Fresh Fruit Watermelon "Cake"

Athena's very first year of school is coming to a close and this week is teacher appreciation week for them. These fine people have transformed my baby into a reading, writing, singing big girl STUDENT. She's had the best experience so far and I want them to know the parents are grateful.

The PTO is putting on a luncheon tomorrow with donations from parents and board members. I volunteered to make a fruit salad. But not just ANY fruit salad. I wanted my fruit salad to say "Hey teachers! I took the time to sculpt up this fruit into a cake just for YOU because I appreciate YOU! No bowls of fruit for you!"

So I set out to make the fresh watermelon cake I saw on Pinterest:

The Inspiration from www.lowfatveganchef.com

The ingredients:

A watermelon, any fresh fruit you like, and skewers.

The cut:

According to www.cakechooser.com this is how you cut to get your cake base.

Here's mine:

From there I cut more tiers, placed fruit around them, 

and used skewers of fruit like candles

The result:

I'm happy with my first attempt. I'd like to try again with better knives, more experience, and 

less toddlers pulling my pants down.

Simple meatloaf recipe

You know I loves me some Tastefully Simple. I'm a direct sales enthusiast and this company is one of my favorites. Tonight I whipped us up a Tastefully Simple meatloaf and even the 2 year old ate it. That, my friends, is a victory.

Ingredients

1 egg

1 tbsp Tastefully Simple Onion Onion

2 tbsp Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp milk

1 to 1 1/2lb ground beef

Additional ketchup for topping.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend by hand. Place in a well greased loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes. We topped ours with more ketchup and served it with salad and cooked cut carrots. 

Enjoy :)

The Noble Spaghetti Squash

The spaghetti squash is a dinner staple in this house. When I find something everyone eats AND I can buy them for $1 a piece, they enter perma-rotation. I have found that a lot of people don't know how to prepare them, but it's SO easy.

This is what we do when we make them for the four of us:

Ingredients
2 spaghetti squashes
4 Tbsp Brummel & Brown yogurt spread
coarse sea salt

Preheat your oven to 400. Cut your squashes in half and scoop out the seeds. (if you like, you can save them and roast them just like pumpkin seeds.) Smear 1 Tbsp of your buttery spread all over the "meat" and sprinkle them with coarse sea salt. Place them face up in an inch of water in baking dishes and bake for 1- 1 1/2 hours. (We leave them in a long time because we love the "noodles" soft.

We eat them right out of the shell, twirling them like noodles with a fork. They're delicious with asparagus and rolls. The ladies think they're SO fun to eat and I love that they're SO good for them.

Enjoy!

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Gardening and Backyard Farming....

In this day of funky GMO foods and deadly meat recalls nothing makes me happier than feeding my kids straight from my parents' backyard. They have an amazing garden, happy chickens that give us multicolored eggs, and if there happens to be a jerky rooster, into my crock pot he goes.

Athena has been having a rough time with croup. Not a whole lot of food or drink is appealing and the last thing I want is a poor, dehydrated child. Gammy brought us the biggest most beautiful Sun, Moon, and Stars watermelon to tempt Ms. Bee.

Athena was a fan:

Get yer organic seeds here.

Butternut squash is becoming a quick favorite with the ladies. It's so simple to make and it turned out unbelievably good.

To make it:

Preheat oven to 350*. Take one big squash, cut it lengthwise, and scoop out all the seeds. Put it in a baking dish with 1/2 inch of water and sprinkle it generously with coarse sea salt. Bake it for an hour and voila... tasty squash. We ate ours with roasted potatoes and green beans.

Get yer organic seeds here.

I love how popular backyard farming is getting. Such good, healthy food and wonderful memories for my little ladies. I'm pretty sure we need a goat.

super easy meatloaf muffins

Ms. Bee and I took to the kitchen tonight to whip up some dinner for the family. I had a package of ground beef in the refrigerator and I really wanted to do something other than burgers. I went to Pinterest for inspiration and decided on meatloaf muffins.

I worked with what I had and Athena Bee's Meatloaf Muffins were created.

Ingredients:
1 1/2lbs grass fed beef
15 saltines smashed by a child
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup ketchup plus some for the tops

I preheat the oven to 350 and Athena set to work crushing the crackers.

She mixed all the ingredients together, including one blue egg from Gammy's chicken.

Divide it up in your VERY WELL GREASED muffin pan and top with dollops of ketchup.

Bake for about 40 minutes and enjoy. Everyone here sure did!

                                            

My Perfect Soda Pop Cupcake Secret

The perfect soda pop cupcake has been a beautiful unicorn that I've been chasing through my kitchen. These little babies are a delicious, low-calorie take on the world famous Weight Watchers Soda Pop Cake and I was determined to make them mine. Every time I made these sweet lovelies the sides and bottom burned and they were much too sticky. BLAST! What am I doing wrong?? After much research and trial and error I have come out victorious.

Athena's Strawberry Crush Soda Cupcakes
1 box cake mix
1 12 oz bottle Strawberry Crush Soda (But seriously, change it up. use whatever flavor you're feeling.)
3 egg whites

Combine all ingredients and put them in your cupcake pan lined with papers, following the baking instructions on the box. Now here's the secret: Place your muffin tins ON TOP OF baking sheets for an extra layer of protection during baking. The result? Perfect, non-sticky cuppycakes every single time.

I topped them with a lovely pudding mix frosting I found on Pinterest (follow me) and a single perfect strawberry. These were the bells of Athena's ball.

Enjoy :)

Key Lime Soda Pop Cake

The ladies and I just celebrated their Gammy's birthday with quite possibly the tastiest cake ever. We made her a key lime soda pop cake with whipped topping. This trend of baking cakes with just soda is a dieter's dream. It cuts the calories way down but you don't lose the taste. We used Betty Crocker white cake mix, but any boxed mix will do. The "key" was the key lime Stewart's soda. One 12oz bottle of a flavored Stewart's soda, one box of cake mix, blend together and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. We topped ours with light whipped topping. It was grand. I believe next up we'll try Stewart's cherry.

My Perfect Skinny Margarita

Friday looks good on you, darling. Want a drink?

Margaritas are my absolute favorite mixed drinks, but one jumbo one can set me back 500 calories (Insert sad trombone here.) I thought Skinny Girl mixed drinks was going to be my answer but I was really disappointed with the artificial sweetener aftertaste. Jose Cuervo Light is by far the best tasting diet margarita with 100 calories a serving, but read the label closely. What they're calling a serving barely wets the old whistle.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you:

My Perfect Skinny Margarita

1oz Jose Cuervo Tequila
6oz Crystal Light Margarita drink prepared
Ice
Sea Salt (optional for the rim)

Mix the tequila, Crystal Light, and ice together in a shaker if you're feeling all Tom Cruise "Cocktail" like.  Rub a lime wedge on the rim of a pretty glass, dip glass in some sea salt, dump in your margarita and ENJOY.

People. This is 74 calories. I just made my summer.

How did I find this? Well I was doing my weekly stroll through the dollar store looking at their exotic wares when I came upon an end-cap with Crystal Light Margarita on it. It was $1 with enough mix to make 10 quarts so I thought I could afford the risk. I brought it home, mixed it up, put in some tequila, and the rest is blissful history. If you recall I just did some serious weight management and cut almost all alcohol from my diet. This is something I can splurge on and not feel guilty.

Cheers!!

*I have in no way been compensated by Crystal Light or Jose Cuervo. However, if they are interested in paying me in cash or product to take my show on the road, I'm all theirs.

Athena made a FANTASTIC banana bundt cake.

We had some overripe organic bananas and I wasn't letting those expensive babies go to waste so I suggested to Athena we make them into a cake. She was pumped. We perused some recipes online and found that if you have some cake mix, bananas, fresh eggs from your Gammy's chickens, and yogurt, you can make yourself a fine cake.

She immediately set to work on mashing the bananas.

Some people are helpful...

Some people are not.

Let's get down to the basics:

Athena's Super Simple Banana and Yogurt Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

Box of cake mix

3 eggs

1 cup of yogurt (Athena wanted strawberry. This was a fantaastic idea.)

1 cup of water

2 very ripe bananas

Athena mixed everything together and poured it into a bundt pan. We baked it at 350 for a solid 40 minutes, or until my tester came out clean.

Friends, it's devine. So moist and tasty. Like pudding in a cake. We give it many thumbs up.

Actually, we didn't even wait for it to cool before we tried it.

Crock Pot Chicken Breast

Great for grilling! A unique blend of spices, vegetables and sea salt. Sprinkle on meats, vegetables, eggs, pasta and more. All natural.

6.75 oz. jar (191g)
$8.99





I've been on a weight loss and fitness kick for a couple months, so I've revamped my dinner menus. In doing so, I've lost 20lbs and gained my self esteem.

Here is the glorious dinner I had tonight:

1lb Organic Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

Place chicken in the crock pot and season with Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. I served it with steamed vegetables.

The entire calorie count for each delicious breast is only 165. Add in the 25 calories for the steamed veggies and you have a wonderful dinner for 190 calories. I mean COME ON! AWESOME! I can eat my Cadbury Egg now :)

My catalog party is almost over, so hop on over to www.TastefullySimple.com/web/jwillinger and use me, Nadja Brocus as your host. Their spices are AMAZING!!

Artichoke & Spinach Pizza

I keep a lot of the Tastefully Simple dip mixes, breads, and spices on hand all the time. I'm always using them in one recipe or another. This is a perfect example of how to use the Artichoke & Spinach dip mix to make a meal.

Artichoke & Spinach Pizza
Submitted by Laura Anderson (CO)

Ingredients
1 packet Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 large, packaged, pre-baked pizza crust
14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup baby spinach leaves torn in pieces
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
Combine first 2 ingredients; chill for 2 hours. Let mixture come to room temperature and then spread on pizza crust. Top cream cheese mixture with remaining ingredients; bake as directed on pizza crust. Makes 6-8 servings.

My catalog party is open until March 31st. Visit www.tastefullysimple.com/web/jwillinger and load up on some spices! You'll never want to be without again! Use Nadja Brocus as your host at checkout!

Remember those stupid cans of creamed corn I bought?

They're in a giant pot of chili now.

The Ingredients:

1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (mine were frozen)
2 cans creamed corn
1 container of chicken stock
1 can of black beans drained
1 jar of salsa
3Tbsp Wahoo! Chili Seasoning Blend

Put everything in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken easily shreds.

I am SUCH a fan of Wahoo! Chili Seasoning Blend, as well as all of Tastefully Simple's other spices and seasonings. I use them every week in my crock pot. I'm still hosting my catalog party, so if you want to shop around go to www.TastefullySimple.com/web/jwillinger and use Nadja Brocus as your host. I think you'll love cooking with them too!

OMG Beef Tortilla Soup in the crock pot!

You guys. This soup was SO good. Athena loved the meat in it. I make the Chicken Tortilla Soup Mix all the time, and this was a GREAT variation of it.

Beef Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
1 lb. beef stew pieces
1 Tbsp. Fiesta Party Dip Mix™
Chicken Tortilla Soup Mix
16 oz. jar salsa
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups water

Directions
Add all the ingredients to your crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours or until the beef is cooked through. We served is topped with crushed blue tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and sour cream.

Makes 5-6 servings.

To get the ingredients, just go to www.TastefullySimple.com/web/jwillinger  (Or click on the links above.) Use me as your host at the end of check out and Jenni Willinger as the consultant.

My first attempt on Pinterest recipes. Squee!

It took me a looooooong time to get into Pinterest. I thought it was boring and totally didn't get it. But all of a sudden I WANT TO PIN ALL THE THINGS!!! The crock pot recipes alone are enough to make me squee my pants.

Tomorrow is Louis' birthday and I'm going to make my first Pinterest recipes.

The cake:
Dear husband thinks he's too thick in the middle. I thought this was a lovely options.
"This recipe is 3 ingredients and 1.5 weight watchers points a piece! 1 box lemon cake mix-mix with one 20 oz bottle of diet 7-up Bake at 350 for 30 min in 9x13 pan Cool and top with one tub of light cool whip The entire cake is 19 weight watcher points and it is divine!"                   

Source: Uploaded by user via Nadja on Pinterest

Dinner:
How easy is this??
Frozen chicken, cream cheese, corn, black beans and rotel. Serve them babies in tortillas soft taco style!

Source: thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com via Allison on Pinterest

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 I love Pinterest. Please, come find me, follow me, and let me creep your boards!

Super Simple Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

This soup turned out great. Everyone enjoyed it and had seconds PLUS Louis packed it for his lunch the next day. SUCCESS!

32 oz carton of chicken stock
2 cups water
10 to 16 oz package of frozen mixed vegetables (We like LOTS of vegetables in our soup.)
1lb boneless skinless chicken breast
3 cups egg noodles
1 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper

Put everything except the egg noodles into the pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Shred the chicken, add the egg noodles, and continue cooking on high for 45 minutes or until the noodles are cooked to your liking.

Simple Sweet and Sour Crock Pot Chicken

Ingredients
1lb boneless skinless chicken breast
11.5oz bottle of Kikkoman Sweet and Sour Sauce
8oz drained pineapple chunks reserving 1/4 cup of juice
16oz frozen stir fry vegetables

Directions
1. Spray crock pot with cooking spray
2. Put chicken, sweet and sour sauce, pineapple, and juice in crock pot.
3. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.
4. Add frozen vegetables and switch to high for 30 minutes.

I served it on a bed of white rice and made some hot and sour soup.

Crock Pot Acorn Squash

For Thanksgiving with my mom and my little family, I am in charge of making sides. I thought this was the perfect time to try making some squash in the crock pot.

Ingredients
Acorn Squash
Butter or Margarine
Salt

I cut the squash into quarters and scooped out all the seeds pulp. (I'm going to try toasting the seeds. Perhaps they'll be like pumpkin seeds!) I smeared butter all over the quarters and sprinkled them with salt. Popped 'em into the crock pot on low for about 3 hours. SO easy.

My family doesn't particularly care for sweet squash, so that's why I just butter and salt them. A lot of people like their squash sweet so I found this awesome brown sugar and cinnamon recipe.

Crock Pot Lamb Shoulder Chops

Clearly we eat a lot of lamb up in this house. We're keepin' it real with a Mediterranean meal. Also? It's Athena's favorite food. I've had people ask me about cooking bone-in lamb so I thought I'd give a super easy recipe a whirl.

Ingredients:
1.5lb lamb shoulder chops
Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 cup chicken stock
cooked rice

 

Rub both sides of the chops with the Old Bay Seasoning. Put chops in the crock pot and pour in 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Cook on low for 4-6hours. I served it on top of rice and spooned some of the juice from the pot on top of the lamb and rice. It was a simple success with everyone.

Super Simple Lamb and Rice Stew

1 lb grass fed lamb stew meat
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt*
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup sliced carrots
6 baby red potatoes quartered
6 oz package of rice

Combine all the ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on low for approximately 6 hours.

I thought about trying a package of seasoned rice next time.

*Use more or less salt to taste. Louis thought it needed more salt, Athena liked it the way it was.

Save the Day Chicken Taco Chili

It's no secret that I adore my crock pot. The yummy goodness that it produces for me knows no bounds. In fact, I think crock pots are modern day witch's cauldrons. You throw any old thing in, (eye of newt, dead man's toe) and out comes a delicious meal. I started getting the cold-weather-blahs and they were punctuated by brewing child sickness, teething, and day to day scream-fests. I wanted something warm and cozy to eat so I got started on my beloved Chicken Taco Chili.

What you'll need:
1 cup chicken stock
1 16oz jar salsa
water
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
12.5oz can of chicken breast
1 packet of taco seasoning

Put everything in the crock pot. After you dump in the salsa, fill the jar with water and pour that in too. Cook on low for around 4 hours. Top with shredded cheese and broken tortilla chips.

Even reheated for lunch it was superb.