Fab Food Friday: Crustless Quiche

The past couple months I've been saying that I have been trying to lose the last of my baby weight by cutting way back on flour and sugar while bumping up the amount of fruits, veggies, and protiens. Well, within the last week I went down a size!!! WOOHOO! I'm pre-baby! Needless to say I was pretty pumped, which is even more encouraging to keep up the "plan".

I love quiche. Like, LOVE. I believe it is one of those super cute girly foods that can go, breakfast, brunch, and dinner. Usually when I make it I make it with a pie crust and cream...which of course is slightly less than healthy. This past week since I was loaded up with ham that the in-laws sent home from Easter and I decided I wanted to make a quiche with it. I researched (Pinterest of course!) to see if a crustless quiche could be done and actually look like it would pass the "husband test". I came across this recipe and saw that, yes, in fact it can be done.

I used the recipe for quiche that I came up with a while ago, removed the crust and the cream and well...it was AWESOME! So, I wanted to share...

Crustless Spinach, Ham and Cheese Quiche

1 1/2 cups roughly chopped ham (big pieces to "Man-up" the quiche)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
2 cups fresh, torn spinach
8 eggs
1/2 cup skim milk
1/3 of an onion, diced
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dry ground mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Chives if desired

1) Layer ham, then half of the mozza and cheddar, spinach, and then the rest of the cheese in a greased pie plate

2) Whisk the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the ham, cheese, and spinach

3) I took chives fresh from our garden, chopped them up with scissors and then sprinkled them on top...this is optional, but I love chives and the way they look, so I add them to a lot of dishes!

4) Bake at 375 for 35 minutes

This ended up tasting incredible! I didn't even notice that the crust was gone.

We put it together with a bunch of fresh fruit and some french bread for the man :) It made a great dinner...umm and breakfast for me the next day. Like I said, versatile! This definitely needs to go on your, must try list!

Enjoy!

Fab Food Friday: Coconut Lime cupcakes & more

Hello! Happy Friday to all! This is by far my favorite day of the week simply because it means we get the hubbs home with us allllll weekend! Today we couldn't wait to see him though, so the kids and I went to visit him for lunch. It's a special treat for our oldest to get to see his dad at work.

I have a tendency to send baked goods with the hubbs to work and some were requested today so Caden and I made these Lemon brownies to take. They turned out different than I thought, but the glaze really made the brownie(except as my oldest pointed out, "They aren't brown, Mom."). I like that I can appreciate something other than chocolate :) and everyone loved them, so they are worth a try!

Along with the "dessert appreciation that isn't chocolate" theme, I wanted to share these recipes with you...

The first is what I created really quick before our church small group one night. We were hosting small group and my son wanted jello for dessert (he likes it in individual cups) so we made it. A couple hours before small group I realized that Jello may not be as welcomed by the adults as they would all our pre-schoolers. After looking in our cupboard I came up with an EASY recipe for Mini Coconut cupcakes with lime glaze....

Coconut Cupcakes

--Makes 48 mini cupcakes--

1 box yellow cake mix (made according to package)

1 1/2 Tbs. Coconut Extract

1) Mix yellow cake mix according to package (I always substitute part of the oil for applesauce) and mix in the Coconut extract

2) Grease mini muffin tin and fill with cake batter

3) Bake 12-14 minutes

4) Let cool 3 minutes then add the lime glaze (below)

Lime Glaze

2 Tb Key Lime Juice

2 Tb Milk

1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

(This is my favorite Key Lime Juice to use)

1) Whisk together ingredients till smooth

2) Drizzle over hot cupcakes (Still in pan) till they are covered (the glaze will soak in)

3) Let the cupcakes cool then pop them out of the pan

The verdict? These were gone...quickly. Also, in my opinion, they must be mini cupcakes to get the lime glaze/coconut cake ratio just right :) I think they are a perfect summer treat that isn't too "heavy" on the hot days.

Easy, right? Normally I would try to make the cake from scratch, but this ended up being just right and quick to boot!

Next, is the recipe for Coconut Buttercream icing I made to top these Pineapple Coconut cupcakes (Again, the pineapple cupcakes are from a box) for the baby shower I hosted last week.

Ingredients

1 Cup unsalted butter at room temperature

3 cups sifted powder sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbs COCONUT extract

2 Tbs milk

(Yellow food coloring is optional)

1) Beat Butter for a few minutes on medium speed

2) Turn mixer on low and add the powdered sugar

3) With beater on medium add the salt, extract, milk, and yellow food coloring if you choose and beat for a few minutes

To top cupcakes with icing I use a decorating press (I will never go back to using a knife to top cupcakes!)

Another thing I will never go back to is icing from a can...buttercream is easy and SOOOO good! I discovered this after my sweet friend, Jessi, brought us Buttercream cupcakes to reveal the gender of their baby. One taste and I was done with the store bought icing!

Both of these recipes scream warm weather and summer to me. I hope you are able to make some soon so you can welcome Summer as well!

Happy Weekend to all!

Fab Food Friday: Lightened Baked Oatmeal (overnight)

Today's Fab Food is one of our family favorites, but lightened.

My family loves baked oatmeal and I do too, but it can be pretty bad on the--uh--hips if ya know what I mean. I took a few recipes I had, tweaked it to our tastes, and then lightened it and made it more hearty...that way we don't start the morning with a big sugar rush! After a friend's suggestion I also started making it the night before to let the oats soak(to soften). It makes the morning craziness a little easier to know I don't have to "cook" amongst the chaos.

Here's the recipe I have figured up....

Light-n-hearty Baked Oatmeal

Serves 6

1) Whisk these ingredients in a large bowl:

3 tbs. corn oil

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 Tb sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 egg whites

1 Tb. milled Flax seed

1 Tb. vanilla

1 1/2 cups skim milk

2) In a smaller bowl mix:

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1 tsp. cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

3) Combine the two mixtures in the larger bowl then add:

1/4 cup craisins

1/4 cup raisins

1/3 pecans (I like big chunks) 

4) Make sure the ingredients are well mixed then pour into a greased baking dish

5) Cover and let sit in the refrigerator over night

6) Remove from fridge in the morning and let sit 15-20 minutes

7) Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until slightly browned on top

We were so ready to eat this that I forgot to take a picture of the finished product until it was almost gone :)

Enjoy!

Fab Food...Chocolate Strawberry Frozen Yogurt...

Okay so today's Fab Food is pretty simple, but has been my favorite healthy treat as of last week.

On the way home from church last Wednesday night we were passing by all kinds of fast food restraunts (which was not helping the "hungry, but I need to eat healthy" thought) and I began craving ice cream. Knowing I had almost made it through the whole day and had not "blown" my healthy food plan I knew I couldn't give in. Instead, I created this.....

Chocolate Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

2 oz. plain fat-free yogurt

2 oz. vanilla yogurt

1/2 tsp. dark choclate cocoa powder

2 or 3 strawberries, diced

1) Put yogurts in a bowl and mix to combine

2) Mix in cocoa

3) Add diced strawberries and mix

4) Put in Freezer for 30 min-1 hour

5) Take out, stir a little and enjoy!



This was the perfect amount and the perfect level of sweetness to calm my craving.

Using the yogurt I had it came to about 100 calories 1.5 grams of fat.

In other news, tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day. My favorite holiday of the year(No, I'm not lying)! Green has been my favorite color for a long time and this gives me a great excuse to go overboard in it! This year has been exceptionally fun because our 1st born is finally old enough to have fun with on this holiday(I'll explain tomorrow!)

I hope you have your green meals, pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, and green clothing all ready for the BIG day tomorrow!!

Fab Food: Whole Wheat pancakes...

This post is on a Saturday instead of a Friday because I was waiting till today to make them for breakfast.

My beautiful friend Courtney asked me a few weeks ago to post the recipe for the pancakes I used to make way back in the day :) I have adapted it a little since then and love it! You can easily substitute various ingredients based on your tastes, diet, etc...

This is my "health nut" version of Whole Wheat Pancakes......

Healthy Whole Wheat Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 TB. cinnamon (I love cinnamon)

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 TB. Milled Flax Seed (substitute for some fats and egg)

1 egg plus 1 egg white*

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 2/3 cup skim milk (or soy, almond, etc...)

1/2 TB lemon juice

1/2 TB Vanilla

2 TB melted butter**

1 TB honey (or leave out if you like)

*(can do 3 egg whites to omit the yolk OR add 2 TB more flax plus 1/3 cup of milk to replace ALL the eggs)

**(I like the flavor of butter in the pancakes, BUT if you want to omit it you can just add more applesauce)

1) Mix together the dry ingredients (first 5)

2) Mix together the wet ingredients (next 7 ingredients) in a separate bowl

3) Using a whisk gradually combine the dry into the wet ingredients till combined and no clumps are left

4) We use an iron skillet and sometimes our griddle to cook the pancakes. Once the pan is heated at Medium to Medium-High heat spray it with cooking spray. Using a ladle make pancakes 3-4 inches wide. Add toppings if desired!

My son's "Mickey Mouse" pancake...except when he got it he said, "Who's this Momma?" Well, I tried!

My pancakes...with pecans

The Hubbs' pancakes...with Pecans and Dark Chocolate Chips

YUM!

These pancakes are light, but extremely filling. They are full of flavor. I don't even use syrup on them. Today I ate them with 1/4 cup plain yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt. Dip the pancakes in the yogurt and enjoy! Or you can smother your pancakes with Peanut Butter and Syrup like the hubbs always does :) Equally as yummy.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. The flax is something I add to a lot of breads, cereal, oatmeal, etc....Is heart healthy and a great substitute for fats, eggs, etc....Love!

Happy Saturday everyone!

Better Choices

This week has been beautiful so I have been outside playing with the kiddos rather than inside on the computer. I hope wherever you are you have been able to enjoy a glimpse of Spring also!

Playing some T-Ball :)

This week besides enjoying the weather I also tried to begin a new "eating regime". Oh Lordy.....I have this amazing friend who wanted to lose her baby weight so she began this same "eating plan" and has done amazing. I on the other hand have decided that she must have the self restraint of a monk because I have had a REALLY hard time with it! Part of it probably stems from the fact that since I have to keep thinking about what I am eating I am ALWAYS thinking about food. Which leaves me wanting food all the time. :)

Of course it meant cutting out most of the "snacky" food(we have so many crackers, etc here because of the kids and they are way to easy to grab when I don't have the time to sit and make something) and in my case I tried to cut way back on breads. I LOVE BREAD. It is such a comfort to me. I am also a major foodie and, well, love yummy food. BUT I came up with a plan and gave myself options of different healthy and yummy things to eat. I could do this...right?

The first day: AHHHHHHHH I felt like I was hungry all day

Day two: AHH a little easier...but all I wanted was a sandwich....so since I wasn't completely cutting out bread I dreamed up an awesome dinner for myself that consisted of a Pesto, Mozzarella, and sun dried tomato grilled sandwich and an amazing salad...Probably not the most balanced meal, I but I was SOOO wanting something to satisfy my bread craving...My husbands first reaction? "Where's the meat?" After promising him meat the next day I set out to make my yummy dinner.

I love feta as mentioned in this post and I recently have come across these pomegranate craisins. I love the flavor of the craisins, but try to eat them too much because of the sugar BUT ohhhh how I love them in a salad!

The finished salad along with some toasted pecans...topped with Balsamic Vinaigrette...YUM!

And with my incredibly yummy Pesto, Mozza, and Sun Dried tomato sandwich. I enjoyed every bit of it and didn't feel one bit guilty.

Enough with the yummy bread....lets move on to the crackers and super sugary things I need to cut back on. This has become my favorite snack...

Dark Chocolate Yogurt

Easy to make and yummy to eat. It's kind of like a healthier version of Pudding.

Dark Chocolate Yogurt

4 ounces Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt

2 ounces Plain low fat yogurt (not pictured)

1/2-1 tsp of Dark Chocolate cocoa(more or less depends on your taste)

-Mix

-Enjoy :)

It completely satisfies my sweet tooth and adds protein and calcium to my day. A cookie can't exactly say that much.

Okay, so lets just go ahead and say I don't "diet" well. My plan from now on is to make healthier choices than the normal, easy choices, but also allowing myself to indulge every once and a while. I think I would go crazy otherwise. I love food too much.

This is also why I run. :)

Here's to making more better choices......

Fab Food Friday...Honey Garlic Pork

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a good week and an even better weekend! Today I have a few things...I just got done making some more Flourless Banana muffins again(I seriously can't get enough) but had to tweak it because I am in serious need of a grocery trip and am out of a few things. Changes I made...

1) I am out of vanilla so I had to use 2 tsp of almond extract instead of part vanilla, part almond....verdict? I loved this change! It made the batter smell better :) and it gave a great taste to the baked product.

2) I chose to only do 3 TB of PB, less than the 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips and add about 2 TB of peanut butter chips....verdict? Yummy :) I loved the bits of PB chips in them!

Next, I want to share a recipe that we made last night. I found the recipe on Pinterest of course and in an effort to add more Pork Tenderloin into our meals I had to try it.



The recipe is Honey Garlic Pork and can be found here.

Changes I made......

1) The recipe calls for Pork chops, instead I used 1 1/2 pounds worth of Pork Tenderloin sliced

2) It says to grill, but I put the marinade and porkchops into a casserole dish and baked at 375 for 30 minutes, flipping meat half-way through.

Verdict? The most amazing pork tenderloin I have made in a while. It has an Asian flare due to the soy sauce so you could easily pair it with rice and use the extra sauce to drizzle over it. We served it with baked sweet potatoes, carrots, and green beans and threw in oranges slices for some vitamin c :)

We loved this recipe.....okay, I say "we" as in my husband and I. The 3 year old enjoyed them after being forced to eat(the norm these days) and our youngest threw everything on the floor(even though sweet potatoes are his fav), which has been his norm for most foods ever since he began solid foods.....but then, here's the kicker, chose to eat dog food afterwards. Seriously? Dog food instead of an amazingly tasty dinner? This youngest makes me wonder sometimes......

Happy Cooking!

Love is in the air.....

On most holidays, even the small ones like "Thank a Mailman Day", I tend to not just acknowledge the holiday, but I like to CELEBRATE all day long.

I Love Valentine's Day. This is the day I am ALLOWED to make everything heart shaped...morning pancakes, sandwiches, cookies, etc...I fit as many as I can into the day. One of my favorite parts is watching all the men in the candy aisle of the store trying to decide what to get their Valentine. So thoughtful, and yet slightly confused....My favorite "Valentine Spotting" this year was a big burly country guy in a big truck, look over at me as I'm about to turn onto the street and give the biggest "Yeah, I did good" grin as he's holding a big vase of pink roses in his lap. I love it. I love a day that is set aside to show someone how much you care, whether friendship or romantic.

I'm pretty sure this was the best Valentine's Day I have ever had....


My oldest had fun coming up with his Valentine's for his friends at Pre-school. I gave him about 4 or 5 different ideas for Valentine's and he chose oranges...and was very specific about what he wanted them to look like and had fun making them....



He wanted orange writing, not the red like I had originally :)



He also wanted orange paint for the hearts, not red like I tried again

He said they were "so cute" and was really excited to give them to his friends. **Love**

In the morning before my oldest went to Pre-school he went and dug out the V-day gift him and his dad hid for him to give me...He was SO proud to give it to me...my heart melted...

This year my husband and I decided to make each others V-day gift...we both ended up cheating though and bought something to go with our handmade gifts :) But, they say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so part of my handmade gift was food :)

I found this recipe on Pinterest and since the Hubbs loves Red Velvet, I decided to make Red Velvet Crinkle cookies to sneak into his lunch for work the next day...



Reaction??? These were AMAZING! Oh my these will be made again :)

I also made these bad boys for our "movie in" last night after the boys went to bed....

Mini Pretzels with a dark chocolate *kiss* on top...Bake @200 degrees for 3-4 minutes. Remove from oven and press M & M's on top....Salty and sweet...yuuuum!

Once the hubbs was home from work we gave the boys their Valentine's...

Car cards, "Cars 2" and "Cars" playing cards

...and BALLOONS!

The boys made their dad a handprint craft and got him some shoes so they can be "just like dad"

I have a slight obsession with Converse shoes :)

For dinner we had homemade lasagna, the hubbs fav green beans, salad, and french bread. YUM!

We put the boys to bed early and watched "Money Ball"(GREAT movie!)......okay and the hubbs let me watch the new episode of 19 Kids and Counting (SO nice of him)!

We ended up having such a great day...I think the best part was the amount of thought that we put into the day for each other and our boys. We loved making our gifts for each other (Yeah, I didn't mention them, but they were SO thoughtful, and will be kept between the hubbs and I...)...and I think it's a tradition we want to continue.

I think even if you don't have a "special" someone, you are still able to make someone else's day special...it's all in how you look at the day.

Fab Food Friday: A la Hubbs

I love my husbands willingness to try just about anything. When we got married I told him he was going to learn to cook, because I didn't want our future children to starve if they were ever left alone with him for a time. So, he did, and he became pretty good at it. My dad always said that if you can follow a recipe, you can cook...sounds pretty easy doesn't it? Well, sometimes we've found that recipes aren't always right....

Take this picture for instance:

Only 1/2 an inch thick :)

That is a picture of brownies that my sweet husband made one Sunday afternoon :)  That afternoon was going to be a busy one for me because I had two showers to go to and we had a church fellowship to bring food to later on that evening. Usually I make brownies from scratch, but I knew I wouldn't have time to make those plus another dish I was going to make, so I just bought a box mix for the hubbs to make. Get this, he did follow the directions, but for some reason the box said to cook them 30 minutes...who has EVER cooked brownies for 30 minutes?? Needless to say we didn't take them, they were hard as a rock...but the hubbs did learn that sometimes you should trust your gut instead of the directions.   

Next is an actual recipe. One day my husband decided we needed a date night in. He arranged to have a friend watch the boys and he decided to cook for me. The day before he saw someone cooking an apple dessert on TV and decided he was going to make it. This is the recipe for:

Classic Apple Tarte Tatin 

Ingredients for apple filling:

8-10 gala or pink lady apples, peeled, cored, and halved

1/2 cup butter

1/2 sugar

vanilla

Ingredients for Pie Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour

4 oz. butter(1 stick)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 Tbs sugar

1/4 cup ice water

**You will bake this in a 10 inch iron skillet**

--For the crust, in a food processor or with fingers, combine flour, sugar, salt and butter until the chunks of butter are broken down to the size of peas and the flour feels like sand. Add half of the water and mix until dough comes together easily. If it is too dry add a tablespoon of water at a time until the dough forms. Form into a ball and place between two sheets of plastic wrap. Press down until a disk forms that is 1/2" thick. Put in the fridge while you prepare the apples.

--Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

--Stir together sugar and vanilla. Spread butter on the bottom of the pan and sprinkle the vanilla sugar on top. Place apple pieces vertically in the pan, snaking in a circle along the edge. Keep repeating until the whole pan is full. Over a medium flame, place the pan for 20-25 minutes until the butter, sugar, and apples have created a golden brown caramel. Let cool for a few minutes and then roll the chilled pie crust onto the dish and spread to the edge of the pan.

--Put in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the apples are bubbling and the crust is golden brown.

This smelled so good when I came home!

--Bring to room temp and flip onto a serving dish. Serve with homemade whipped cream!

**We loved this dessert, but would change a few things to the recipe. 1) we would only use 1/2 the butter that goes in the pan. 2) we would add brown sugar and cinnamon to the top of the apples before you put the crust on...it lacked the sweetness we were looking for, but was still incredibly good!

The hubbs is good and, let's just say it, spoils me just a little....