Moving On

Well, it's been awhile since my last blog and there are several "excuses" tied to that, but to anyone who reads this they are truthfully just excuses. What it has boiled down to though, is the fact that I'm changing directions with this blog in both the literal meaning as well as just my overall life choices...it's time for a new breeze!

So, which direction is the blog going? Well I guess whichever way I feel like taking it. It won't be a cooking blog (per se) I'm sure I'll have the occasional blog about a cooking melt-down or a new recipe that both Jarrod and I actually enjoyed. However, I think I'm going to start tracking the positives in my life!

Too often we let ourselves get bogged down with the stresses, the day-to-day grind, our own personal jealousies, our own self-doubts, and many times we allow other peoples' negativity to interfere in our happiness. If we let all that "junk" take over, then it's difficult to see what a blessing God has given us!

So, I have decided, instead of allowing these negatives to take over me; and instead of finding ways to attack back...I'm going to realign my walk with God and remember that he has a purpose for me here. As much as it is going to drive me insane, I am going to forgive those that have hurt and used me (this one will take some time and prayer), and I believe the hardest hurdle ahead of me is letting go of trying to understand why people do the things they do.

Fortunately, for me I have a wonderful husband, supportive and loving mother and the best little sis in the world; who are always there for me and who love me no matter what.

With that, I will close with a bible passage that is more for myself than anyone else, because I have been just as bad at doing this as so many others:

Matthew 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

Goodnight & God Bless

GTT = Ground Turkey Tostada

Well, yet again I've fallen behind on my blog posts (not that anyone really takes these things too seriously!). Last week I ended up making meatloaf (which I have posted about before) topped with BBQ sauce. I'm finding that I actually like it a lot better with BBQ sauce instead of the typical ketchup and brown sugar.

My husband also made ground beef burritos with refried beans for us last week, which were very yummy! Since we had opened a large can of beans for our two little burritos, we had a lot of left-over beans that needed to be used. So, we had used some for some cheese queso sauce for chips and dip at or little BBQ last Friday.


Today, I used the rest of the refried beans to make tostado's! I don't know why, but I've really been craving a tostado recently (which is odd, because I pretty much never eat them). Tonight I wanted something that was slightly healthy, I've had a pretty bad cold for the last week, and just wanted something light but with flavor to eat. So, I stopped by the store and picked up some Jennie-O ground turkey breast. I for one have never bought ground turkey before and was a bit scared of it. So, what did I do with it? I treated it just like it was ground beef :-)

Erin's Ground Turkey Tostada:
1. Brown 1 20 ounce package of Jennie-O ground turkey breast in a warmed skillet on the stove-top.
2. Once the meat has cooked completely, add about 1/4 cup of chopped onions (optional) and cook for about 4 more minutes.
3. Add 1 package of Taco Seasoning and 2/3 cup of water to the turkey and onions skillet - cook for 5 minutes.

Then I just put together my tostada!
I spread a thin layer of refried beans on my store bought tostada shell, then I put that in the microwave for 30 seconds. I added a thin layer of shredded mexican cheese on top of the beans. Then I took a small amount of shredded romaine lettuce and piled that on. I topped off the lettuce with my ground turkey/onions mixture, and then I mixed in a small amount of "bad" by topping it off with some sour cream!

All-in-all, I thought it was pretty good and I felt good eating it :-) With being sick for a week, I haven't exactly gotten to the gym recently, but every little bit helps, right?

Tomorrow, I think we are making tri-tip, which I have posted about in the past. However, I did also buy the ingredients to make a pizza at home (which I am "assuming" is healthier than buying Pizza Hut...but probably not).

Oven Baked BBQ Ribs

Well, Baby Back Ribs were on sale at Stater Brothers this week, so naturally I bought some! I know there are several ways to cook baby back ribs. You can grill them, oven bake them or cook them for 8 hours in the crock-pot. For time sake, I opted to bake them in the oven.

Here's what I used:

• Season Salt
• Garlic Powder
• Pepper
• BBQ Sauce
  

I cut the membrane (back side) off, then rubbed each side with the seasonings above. I then laid the ribs bone side down on a baking sheet with tin foil. Then I pored one can of Dr. Pepper over all of them, then created a dome cover with more tin foil and put them in a preheated 325 degree oven. I left them in the oven for 2.5 hours.

Lessons learned:

1. Be sure and Pam Spray the bottom of the baking sheet before putting the tin foil down (the Dr. Pepper sticks to the tin foil!).
2. Reduce the cook time to 2 hours - I think I had about 5 pounds of ribs (including bone)

After the 2.5 hours, I pulled the ribs out of the oven, removed the dome tin foil and then glazed the ribs with BBQ sauce. I put the ribs back in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.

The sides that I made were mashed potatoes and pan grilled squash with a little bit of garlic powder and olive oil.

A Twist To A Classic - Part II

So, I made the lower calorie Chicken Divan that I had written about yesterday! It definitely took longer than I was anticipating, and I think there may be some quicker ways to do some of the steps, but I don't really know how at this point.

All-in-all, it was good! I felt it was a little bland (which probably helps with the lower calories), so in the end I ended up adding a little bit more salt and pepper, and topping it off with some Parmesan cheese. Also, instead of using overpriced Gruyere which the recipe called for...I ended up going with mozzarella!



For the side, I went simple and healthy! I steamed up some baby carrots and put a little bit of sea salt on them. And to top off my meal...I had a SkinnyGirl Margharita! While these margharita's are more tart than most, they are still very yummy and at only 100 calories for 4oz, where can you go wrong?

So, naturally after eating pretty much a "healthy" dinner, what do I do? Yep, I eat half of a Banana Caramel Crumb cupcake from The Perfect Circle Cupcakery! I've been wanting to try this lil shop in Old Town Orange for a while now...ever since I found out about them on Cupcake Wars! Let me say, it's difficult to only eat half! There was so much flavor and sophistication in this little cupcake!

A Twist To A Classic

So, for some strange reason I have been kind of craving Chicken Divan. I don't really know why, but I really haven't wanted to make it simply because the classic recipe is pretty fattening with all the butter and milk in the sauce. Plus depending on which version of the recipe you use, there can be even more calories added to give it that something "extra".



Oddly enough, I clicked on the FoodNetwork website today (which I actually don't go to too often). And what was on the homepage, but some links for "Favorite Healthy Meals"! Even more surprising, the first recipe in the "50+ Dinners" was for Stuffed Chicken Divan with a Sherry Dijon Sauce. From the looks of the recipe, it seems pretty easy and the ingredients are items that are typically around the house (which is always a plus in my eyes!).

So, tomorrow guess what I'm making? Yep, Stuffed Chicken Divan with a side of baby carrots. I think that sounds pretty healthy and appetizing!

On top of this, I have been inspired to dust off my KitchenAid and put it to some use. So, I will be searching for recipes that I can use it for...and I'm hoping the recipe is not something high calorie and/or overly sweet! So...that is TBD!

Is It Summer Yet?

Well it was brought to my attention that I haven't written on my blog in a while, so I figured I should really get to it! Especially since I am currently unemployed, I really have no excuse that I "don't have time"! lol

Oddly enough with being home more, you'd think that I would be cooking more...but that just hasn't been the case! I did however, make a roast last week that came out pretty good! I had gone to Stater Brothers in hopes to come home with some Porterhouse steaks to throw on the grill. However, having just lost my job I was pretty hesitant to spend the money for them. Not that they're crazy expensive or anything or that I don't have the money for them...but for whatever reason I just could not bring myself to buy them (you'd think I was buying kobe or something)! So, I looked at what was on sale and I noticed that some of their roasts were. With the cold kick that's swept through SoCal again lately, I thought a yummy roast and potatoes would be perfect!

Unfortunately, I was a little bit pressed for time since I was wanting to join a women's auxiliary meeting that night. So to keep it simple, I rubbed some salt and pepper and garlic powder all over (lightly), and then I took about 5-6 garlic cloves and cut grooves into the top of the roast and kind of buried the cloves into the meat. I had pre-heated the oven to 400, placed the roast on a cooling rack and placed that on top of a cookie sheet and placed it in the oven. I let it cook for about an hour and a half with the oven on. After that time, it was still a bit on the rare side, but I had to leave to go to the meeting. So, I stuck it back into the oven (with it turned off) and left! I had read on some recipes that they actually tell you to cook it that way, so I figured it would be fine.

While the flavoring turned out to be pretty good, I dare say that by the time I got home (2.5 hours later), the roast was pretty much at the "well done" stage. Fortunately, it wasn't too tough, but it just was not what I would have preferred. I whipped up some mashed potatoes and called it done for the night.

Essentially, yet again I was reminded at how important timing really is in cooking. Unfortunately, what I had intended on cooking in the allotted time that I had, I talked myself out of over a couple of dollars difference, which in the end I don't think really "saved" me a whole lot.

Meanwhile, I've been watching Giada at home and Barefoot Contessa to get more ideas and to see how things are done. I probably won't ever make anything that Giada does, mainly because her recipes are typically more complex or are dished that we just wouldn't really enjoy...but I love hearing her ideas and watching how she does things. As for Ina, I think I will eventually use some of her recipes as hers are more for the "everyday person" and generally are quick and easy.

Well, stay tuned for what lies ahead! As usual, if I find any good recipes, I'll be sure and share them!

Pork...it's what's for dinner!

Wow...yet again it has been a long time since my last post! Not that I have a whole lot of readers, but to those who have enjoyed reading my blog...I am sorry :-)

So, with warmer weather on the horizon (I hope anyways), the desire to trim down from my winter hibernation is kicking in. So, I am trying to find foods that are a little bit healthier. Now when I say a little bit, I basically mean not deep fried and covered in yummy sauces or something I throw in the microwave. I also mean, not eating out as much. I know that pork is a leaner meat, but is one that we don't eat very much in our household. However, since I'm kind of getting bored of steak and a side or chicken and rice, I thought it might be a nice change.

So, here is what I'm making tonight:

• Oven Roasted Potatoes (BettyCrocker style)

• Pork Chops with Beer & Bacon Gravy - although I'm questioning how "healthy" this one is (probably isn't...which means it will probably taste good!)
  

I found the Pork Chop recipe on Food Network, and it sounded pretty good (it's a Rachel Ray recipe). I usually do the whole apple type pork chops, but again wanted something different. I'm excited, but nervous about this recipe. In the past I've cooked pork a little too long and naturally it comes out very dry and tough to eat. So, I'm hoping to cook it the correct amount of time and that it is good reheated. I'm also nervous about the beer aspect as I really do not like the taste of beer, but naturally alcohol cooked in foods always tastes so different.

Why does it need to be reheated? Oh yeah, because my poor husband works graveyard and doesn't get to eat dinner with me on most nights. So, what I can cook is sometimes limited by what will reheat well.

So far the recipes for both the potatoes and the pork seem to be pretty easy, and there's quite a bit of time in between prepping for both so you're not rushing to get the items started.


***HOW IT ALL TURNED OUT***

Okay...so my timing was a bit off with these two recipes. The pork takes much longer than all of the time elements that the recipe provides. So, my potatoes were done about 25 minutes before the pork...go figure. The potatoes were bland...next time I'll just make 'em like I usually do. But all together the pork recipe was VERY good. I used Blue Moon beer because it was all that we had in the house and I used beef flavored broth, instead of stock. I really enjoyed the gravy! Hopefully the next time that I make this recipe I'll be a bit speedier with it all and the timing will come out to be closer to what it should be!

On a side note...I really don't like cutting onions!