Wordless Wednesday

There's a party in my tummy!

So yummy! So yummy!! Okaaaaay, perhaps I've been watching too much Yo Gabba Gabba with my youngest kiddie. Enough of that! But you know what I can't get enough of? 

This, right here:

Oh yesssss. Deep Dish Sloppy Joe Pie (or Casserole) from Emily Bites. Looks utterly fattening and delicious, but only one of those is correct. The delicious part! You can find the recipe here. The only thing I did different was I used homemade pizza dough using white whole wheat flour and I also used extra lean ground turkey instead of the ground beef and I cooked it in a round baking dish. Next time, I think I will try to use some balsamic vinegar instead of the red wine vinegar, but it was still really really yummy! You have GOT to give this a try!

Ohhhh you heavenly piece of deliciousness, you! Deep Dish Cookie Pie, that's MUCH healthier.

Ohhhh Chocolate Covered Katie, you've done it again! This Deep Dish Cookie Pie turned out deeelicious! And I'll let you in on a little secret... They are made with garbanzo beans! Whaaaaaaat?? I know, right? Much healthier, (they DO contain sugar) but they taste JUST like a thick and chewy chocolate chip cookie. 

The Mr, my mama, and my kiddies LOVED this. My son said "Ok mom, more black bean brownie stuff, right?" I said "Nope! I promise you there is not a single black bean in these!" Theeen after he ate it I told him "No black beans. Just 2 cans of garbanzo beans." BAHAHAHA And he still wanted seconds. (I said no. I mean, after all, these bad boys are all mine  are quite thick and filling.)

Hellooooo there, beautiful! I topped them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and believe it or not, I actually liked it better without the ice cream! I cannot urge you enough to go check out Katie's site. The recipe for the Deep Dish Cookie Pie is here. You DO NEED either a good quality food processor or a very high powered blender like the Vitamix. (This batter even gave my Vitamix a run for it's money!)

Out of this woooorld Apple Pie Waffles

Who says you can't have apple pie for breakfast? These waffles are the real deal. They taste like a nice warm slice of apple pie but are so much healthier. My kiddies ate this without the apples, as my oldest doesn't like apples and my middle kiddle doesn't like apples when they are cooked up. Weirdos, I tell you! ;) 

But the Mr, my mama, and myself enjoyed it with the apples, and let me tell you they were freaking fantastic! Just look at all this yummy goodness!

Does it GET any better than that? I think not! Well, I mean, unless you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.. Or maybe Vanilla Greek Frozen Yogurt... Oooooh, I see this being made for dessert in our very near future! *smile*

• 5 gala apples, peeled and cored, all sliced except for one
• 1 tsp butter
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar (divided into 1 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp)
• 1/2 tsp apple pie spice (divided into 1/4 tsp and 1/4 tsp)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp coconut or olive oil

1.  Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add 4 of the sliced apples that have been sliced and combine with with 1 Tbsp of sugar and 1/4 tsp of the apple pie spice.
2. Cover and cook about 5 minutes until apples are tender. Uncover and cook 3 minutes until most of the liquid evaporates. Set aside.
3. Spray waffle iron and heat. Combine both of the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, remaining 1 Tbsp sugar, and the other 1/4 tsp of apple pie spice in large bowl.
4. Whisk milk, egg, and oil together in small bowl. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture and stir just until combined.
5. Shred the last apple and add to the batter. Mix well.
6. Pour some batter onto your waffle iron and cook until done. Serve with cooked apple mixture on top. Yummo!

Ohhhhhhhhh yeeeeeeeah.

Sometimes it's a "suck your spit for dinner" kind of night. But not tonight.

So, we all had a really late lunch today, and everyone was nice and full. When 5:45 rolled around and everyone was talking about how full they still were, I thought I had gotten off the hook for dinner. WHEEEEEE!!!! My mind soared. What was I going to do with that extra hour or two? I could blog... No! I could take a bath and paint my nails... Noooo! I could do nothing at all. Just sit on my ass and enjoy some "mommy is watching TV so please Shhhhh" time. 

7:00 rolled around and it started. The dreaded question "what's for dinner" started getting thrown at me like rocks. Wait... what? It's 7:00. Are you serious?? Siiiigh. Now, I'm not gonna lie. The tired broad in me secretly wanted to say "you want dinner this late? Ok, suck your spit", but, the nice mommy in me got to work and whipped up a VERY quick, tasty, AND way delicious batch of "pizza" soup.(Tho in all honesty, it almost tastes more like a lasagna soup, but if you remember from my previous post about Skillet Lasagna, you'll know I love my lasagna. So that's quite alright with me.)

Crisis averted and there was  absolutely no sucking of spit involved and everyone is happy.

 

• 1 (16 oz) pack of extra lean ground turkey 
• a few slices of turkey pepperoni, diced
• 28 oz of tomato sauce 
• 1 can of Italian style diced tomatoes
• a handful of spinach, chopped up
• 2 cups of water 
• 2 tsp of Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni noodles
• reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese to top with

1.  In a large pot, brown your ground turkey with the minced garlic. Toss in your diced pepperoni.
2. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, spinach, water, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Bring to a low boil.
3. Add the noodles, stir, and let simmer for about 15 minutes or just until the noodles are done.
4. Serve it up with some shredded mozzarella on top.

Tell me that's not delish!

Chicken and Veggie Couscous

This dish totally meets my three major requirements for a meal: Quick, easy, and delicious. Delicious being the main one! I don't care how quick and easy something is, if it doesn't taste good, what's the point?? It came together in a matter of about 15 minutes and was so good that my kiddies scarfed it down, the hubby liked it, and my mom LOVED it. For those that don't know, my mom is extremely picky, so that one is huge on it's own. lol Did I mention that it's also healthy? No? Well it is. It's healthy but without tasting healthy. SCOOOOOORE!!

• 2 cups whole wheat couscous, prepared as directed on the box
• 3 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced into bite size pieces
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 bag of fresh spinach
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• Parmesan and shredded mozzarella to top with (optional but recommended)

1. In a large pan, heat about a tsp of coconut or olive oil over medium heat.Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
2. Add your bag of fresh spinach and cook down until done, stirring often. About 3 minutes or so.
3. Add your tomato sauce, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Now add your couscous and chicken breast and mix together very well. Cook for just a couple minutes just to heat through.
5. Serve it up and top with Parmesan and a little shredded mozzarella.

Soooooooo goooood. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/7281521/?claim=3gtny9a482v">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Losing weight while eating chocolate? Oh yes, I'm game!!

I stumbled across a website last week that seriously changed my life. No joke. Chocolate Covered Katie is AHHHMAZING. Tons of desserts that are healthy and.... wait for it... wait for it... DELICIOUS! No, delicious is an understatement. Just earth shatteringly, mouthgasm inducing deliciousness. Chocolate Covered Katie: where have you been all my life?!? Why is this such a big deal? Because when you are on a weight loss journey like I am, you don't want to feel deprived. Feeling deprived makes you want to binge, and that my friends, is no bueno. lol Being able to eat desserts that taste utterly decadent and still lose weight is a freaking awesome thing.

I have made her Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Baked Oatmeal. Turned out awesome. Have a look for yourself!

 

Ohhhhh yesssss. I drizzled Natural Peanut Butter on top of mine. Let the party in my mouth commence! It was SO good that my youngest kiddo, J, stole my fork so she could double fork it!

 I hate oatmeal. Like, I loathe it. I am very much a texture freak and the texture of things like oatmeal, yogurt, bananas, etc, makes me gag. Can't even attempt to swallow that stuff. So when I took a bite of this oatmeal I was pleasantly surprised. It was like a freaking party in my mouth, that progressed into one helluva rave in my tummy. So so soooo good. It almost tasted like a brownie...

Mmmm, speaking of brownies... I have also made her Black Bean Brownies. I added  Natural Peanut Butter to mine, tho. I do so love me some peanut butter.

 Let me start by saying that I have made black bean brownies many times, from many different recipes. You know what they all had in common? They sucked. I don't want a brownie that tastes like black beans. I want a brownie that tastes like a brownie. That's exactly what I got with her Black Bean Brownies. They are super chocolatey and fudgey and are just to die for. My kiddies and the Mr practically inhaled these moe foes And healthy?? Get the hell out of town!

I cannot urge you enough, to go check out Chocolate Covered Katie! Don't walk, RUN! You will NOT regret it!

Wordless Wednesday

From our family to yours...