Mini Vans and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars

Hello, my name is Meghan and I drive a mini van.

Wow. Getting that off my chest feels a lot better. Are we still friends? I hope. Because driving a mini van and spending a lot of my recent time washing baby clothes has made me feel like I need to do other Mom stuff, like, you know, bake.

Momma left me a couple of magazines she bought for her flight down here, and when I was going through my overwhelming stack of periodicals I found a what I thought looked like a pretty tasty recipe in a Health magazine she left.

Flaxseed Crackers

The husband  took me plant shopping!

Weekends are for watching basketball, sleeping for 10 hours straight, buying hanging baskets, getting dirt under your fingernails while you plant lettuce seeds and eating dinner out because you're too lazy to cook.


Mondays are for wearing dress clothes, listening to the radio while you drive to work, hoping the dogs were good while they were in the garage all day and for sticking to a menu plan.


Mondays are also for looking for after-work snacks and wishing the husband hadn't eaten all of the flaxseed crackers you had Saturday and Sunday.

What I Ate Wednesday: #9 [and Green Egg Salad]

Technically What I Ate Monday

Breakfast: high-protein pancakes made with cottage cheese, two egg whites and chocolate protein powder, topped with blackberries and sugar-free syrup; half caff and unsweetened almond milk on the side morning snack: greek yogurt, 1/4 cup blackberries, hazelnuts lunch: avocado-egg salad, lettuce, low-fat string cheese, chocolate protein powder + water, coconut la croix snack: 1/2 tablespoon natural peanut butter; cottage cheese; apple (not pictured: rye-pumpernickel swirl bread toasted + topped with 1/2 tablespoon natural peanut butter) dinner: leftover corned beef; carrots; cabbage

And since we're here to talk about going green - because it's March is the month for St. Patrick, because eating veggies never gets old, because Jenn said so and because I've recently discovered I can eat avocado without my mouth itching - I wanted to share with you my "recipe" for avocado-egg salad.

Tahini-Free Healthy Hummus

Mr. Chance Pants had to go get shots this morning. So at 8 am, we put Miss Stella Bean in her cage so she wouldn't eat recyclables, magazines, shoes, insert whatever she felt like eating here, and headed off to the vet.

I felt awful listening to her cry as we shut the garage door, but I knew it was for the best. This trip would be easiest just the three of us. 

It's a process when Chance has to go to the vet. We muzzle him because he likes to act tough. Then the husband puts Chance on the exam table, backs him up all the way to the wall and holds him around his rib cage so he can't go anywhere. 

Once they're in position it's my turn to step in. My job is to hold the dog man's head, rub my thumb between his eyes to calm him, look him in the eye to keep him focused on me and tell him "NO" whenever he thinks about making a break for it - and hopping off the three-foot exam table.

It's not easy. In fact, it's hard work. 

Getting your husband to eat things that are good for him and contain fiber can be hard work, too. But I guess not everything can be as easy as making hummus and putting out a box of crackers next to the hummus so your husband will eat it.

Healthy "Fried" Rice

Thursdays have always been one of my favorite days of the week. Sure, I love Saturdays and Sundays, but I've always been a fan of Thursdays. I was born on a Thursday. Maybe that has something to do with my favoritism. Or maybe I just love Thursdays because they're such promising days. 

On Monday, I'm mourning the weekend. By Tuesday I'm usually revved up for the week. On Wednesday, though, the weekend seems so far away. 

And then comes Thursday. And when it's Thursday, it's almost Friday. There's hope in the air!

So how in the world did I forget on Thursday that today would be Friday and Friday means Freestyle Friday? When it's Freestyle Friday, I can ramble about whatever I want - even if it isn't food-related! I can't believe I forgot.

Oh, well. It looks like I missed my chance this week, 'cause I promise the Twitter followers this recipe would be happening today. So here it is: a fab recipe for "fried" rice that the husband and I both loved - two nights in a row. It's a low GI recipe, so even though it's a little high on the carb meter, it's filled with vegetables and nutrients and, therefore, good for me!


And here's something that's good for you: the Weekend Potluck. Looking for a weekly roundup of fabulous recipes? That's your ticket. I'm sure you'll find something perfect no matter what day of the week it is.

Healthy "Fried" Rice
Slightly Adapted From Rick Gallop's Recipe

1 1/2 cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
3/4 cup wild rice
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon light olive oil
3 oz. sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup light soy sauce

In saucepan, bring 1 1/4 cups broth, rice and salt to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with fork and set aside.

In large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms for a minute or two. Add onion, carrot, celery and cooked rice. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes.

Add remaining chicken stock and soy sauce and cook for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Makes 4 servings
As per the ingredients in my pantry: 113 calories, 1 g fat, 21.9 g carbs, 1.75 g fiber, 4 g protein

Green Goddess Smoothie

Still working on the camera settings ... this smoothie is greeeen!

Many o' my childhood mornings were spent at my Mama and Pa's house. I have fond memories of opening up the lower cabinet door directly beneath where Mama's plastic cookie container always sits - full - and swinging out the pullout drawer to grab a prepackaged crumb muffin. Who am I kidding? They came in pairs of two, and you know I always ate both of them.

I've basically always been about breakfast.

But it wasn't until recent years that I started eating what you'd call exceptionally nutritious breakfasts. Crumb muffins, sugary cereals and white bagels with butter were my staples. And boy oh boy did I love Carnation instant breakfast shakes.

Chicken Egg Drop Soup

Chicken Egg Drop Soup tastes better than it looks.

Every day this week I swore the weatherman said the sun was going to shine. And Monday through Thursday we lived with gray skies and rain around here. That's right: Soup weather was upon us.

And I had a serious craving for French onion soup. I knew we had mushrooms and onions in the fridge, so I got myself quite excited one afternoon this week thinking about a big bowl of French onion soup. All I wanted to do was sit down at our kitchen table with one of our speckled soup bowls filled to the brim with hot soup, a nice layer of gooey cheese browned under the broiler coating the top.

But guess who was out of beef stock?

Egg Sandwiches So Easy College Kids Can Make 'Em

5-Minute Egg Sandwich

I spent years and years not eating eggs. I can't even tell you what made me start eating eggs, but I think my college roommate K. Marie may have helped inspire my love of eggs. They made the perfect college breakfast. We made many an evening last until the wee hours of the morning. After we rose, when most of the world was gearing up for lunch, we'd hit up the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet - and that included mounds of scrambled eggs. 

There were plenty of mornings I swore those eggs had healing powers. I won't get into the details now, but I'll say that sometimes you just need a good shot of protein in the morning; it was during those three and a half years I spent in undergrad that I learned eggs sometimes have just what it is that you need most. 

Nacho Typical Dinner

There was a night years and years ago when my stepmother wasn't going to be home to make dinner and it was up to me to cook for Da. Well, I thought we should eat Chicken Caesar Salads for dinner. Yup, I suggested my meat-loving father eat a big salad for dinner. Surprisingly, my daddy man agreed to the meal. My stepmother was shocked. She couldn't believe that man would eat a salad for dinner and be cool with it. But, lucky for me, he was. 

I couldn't help but think of that night when I told the husband I wanted to make nachos for dinner. I'll admit, even to me, this meal definitely sounded more like happy hour fare than a regular Wednesday night meal, but I really wanted to make it. So I asked the husband pretty, pretty please?

Spicy Grilled Corn

After spending our morning kayaking on a little river, the husband and headed home for a typical Sunday. We enjoyed time with the doggies, did some boring chores around the house and then grilled a little something for dinner. We're easy to please, wouldn't you say?

We have a ton of chile peppers growing in the gardens right now. Every single time I go outside I find more peppers ready to be picked. It's amazing; the excitement never gets old. The only trouble I'm having is coming up with new ways to put those peppers to use. We planned to have turkey burgers and corn for dinner. Chile peppers didn't really seem to fit into that menu, but I was determined to come up with something. Spicy corn? Why not?

Sweet, Sweet Salad

"Are you putting grapes on my salad?!"

Those were the first words out of the husband's mouth as he saw me putting dinner together tonight. I thought he might not be that open to the idea, so I must admit I was trying to slip the grapes by him when he caught me.

As we started eating dinner tonight, I asked the husband if he kind of didn't like me at the moment. He shook his head. "No," he said. "I still like you. But I kind of don't like my salad."

So, the husband wasn't a huge fan of this starter, but I liked it. It was a nice change from our usual dressing and light Italian dressing. The husband thought it was too sweet; it was sweet and probably could have used a little more lettuce to cut the dressing. But I still liked it. And I'll definitely make this again when the husband isn't around. I like the guy too much to serve him stuff I know he won't enjoy. When I'm just wondering whether he'll like it, well, that's another story.

Greens With Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette

From Fresh Food Fast

Serves 2

2 cups lettuce

1/4 cup sliced grapes

2 tablespoons (or so) sliced cucumber

Vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon honey

1/8-1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

a dash of freshly ground black pepper (or more, to taste)

Whisk together all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a large bowl. Add in the lettuce and toss. 

Plate the greens and sprinkle with cucumbers and grapes.

Amount per serving, sans cucumbers: 66 calories, 3.7 g fat, 8.2 g carbs, 1.4 g fiber, 1.1 g protein

Mushroom-Stuffed Mushrooms

Homemade Stuffed Mushrooms

I really wanted stuffed mushrooms at our wedding. But I'm always really scared to order them because I hate sausage and fear they'll be stuffed with sausage. So when it came to planning the wedding menu, I asked our caterer what he put in his stuffed mushrooms. He looked at me like that was the silliest question he'd ever heard. "Mushrooms," he said. (He also told me this wasn't his first rodeo and I had nothing to worry about, but that's another story.)  

I was sold on the mushrooms. And I was happy to find out the morning after the wedding that I'm not the only one who contemplates the stuffing in stuffed mushrooms.

My (Banana) Muffin Man

I eat a lot of fruit. No joke. On any given day, I'll eat an apple, blueberries or cranberries, pineapple chunks or an orange, and I almost always eat a banana. I love bananas. So it's odd that we've had so many overripe bananas in our kitchen lately. But the last thing I was going to do was throw them into the compost. 

Keepin' It Simple With Slaw (and Burgers)

I can still remember the first time I served the husband ground turkey for dinner. I found a turkey chili recipe and thought it'd be a great meal to take off the February chill. It turned out I served bowls of crumbly weird meat and beans that I called chili. I'm not sure what happened that night more than two years ago now, but I'm still blaming the recipe. There's no way I did anything to mess up that dinner. (Ha!)

For a long time after that, the husband refused to eat ground turkey. I'd pick it up at the grocery store, he'd scrunch up his nose and I'd put it back. That went on for months. Months! But thank goodness the man finally came around.

Baked Turkey Chimichangas

Boo for blogger being down yesterday. I know all about site updates and bug fixes, but c'mon, Google developers. Did you guys not know that I made the husband really tasty chimichangas last night and really wanted to share the recipe with my 14 blog readers? Apparently not.

There may have easily been other times that Blogger has been unavailable that I blissfully missed. I know I'm not always the most consistent blogger. Honestly, I have no excuse for that except that sometimes dinner just doesn't go as planned and I'm too embarrassed to tell y'all about it. (Case in point: Tuesday night. I picked a recipe for pan-fried breaded fish. Unfortunately, the husband and I ate pan-fried fish with a side of pan-fried bread crumbs.)

Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Light Vodka Sauce

Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Light Vodka Sauce 

I absolutely love penne a la vodka. If we go to a restaurant and I see it on the menu, I want it. I especially love it when it has fine bits of pancetta in it and a creamy tomato-y taste with just a hint of peppery spice. Mmmm. I love me some penne a la vodka. But I hate all of the calories I know come along with that creamy, saucy goodness. So I'm happy to share with you a recipe my momma shared with me - minus the pancetta. I'll save that for a more special occasion than a Tuesday night.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Light Vodka Sauce

1 tablespoon light butter

1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes (no-salt-added, preferred)
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
1 dash mixed-up pepper
1 cup fat-free half-and-half (sometimes the momma uses cream or 2% low-fat milk)
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more)
1 lb whole wheat pasta

Melt butter with oil in large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes.

At this point, start a pot of water for the pasta.

Add tomatoes and cook until a lot of the liquid has cooked off, stirring frequently about 15 minutes or so. (I think the momma lets hers cook for 25 minutes, but you know us, we can't wait that long.) 

Add cream, vodka and red pepper to the tomatoes and boil until thickened to sauce consistency, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Light Vodka Sauce

Pour sauce over 1 lb pasta and top with Parmesan, if desired. (We also serve ours with a bit more red pepper.)

Serves 6

* Nutritional facts per serving, as calculated by Food.com:

372 calories, 4.4 g fat, 70 g carbs, 2.3 g fiber, 14 g protein

* Your choice of whole wheat pasta will alter the nutritional information. Our pasta had way more protein and fiber than Food.com thought it would, so our dinner was actually a bit healthier than noted above. Feel free to use your favorite pasta! The husband doesn't usually even like spaghetti, but these little nests were just too cute to pass up. Thanks for selling these fundraising goodies to Momma, Little Big Brother. 

And thanks, Momma, for giving 'em to us. They were a hit.

Meatless Monday: Baked Polenta and Tri-Color Beans

Baked Polenta Topped With Beans and Veggies

When they say you learn something new every day, does that limit us to one thing per day? If that's the case, I think I learned up all of today and tomorrow's lessons tonight. You see, tonight I realized polenta really is as easy to make as it sounds, and I learned how to cut open a pineapple. 

The husband sent me a text late this afternoon asking what was for dinner this Meatless Monday. (He's catching on nicely, don't you think?) I told him i wanted to make polenta that it might take awhile. He said that was fine, and I know we both started reminiscing about those delicious polenta dishes Momma made when she was visiting. I was more than excited to get home and get to work.

Banana Smoothie

Banana Smoothie From Health

The wife, packing her lunch before work: Ah, man!

The husband comes into the kitchen, worried the wife is actually having some sort of emergency: What happened?

The wife: I just dropped a cranberry in my tea!

The husband, laughing: Well, why are you making your trail mix over your tea? You knew that was going to happen, didn't you?

I have to admit, the husband had a point. I'm constantly doing things that result in him saying, "You knew that was going to happen." (And before it was the husband, the stepdaddy was the one who always had to point this out to me.) I'll spoon food from a serving dish to my plate only to slop it all over the dinner table. I've been known to wear a white shirt while eating spaghetti and gravy. And I've spent more than one January 1 on the couch with a glass of ginger ale - and I mean one glass - all day.

It's not always pretty, but there's probably no changing me at this point, which means the husband just has to shake his head and laugh. And I have to stubbornly accept the fact that he was right. So I was completely prepared for that to be the case yesterday morning when I was whipping up my breakfast.