Friday Favorites – Week 396 – Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet HomeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Maisy at Becoming AliceFB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage PresentsTwitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo BluesTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small ThingsPin

Penny at Penny’s PassionTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas SkyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! Continue reading

Friday Favorites – Week 387 – Mini Turkey Meatloaves

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet HomeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Maisy at Becoming AliceFB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage PresentsTwitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo BluesTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small ThingsPin

Penny at Penny’s PassionTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas SkyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! Continue reading

Friday Favorites – Week 381 – Lemon and Herb Salmon

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet HomeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Maisy at Becoming AliceFB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage PresentsTwitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo BluesTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small ThingsPin

Penny at Penny’s PassionTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas SkyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! Continue reading

Friday Favorites – Week 364 – Carmelized Onion Red Pepper & Zucchini Frittata

 photo Friday Favorites Banner 2.jpg

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet HomeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Christine at Light and SavvyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Maisy at Becoming AliceFB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage PresentsTwitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo BluesTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small ThingsPin

Penny at Penny’s PassionTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas SkyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

 photo Friday Favorites Featured Button.jpg

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! Continue reading

Friday Favorites – Week 358 – Baked Chicken Parmesan

 photo Friday Favorites Banner 2.jpg

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet HomeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Christine at Light and SavvyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Jen at Creatively HomemadeTwitter | G+ | Pin

Dawn at LeroyLimeTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

Maisy at Becoming AliceFB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage PresentsTwitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo BluesTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small ThingsPin

Penny at Penny’s PassionTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas SkyTwitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

 photo Friday Favorites Featured Button.jpg

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! Continue reading

My Love Affair with Vegetables

myloveaffairwithvegetables

My name is Sheree and I am a “Carb-a-Holic”, but I am also a diabetic, so those two things just don’t mesh do they.  After a serious illness this summer, I was forced to choose my diagnosis over my addiction. So with that choice came the need for a change in the way I ate and in what I ate. Giving up rice and pasta I knew would be the hardest thing for me to conquer. But, I was scared enough that I was willing to let them go.  (Dragging My Feet The Whole Way)

After shedding more than a few tears for my life long affair with Macaroni and Cheese and Lasagna,  I got on Pinterest and started researching substitutes for rice and pasta, and what kept coming up for me over and over again was cauliflower. At this point, I think I had probably eaten cauliflower maybe once or twice in my entire life.  It seemed like Cauliflower was the Alpha and Omega to my new way of living.  And, I believed all the hype about Cauliflower Rice really tasting like rice, or the Faux Loaded Mashed Potatoes tasting just like the real thing.  I know you can’t see it, but I am giving you my “Yeah Right” Screw Face.  You and I know that it is ALWAYS hard to duplicate the real thing.  As you can imagine, there were several both frustrating and failed attempts along this path of mine.  But, once I accepted that there was no magic pill or in this case vegetable things got easier.

So I began to broaden my horizons and incorporate all kinds of Vegetables, many of which I have been fans of all my life.  Like Onions… God I love Onions.  Then my Caribbean Roots started to kick in, after all the base of most of our most popular dishes starts out with seasoning and not typically ones you can shake.  So I started to throw in tomatoes, peppers, garlic, etc.  And low and behold my options became endless.

Yesterday, I received the results of my A1C test.  It is a test that diabetics have to take to make sure that their blood sugar is controlled.  Without going into details, the last test I took was totally off the charts and not in a good way.  The test I just received the results for was phenomenal.  They consider normal 6.99 and below and mine was 7.10.   It was such a joy to see my hard work and the hard work of my family pay off.   I include them in this because everyone in my house has had to make sacrifices for Mommy to eat right.  And, there has been no murmuring or complaining, or at least none that an occasional pizza didn’t cure.

Whether you are diabetic, embarking on a life change, just deciding to go low carb or whatever your reasons are for choosing to add more veggies and protein to your diet here are some of my favorite recipes so far.   I have pretty much put my own spin on everything that I have tried and you probably will too, so be sure to share your secrets with us, or even share a link to your favorites in the comments below.  I look forward to reading all about it.

fave-recipes-collage

Photo Credits Belong to The Blogs Linked Below

Cauliflower Rice with Garlic and Green Onion from Kaly’s Kitchen

Low – Carb Mock Lasagna Spaghetti Squash Casserole from Kaly’s Kitchen

Fried Cabbage with Sausage from Extreme Savings with Diva Desirae

Zucchini and Squash Au Gratin from Just A Pinch

Happy Eating from my plate to yours!!

A New Family Favorite – Smoked Sausage and Peppers

If you are like this Mom, every now and then you get tired of cooking and eating the same things over and over again.  Actually…. that happens pretty often.  But, when I ask the family for suggestions… I get NOTHING, which is probably why I have developed such an unhealthy attachment to Pinterest. (That’s my story and I am sticking to it.)

So yesterday around 2pm, I started searching Pinterest for some dinner ideas… And, at about 3pm, I emailed my hubby and told him I wanted to make Smoked Sausage and Peppers..  and askedwhat did he think.  To which he enthusiastically replied… SURE… (That was sarcasm, in case you didn’t pick it up.)
I second guessed myself all the way from work to the grocery store and then back to the house.  The girls are picky eaters .. what if it didn’t come out right.. what should I serve with it.. blah blah, blah.  Then when I got home I suggested to my dh that maybe we should have something else.  Yes, I was punking out.  Thankfully, he pushed me to go with my original plan.
And, what happened next was pure magic.  lol.   Thirty minutes later we had an amazing meal.  And, everyone approved.  So now we have one more Forever Dinner to put into the arsenal.  Forever Dinners mean meals that everyone will eat without any complaints.
I found this recipe here:
Photo Source: Hillshire Farms (Their Picture
What are your go to aka Forever Meals that your family loves?  Consider sharing a recipe or link with us in the comment section below.

Fall Into Comfort Food — All Over the Web…

It’s getting chilly out there!!  Here are some great recipes I found all over the web!!

Fotor01018192913

I have tried the Breakfast Casserole, as well as the Oven Fried Chicken.  Both yummy!!

Breakfast:

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

Entrees:

Oven Fried Chicken

Eggplant Parmesan

Finger Food:

Parmesan Spinach Bites

Dessert

Easy Apple Crisp

Pumpkin Cheesecake in a Gingersnap Crust – ** I plan to try my hand at this tomorrow.

Falling Into Comfort Food – Looking for Some Dinner Ideas?

30 Minute Chili

chili

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1/3 cup Chili Seasoning Mix
  • 2 (14.5-oz.) cans diced tomatoes with green pepper, celery, and onion
  • 2 (8-oz.) cans tomato sauce
  • 1 (16-oz.) can black beans, undrained
  • 1 (15.5-oz.) can small red beans, undrained

Preparation

  1. 1. Brown beef in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes or until beef crumbles and is no longer pink; drain well. Return beef to Dutch oven; sprinkle evenly with seasoning mix, and sauté 1 minute over medium-high heat.
  2. 2. Stir in diced tomatoes and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
  3. Italian-Style Chili: Substitute 1 lb. Italian pork sausage and 1 lb. lean ground beef for 2 lb. lean ground beef. Remove casings from sausage, and discard; brown sausage and ground beef together as directed. Omit beans, and stir in 1 small onion, diced; 1 green bell pepper, diced; 2 small zucchini, diced; and remaining ingredients. Proceed with recipe as directed. Serve chili over hot cooked spaghetti noodles tossed with olive oil and chopped fresh cilantro. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Prep: 10 min., Cook: 25 min.

Southern Living 
JANUARY 2007

Another Great After Thanksgiving Recipe – Turkey Dumpling Stew

Turkey Dumpling Stew

Another After Thanksgiving Recipe - Turkey Dumpling Stew

Photo Source: Food Network Magazine

Recipe courtesy of Food Network Magazine

Prep Time:
50 min
Inactive Prep Time:
Cook Time:
4 hr 0 min
Level:
Intermediate
Serves:
6-8 servings
 Ingredients
  • 1 leftover roasted turkey carcass, plus 3 to 4 cups shredded turkey meat
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 2 stalks celery, quartered crosswise (save the leaves for the dumplings)
  • 1 pound carrots (3 quartered crosswise; the rest thinly sliced)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 sprigs parsley
  • 3 sprigs thyme
  • Dumpling dough (recipe linked below)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 shallots, minced
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 pound parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • Chopped fresh chives, for topping

Directions

Make the stock: Pull the turkey carcass apart into smaller pieces; set the meat aside. Put the bones in a large, deep pot and add cold water to cover, 4 to 5 quarts. Add the onion, celery, the 3 quartered carrots and the bay leaf. Tie the parsley and thyme together with twine and add to the pot, then cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium low and cook 3 to 4 hours. Remove the bones and vegetables with a skimmer and discard, then strain the stock though a fine-mesh strainer. Return the stock to the pot and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced by half, 30 to 40 minutes (you’ll have about 8 cups stock).

About 45 minutes before serving, prepare the dumplings . Keep covered with plastic wrap while you make the stew.

Make the stew: Melt the butter in a large, wide pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Gradually add the stock, stirring, and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sliced carrots and parsnips, cover and cook 5 minutes.

Stir in the turkey meat, lemon juice and green beans. Add the dumplings in a single layer (leave as squares or pat into rounds). Cover and simmer until the dumplings are cooked through, about 20 minutes. Ladle into bowls; top with chives.

Photograph by Con Poulos