Tuna Saute over Spagetti and a New Car!

So this week has been the week from.....well, you know where. Having numerous problems with my job, hit a deer with our Blazer, went to my friends funeral......plus what seems like a never-ending list of other small things that keep happening. SO glad this week is OVER!!! I'm ready for it to be better!

Well, yesterday it got better - we bought a new vehicle! 2003 Envoy XL - it's beautiful, fully loaded, has 4-wheel and all-wheel drive, 4 doors, and seats 7! It has everything we wanted and more (heated seats :)

Heated seats :-D (can you tell I'm excited about the heated seats.....lol)

So to celebrate our new car, I came up with this recipe (actually I came up with it the day before but I couldn't figure out how to transition to the recipe lol).

I wasn't sure how it would turn out.....lol......I had a recipe bomb on me a couple of days ago.....yeah that was another thing that went wrong.......ANYWAYS, this one was totally good! I bought some Anise at the market last week and I have been wanting to try it out. From what I have read about it, it is good either cooked/grilled/sauteed or raw in salads. Cooking it is supposed to mellow out the licorice-like flavor a bit, and since the hubby isn't fond of black licorice, I decided that cooking it would be the best route. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do though lol. I got a few ingredients out that I thought would go well together (and honestly what I had left in the fridge/pantry......) and sauteed them together - the tuna was a last minute addition and it was very good, although I think chicken breast would be equally good.

Here are the ingredients - tuna in water, anise, capers, yellow onion, garlic, EEVO (extra virgin olive oil), fresh parmesan cheese

Anise bulb with the tops and end cut off

Garlic bulb

 

 A GIGANTIC yellow onion! This is half of it!

Fresh parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste

A beautiful huge tomato from my mom's garden :)

The tops from the anise bulb - don't throw away! You can use it as a herb!

EEVO - extra virgin olive oil

Tuna Saute over Spaghetti

Ingredients:

* 1 can of tuna in water

* 1/2 cup of diced yellow onion

* 3 garlic cloves - minced

* 2 tbsp capers

* about 1/2 cup of roughly chopped anise

* 1/2 medium tomato diced

* 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

* 2 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

* 4-5 basil leaves chopped

* salt and pepper to taste 

* 100% whole wheat spaghetti noodles

Directions:

* saute yellow onion in pan on low until soft - about 10 minutes

* add garlic, capers, and anise and turn up heat to medium for about 3 minutes until heated

* add to cooked noodles 

* add in tuna, parmesan cheese, basil, tomatoes, and salt and pepper

* garnish if you want with the "feathery" tops from the anise

* Enjoy!

As a side note we now have 2 cars for sale - a 99 Saturn for $800 and a 98 Blazer for $1800 - send me a message if interested! We spent all day today cleaning them out and washing them so we can get them out to the road. It was actually fun with the kids helping and it turned out to be a beautiful day!

Handmade Roses and Homemade Chili

So, I had a lazy day today. I spent waayyyy too much time being obsessed with Pintrest! I also like to be obessed with both Foodgawker and Craftgawker, if you have never been to any of these websites, go now! (actually finish reading my post first lol)  Today it was all about the crafts :)

Here are a few awesome things that I found today.......

 I ABSOLUTLY love handmade rosettes! Whether it be paper, ribbon, cloth, or what-have-you - it doesn't matter - I love them! So I tried them out today :) Here are a few newspaper roses and some ribbon roses that I made. Plans are to use them for Christmas presents......I figure if I get started on them now, I might be able to finish by Christmas lol.

The newspaper roses I plan on painting.......I'm thinking white with a hint of pink? The fabric roses are glued down to the paper so they stay together, then I'm going to cut them out using a craft knife. I can them use them for whatever craft I want, like a headband with roses, picture frame, a wreath..........the list goes on  :) Maybe if anybody is interested I will post a tutorial on how to make them sometime in the future.

Along with my crafty mood today, I have also been craving everything fall related. I have pumpkin spice candles out, blankets on the couch, apple cider in the fridge, sticks from caramel apples in the garbage.......the only thing missing (besides the leaves changing color) is our fall food staple - CHILI!

I don't love chili, I like it ok, just not a favorite......unless it's fall. For some reason it just tastes better with pumpkin spice candles and cooler weather :) I have experimented with different chili recipes over the past few years, and I'm pretty sure that the chili that I made today comes out on top. It's a little bit different...........lots of beans, chili beans and lentils (I put lentils in EVERYTHING now) and I added corn this time. I usually only use turkey burger instead of red meat, however, I didn't have any on hand, instead I had bear burger. It's ok........not my favorite.........I just don't generally like red meat.  So anyways..........here's the recipe for your enjoyment :)

Homemade Chili

Ingredients:

1  28 oz can crushed tomatoes (no salt added)
1  6 oz can tomato paste
1 medium onion - diced
1 medium green pepper - diced
3 garlic cloves - minced
1 bag frozen corn or 1 can of no salt added corn
1   15 oz can chicken stock (can substitute water if you don't have any on hand)
2 cups uncooked lentils
1  15 oz can chili beans
2 bay leaves
1 lb meat - cooked - and seasoned with chili seasoning - I like to use turkey burger for less calories
pinch of salt and pepper
sour cream and/or cheddar cheese for garnish


Instructions:

1.  Mix all the ingredients (not including garnishes) in a largish crock pot and turn on low for 6-8 hours or turn on high for 3-4 hours.
2. Add your favorite toppings such as sour-cream and/or cheddar cheese
3.  Enjoy with crackers or cornbread........yummmmm cornbread.......didn't have any tonight :(


Now, I think I'm gonna go work on a knitting project that I started last year lol................

Will Being (slightly) Mean Help You Lose Weight?

I know this sounds a little harsh - bear with me.

I read this article at a time when I really, really needed to hear something exactly like this. I have become somewhat addicted to Self Magazine, a magazine dedicated to women's health and fitness. This article caught my eye when I was reading it at work, a place where, at the time, it seemed like people were walking all over me and rumors (untrue rumors) were flying and I even, somewhat desperately, tried to transfer out of the only job I have ever actually loved doing.
 
This was a low point for me at work, I was trying to lose weight and had lost around 25 lbs. Some people were (and are still) extremely supportive, giving me compliments and telling me that I've been doing a good job and to keep it up. However, there are those people who act like your friend and look like your friend, but inside them is just a mean little person trying to get out. Oh, they are nice enough usually, but there are those occasions where they let that side of their personality out. For instance, someone said to me one day, "don't worry about what everybody else thinks Ashley, I can tell that you've lost some weight." This is the one that has stuck out in my mind. We are not friends anymore. I decided to be a little mean and just stop being friends. It made me feel better knowing that I had one less person in my life that had the power to make me feel bad about myself.

This article struck a chord because it's about letting people walk all over you during the day - saying yes when you really want to say no, taking on a project when you don't have time, saying yes to going out when you really just want to stay home and take a bath and spend "me" time. Essentially, saying yes to the world, who is usually ungrateful, so to compensate for having your feelings hurt, you nurture yourself by indulging in food - comfort food. For me, it was letting people talk about me and say things to my face and behind my back, and just taking it and letting it hurt my feelings. This led to me eating a cookie (they are sooo available in a bakery!) and the brief sugar high would make me feel better, or I would go and buy a bag of candy, same thing, but they would only make me feel better while eating them, afterwards I would feel worse because I knew I shouldn't be eating that crap! SO I STOPPED. Lol, really, I read the part in the article that says "I won't take any crap and I won't eat any crap" and I was like this is me and it needs to stop. People gave me some surprised looks the next week or so as I spoke out and was really, actually a little mean and sarcastic, but it made me feel so good about myself knowing that I wasn't letting anyone take advantage of me or walk all over me. Self-empowerment! Lol, I happen to love Jillian Micheals (I listen to her podcasts religiously) and she is a big fan of the term "self-empowerment".

Everything is calmed down at work now (well for the most part lol - I work in a bakery full of women - there is no time when there isn't drama happening). I no longer want to transfer out, and I no longer feel as though I have to watch my back. (Of course, it helps that one of those people are gone)  It's an empowering feeling knowing that you are not going to let people walk all over you and that you have the ability to say no if you want to say no.

So, with all that being said, I don't think it has made me lose any of the weight..........lol. Something that has, however, is remaking a few favorite recipes with fresh and healthy versions :)

 It's incredibly easy to make! There is no reason to buy that jar version of what they call spaghetti sauce EVER AGAIN!! Seriously, you will not want to buy that stuff ever again after making this! This time I actually made it from fresh tomatoes, but usually I will buy the canned crushed tomatoes - organic if you can find it - with no salt added (you don't need that extra salt!) Then add some diced fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, and basil and you are good to go!! Delicious! Unfortunately, this is my weakness, the one food that I almost always go back for seconds on, so, I always try to eat it on a small plate (tonight was on one of the kids plates lol) so when I go back for seconds, I am still eating less than one serving on a regular plate :)

Fresh organic ingredients

fresh basil: roughly chop about 6 leaves

Organic tomato sauce!

Tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste with diced onion, garlic, basil and 2 bay leaves - turn on medium high to start a slow boil

Turkey meatballs: ground turkey, egg, diced onion, garlic, basil, and 100% whole wheat bread crumbs

Mix all ingredients for turkey meatballs and make them the size of golfballs

Turn burner down to low and simmer with cover on for 25 minutes

 Take cover off and let sit for about 5 minutes to let thicken up

Serve over 100% whole wheat noodles and enjoy!

My daughter is enjoying her plain spaghetti with bananas on the side........lol

Homemade Spaghetti (and meatballs if you want)

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes - no salt added - organic if you can find it
1 can of organic tomato paste
1 small onion - diced
3-4 garlic cloves - diced
5-6 fresh basil leaves
2 bay leaves (optional)
2 tomatoes - diced
freshly grated parmigiano reggiano 
2 tbsp olive oil

For Meatballs
1 lb turkey burger
1/2 cup 100% whole wheat bread crumbs
2-3 basil leaves
1 egg
1 garlic clove
handful of diced onions

*saute onions in olive oil for ~4-5 minutes or until soft
*add minced garlic and saute another minute or two
*add to a big pot with crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, basil and bay leaves and turn on med/high
*if you are not adding meatballs in - let sauce simmer for 10 minutes and your done :) when I don't add meat I like to put lentils in for protein - they do not add any flavor and you barely notice eating them!

For Meatballs
*mix all ingredients for meatballs together

*once sauce starts simmering, add golf ball sized meatballs to the sauce
*reduce heat to low and cover
*cook for 30 minutes
*when done take lid off and let sit 5 minute to let the sauce thicken up

Serve over wheat spaghetti noodles and garnish with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
Enjoy!



Read the full article here - trust me it's worth it!
http://www.self.com/health/2011/07/is-being-too-nice-making-you-fat?currentPage=3

Dinner, Movie and a Makeover

Tonight we decided to spend some good quality time with the kids. We don't get a lot of nights that we can do this because of our crazy schedule :( Sometimes by the time the weekend gets here we are just so burnt out and tired - and we miss the kids and the kids miss us.........sometimes we all just end up being crabby lol........those are not the good weekends as I'm sure you can imagine! HOWEVER, tonight we were determined to spend some quality time with the kids and have a good time (and cross our fingers for no tantrums) Dinner was not the recipe I am posting - sorry! Dinner was actually orange chicken stir-fry but I didn't get any good pictures of it and (gasp) I used a jar of non-organic sauce instead of making my own. I was tired - I usually am on Saturday's because I work an early shift (this is the reason we don't go to church every Sunday - by the time Sunday rolls around we are exhausted and we just want to get some sleep with a big family breakfast/brunch after, instead of getting up early yet another day and rush to get somewhere on time) Sometimes you have to make exceptions for your sanity lol. So the recipe is actually from a couple of days ago and is one of my favorites :) It has all of the qualities I like for a home cooked dinner - cheap, easy, quick, healthy, and delicious. (and the kids will eat it all!)

So, anyways, I need to tell you about the makeover! Emma got a makeup set for her birthday earlier this year and only used it a couple of times. Well she remembered it today and asked if we could do makeovers ( I have no idea how she even knows what a makeover is......) So after dinner we got everyone involved ( yes including daddy lol) Both kids had a lot of fun smearing it all over mine and daddy's faces.........did some hardcore washing of the faces after..........crossing my fingers that neither of us breaks out from the grease!

Then after we were done we did a photo shoot and settled down on the couch with some popcorn and blankets to watch Rio - which we all enjoyed :) So all in all it was a really good night and some quality family time that we all really needed. Now daddy's upstairs doing homework and I'm writing this drinking my iced latte wishing my sinuses would calm down - but enjoying my latte nevertheless.


Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

2 cups of my homemade BBQ sauce - or your favorite brand
2 large chicken breasts

*put the thawed chicken breasts in the crock pot
*pour in BBQ sauce saving about 1/4 jar
*turn on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours - when it is done it will shred itself when you stir it :)
*add the rest of BBQ sauce

This makes for awesome leftovers - great for pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches with some slaw on top, BBQ chicken quesadillas, BBQ chicken salads, BBQ chicken tacos, and whatever other combo you can come up with :)


Homemade BBQ Sauce
*adapted from thegalleygourmet Western Carolina Tomato-Based Barbecue Sauce

makes about 2 quarts

2 tsp onion powder
1 40-ounce bottle of ketchup (I use Simply Heinz)
2 1/2 cups water (20 ounces) to rinse the inside of the ketchup bottle
3 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
2 cups white distilled vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
1/4 cup yellow mustard or Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
can add smoke flavoring to taste

*using a large pot - add the ketchup; rinse the bottle with the water and add to the pot.
*stir in the tomato sauce, vinegar, sugars, molasses, mustard, lemon, salt and pepper.
*bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 3-3 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
*remove from the heat and allow to cool.
*store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week or in the freezer for up to six months.
I used freezer safe canning jars - it made enough for 5 jars.
Enjoy!

My First Post!

Ok, so here it goes! I'm so excited to do my first blog post! I have been wanting to do a blog for quite a while now and I always had a variety of things stopping me, like I needed a good camera (which I got for my birthday! I LOVE it!), also I am just plain scared that people will look at me and think that it is ridiculous that I am doing my very own blog. I have decided to step past that and not care what everybody else thinks - it simply doesn't matter! I am doing this for myself, for accountability, and for anyone else who is interested along the way.

So, I went to the farmer's market the other day to pick up our veggies and fruit for the next couple of weeks. I love going grocery shopping! I go by myself - it's so much fun seeing what veggies and fruits they have for the day - there is always something different! I used to plan my meals then go grocery shopping with a big list - but now I go shopping first (at least at the farmer's market) then plan my meals around the fresh veggies and fruits. I will be so sad when winter comes and they are closed :( no more fresh produce! It's amazing what the difference in taste and texture is compared to supermarket produce! I used a melody of the fresh veggies for the pasta below - it is sooo customizable! You can use pretty much any fresh veggie you have on-hand and it will be just as good! You can also add meat to it if that's your thing - chicken, sausage, steak strips - are a few that would be great in it.


So here is my first recipe!  It is very easy and fresh - not to mention delicious!

Fresh Veggie Ratatouille Pasta

*you can substitute any of these veggies for what you have on hand or for your favorite - this is very adaptable!!!

1/2 box whole grain wheat noodles - whatever kind you like the best - i used spaghetti but would be great with penne, spiral, or linguine
1 red bell pepper - sliced lengthwise
1 yellow onion - roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves - minced (can use less if you want - i like garlic so I'm a bit heavy handed with it)
1 small zucchini - thinly sliced
1 small yellow summer squash - thinly sliced
6-7 stalks of asparagus - chopped into ~1 in pieces
1 small eggplant - thinly sliced
1 tomato - roughly chopped
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts (either from store or homemade - i use the recipe from Carciofi Sott'Olio on the Food Network - recipe posted at the end - very easy!)
olive oil - either spray can of cooking olive oil or 2 tbsp
5-6 fresh basil leaves
1/3 c parmigiano-reggiano

heat olive oil in large-ish pan - i used my cast iron skillet - and add onion
saute onion until soft - about 3-4 minutes
add garlic and red bell pepper to pan and saute ~2 minutes
add the rest of veggies except tomatoes and include the marinade juice with the artichokes and simmer about 5 minutes
add cooked veggies and tomatoes to cooked spaghetti sauce including sauce from the pan
add freshly sliced basil
add freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
enjoy :)


Carciofi Sott'Olio's Marinated Artichoke Hearts

• 10 globe artichokes, outer leaves and chokes removed
• 2 lemons, cut in half
• 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon red chile flakes, plus 2 tablespoons, for layering
• 1 bunch mint leaves
• 1 quart extra-virgin olive oil plus 1 quart

Directions
Trim the artichokes and cut into 1/2-inch thick wedges and rub with a cut lemon. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the artichokes, garlic, chile flakes, and mint leaves and cover with the olive oil. Place the pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Once the center is boiling, remove from heat, cover, and allow to cool in the oil. Transfer the cooled artichokes to a clean jar, adding a pinch of chiles every cup of artichoke pieces, cover with the new oil and seal. To serve, drain the oil and serve at room temperature or re-heated in a saute pan, seasoned with salt and pepper.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/carciofi-sottolio-marinated-artichokes-recipe/index.html