Armenian Rice & Healthy grilled Pork

Made this dinner last night. Armenian rice is basically homemade rice a roni. A good recipe to have on hand. The pork recipe got out of a weight watcher cookbook. Paired with baby peas & grilled onions, red, green & yellow peppers.

Armenian Rice:

Break apart spaghetti (or use thin noodles), use as much as you like. I used whole box & used whole wheat thin spaghetti. Use about 1/3 to 1/2 stick of butter & brown the noodles. Add chicken broth to fully cover the noodles (about 3 cups) & add white rice (bag jasmine rice from trader joe's) or any kind you wish. Then add 4 bouillion cubes & cover & simmer until liquid is absorbed.


Healthy Grilled Pork:

Mix in bowl:
Light coconut milk (1/2 can)
2 tbsp peanut butter
red pepper curry sauce

Cut a pork loin into chunks & coat with peanut butter mixture. You can put on skewers & cook on the grill, or cook in a pan until cooked through & no longer pink. The kids loved this meal & it was pretty healthy!

Best Job | P&G London 2012 Olympic Games Film

Beautiful! A must watch. Makes me cry every time.

Pasta Fritatta

Yesterday, I was hungry, wanted something quick. I had leftover whole wheat spaghetti & didn't feel like having spaghetti. I decided to toss the leftover spaghetti with 2 eggs, parmesan cheese (about 1/3 cup) & season with salt/pepper. I also tossed in some peas because that's what I was in the mood for, but you could use any vegetable. I think asparagus would be delish in this. I then heated a small frying pan with olive oil & tossed the spaghetti/egg mixture into the pan. I let it cook until the bottom browned, then flipped it over & browned the other side. This was DELICIOUS, super quick, filling & I used up the leftover pasta. It could be eaten with a salad or alone.

Spinach Dip

This dip I made because I didn't have artichokes in the house, didn't feel like going to the grocery store to get them! Instead of making my artichoke dip, which is YUM, I made up a new recipe, tweaked a few things from the spinach dip recipe I had & this is what we got:

1 bag of spinach (cook in microwave for 7 minutes), 1 block of cream cheese few dashes of hot sauce few dashes of worcestershire sauce About a cup of cheese: I used some parmesan & cheddar mixed Ground in food processor: olive oil 2 cloves of garlic 1 medium onion Mix all together, put in baking dish, heat 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour & serve with crackers (or baguettes, bread slices, or nacho chips). It was very good. Enjoy~

Ways with Leftovers

My family loves this quick easy meal, made from leftovers. You can be creative & tweak this dish a million ways. Just sharing this idea, when I have leftover chicken, I shred it, cook it in olive oil with garlic, salt & pepper, a little chicken broth & put over pasta with some freshly grated parmesan cheese. I made in a separate pan the same thing (garlic, salt pepper, broth) with broccoli and/or cauliflower. You can make together, but half my family doesn't eat vegetables & the other half are vegetarians. I know!!!!

Here's the chicken Pasta:

You can also make this meal with sausages. They sell all kinds of awesome sausages, chicken sausages with peppers or apples, tomato, basil sausage etc. You can keep in freezer for another night you need a quick meal everyone loves. It's best when you deglaze the pan the sausage cooks in with some broth & toss the pasta right with sausage to get full flavor. Here's a pic of that cooking also:

Here's the broccoli/cauliflower mix over pasta. I added some butter beans too! YUM! My daughter & I love this & how healthy? I love eating this with sriracha sauce!

Here's the garlic broccoli mix over whole wheat spaghetti. I served it with a salad made out of butter lettuce, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes & croutons. YUM! Toss a garlic bread in the oven & dinners on. QUICK dinner! Hope you enjoy these different ideas for leftovers to please every palate!

You could also mix the sausage & chicken or use different vegetables that are your preference. I've also used leftover pork. Enjoy ~

Wicker Chair Re-Do

Wicker Set my parents gave us had seen it's better days. The wicker was faded & chipped & the cushions were a faded, dirty grey color. Wanted to freshen it up, so painted everything. Check out this awesome Wicker Chair re-do:

Wicker Chair BEFORE:

I painted & Spray painted the wicker White (gloss). Then I mixed Red colored house paint with equal part textile Medium (found @ AC Moore or Michaels) & painted Fabric Cushion.

Wicker Chair AFTER:

Looks a lot better, huh? Like New! Now it has a clean, summer look to it. Can't wait to sit & watch the world go by on these re-vamped chairs.

Broccoli Casserole

People always love this recipe! It's so easy to make, a great side dish & goes fast!

2 Bags frozen broccoli
2 cans cream of broccoli soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use hellmans, think other mayo's are too strong in flavor & overpower the dish)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs (Seasoned & panko)
6 butter Crackers, crushed
2 tbsp melted butter
Dash worcestershire sauce
Salt/pepper

Cook Broccoli as directed on package. Drain. Spray 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. In a bowl, combine: soup, cheese, mayo, milk, eggs, worcestershire sauce & season to taste with salt/pepper. Mix cooked broccoli into this mixture & stir. Put broccoli mixture in to baking pan. Mix butter, bread crumbs & crushed crackers in bowl then spread evenly over top of broccoli mixture. Bake 350 degrees until top is lightly browned & broccoli mixture is bubbly. Enjoy~

Easter Eggs

So pretty, however you make them! I will stock up on spinach for spinach salads next week. Also yummy & healthy, the kids even like: Whole wheat tortilla's, Spread a little mayo on the tortilla before assembling. Pile on tortilla: fresh spinach, crumbled egg & bacon, shredded cheese & diced tomatoes. Roll up, cut & serve. I served these healthy roll ups last night with strawberries & sour cream/onion rice cakes & my kids loved them!

Feel free to share your hard boiled egg recipes, we'd all appreciate after Easter. Thanks friends!

Daffodils! It's spring!

Roasted Potatoes

These are so easy & delicious. You can make them by cutting potatoes into cubes. Tossing with olive oil, McCormick potato steamers (rosemary & herb OR Italian seasoning). Spray baking pan with oil & spread potatoes evenly on pan. Season with a little salt & pepper. Cook 350 degrees about 1/2 hour or until done.

If you don't have the McCormick seasonings, you can also season the potatoes with olive oil, chopped garlic, Italian dressing, salt/pepper, seasonings of your choice. I personally love adding some fresh chopped rosemary. Either way, they come out delicious! Easy & delicious side dish. Enjoy.

Reeses & chocolate chip pretzel bottom pie

Mmmmm!!! Got this recipe on pinterest, made it for my family & they loved it! Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Oh, was QUICK to make too!

PRETZEL BOTTOM
2 cups crushed pretzels
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

COOKIE PIE
1 cup butter, room temp
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups white or white wheat flour
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 8oz. bag reese's mini's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crushed pretzels, 1/2 cup melted butter & 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. PRess mixture firmly into the bottom and up sides of a 10" pie or tart pan. Bake for 8 minutes & remove from oven.
While crust is baking, make the filling.
Cream butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar & 1/2 cup brown sugar with your mixer.
Add eggs & vanilla & beat until combined & smooth. On low speed add in your baking soda, salt & flour until incorporated evenly. Stir in chocolate chip and reese's mini's until evenly distributed.
Pres mixture on top of baked crust. Place pie back in oven for 30-35 minutes until just set. Let cool before serving.

Before going in oven:

After baking:

Don't forget to serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Hope you enjoy!