Tuna Mac and Cheese

2 boxes Mac and Cheese
2 cans Cream of Celery Soup
2 cans Tuna, drained
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Butter, softened
2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
All Purpose Seasoning
Salt
Pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Mix powdered cheese mix, soup, tuna, milk, and butter in a large bowl.

Drain pasta and add to cheese mixture. Stir well.

Transfer to a baking dish. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Top with seasonings as desired in individual bowls.

Sweet corn on the cob

1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Lemon juice
8 ears of Corn
1 stick butter
Salt
Pepper

Fill a large spaghetti pot 3/4 of the way full with water.  Mix in sugar and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil.  Add corn to water by using tongs.  Cover and turn heat off and let sit for 10 minutes.  Remove corn with tongs and shake off water.  Put corn holders on the ends of the cobs.  Twirl cobs on butter till sufficiently covered.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Note: Just cut down side of the corn on the cob to have loose corn kernels for people to eat if they don't like eating from the cob.

Chicken Calzones

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Italian Seasoning
salt
pepper
~90 slices Pepperoni
1-2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
~60 toothpicks
~1 cup Garlic and Herb Marinade

Butterfly chicken breasts.

Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper on the inside of each side.

Cover both insides with pepperoni but leaving space for the center fold.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Fold one side over to close. Secure with toothpicks, by placing them in the form of an X in about 4-5 places along the cut edge.

Brush marinade on chicken. Brush more marinade on while grilling.

Grill till the cheese in the middle is melted plus 2 extra minutes or so just to make sure the thicker part of the chicken is done.

Banana Split Brownie Pizza

1 package Brownie Mix
      (plus ingredients to make brownies)
Parchment Paper
1 package (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1 can (20 oz.) Crushed Pineapple, drained
2 Tablespoons Sugar
16 oz Strawberries
2 Bananas
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1⁄2 cup Nuts, chopped
1⁄4 cup Chocolate Syrup

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions in a bowl.

Cut a circle of Parchment Paper to fit Large pizza pan.

Pour brownie mixture onto parchment paper; spread into 14-inch circle. (Do not bake without parchment paper or batter will run off the pan while baking. Do NOT use wax paper.) Bake about 18
minutes or until brownie is set.  Cool completely.

Mix cream cheese, pineapple and sugar until blended. Spread cream cheese mixture over brownie.  At this point you can put the pizza in the refrigerator until ready to finish.

When about to eat, thickly slice strawberries and bananas.  Place thickly sliced banana chunks in a bowl with lemon juice. Toss bananas so they get very coated with the juice. Arrange fruit over cream cheese mixture; sprinkle with nuts. Drizzle chocolate topping over pizza. Cut in either pizza shape
triangles or squares.

Manicotti

1 box Manicotti
1 box frozen chopped Spinach
2 Eggs
24 oz. Ricotta, whole milk
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1 jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 cup or more of Parmesan Cheese

Make manicotti according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water to cool completely. Set aside.

Cook spinach according to package directions. Run under cold water to cool completely and squeeze out as much water as you can.

Mix spinach, eggs, ricotta, salt, italian seasoning, pepper, garlic powder, and mozzarella in a bowl.

Take 2-3 big spoonfuls of spaghetti sauce and spread on the bottom of a large glass pan.

Take ricotta mixture and put in a gallon size zip lock bag.  Try to get all air out of bag and twist top several times.  Cut a hole in the bag in the bottom corner about 1/2 inch big.   Stuff manicotti with cheese mixture by holding shell in one hand and squeezing ricotta mixture into top of shell.  Flip and finish filling up the shell on the other side.   It is okay if they split.  Lay stuffed manicotti in a single layer in glass pan with sauce.  This process is much easier if you have a helping hand in the kitchen.

Generously spread spaghetti sauce all over tops of shells with a spoon.

Top with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes, while you make some Garlic Bread.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Buttermilk Syrup:
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup Buttermilk
2/3 cube butter
2 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
Pancakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions for Syrup:
In a LARGE saucepan combine sugar, buttermilk, and butter. Stirring constantly with a whisk bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Add vanilla and cinnamon and stir. Add baking soda and remove from heat and stir. Let it set 30 minutes to an hour to dissolve the bubbles that form.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

In a separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter. Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.

Heat a griddle to 350.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Stir until it’s just blended together. Do not over stir! 

With an Ice Cream Scoop pour batter onto griddle. Brown for about 2 mintues on both sides.

Note: Works really well with 3 ripe bananas mashed in the bowl you will add the buttermilk and other wet ingredients to.

Buttermilk Syrup

1 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup Buttermilk
2/3 cube butter
2 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Baking Soda


In a LARGE saucepan combine sugar, buttermilk, and butter.  Stirring constantly with a wisk bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Add vanilla and cinnamon and stir. Add baking soda and remove from heat and stir. Let it set 30 minutes to an hour to dissolve the bubbles that form.

Grape Salad

2 lb. Green Grapes - seedless
2 lb. Red Grapes - seedless
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Sugar
8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2/3 cup crushed Pecans
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Wash grapes, drain and let dry on a towel.

Beat in a large bowl the sour cream, sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla.  The smoother the mixture the better.  Add grapes to sour cream mixture and mix well.

Place in a 9x13 baking dish. Refrigerate for a few hours. In a bowl mix pecans, sugars and cinnamon. Sprinkle over grapes just before eating.  We like to sprinkle individual bowls because it keeps better as a left over.

Breakfast Tacos

3 cooled bake potatoes
2 T oil
2 T Butter
10 slices already cooked Bacon
14 Eggs, scrambled
10 Tortillas
Mexican Cheese
1 cup Salsa

Shred baked potatoes.  Heat a griddle to 350.  Melt Butter and oil on griddle.  Spread potatoes evenly over whole surface of griddle.  Cook 6 minutes.  Sprinkle with Kosher salt and pepper.  Flip in small sections and cook 6 more minutes.  Remove to a large serving tray, try not to pile up the sections, just a single layer, may need more than one serving tray.  

While potatoes are cooking microwave the bacon for 1 1/2 minutes in batches of 8 slices on a paper towel.

Cook eggs on medium high heat in melted butter.  Try not to mix eggs too much till the end.  

Heat each tortilla on griddle after you have taken off all the potatoes.  Flip and heat on other side.  Add 2 Tablspoons cheese to tortilla and remove with starts to melt to individual plates.  

Lay 2 bacon strips down the middle of each tortilla. Spoon eggs and potatoes on top. Put some salsa on top of potatoes. Eat like a taco. About 2 tacos per person.

Note: if you want to use frozen cubed potatoes you can make a nice cajun potato recipe with
2 T oil
2 T Butter
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 (32 oz.) bag frozen Cubed Potatoes
1 Onion, chopped

In a small dish combine salt, paprika, Italian seasoning, pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder.

In a large cast iron pan with a lid heat oil and butter over medium high heat till butter melts.  Add salt mixture and stir.  Add potatoes and make an even layer.  Do not stir. Cook with lid on for 10 minutes. When you take the lid off make sure all water does not go into pan, let it get on the counter and then wipe up with towel. Do this each time you lift the lid. You want your potatoes getting crispy not watery. Add onions and then flip potato mixture. Cover and cook 5 minutes.  Flip potatoes, cover and cook 5 minutes. Keep flipping, covering and cooking 5 minutes until your potatoes are to your desired crispness.  We like ours blackened

Mini Lemon Tartlets

24 paper muffin cups
1 package Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Bar Dough
1 can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 package (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1 tubs thawed Cool Whip
1/2 cup Lemon Juice
4 teaspoons grated Lemon Peel (2 lemons)

Preheat oven to 325º F.

Paper-line muffin cups.  Spray with PAM.

Cut dough along pre-scored lines; place one piece of cookie
dough in each muffin cup.

Bake for 13 minutes or until golden brown. Cookies will be puffy. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Beat sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese in large mixer bowl until smooth. Gently fold in whipped topping.  Stir lemon juice and lemon peel into bowl. 

Fill a gallon size zip lock bag with lemon cream cheese mixture.  Squeeze out all air and twist top and secure with nondominant hand (for me left hand).  Cut a triangle tip off one of the bottom corners about 1/4-1/2 inch.  Squeeze with dominant hand into cookie cups an outer circle to inner circle motion.  Keep twisting bag and squeezing down toward opening till all cream cheese mixture is used.  You do not want to make a high mound, just enough to cover cookie.

Freeze for at least  2 hours or overnight.  We like to eat our frozen but can thaw if needed.

Week 2

THIS week                                                Week 1
Weight: 149.2 lbs                                          150.4 lbs
Bust: 38 in                                                     39 in
Waist: 33 in (tummy: 38 in)                            33.5 in (tummy 40 in)
Hips: 42 in                                                     43 in

Goals:

3 TKD (did not accomplish last week)
3 Hapkido
3 meals (did not accomplish last week)
no snacking

Kids goals:

brush teeth 2x per day (did not accomplish last week)



Note:  I am still getting use to measuring myself.  I do not know if by some miracle I actually lost inches in the past week or if I just measured wrong then or now.  I have had in the back of my head all the goals that I want to achieve but am not holding myself accountable for them yet.  Also rose came this week ;)

week 1 overview

I thought that doing something as simple as attending 3 Taekwondo classes a week and eating 3 meals a day would be a sinch.  Boy was I wrong.  This week was crazy with marching band.  Unless I wanted to be stressed out, which I do not think is healthy, I had to give myself a break and not attend one of my TKD classes.  But what really surprised me is how busy I am in the mornings.  There were two days when it was 11 am and I went oh I should eat breakfast.  Then 20 minutes later Brian was like I need to eat lunch now, so I ate lunch right away.  Then there were two days when I just gave up and only ate lunch and dinner.  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I wake up for 3-4 hours but don't eat because I go back to bed for 2 more hours and wake up at 10:30 am and forget about breakfast till it is time for lunch.  Since I am Mormon I do not get the luxury of coffee and I tire myself out everyday just a few hours into the day.

So, should I stay with trying to get these two goals perfect or move on to more challenging goals?  I think that because I do hapkido right after TKD I am going to add that one in.  And I think I am going to add in no snacking except for fresh fruits and veggies.  I do not think that will be too difficult.  But who knows!

As for the kids.  Boy do they need more work on brushing their teeth 2x a day.  I think we will just keep them on that for this coming week.

General Tso's Chicken

4 serv. 8 serv.   12 serv.
1 lb.    1.5 lbs.   2 lbs.  Spaghetti
2 T     1/4 cup    6T      Soy Sauce
2t        4t            2T       Corn Starch
2t        4t            2T       Garlic, minced
2         3             5          Chicken Breasts, diced
2t        4t            2T       Sugar
2t        4t            2T       Rice Vinegar
2T      1/4 cup    6T      Water

1.5T    3T           4.5T    Soy Sauce
2t        4t             2T       Sesame Oil
1T       2T           2.5T    Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
2T      1/4 cup    6T      Hoisin Sauce
2 Tablespoons Oil
10       18            22       count Dried Red Chilies
1         2              3         bunches Green Onions, cut into 1 inch pieces

Make spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water to stop them from cooking. Set aside.

Combine soy sauce, cornstarch, and garlic in a bowl.

Add chicken and stir to coat. Let stand at least 15 minutes.

Combine sugar, rice vinegar, water, soy sauce, sesame oil, Frank’s, and Hoisin sauce in a bowl.

Heat oil in wok to 375.

Add chilies for ~10 seconds.

Add chicken mixture. Stir fry for 2 minutes.

Add onions and sauce. Cook to thicken ~3-4 minutes.

Add spaghetti and mix well. Remove from heat. (Don’t eat dried chilies.)

Note: we have a big family and never make 1 batch (4 servings) because we love leftovers.  I am always doubling or tripling the recipe that is why I put in the columns in ingredients.  I am always recalculating.  This simplifies for us.  Never do more than 12 servings in a wok, it just is too much stuff to fit.  The Frank's is what really gives it a kick so if too spicy cut down on Frank's Red Hot Sauce.  

Caesar Salad - Kathi Larkin

1 cup Olive oil
6 Cloves of Garlic
1 Lemon, juiced, seeded (very important, no seeds)
1 can anchovies, drained
1/2 teaspoon salt
Sourdough bread, sliced
Olive oil for drizzling
Garlic, about 8-10 cloves
Kosher salt
1 big head of Romaine lettuce or 1 1/2 romaine hearts
2 wedges Freshly Parmesan cheese
Rotisserie Chicken, Shredded

Dressing:
Process in a blender oil, garlic, lemon, anchovies, and salt, pulsing as needed.  This makes enough for two recipes.  Use half for now and save for later on in the week.

Croutons:
Sliced sourdough bread, cubed, smallish. We usually take the end pieces plus 5 or 6 more slices. Place on a baking tray covered in foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle about a 1/4 cup chopped garlic and sprinkle some kosher salt over bread. Bake at 350 degrees about 10 minutes until browned, not too crunchy.  Use the rest of the sourdough bread for the next time you make the salad and use up the rest of the dressing and shredded parmesan cheese.

Salad:
Wash and tear the lettuce into largish pieces.  Shred one wedge of parmesan cheese.  Use other wedge for next batch of salad.  

Toss lettuce with 1/2 the dressing (about 3/4 cup).  shredded Parmesan.  Add croutons and half a rotisserie chicken shredded, and toss again.

Note: Add leftover chicken or fish or steak from another dinner to turn this side dish into a meal.  I normally get a rotisserie chicken and shred it.  Use half for one meal and the other half when you make it again.