healing!  When I saw that, I was like, “Wait!  What?”  But then I started thinking about it.

I think that if I had taken this quiz 2 or 3 years ago, I probably would have gotten completely different results.  But several things over the past couple of years have really taught me about letting go and keeping the faith.  When Ryan lost his job and ended up with a job with much lower pay, I wondered how we would make it through.  And I was pretty angry at what was happening to our family.  But he’s had an amazing year, and even though money is tight sometimes… we’ve learned that sometimes there is a plan that we can’t always see.  Sometimes you have to have faith that everything is going to work out the way it is supposed to… even when it happens in a way other than what we would expect. 

A good friend of mine said to me a few months back,

“If you’re going to worry, why pray? 

If you’re going to pray, why worry?” 

That quote has really stuck with me, and I am really trying to live by that now.  You know what?  It’s making like a lot less stressful and a lot more enjoyable. 

So… I’ll leave you on that note… Have a great week!

Liz

I Heart My Crock Pot: Easy Pot Roast and Vegetables

For some reason, today was a tiring day.  I don't know what made it that way.  Maybe my lack of sleep this week is catching up to me.  I've been staying up way too late!  It was a good day, overall, with the exception of forgetting my pants.  (More on this in a minute...)  I was kind-of dragging when I got home.  But when I opened the door at home, I immediately encountered the comforting, inviting aroma of Easy Pot Roast with Vegetables!  Don't you love coming home to an already-cooked meal?  I really heart my Crock Pot.  This is the time of year that it gets the most use... soups...stews...mmmmmmm...... I love fall and winter foods!

I know everyone knows how to make a Pot Roast, but I'll share how I made mine this morning.

Ingredients:
2 lbs top round roast
4 russet potatoes, quartered
2 onions, peeled and quartered
1 cup of baby carrots
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup dry red wine (I used Merlot)
salt, pepper, and other seasonings

Directions:
Throw all the vegetables in the Crock Pot.  Add salt, pepper, and any other seasonings.  I used an all-purpose blend.  Then, add the meat.  Lay the roast over the vegetables. Pour the wine over the meat.  Then season the meat.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until meat is cooked through and falling apart!

This recipe serves 4.

I am soooooo excited for tomorrow.  Tomorrow I am going to a Cris Tovani workshop.  For those who don't know her, she's the author of some really fabulous professional books for educators.  Some that I have used are Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? and I Read It, But I Don't Get It.  I know it is going to be a FABULOUS Friday. 

Oh-- you want to know about me forgetting my pants, right?  Well, I was all set to teach Zumba this afternoon.  I went to change into my Zumba clothes, and guess what I forgot?  PANTS!  So... I did not teach Zumba at school this afternoon.  And I used that as an excuse to be totally lazy... I skipped Zumba with Katie at 5:30 and didn't go to weigh in at Weight Watchers, either.  Do you ever have days like that?  You mess up on one thing and then self-sabotage???

Tomorrow I will try to get back up on the horse!

Too tired to cook...

Well... guess what DIDN'T happen today... I did not try my new green ingredient.  I have plans to try it tomorrow.  When I got home tonight, I just couldn't do it...



"Sausage", Egg, and Cheese Sandwich



I had one of my regular favories for breakfast: a "sausage", egg, and cheese sandwich.  I LOVE that Morningstar Farms Maple "Sausage!"  It is sooooo delicious!  Sweet AND spicy... like you dipped your sausage patty into rich maple syrup.  But with only 80 calories (or 1 point) instead!

Also-- just a little side note... hubby and I were watching the news this morning and guess who was in Charlotte today?  Sandra Lee!  I wish I'd known ahead of time.  It would have been fun to try and go see her at the Southern Women's Show.



For lunch, I made my experiment for a teacher meeting: "Sorta-Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup"!  I have to say, this one is a keeper!  It made a huge batch and was not expensive at all to make.  AND-- I made it in the Crock Pot!  Here's the recipe...

1 pouch of Bear Creek Soup Mix (Tortilla Flavor) (about $4)

1 can of white corn (less than $1)

1 can of diced tomatoes with onion and green pepper (less than $1)

1 1/2 cups of chopped, cooked chicken breast (about $3-- maybe less)

baked tortilla chips, cheese, and light sour cream to mix in (optional)

Directions:

Pour 10 cups of water into crock pot.  Turn to high.  After 30 minutes, mix in all ingredients except for the toppings.  Stir and cook on high for 3 hours.  Stir occasionally.  After two hours, turn to low for another hour.  Then you are done!  Add the optional mix-ins if you want. 

I fed 7 people, 2-3 of which had seconds, then I ate it again for dinner tonight and there is STILL another serving left!  So there are about 10-12 servings, I would say.  That's less than $1 per serving!

Doesn't that look delicious?????  It WAS!

I also made some corn muffins to go with the soup.  I LOVE corn muffins.  But I can't take any credit for this recipe.  It was a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix.  All I added was some milk and an egg.  Sometimes, we don't need to reinvent the wheel.

After work I came home and did a little choreographing for a Zumba class I have coming up at Oakland Baptist.  (See the note on the right side of this page for info about that.)  Then I headed to the YMCA to catch Zumba with Katie.  So much fun.  She's the BEST!

I have not been very diligent about tracking points or doing what I need to do at the Y.  I need to get back to doing more weights and cross-training.  Zumba is awesome, but I need to do some of the other classes and workouts, too.  Do you ever get into an eating or workout rut? 

So... after all that... I didn't have the energy to cook tonight.  I will cook the mystery ingredient tomorrow.

Thank You, Crock Pot...

Yesterday after a fabulous (very productive) day at work, I arrived home to the delicious smell of stew beef in the crock pot... ahhhhh...  This is one of my favorite fall meals because it is so easy.  There are different types of Crock Pot Recipes.  Some of them are the kind where you do some prep work, like brown the meat, and then throw everything in and let it cook.  Then, there are other recipes where you do little to no prep work and let it cook.  This was the latter. 

Mornings in the Bridges household are always a little crazy.  The rule is, we have to be out the door by 7 a.m., and really I would rather be out the door at 6:50.  So when the alarm goes off at 5:50 (or 6 if I hit snooze) it is a mad dash.  Having a child will add some work to your morning routine.  And having a child who is potty training will add some MORE work.  And having a child who is potty training AND cranky at 6:30 a.m. will add some MORE work. 

Around 6:30, I go into Sadie's room a nd turn her light on.  This is the first stage of her wake-up process.  If we're lucky, about 5 minutes later, she'll come wandering into our room, hair looking very lion-like (wonder where she gets that from?) and say, "Good morning, Mommy!  Good morning, Daddy!"  But sometimes Ryan has to go in and drag her out of bed to screams of  "Noooooo!  Go away!  I don't want to get up!"  Then we've got to go potty.  This is easy if we're in a good mood.  But if we're in a bad mood, welllllll..... you try getting a crank two-year-old to pee pee on the potty first thing in the morning.  You'll see.  The next hard part is the outfit.  Now, if we have clean Cinderella panties and a dress, we are golden.  It's a breeze.  But if all the "pretty panties" are dirty and we only have plain white ones, and then we only have pants or shorts... well... it's a scream-fest.  

Once all that is done, we're over the big hurdle.  Then we're all downstairs in the kitchen grabbing lunch items, fixing our "to-go breakfasts," pouring Cheerios ("Not the Honey Nut ones, Mommy!  I want the real ones!  In the yellow box!") into a baggie, mixing chocolate milk ("Is it brown now, Mommy?"), and getting hair brushed.  All of this happens at mind-boggling speed.  And if all goes well, we're out the door between 6:50 and 7.  I remember when I was growing up, we sat around the table and had breakfast together.  I remember my dad making us muffins or cheese toast or, if we were REALLY lucky, Corned Beef Hash.  (If you don't know what this is, you missed out.  And if you go out and get it, don't judge it by the appearance!)Can you imagine?  A sit-down breakfast!  All 5 of us.  I don't know HOW my parents managed that! 

I say all this to you to stress that doing ANYTHING extra in the morning is a big deal.  There's not a lot of time to spare.  So if you ever hear me saying that I started a Crock Pot meal that morning, you KNOW that it was something EASY.

This recipe is easy, but when you come home after work, it will smell AMAZING.  And it tastes so delicious.  You'll be glad you spent that extra 5 minutes in the morning getting it all ready. 

So here's the recipe for my Stew Beef over Noodles, or as Sadie calls it, "Beefy Noodles."

Ingredients:
2 lbs of Stew Beef (I like larger chunks, rather than smaller, because they really shrink as they cook.)
1 can of Campbell's French Onion soup
1 can of Campbell's 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup light sour cream
sliced green onions for garnish
pasta (whatever you like, but something broad works best.  I used Mueller's whole-wheat egg noodles.)

Directions:
In the morning, mix the beef and both soups in the Crock Pot.  Turn Crock Pot to low and cook for 8-9 hours, until beef is very tender.  Then, turn Crock Pot to warm setting.  Stir in the sour cream.  Let everything sit on warm for about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare the noodles.  If you like, add a pat of butter to the noodles once they are cooked and are still warm.  Garnish with green onions.

I served it with french green beans cooked with garlic, butter, and salt.  And some sliced tomatoes.

Sadie ate... in her princess nightgown... with a princess cup... see a pattern here?

And one of us left this mess on the tablecloth.  Any guesses?  Yep, it was Ryan...

Not so great Oatmeal...

I had high hopes for this oatmeal recipe. 

As I said, I got the idea from Diana, who write a blog called The Chic Life.  The original recipe for "Overnight Oatmeal" is from Alton Brown, and you can find it on the Food Network website. 

This was my first time making steel-cut oats.  I added in a little brown sugar, craisins, sliced almonds, and cinnamon.  I also substituted the cream for skim milk.  I cooked my oatmeal on warm all night  because my crock pot cooks extremely quickly, and many reviewers complained that their oats burned.  I just KNEW I was going to wake up to these delicious scents wafting up the stairways. 

However, when we woke up, it was still pretty soupy.  So I cranked it up to high.  An hour later, it looked more like what oatmeal SHOULD look like.  The flavor wasn't bad, either-- not too sweet-- which I was a little worried about.  But something about the texture didn't work for me.  I don't know if it was just the steel cut oats or what.  I ate it anyway.  I sliced some bananas into it, but it just didn't live up to my high expectations of the oatmeal.  If you have ever eaten steel-cut oats, maybe you can tell me-- do they stay kind of firm and chewy?  I was expecting soft oatmeal.  I might try it again because I still have the ingredients, but next time I might not add in the craisins and almonds.  I might try dried apples instead.  And I might turn the pot to low around 3-4 a.m. 

Simmering away...

Still soupy... :(

Done... but not quite right...?

At least the coffee was good... (By the way, this is a tea bowl that I made with my own two hands!)

Anyone ever cooked steel-cut oats?  Any suggestions?