Mushroom Artichoke Lasagna

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2April2011

You know you’ve made a great dinner when you send your husband to work with leftovers and get a text in the middle of the day saying “lasagna is so good”.  I left out the expletives from that quote.

Anyway, this is a nice “meaty” meal that requires no meat.  It takes some time (an hour to an hour and a half total), but it’s worth it.  I found it in the latest Taste of Home magazine and it is definitely a keeper.

I know it's not the best pic. Meant to get a picture of it on a plate, but it was gone before I knew it!

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Apricot Bread Pudding

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12March2011

I was gifted a bread machine from an anonymous donor and was baking up a storm earlier this week.  Well, needless to say, two people can only eat so much bread and I had about half a loaf of homemade apricot bread that was getting pretty stale. So it was bread pudding time!

My camera is broken, so this Photobooth pic is the best I could do!

I’ve never made bread pudding before, but I sure have eaten my fair share of it.  I love the sweet custardy carby goodness!

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Joffee! (Jello Coffee)

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17February2011

For when you need a little pick me up for dessert!

Looks like a regular cup of coffee, huh?

I saw a similar recipe in my Taste of Home magazine. My first thought was “ugh, that’s gross”.  Then, I had a change of heart and thought it might actually be pretty tasty if it was tweaked a little.

This recipe has opened up a floodgate for me since I have now discovered unflavored gelatin.  So many possibilities- vanilla chai jello, orange juice jello, hot chocolate jello, sweet tea jello, lemonade jello!

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Creamy Shrimp Crackers

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14February2011

Yummy Pretty Shrimp Cracker

This recipe is a Spence creation.  Had this at Aunt Carolyn’s around Christmastime and I think it might be a Connaree specialty.

Very simple, but very good. I love how the mellow cream cheese and bright cocktail sauce compliment each other.  Plus, no cooking involved!

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Bookmark Frenzy

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14February2011

Seeing as I don’t know whether to knit blue or pink baby knick-knacks for the Brummer Baby (WHO IS ARRIVING TODAY!! SO EXCITED!!), I’ve been knitting bookmarks instead.

They make for short, one-night, feel accomplished, self-esteem boosters.  I like using teeny tiny needles because they don’t get in the way and sock yarn comes in such fun colors.

I think these make sweet lil presents.  A nice Valentine’s Day gift perhaps!

Check out the assortment I’ve made recently…

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Work in progress…

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28January2011

Bear with me as I attempt to move from Blogger to WordPress!

Braided Scarf

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25January2011

Just finished this braided scarf today and I’m excited!  It looks like a complicated cable knit, but it is really pretty simple.

Thanks for the yarn, G-Mom!

Supplies:

I used a normal weight yarn
Size 10 needles
sewing needle

1. Cast on 10 stitches.
2. On first row, (knit 1, purl 1) until the end of the row.
3. Next row: slip first stitch, then (purl 1, knit 1) to end of the row. The first stitch is slipped in order to avoid having curly edges.
4. Repeat #3 until you have a strip measuring 64 inches.
5. Repeat until you have three strips.
6. Sew all three strips together for about an inch at the bottom (I used mattress stitch).
7. Braid the strips.
8. Sew the other end together using same method as #6.
9. Add fringe if you’d like.

Compliments go to: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/free-scarf-knitting-patterns5.htm for the pattern!

Black bean brownies

Posted by admin in Chocolate, Not-incredibly-bad-for-your-diet, Recipes, Sweets | Tagged , | 2 Comments
24January2011

Hold on to your hats!  This recipe is a little strange.

I heard about this at my weight watcher’s meeting in Randleman, NC.  A bunch of old southern ladies in a Methodist church basement trying to lose weight in the land of fried foods.  The leader said these were good so I made them and was pleasantly surprised.

You’ll need:

package of regular brownie mix
Can of black beans
food processor
9 by 13 pan
cooking spray
adventurous attitude

First step: drain the beans and rinse them really well.

Put beans back in can and fill with water.  (Not a whole can of just water, but water + beans to fill the can.

Pour the beans and water into food processor or blender and give it a good whirl.

Add brownie mix.

Pour into greased 9 by 13 pan (or a smaller one if you want thicker brownies).

Bake according to package.  Mine baked at 350 for 25 minutes.

The end result: dense, chocolatey, a little flat, but worth the 5 points for a 12th of the pan (which is a pretty big square!)

Like my pretty plates from Mom & Dad Spence?

And I promise, they don’t taste like beans!

Easy Chicken n Biscuits

Posted by admin in Chicken, Not-incredibly-bad-for-your-diet, One Dish Meals, Recipes, Savory | Tagged | Leave a comment
4January2011

FINALLY a new post!

Between trying to recover from awful jobs and an awful cold, I haven’t posted any thing new in weeks!

I decided to start up again and made it my goal yesterday to cook dinner.  This was so easy, even my sorry been-glued-to-the-couch-butt could do it.

Weight Watchers Points: 6 points when the recipe is made into 8 servings

Here’s the ingredient list:

chicken (about 2 pounds)
can of cream of mushroom soup
bag of frozen vegetables
tablespoon of milk
2 tablespoons of ranch dressing
dash of Parmesan cheese
tube of reduced fat refrigerated biscuits
salt, pepper, oregano, basil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and get a cookie sheet and casserole dish ready.

2. Cook the chicken in a skillet with salt, pepper, oregano, basil and a little bit of oil until browned.

3. Cut chicken into bite size pieces.

4.  Mix together in a big bowl: chicken, can of soup, bag of vegetables, milk, ranch, and cheese.

5. Pour into greased dishes.  I did one small casserole and two cute individual ones.

6. Cover with foil and cook for 15 minutes.

7. Reduce heat to temperature on biscuit package.  (Mine were supposed to cook at 350).  Cook biscuits.  Leave the casseroles in there too!

8. When biscuits are cooked, remove everything from oven.

9. Place biscuits on top of casserole and sprinkle with some cheese if you please.

Don’t know why the picture came out so yellow!
Single serve comfort food!
Wash it down with some yummy tree water.

ENJOY!

PS: CHECK OUT WASPY KNITTIN’ SECTION!

Sweet Potato Soup

Posted by admin in Not-incredibly-bad-for-your-diet, Recipes, Savory, Soup, Vegetarian | Leave a comment
26November2010

I must be on a soup roll…. two soup blog posts in a row!

This stuff is really good.  It reminds me of Ethiopian food or even mild Indian food.  It tastes like FALL.

I nabbed the recipe from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-Potato-Carrot-Apple-and-Red-Lentil-Soup/Detail.aspx.  I followed the original pretty closely, but used less butter and regular lentils instead of red lentils.

Here’s what you will need for the first step:

2 tablespoons of butter
2 sweet potatoes (pretty big ones, peeled and chopped)
1 onion  (chopped)
3 carrots (peeled and chopped)
1 large or 2 small apples (peeled and chopped)

Cook all those lovely harvest flavors together for 10 minutes on medium heat.

Sauteing the sweet potatoes, onion, apples and carrots.

Next you will need:

4 cups vegetables stock
1/2 cup of lentils
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
salt
pepper

Add these ingredients to the vegetables and bring to a boil for about half an hour or until veggies are tender.

Smelled soooooooooooooo good.

Transfer to food processor in small batches and liquify!

Pour back into original pot.  Add more broth, water or olive oil until you like the texture.  I added a little more broth and a few tablespoons of olive oil to mine.

DONE!
Check out the finished product: