I absolutely love Mexican food. I always experiment with different ingredients to see what new tasty dish I could come up with and anything cheesy is a bonus in my eyes. Today I am home from work feeling under the weather and a nice hot lunch sounded good. I starting looking through the fridge and pantry to see what I could come up with and decided on this Green Chile Casserole.
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
8 oz. canned diced green chilies
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
8 oz. can of tomato sauce
8 oz. grated white cheddar
12 oz. grated Mexican style cheese blend
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 cup masa flour
Directions:
1. Brown ground turkey and add green chilies, spices and tomato sauce.
2. Spray the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Place meat mixture in the bottom of the baking dish.
4. Sprinkle both cheeses on top of the meat mixture.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk and masa flour together
and pour over the top of the other ingredients.
6. Bake at 350 for 1 hour covered.
7. Bake for an additional 5 - 10 minutes uncovered to lightly brown.
8. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and salsa on top if desired.
Another Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party starts tomorrow night at 8 p.m. CST. All bloggers are welcome to link up a recipe, but all viewers can enter to win a great prize!
Come back tomorrow to browse through the party links and find some great new recipes!
This weekend I did a craft show along with my good friend Beth Wing from Honey Locust Hills in DeSoto, MO at the community center. We had so much fun spending time together and crafting while we were working our booth.
At this show, Beth highlighted her up cycled vintage and shabby chic jewelry and hair accessories. She finds many vintage pieces that have beautiful stones, charms or beads but needs a "remake" to make them fresh again. She and her step daughter, Taylor, both do a beautiful job on their jewelry pieces and hair accessories! I highlighted my fiber arts projects with hand knit ruffle fashion scarves and other multi purpose scarves as well as a hand crocheted baby afghan with a soft fuzzy pompom border. I also brought my hand crocheted 100% cotton dish clothes. If you have never used hand made dish clothes, they are amazing! My mom stopped by on Sunday and told our both visitors how she would never use a store purchased dish cloth again after using these hand made cotton dish clothes. She didn't ask for a commission for the PR plug. . .but maybe I'll make up some new dish clothes for her for such a positive, glowing recommendation!
Beth and I both have Etsy shops. You can visit Beth from Honey Locust Hills at http://www.HoneyLocustHills.etsy.com or visit my Adorned Well shop at http://www.AdornedWell.etsy.com. I'm working on building up my inventory right now as I don't have too many items in my shop at this time, but I do take customer orders for items that you might like in different colors or lengths. Give me about a week's notice if you need something by a specific date. Feel free to leave me a comment on this post or email me if you have any questions, AdornedWell@att.net.
Beth Wing from Honey Locust Hills and
Kelly Wells from Adorned Well
Beth's step daughter Taylor helping in the booth. She also makes
some of the jewelry and hair accessories.
Some of Beth and Taylor's beautiful jewelry and hair accessories.
My hand knitted scarves and crocheted baby
blanket and crocheted dish clothes.
More of Honey Locust Hills jewelry and hair accessories as well
as my Adorned Well hand knit and crocheted items.
Beth has so many beautiful display boxes that highlight
her up cycled vintage and shabby chic jewelry items.
Beth working on a new jewelry piece.
Taylor snapped this one of me straightening up the display.
Taylor just turned 16 last week and I made this pink ruffle scarf for
her as a birthday gift. I worked on it while at the craft show.
I just love candy. Especially chocolate. And I really love coconut. Mmmm. . .an Almond Joy candy bar sounds really good right now. Except that I'm trying to eat healthy. So I decided to give this overnight oatmeal recipe a try since it has both cocoa and coconut in it. The bonus? Its made in the crock pot all while you sleep. And it really doesn't have very much sugar per serving so its still healthy. Score! I love when a recipe is that fuss free.
Ingredients:
1 cup steel-cut oats
4 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup coconut flakes
2 Tbsp sliced almonds
Directions:
1. Start this recipe about 1 - 2 hours before you plan to go to bed.
2. Combine the water, milk, vanilla, cocoa, brown sugar and
salt in the crock of your crock pot.
3. Stir in the oats and the coconut flakes.
4. I used a small 1.5 quart crock pot because my large crock pot
does not have a warm setting and it just barely fit.
5. Set the crock pot to LOW for 1 - 2 hours and then turn it to
the WARM setting before bedtime.
6. When you wake in the morning, your house will be
filled with the scent of Almond Joy!
7. Give the contents of the crock pot a stir.
This is how it appears prior to stirring
first thing in the morning.
8. Top individual servings with a light dusting of cocoa or
shaved chocolate and sliced almonds.
9. Sit back and image you are enjoying a candy
bar instead of healthy oats!
Note: You might want to either oil the inside of your crock pot or use a crock pot liner to prevent the oats from sticking. I did neither and had no problems but some crock pots run a little hotter than others.
Time for another Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party! Get those recipes ready to link up at the end of this post. I have found so many great new recipes this way. . .hopefully you will too!
The sponsor for this week's party is my good friend Beth Wing from Honey Locust Hills. They will be giving away 3 jars of homemade jam. You will have your choice of Apple Raspberry Honey Jam or Cranberry Raspberry Honey Jam. Both jams are made entirely with honey, no sugar. The apple raspberry or cranberry raspberry flavors create the perfect balance of sweet-tart and turn this jelly a beautiful amber color.
Just a reminder that we have some amazing items to giveaway at this week's Linky Party.
The sponsor for this week's party is my good friend Beth Wing from Honey Locust Hills. They will be giving away 3 jars of homemade jam. You will have your choice of Apple Raspberry Honey Jam or Cranberry Apple Honey Jam. Both jams are made entirely with honey, no sugar. The apple raspberry or apple cranberry flavors create the perfect balance of sweet-tart and turn this jelly a beautiful amber color.
Come back and join the party at 8 p.m. CST! If you have a blog you can link up a recipe, but everyone can browse the posts for some new recipes and register to win one of the jars of honey jelly!
Last week we had two locations to go to on Thanksgiving day. My parents at lunchtime and the boyfriend's family at 3 p.m. I feel guilty saying that I ate at both places. Including dessert, although I only had a very small sliver of pie. I did watch my portions and didn't really overdo it on the calories (except for the dessert). Needless to say I was starting to feel pretty sluggish.
I started a 10 day cleanse on Sunday. I'm drinking a fiber drink, taking herbal cleanse tablets and a pro-biotic. I'm also eating extremely healthy right now. I haven't had caffeine in 5 days! No dairy, no simple carbs or processed flour. Other than a sluggish period every afternoon that I've just had to push through, I'm feeling pretty good. I occasionally get migraines (I had one Saturday night in fact), so I was worried that going off the caffeine cold turkey would trigger a migraine. I'm very thankful that it hasn't.
I'm hoping that besides cleansing out the toxins from processed foods and artificial sweeteners, medications and just environmental toxins, that this cleanse will give me a better jump start in weight loss and healthier eating.
I wanted to share some of the menu items I've been enjoying while on the cleanse.
Breakfast:
Scrambled, hard boiled or "fried" eggs with no butter or oil added, fresh fruit such as apples, oranges, pears or bananas
Super green smoothie made with water, fresh spinach, frozen banana, strawberries, pineapple and cantaloupe. You can add any fruit you prefer to make this nutritious and delicious smoothie. Click on the link here to see other options that I have used. I also ate a handful of pistachios along with my smoothie to get some protein.
Lunch:
Turkey (yes, had lots sent home with me from Thanksgiving), baked sweet potato with only cinnamon added, fresh broccoli with hummus, fruit such as apples, oranges, pears or bananas.
Albacore tuna with chopped celery, avocado and pecans mashed together (super tasty!), fresh fruit such as apples, oranges, pears or bananas.
Salad with fresh broccoli, mushrooms and shelled edamame, boiled shrimp, hard boiled egg and small amount of oil based dressing (no cream based dressings).
And I'm drinking LOTS of water all day long.
Hopefully I can continue the healthy eating after the period of cleanse is over. So far I've really been enjoying my meals and haven't felt deprived. . .at least not too much! :)
Leave me some comments if you have some menu suggestions for me. . .I'm always looking for some new creativity with my food choices!
I posted a recipe earlier today for Raisin Crunch Cookies where I used coconut oil in the recipe. I also brought some of the cookies in to the office to share today and they were a huge hit. I was very pleased with the results of the recipe remake using the Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil in place of the butter.
Some of the ladies inquired where can they find some of the coconut oil. Great news! Here is a great opportunity to win a free jar to give it a try for yourself!
Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?
You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:
Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.
Not sure how to use coconut oil? There are hundreds of uses. . .. Watch this video on its many uses!
Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.
If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you.
I got a great deal on some fresh cranberries and bought several bags so I've been making up a lot of recipes recently with cranberries (in case you didn't see that theme on my blog posts recently!).
Today I made an Apple Cranberry Pie to take to my boyfriend's family Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow and still had cranberries left over. I lined a baking sheet with foil and added a few additional ingredients with the fresh cranberries and baked for almost an hour at 350 degrees. The cranberries are still soft, but the rest of the granola is crunchy and will be a great addition to yogurt or even as an ice cream topping.
Ingredients:
*Please note measurements are approximate as I kind of made this on the fly! Adjust per your taste.
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups quick oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tsps butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and spread on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees approximately 1 hour until nuts and oats begin to crisp up.
I made this recipe last Christmas and they were my boyfriend's favorite cookies. At that time I made them using 1 cup of butter in the recipe and while they tasted great, they spread on the pan and were very thin. They just didn't look very pretty.
I recently recieved a sample of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil and had an oportunity to review it in a recipe if I so chose, but was under no obligation. I had not previously cooked or baked with coconut oil so I was anxious to give this a try and this seemed like the perfect recipe.
I think the remake of this recipe turned out awesome (better than the original)! See how pretty these look?
Not only did the Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil enhance the flavor of the cookies, but they look so much prettier since they didn't spread out and get really thin. It was definitely a good choice to replace the butter in this recipe with coconut oil.
The coconut oil is more concentrated, so I reduced the amount down to 3/4 cup vs. 1 cup of butter in the original recipe. The dough is very crumbly, but just press firmly when making the balls. I can't wait for the BF to give this new version a try!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1-1/4 cups packed flaked coconut
1 cup crushed cornflakes
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1-1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil
1 egg slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
1. Measure all ingredients into a stand mixer or large mixing bowl.
2. Mix on low to medium to combine ingredients.
3. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls. Dough will be extremely
crumbly so press firmly.
4. Place 2 inches apart on
a lightly greased cookie sheet or baking stone.
You can tell I use my baking stone quite often. . .it is well seasoned!
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes
or until
edges are lightly browned.
6. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet. Remove to wire
racks
to cool completely.
Yield: 3 to 4 dozen
You might want to view this YouTube video to learn more about the Tropical Traditions Company and how the Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is produced.
Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.
