My low carb breakfast

On the low carb board I frequent, there is something called a MIM (muffin in a minute).

It is a bread substitute. Yesterday I made a MIM and after toasting it, topped each slice with 1/2 a fried egg (yolk broken), then some tomato slices, another 1/2 fried egg (2 eggs total) and then some marble cheese. I broiled it for a min to melt the cheese. It was pretty good!

Muffin in a Minute
Serving Size: 1

1/4 cup flax meal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg 
1 teaspoon butter
shake or 2 of garlic powder
shake or 2 of seasoning salt

Put the dry ingredients in a coffee mug ( I use a wider raminkin).
Then add the egg and the butter. Mix well
Microwave 1 minute (or so). I usually do 1 min 15 secs.

You can simply eat them as is, or cut and butter and eat. I slice mine into 2 rounds and toast in the toaster oven. They come out more like toast that way in my opinion.

Dreary Rainy Monday

I am sick of all the rian we have been having - go away! And it was very cold on Sunday too - winter is definitely on its' way.

My sister came over today with her carpet cleaner and did my family room carpet for me. We have cream coloured carpet and two dark coloured dogs.

I made her homemade wonton soup for lunch in return. It was my first time making it but it truned out pretty good.

The filling for the wontons was ground pork, diced water chestnuts, chopped green onion, sesame oil, ginger powder, garlic and fish sauce - don't ask me how much of everything, I never measure.

I put about a teaspoon of filling in each wonton wrapper (store bought).

The soup was chicken stock (8 cups), 2 cups water, salt, pepper, soy sauce, ginger powder & sesame oil.

I brought the broth to a soft boil and cooked the wontons for about 10 mins.

Fresh chopped green onion was added to the bowls before I laddled the soup and wontons in. We each had 2 bowls :) Filling and relatively lowfat. And nice and warm on such a yucky day.

Now that my house is somewhat clean, I need to start decorating it. I did buy 2 artifical but very real looking pointsettia plants for my family room  mantel.

DH has gone to Ottawa for a few days for work. He will be back on Wednesday. Maybe I'll have the house all decorated by then.

Ultimate Recipe Swap - Homemade Pita Chips

Today's Ultimate Recipe Swap is snacks.

One of my favourite snacks are chips. I discovered that pita chips aren't nearly as bad for you as regular chips and they are even better if you make them yourselves.

So what you need:

Pita bread - I buy the large ones (make sure you get the ones that separate)
oil spray or olive oil
your choice of seasonings and herbs

1. I cut the pita in half with a pair of scissors, then each half in half again until I get wedges the size I want. Then I split the 2 layers of the pita apart.
2. I lay all the wedges rough side up on a baking pan and spray them lightly with oil spray, such as Pam or you could brush them with olive oil.
3. Then sprinkle with seasoning salt, garlic powder, chili powder & basil.
4. I bake mine at 350 for about 12 mins - you have to watch them carefully and I also turn the pan - make sure they don't get too brown - they go from golden to burnt VERY quickly - ask me how I know.

These are very addictive so make sure you have lots of pita bread on hand :)

For more great snack ideas pop over to Life As Mom.

Spicy Peanut Noodles

I kindo of made up this recipe from other recipes I read online - I tend to do that, change things up - I don't like to follow rules :)

I have made this a few times on those nights where I really didn't feel like cooking or forgot to take anything out - it is quick and tastes great.

All quantities are estimates - I kind of mix, taste, adjust, add more, taste etc...
This will probably make enough sauce for 2 plates full.

1/2 C - Peanut butter - I use chunky because I like the peanuts in the final dish.
2 T - Soy sauce
hot sauce or cayenne pepper (to your tastes)
1 t - Fish sauce
1 T - Hoisin sauce
1 t - Sesame oil
1 t - chopped garlic ( I use the jarred kind)
1/4 c - water
1-2 - Green onions sliced
Spaghettini cooked (any thin pasta will work)

I sometimes add cooked edamame (1/2 C)- just add it with the pasta water to cook

Get the pasta cooking

In small pot, mix all ingredients (except green onion)
Taste and add ingredients as necessary.
Simmer 5 mins
Add more water to thin if it gets too thick - you want it to coat the spoon, but not be too thick.
Take off the heat and stir in green onions

Drain pasta and mix sauce into pasta.

Eat & enjoy!

This is even better reheated the next day :)

Hi my name is Kim and I am a procrastinator

I am a VERY good procrastinator. I often wonder why I am like this - once I actually tackle a task, and I realize how easy it is, I can't figure out why I put it off.

I don't drive...now you know why :)

I often browse food blogs and think, wow I should make THAT! I jot down the recipe and never think of it again. You know how many recipes I have scribbled all over the place?

Bananas usually go bad on me before I can eat them all (don't know why I don't buy less) and so I have a freezer full of dead bananas that I plan to turn into muffins one day. My family LOVES banana muffins - I could make them every week and no one would get sick of them...so why don't I?

I decided to get off my butt and make banana chocolate chip muffins today. And...here's the important part...

I also mixed up 3 more bags of the dry mix! Again, I don't know why I don't do this more often. I just lined uip 4 bowls on the counter and dished up the dry ingredients into each - then put 3 of them into ziplock bags.

Now whenever I have the urge (or lots of bananas) to make muffins, I just have to dump the dry mix into a bowl, add 1 egg, 2 Cups of fruit (banana or pumpkin), 1/3 C oil and some vanilla - and then pop them in the oven. A couple minutes worth of work (not like it takes much longer from scratch).

I think we will be having muffins way more often now :)

I used this recipe.

New website & new food found

Ok so the website really isn't new, nor is the food - but they are new to me :P

The website is called Eating Bird Food and while the blogger is a vegetarian, she has lots of recipes that I would like to make.

The Overnight Oats is one that intriged me and that I had to try. I loved it!

I made mine with:
1/2 C old fashioned oats
1/2 C 1% milk
pinch of cinnamon

In fridge overnight

In morning added:
2 T chopped walnuts,
1/2 sliced banana
1 t honey

It was very yummy! You can pretty much add whatever you have or like.

And it was very filling, I didn't even think of food again until lunchtime.

Chicken breasts with Asparagus Mushroom Alfredo Pasta

Ya say that 5 times fast :P

Just a thrown together recipe I made one night that we all really liked.

I slice the chicken breast in half instead of poinding them flat - I always find if I pound them they still tend to shrink up too fat again.

Well seasoned flourSaute coated chicken breasts in oil until crispy & cooked through

Alfredo sauce - jar of sauce, add 1/2 C milk, 2 oz cream cheeze,
whatever seasonings I feel like, heat & stir until smooth

At some point I also put spaghettini on to cook.

Slice up some mushrooms

Some shallots

Some asparagus
Saute vegs in EVOO until asparagus is tenderish

Once pasta is cooked, drain and mix with alfredo sauce

Plate chicken, some pasta and top with veggie mix
(I didn't mix the veggies in because the kid is picky and
only eats the pasta with sauce), but you could mix them in.
Fresh chives from the garden chopped and sprinkled on top :)
Enjoy!

Simple Asparagus soup

Since starting the South Beach Diet 11 days ago, I have often found myself NOT interested in eating, even when it is time to eat.

Tonight the boys have gone scouting (hunting) and so I am on my own for dinner (they will hit a chip truck on the way there). Not wanting to make something big for just me, I went rooting around in the fridge, which is quite full these days with all the veggies I bought. I found two bunches of asparagus that will go bad if I don't use soon so....

I chopped an onion, broke the ends off an entire bunch of asparagus then chopped them small, put them in a pot with chicken stock (a box) and boiled the bejeesus outta them :)

I added seasoning salt, garlic powder and pepper.

Then I purred it all with my hand imursion blender and finally added about an ounce of light cream cheese and stirred til melted and mixed.

Fast - easy - and really yummy and I know I'm getting my veggies in.

I'm on my 2nd bowl :)

I'll freeze the rest for lunches next week.

EDIT: I just went to Allrecipes.com to see how similar their asparagus soup recipes were - holy crow - did you know asparagus comes in cans!? Cans? really? That is just ewwwww!
Ok done now :P

Ultimate Recipe Swap - Romantic Meals

This is a repost from last summer, but I think it would make a nice romantic meal.


My tip today is two great recipes - one I found online,and one I created/modified myself.


I found this great Meat Stuffed Pasta Shell recipe and just had to give it a try - it was fabulous!

I modified the recipe slightly, I added fresh chopped baby spinach to the top of the meat stuffed shells, sprinkled Parmesan cheese on each, spooned sauce on each and then a bit of grated mozzarella cheese last. I also skipped the parsley and red wine because I didn't have any.

Note: I bought the jumbo shells. The recipe made about 23 filled shells. Enough for 3 adults and 1 child for dinner, plus two adult lunches. 4 shells is all I could eat - and I CAN eat :)


With it I made my version of bruschetta - recipe follows.


Bruschetta (I don't have measurements - I wing it - sorry)

• Diced roma tomatoes
• finely chopped garlic
• chopped cilantro (basil is traditional)
• small glug olive oil
• small glug balsamic vinegar
• finely diced red onion (I leave this out because I don't like them and just sprinkle them on DH's pcs at the end)
• salt & pepper

1. Mix it all together and put in fridge at least an hour before needed - longer is better.
2. I cut thick slices of Italian bread, brushed them with chopped garlic and olive oil and then had DH grill them lightly.
3. Top with bruschetta mix (drain the juices before putting on the toast) and then crumble feta over.

I added a salad to round out the meal - it was a winner!

Even my picky "I hate pasta" father in-law loved it.

Summer Salad Carnival

Allyson over at A Heart For Home is holding a Slew Of Summer Salads Carnival.

Lots of great ideas for quick & easy summer meals.

There is one salad I had at a restaurant in Toronto years ago - I have no idea what is is called but I recently recreated it successfully at home and DH liked it too.

I just guess at amounts - what looks good.

• Mixed greens (sometimes called musclin, or spring greens) or baby spinach, washed and dried.
• Walnuts, chopped - I just break them in my hand.
• Roasted red peppers, chopped - I use the kind from the jar.
• Feta cheese - crumbled on top - maybe 2 Tbsp per person...
• Balsamic vinaigrette - or equal parts balsamic vinegar & olive oil

Thats it! add salt & pepper to your liking.

Sorry I don't have a photo.

I also previously posted this pasta salad recipe.

Enjoy

Getting my groove back

I have been feeling really sluggish lately. Just the cold winter weather probably. But today I feel like I am getting some energy back.

As I haven't worked in several months and the economy sucks at the moment, I am once again jumping on the frugal bandwagon with a vengeance.

I have been planning to do a freezer inventory for months now - I finally got around to it this morning. I still have to put everything into a spread sheet so I can track it as I use stuff, but at first glance, I have about 28 meals worth of meat.

I haven't yet done the pantry, so there will be a few more meatless meals there (although not many as DH is a big meat eater).

So for the next 3-4 weeks, I will try to only buy milk and produce and use up what we have on hand. Once we use up the store bought loaf we have, I want to start making my own bread again too.

I am making Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti for dinner tonight, I have the chicken simmering away now. I will modify it slightly - no green peppers or pimento as only DH likes them, I will cook the onions before adding and I have some Swiss Chalet (roast chicken) sauce in the freezer that I will add.

This isn't exactly on my Weight watcher's program but I am really in the mood for some comfort food and this definitely fits the bill. I'll just watch my portion size and other stuff I eat through out the day to compensate.

Some recipe sites with WW points (or just lowfat)

Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipes - Tons of really yummy looking recipes that won't make you fat. I think I am going to try the Banana bread soon, as I have a bunch taking up space in my freezer.

Diet recipes Blog - Where all the recipes are less than 200 calories per serving. It also has great pictures. I plan to try the Greek Shrimp recipe.

Halfmysize.com - Lots of recipes. I want to try the Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas.

New recipe

Today I made Taco Lentils & Brown Rice and put them on the bottom of a casserole dish.

Then I made Taco Bake (minus the refried beans) mixture and put it on top of the rice & lentil mixture, and then topped it all with cheddar & mozzerella cheese and baked for 30 mins.

It turned out really good and filling!

Five Ingredients (or less) Recipes

Cream of Broccoli Soup without cream (my family calls this Frog Soup cuz that sounds more fun :))

• 

• Frozen broccoli - lrg bag - chopped small (I use my food processor)

• Chicken stock - 4 cups
• 1 onion - diced small
• cream cheese - 3 tbsps
• seasoning - salt & pepper or seasoning salt.

1. Put broccoli, onion, seasoning and stock in pot.
2. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer - simmer for an hour.
3. Take off the heat.
4. Using a hand blender - blend the soup until completely pureed (use a reg blender 2 cups at a time if you don't have a hand blender)
5. Return to low heat.
6. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted.
7. Serve and enjoy.

Chili Dogs

• Hotdogs
• Buns
• Tin of chili (can also use homemade if you have any)
• Grated cheddar
• Onion (optional - I hate raw onion)

1. Cook hotdogs - boil or grill
2. Heat chili
3. Place dog in bun
4. Top with chili and sprinkling of cheese (and onion if using)

Taco Mac & Cheese

• Box of mac & cheese
• Leftover taco meat
• Grated cheddar

1. Make mac & cheese as per directions on box
2. Add heated taco meat
3. Add handful grated cheese and stir
4. Eat!

To see tons of 5 ingredient recipes - check out Life As Mom

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these last week.
I changed the recipe a bit - I used 1/2 c margarine and 1/2 c applesauce instead of all marg.
I also used half brown and half white for the sugar and actually used a tiny bit less.

They turned out pretty good - they don't get very brown - they are very cake-like and not crunchy cookie-like. Almost a muffin-cookie :)

As you can see it made a LOT - I started out making them normal size then they got bigger.

Most will go into the freezer individually wrapped for kiddo's lunches.

Favorite Ingredient Friday - Hummus

I can't claim this as my own - I got it from my online friend Jean at the Frugal Foyer.

I love this stuff - I could eat it all day! I usually eat it with celery - my DH likes it with crackers.

Fat Free Hummus

• 3 c. cooked garbanzoa (chickpeas - I use one lg tin - rinsed)
  
• 3 cl. garlic or more
• 6 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. cayeene
• 3 tsp. cumin

Blend it all together in food processor or blender. Add water/bean liquid as needed to make right consistency. Like a dip. Adjust seasonings to taste. If you want you can add some tahini or sesame oil (I never have).

For more Favorite Ingredients - pop over to Overwhelmed With Joy!

Unemployed = Vacation

Ok so Tuesday was the last day of my contract - I am offically unemployed again.

I have pretty much decided that I am going to take the summer off - I am not going to look for work until late August. And I am going to enjoy my summer - instead of panicking about finding a job.

I have looked over the budget and the money still coming due to me and realize that with not having to pay daycare ($400/month) or summer camp ($1200+/summer) or travel expenses (#300+/month) - I can do this just fine.

I will however, do everything possible to be as frugal as I can because we also have the move happening sometime this summer (haven't sold the house nor bought a new one yet though).

I also have a few thousand left over in my income tax account from last year and will be thowing this on my VISA to almost pay it off.

I will be doing a pantry and freezer inventory in the next week or so - and do my best to use that stuff up so we don't have to move it. Hopefully that will cut my grocery bill a bit too.

Also, since I am not working, I am saving at least $2.15 per day (Tim Hortons cafe mocha) and often times $7+ for lunch.

Today I made pasta salad from stuff I had on hand - it was lunch and will also be my dinner.

The pasta primavera I made the other night was dinner for DH & I for two nights plus two lunches for me. Will definietly be making that again.

DS is thrilled that he will get to stay home this summer and not have to do camp - he loved camp last year (because he got to go swimmer twice a day) but that camp closed down - plus with us moving, he wants the summer to play with his friends on this street and if we move mid-summer, to meet new friends on the new street.

It works for me - summer camp last year cost me $1200+ and I had to pack his lunch and snacks each day - he will still need food while home of course, but I can give him inexpensive things like PB sandwiches, which we could not send to camp (or school for that matter) as every public place here is NUT free due to allergies.

While at work over the last month, I wasn't that busy and spent most of the time surfing the net thinking of all the things I had to do at home to get the house ready to sell - now that that is all done and I am home - I can't think of anything to do. LOL

I don't want to get into anything that will make too big of a mess because I still have to be able to clean the house quickly should I get a call for a showing at any time.

So far I have done a lot of sleeping, reading, and surfing the net - also planning on how I will keep things within budget this summer. I really wish I could find a part-time work from home writing assignment - but they are pretty non-existent.

Going to see a house tonight that we saw once already and like. The price was a little high but they have lowered it by 10K and it has been on the market a long time.

Dinner will be leftovers or scrounge your own.

$0 spent today - I guess that is frugal :)

Pasta primevera recipe

I kind of made this up to be similar to something I had in a restaurant on Friday.

• WW spiral pasta (I actually used flax pasta) a box - don't know what size
• 4 sausages (any kind you like - I used 2 mediterannian & 2 sweet basil) - grilled then sliced up - would be yummy with grilled shrimp too!
• 2 zuchinni - grilled in slices then cut up into chunks
• 1 eggplant - grilled in slices then cut up into chunks
• 8 asparagus spears - grilled then cut up
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• Mushrooms, onion & garlic sauted in olive oil

Once the onions were soft, I tossed in all the other veggies, and added more olive oil and about 1/2 cup of italian salad dressing to make a bit of a sauce - how much is going to depend on how wet you like your pasta.

I then tossed this with the cooked pasta, added snipped chives (about 1/2 cup) from my garden.

And when I plated it - I added crumbled feta cheese to mine and blue cheese chunks to DH's (DS ate something else). The warm pasta kind of melts it up YUM.

It was really good and made a huge batch - so leftovers for tomorrow night.

Let me know what you think if you try it - you can add any veggies you like - I was going to add roasted red peppers too - but the jar I had had gone bad

This amount lasted for two dinners for both DH & I as well as two more lunches for me. Will definietly make it again.