Unique Colorful Dip - Cowboy Caviar

Are you tired of the traditional dips?  Don't get me wrong, I love salsa, ranch, and other traditional dips!  But, when you try something truly unique, it can become quite addictive.  This dip is just that, ADDICTIVE!  It's a good thing that this recipe makes a big huge bowl full!  I adapted the Cowboy Caviar recipe that I found on Recipelion to get to this version.

Combine all of the following ingredients, chill and serve with chips.

1 can whole sweet corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 roma tomatoes, diced
1 bunch green onions, chopped including greens
1 bunch cilantro, chopped or 1/3 tube cilantro herb blend
3/4 bottle of zesty italian salad dressing
2-3 Tbls. lime juice
1 avocado, chopped
1 can black olives (optional)

I would think that this would be a hit at any potluck or party.  It's just so unique and not something that most people have tried. I also would think that it should be fairly diet friendly since there is nothing too awful bad in it.  Use low calorie dressing and baked chips to make it extra healthy.  Enjoy!

Fresh from the garden stir-fry

I just love stir-fry using whatever we have available. Knowing that you are using fresh foods and knowing that you are using your own resources make it all the better!
We like to use many combinations of ingredients.
Here are some of our favorites:
Meat of any kind, sliced thin.
Tomatoes, Zucchini, Potatoes, Green Peppers, Red Peppers, Banana Peppers, Corn, Garlic, Beans, Carrots, Pea Pods, and Various Fresh Herbs.
Delicious and it's a meal on it's own or use as a side dish.
It's quick too (especially if you use a food processor for slicing), that's my favorite kind of meal!

Summer Parfaits and Homemade Jam

Summer Parfait

This fun summer parfait is super fast to make!  Have you noticed yet that it is really important to me to be able to make some really cool things, but super fast!!

Blueberry Summer Parfait

Make a yellow cake mix as directed.

Cut into small square pieces.

Dip your glass into caramel sauce then into crushed graham crackers to coat the rim.

Layer the inside of the glass with multiple layers of the following:

The cake pieces

Blueberries

Prepared vanilla pudding

Whip topping spray
Sprinkle a little more of the crushed graham crackers on the top layer and add one more blueberry!

EAT!!

Canned Jam

Jams and jellies are so easy to make!  I don't know why I don't do it more often.  Here's a fun easy and yes, quick jam.  This recipe came from my stepsister's mother, Judy.  She's a very nice woman, and yes, it's a complicated family that I am a part of, but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way!  How many children of divorce say that?

Rhubarb Cherry Jam

6 cups rhubarb (cut up)

3-1/2 cups sugar

1 - 21 oz. can Cherry Pie Filling (chopped)

1 - 6 oz. Pkg. Cherry Jello

Mix rhubarb and sugar.  Let stand for 15 minutes.  

Boil 8 minutes.  Add cherry pie filling and boil 2 more minutes.

Turn off heat and add cherry jello and stir until disolved.

Put in jars and let it cool.

Seal with wax or can as normal.  (She sealed hers with wax and I canned mine).

ENJOY!

Veggies!!! From a 1/2 share from a farm!!

Can you believe all these wonderful veggies!!
This all came from one week (and the leftovers from last week) from a 1/2 share that I purchased.  I've never done this before, but so far I think it's fabulous!  I still don't know what some of the stuff is that I have received... especially the herbs...and it's rather fun (and healthy) to be sort-of  forced to make sure all this stuff gets used.

Moist Rhubarb Strawberry Cake

Moist Rhubarb Strawberry Cake

1-1/2 Cups Sugar

1 Egg

2 Cups Rhubarb, cut up (see notes below)

1/4 Cup Strawberries, sliced and partially mashed with juice

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 Cup Butter, melted

1 tsp. Baking Soda

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Buttermilk/Sour Milk (see notes below for tips on how to make this)

Grease and flour 9x12 pan.  Mix ingredients together.  Pour into cake pan.

Mix these additional ingredients together:

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Tbs. Cocoa Powder

1/4 tsp. Ginger

1 tsp. Cinnamon

Sprinkle this mixture over the batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes (check with a toothpick to see if it is done).  

A couple of things...

You may want more rhubarb, if so just add another 1/4 cup or so.

Rhubarb should be cut into 1/4 - 1/2 inch slices.

To make buttermilk, you can add 1 tsp. to 1 Tbs. vinegar to regular milk and let sit for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Eat, Pray, Love ~ Now the MOVIE!!

 
Back on January 7th, I told you about this fabulous book that I read, "Eat, Pray, Love"...

Now I have more information on the movie!  It comes out August 13th!  My Mom's birthday!
I doubt she'll want to go to the midnight opening showing like I would like to...  but it is kind of cool timing!

Anyway, there are trailers that you can watch and a contest you can enter to get tickets to the premiere showing... Here's the catch....
If you win the tickets, you have to bring me!  :)
So...

To enter the contest go to the facebook page (you don't have to be a member) and then click on the sweepstakes link!

You can watch the trailer for the movie at the official site of the movie by Sony Pictures here.  I rarely think that a movie can capture the essence of a book; however, with Julia Roberts, other awesome actors, and the looks of this trailer, this could be a fabulous version of the book!  I am excited!  Mark your calendars for August 12-13 and let's go to the midnight showing!

Healthy Nachos & Healthy Substitutions!

It’s all about the choices! Simple substitutions for ingredients that you normally use can make a huge impact on your calorie intact. If you are trying to eat healthier, try some of these simple substitutions taken from Nachos that my honey and I made.


Tip #1: Use baked instead of regular tortilla chips, 8.5% less calories and 68% less fat! A minor change would be white corn instead of yellow corn, but this change alone is 14% less fat.

Tip #2: Add lots of veggies! We added corn and zucchini; it was delicious and more nutritious for us.

Tip #3: Lima beans have no fat! They are by far the best choice for beans. Even if you don’t go with the lima beans, you can still save calories and fat grams. Choose Kidney Beans, Black Beans, Pinto Beans, or Red Kidney Beans over Navy Beans and Chili Beans. This simple choice will save you 30% in calories and ½ the fat! And, the Lima bean would save you 36% in calories and all the fat grams would be gone!

Tip #4: The Cheese. Yes, the cheese is a huge culprit no matter how you look at it. However, you can still make better choices, Use American, Mexican Blend – Reduced Fat, Cheez Wiz, Velveeta, or Mozzarella instead of Swiss, Monterey, Colby, or Cheddar. Now cheese is my biggest weakness, so I won’t, probably, follow my own advice. If I did, I could save 28% of the calories and 67% of the fat grams.

Tip #5: Ground Turkey vs. Ground Beef. This one’s simple. It hardly changes the taste and saves 15% of the calories and 20% of the fat grams.

Tip #6: Salsa is Fabulous! Load it on! No fat grams! One ounce has only 7 calories. Make up for smaller portions of meat and cheese with more salsa and more veggies!

Tip #7: Taco sauce is similar to salsa; very low in calories and no fat grams! The green is ½ the calories of the red however. One ounce of green is 7 calories and one ounce of red is 14 calories.

Tip #8: Most spices have very few calories and fat grams. You can use quite a bit to make your foods taste better. There are a few to watch out for though; check the powders. Chili powder and onion powder have more than you would think.

Tip #9: Use sites, such as nutritiondata.com, to compare ingredients and determine what is best for you and your health!

Imagine, you can have 1/3-1/2 the calories and fat by making simple choices! Take these notes with you the next time you go shopping, or check the labels!

Now, if you save ½ the calories, that doesn’t mean you can eat twice as much!

Portion Control is the key!

Daily Health Habits

 

We all need to be concerned with our health.  It makes the difference on how we feel, how functional we are in a day, and how long we live.  I feel that health is the most important thing we have.  If our body is not healthy, it is very difficult to enjoy anything else in this life!  With all of this in mind, I am trying to get into the habit of doing some healthy things EVERY DAY!  So, I've created my DAILY HEALTH HABITS list.  Let me know if you think I'm forgetting something important.

1. Drink Plenty of Water

2. Take Vitamins

3. Stretching & Exercize

4. Eat Healthy & In Moderation (count calories etc)

5. Moisturize & Sunscreen

6. Relax/Meditation/Spiritual

7. Mind Growth & Learning

8. Affirmations & Personal Growth

9. Brush your Teeth

10. Hug Someone!

Now that's not so bad is it?!

Valentine's Day - Food Ideas

 

This gorgeous treat is made from candy canes!  

These could be a treat, a gift, or decor!

Fabulous idea from Jodi at Pleasant Home.   

Raspberry Frappe

Oh My!  Valentine Treat from Heaven courtesy of 

Better Homes and Gardens. 

These Gorgeous Valentine Hearts 

are made from crescent rolls.

This wonderful idea is featured by Pillsbury.  

I hope you enjoy all this valentine eye candy!

There is more on the way!

My take on eat pray love

I have always loved books. I tend to collect them in mass quantities. Only a small fraction of which ever seem to get read. Thanks to Amazon’s want list I no longer have to buy every book that I want to read (like I couldn’t have made a list of my own!)… As of late, I have tended to bury my head in books the likes of, Analytical Management. I always tend towards the self-help and how-to type books. As normal, always feeling like I should be accomplishing something, even if it’s time for me!

Well, this time I wanted light reading. I discovered this book, eat pray love, By Elizabeth Gilbert. This is still a true story, however it’s pure enjoyment! Elizabeth sets out to find herself after a typically nasty divorce. She takes a year to travel (lucky girl) and “find balance”. She not only travels, she digs herself into these fabulous local spots. Whether she is in Italy, India, or Indonesia she is burying herself in the culture and making true friends. I adored this book. For me this was a slice of heaven, I long to visit Italy. I learned things about meditation that most don’t ever contemplate. I learned some about achieving balance in my own life. I adored Elizabeth’s candor and down to earth manner. I felt as though I bonded with her. I really don’t think it had anything to do with her battle with emotional relationships!

The movie will be released this year, 2010, and features Julia Roberts in the lead role of Elizabeth “groceries”. (When the movie, Erin Brockovich, came out there were a few people that said she reminded them of me. Since I don’t believe it was her gorgeous beauty or lovely thick long red hair, I would say that it was probably her bullheaded determination. Anyway, I still took it as a compliment.) I am ecstatic that my favorite actress will be playing the role of my most recent favorite “real” book character. I don’t believe that it would be possible for a movie to capture the depth of this story, but it will be interesting to view, none the less.

I found a blog completely dedicated to this book! http://eat-pray-love-fans.blogspot.com/

Big Hint: Don’t read the blog until after you’ve read the book!

Another Hint: The links to products don’t work, I'm guessing they were copyright infringing.