Getting over my fear
I would say about 99% of the time, I DO NOT buy meat with the bones in it. I just don’t like cooking with them, or picking the meat off, etc…. BUT, my sister kept on telling me how much cheaper it is to buy …
Recent Posts
Bolognese Sauce
I somehow got on the mailing list for Williams-Sonoma and if I ever win the lottery, I would like to have every pot, pan, knife and kitchen gadget they sell! Their catalog is gorgeous, AND they throw in a few recipes too! Bolognese Sauce is …
How to Make Homemade English Muffins
I used to think that homemade english muffins would be for someone who was a master bread maker. Turns out anyone can make these! Here is how you make homemade english muffins! This recipe comes from this site, The Culinary Institute of America. This is …
How to make a quick stir fry!
A lot of you know already that I LOVE stir fry’s because you get a lot of veggies in as well as they can be low in calories. I will show you how easy it is to make a quick stir fry in no time! …
George Forman Salami Supreme Calzone!
A few years ago, my youngest son Mark (who is 11 now) went with me on a re-sale shop excursion. All three of my kids LOVE to go to resale shops with me and find good deals. As we were browsing through The Brown Elephant …
Shelley! Weight Loss Success Story! 1/01/10!!!
I want to thank Shelley for participating in my New Years Weight Loss Success Story!! I have been following Shelley’s blog for a while now, and I love reading her accomplishments, and what she is doing to lose the weight! So here are the questions …
Healthy in a Hurry – Turkey & White Bean Chili
I’ve been going through binders of recipes I’ve copied from magazines, or gotten from friends during my time off from work over the Holidays. I wish I could get paid for reading cookbooks/recipes I would be a millionaire!! During the fast paced Holidays and people …
New Years Eve Healthy Bean dip recipe!
How many of you stay home on New Years Eve? We do! Every year we let the kids stay up and bring out snacks around 10 ish. This year I want to add some healthier options for me, so I went to Cooking Light to …
I’m back on!
What a wonderful Holiday time….I haven’t ventured to step on the scale yet, I’m going to kind of detox my body by eating healthy foods for the next week or so and then see what the scale says. Thanks to my Aunt and Brother, I …
Happy Holidays!!
I’m taking the week off of blogging! With family in town, shopping, baking, decorating, it’s going to be an awesome week! I will be catching up with all your blogs and re-capping my Holidays next week! I hope you and your families have a Very …
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
There is a restaurant around the corner from my office that sells Roasted Red Pepper Soup every Wednesday. You know its good when many people in my office come back with the great aroma of that wonderful soup. I’ve had it many times, and every …
Egg Nog Pancakes
I got this super old Weight Watchers Cookbook for a quarter at a garage sale. I’ve actually used it several times and this morning I used it to make pancakes. There was a recipe for buttermilk pancakes, but instead of adding the buttermilk, I added …
Losing Pounds for hunger! Pound for Pound Challenge
A representative from General Mills has asked me to highlight an initiative with General Mills and Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser! The Biggest Loser shared new stats from the U.S government citing more than 49 million Americans struggled to get enough to eat in …
Pasta Bake
I had no idea what to make for dinner last night. I started to look in my freezer, in the pantry, on the shelf, in the fridge. I was stumped! But then I saw that I had ricotta cheese I hadn’t used yet, and not …
The best smoothie ever!
Even though in Chicago the actual temperature is 0, with a windchill of -23, I still enjoy making smoothies for breakfast and today’s was the tastiest EVER! Ingredients in my Magic Bullet: 3 handfuls of fresh spinach 1 tsp. sugar 1 TB. ground flax seed …
The Biggest Loser Finale! Re-cap!
H-O-L-Y C-O-W that was a great finale! It’s always my favorite part of the season. I totally called it yesterday, I thought for sure Danny would win since he lost so much weight on his own for that 60 days. But, did I think he …
Product Review – Muir Glen canned tomatoes
I was asked by Muir Glen if I would be interested in tasting their new line of canned tomatoes. Ummm…yeah! Since I make home made pasta sauce virtually every week, or add diced tomatoes to soups and stews, I knew I would use them. Little …
Ham Mac-n-Cheese
I make macaroni and cheese at least 2 or 3 times a month. I usually switch up the cheese, add ham, change the pasta type just to keep it interesting. This version is by far the best one I’ve had in a long time. It …
Jenn’s Everything but the kitchen sink cookies
As Christmas is coming super fast I am starting to make a list of gifts for teachers/the crossing guard/and after school staff. I usually just make something. Last year I made home made chocolate covered pretzels (with sprinkles by my daughter!) This year I am …
Great lunch idea + Biggest Loser re-cap!
For lunch yesterday, I brought a baked potato and on top I put leftover sloppy Jo’s and a slice of Alpine Lace Reduced Fat swiss cheese. It was so good and totally filling. For the sloppy Jo’s I actually used ground chicken with Manwhich sauce. …
Pumpkin Pear Banana Muffins
I know this combo sound pretty weird, but in fact it tasted great. I wanted to make pumpkin muffins but then I had an over ripe pear and over ripe banana, so I decided to throw those in too! This recipe is based off a …
Turkey Noodle Soup
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! My family did. I successfully cooked a turkey for only the 2nd time in my life and it turned out great! Although it was a good thing I checked because it was done an hour earlier than I …
Restaurant Review/Sushi House – Oak Park, IL
I know a lot of you don’t live in the Chicago-land area, but my sister, Mom and I went to a great place for lunch yesterday! Okay, I may be biased, since the architecture firm I work for designed the restaurant and friends of mine …