I SCORE!---Video

Review of Hungry Girl's Big Apple French Toast Casserole

I made "breakfast for dinner" on Sunday and decided to try a new Hungry Girl recipe.  You can find the recipe linked here.  This was super easy to make and was SO GOOD!  Travis wasn't a fan but I think it was a texture thing since he normally doesn't eat French toast that way.  He loves French toast normally though so who knows.  I thought it was great and it didn't taste like it was good for you--lol.  I didn't use soymilk by the way--I used skim milk and I used granny smith apples instead of a Fuji.  It took a few minutes to put it together and the house smelled wonderful when it was cooking.  I had the last piece for breakfast the next day and it was just as good!  I need to try more of the breakfast recipes in the cookbook!

Crayon hearts for Brody's class

I pinned this almost a year ago as something I wanted to do for Brody's class in the future.  (I figure Travis is getting too old for this type of cutesy craft at school)  So about a week ago I ordered the silicone heart pan from Amazon since that was the 1st step!  (it was $8 when I bought it and $15 now-I guess it pays to shop early)  Here are my pictures showing the various steps:



Supplies are ready---crayons, pan and patience getting the paper off of the crayons!



Ready to go into the oven!  230 degrees for 15-20 minutes

Cooled hearts

 

Ready for names etc

 

 

In the end I learned that toddler crayons are MUCH easier to get the paper off of and some regular crayons have 2 layers of paper which is almost impossible to remove.  My hearts took about 20 minutes to bake and about 10 minute to cool.  They popped out of the mold very easily too!  It did take about 4 washings of the mold to get rid of the wax smell.  It seems like it's fine now.  ;)  I will definitely do this again for Brody's class the next few years.  :)

Hungry Girl's Perfect Pepperoni Pizzas--review

Let me start out by saying this recipe is super easy!  You can find the recipe here.  Honestly it's a stretch calling it a recipe but you will be glad to know that Evan and Travis both loved their pizzas and it took all of 10 minutes to make them.  We are having them again this week!  You can get creative with the ingredients--I added black olives and some Italian seasoning to ours.  Enjoy a filling and low point/calorie way to eat pizza!

Menu February 11-17

Monday- Baked Spaghetti Squash and Cheese by Skinnytaste
Tuesday-  Leftovers/ fend for yourself night
Wednesday-  English Muffin Pizzas
Thursday-  Red/Heart theme-  Heart shaped eggs and bacon for breakfast, Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner and strawberry shortcake for dessert
Friday-  Apple Pie Oatmeal- crockpot
Saturday-  Thai Chicken and Pineapple Stir Fry by Skinnytaste
Sunday-  Skinny Chicken Enchiladas

This week Monday, Friday and Saturday are new recipes for us so I will be following up with reviews in the next week or so.  The recipe on Sunday I've made before and since it's way better than the last enchilada recipe I made I wanted to post the review again----you can find the review here. 

Weight Watchers Taco Casserole--review

My dish wasn't as pretty-lol

The other day I made this recipe that I had pinned on Pinterest a long time ago.  The recipe is easy to make you can find the link here.  I did substitute ground turkey for the chicken and I forgot to buy a green pepper so that was different too.  ;)  I was a little hesitant about the sour cream/cottage cheese combo but in the end it really worked.  It was definitely a tasty dish but very soupy---one person had mentioned in the comments to maybe add beans to thicken it up--that would probably help.  The recipe calls for 8oz taco sauce (which is a TON of sodium) so I think if I made it again I would put maybe 1oz of taco sauce in and a little water for the taco seasoning and add some beans.   Everyone ate it and went back for seconds but since it was soupy it was eaten by Evan and Travis like nachos with chips.  ;)

Oh the places you will go.......

I'm sure you have all read (at one time in your life) the Dr. Seuss book "Oh the places you will go".   I saw any idea on Pinterest to get all of your kids teachers from K-high school to sign the book and give it to them at high school graduation.  I wish I had seen this a few years ago since Travis' K and 1st grade teachers aren't at his school anymore but his 2nd grade teacher still is.  I ordered two copies of the book from Amazon and will have Travis and Brody's current teachers sign them/write a note at the end of the year.  I think this is a great idea and a wonderful memento.  You can probably recall a few of your teachers growing up but probably not all of them---this would give you that information and what they thought about you! I know when the boys get into middle school and high school this will be much harder to do but I will try to get it to at least a few of their teachers each year (maybe their favorite subjects or something).   The idea came from this site that I had pinned. awhile back.  I can't wait to see what their teachers write each year!  :)

Chicken and Black Bean Soup review

Let's start with the link....you can find the recipe by Skinnytaste here.  I am a huge sucker for a crock pot meal so I had to try this one.  Everything I have made from that site so far has been awesome and this was no exception!

It was super easy to put together (the hardest part was pureeing the beans in the blender-lol) and the end result was fantastic.  Everyone loved it but I will give out this word of caution.  This soup is very spicy--Travis really liked the taste but it was too spicy for him in the end.  When I make it next time I will put in 1/2 of the can of green chilis and save the other 1/2 for individual bowls (aka the parent portions-lol).  Sour cream is optional but I did put a small bit in mine to cut some of the heat.  I didn't get the avocado that it calls for since Evan doesn't generally eat it in non-guacamole form and Travis won't touch it.

We paired it with a warm loaf of "english muffin bread" right out of the bread maker.  If you have a crock pot I HIGHLY suggest trying this recipe!

Here is the nutritional information from the site (though the numbers for me would be different since I subbed guacamole for sour cream):  Servings: 7 • Size: 1 1/2 cups • Old Pts: 6 pts • Weight Watchers Points+: 6 pts Calories: 306 • Fat: 6 g • Protein: 28 g • Carb: 37.5 g • Fiber: 13.5 g • Sugar: 3 g Sodium: 698.4 mg (without the salt)

Hungry Girl's Pepperoni Spaghetti Squash

Last week I tried a new Hungry Girl recipe and it got "so so" reviews around here.  Travis tried one bite, I had one serving and Evan had two.  ;)  There isn't a link out on the web for it but it was basically cooked spaghetti squash, a can of tomato soup, onion, turkey pepperoni and some spices.  I didn't hate it but I don't usually eat red sauce with pasta and that is what this meal was trying to emulate.  I LOVE eating spaghetti squash with some laughing cow cheese melted in--it makes it seem like Alfredo sauce.  So I think that is why it wasn't my favorite dish---it made me wish I hadn't mixed it all together like the directions said-otherwise I would have eaten the spaghetti squash with Laughing Cow cheese.  lol 

I don't think I will make it again--I will be sticking to my version of things.  :)

Menu Feb 4-10

Monday-  Chicken and Black Bean Soup by Skinnytaste (crockpot)
Tuesday-  Turkey Zucchini Burgers by Skinnytaste
Wednesday-  Weight Watchers Taco Casserole
Thursday-  Chicken Taco Chili by Skinnytaste (crockpot)
Friday-  Leftovers
Saturday-  Perfect Pepperoni Pizzas by Hungry Girl
Sunday-  Apple French Toast Casserole by Hungry Girl  (breakfast for dinner night!)

The recipes on Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday are new so I will be reviewing them sometime in the next week.  The ones linked on Tuesday and Thursday are HUGE hits in this house--definitely worth trying!