I saw this nuts and seeds chart and thought it was very handy so here you go...I am sharing it with you. Since I plan to lean towards a predominantly vegetarian lifestyle, nuts and seeds are an integral part of my diet. Fortunately, I love them! :-D
For my quilting friends...here's a handy little chart on how many blocks it takes, in various different sizes, to make a twin, double, queen size and king size quilt. I though this was worth adding to my bookmarks - you may too?
http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/handy-little-chart-t185165.html
Have I mentioned how much better I am feeling now that I am back to eating according to my healthy eating plan? It's wonderful!! I can actually get excited about life when I am not fighting with constant indigestion and acid reflux. I saw this little chart for Negative Calorie Food...where you expend more energy eating & digesting these than the calories you take in. Now let's be reasonable, it's not intended to that you eat a truck load but in moderation, these are terrific snacking options.
Today we are doing cottage cheese with raw veggies and dip for Larry. I am just as happy without the dip. We are opening our bag of coleslaw at supper with open faced cheese melts. But, the part of the day that I am really looking forward to, is our Cheez Whiz celery sticks for our bedtime snacks. We haven't had those in a long time! I also like celery with various nut butters.
I saw this recipe for Pumpkin Pie Dip. It says to have it with Graham Crackers but I think this would be nice as a fruit dip for apples or a vegetable dip with celery sticks. I have to make this while we are away!
I do like things that taste like pumpkin pie without all the sugar and fat!
Off the food stream, I saw this cement block planter & thought this would make an awesome little herb garden. I have a spot all picked out for next summer!! It wouldn't be hard to build, I don't think.
I saw quiet a variety of little sayings over the weekend in my Facebook feed. Some I thought were cute, others made me think and the rest are "just because". Did your mother say that, mine did. :-)
I like little things that add color to my day. You'll be glad to know that I have been gathering my Christmas JPEGS fast and furious...you are in for some very pretty pictures as soon as American Thanksgiving is past! But for today, it's all about little sayings:
I hope you enjoyed at least one of those! Now, isn't this a beautiful breakfast set? Does anybody really get organized, with their eyes still half shut, and make such a nice presentation to start the day? If it was brunch, I could manage it but at 6:00 am...not a chance!
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I found this chili and thought it would make a nice post Thanksgiving offering for those who have a lot of leftovers. I know, there's turkey soup or turkey pot pies but I think I'd rather do a walk on the wild side and do a chili. I plan to make it when we return from our vacation. It'll be in between 80-105 while we are in California, so I'll wait til we are back in the cool temperatures again.
Slow Cooker Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili
Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chicken broth
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
2-1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
In a large skillet, saute the onion, yellow pepper in oil until
tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.
Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker; stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until heated through.
Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).
Nutrition Facts: 1 cup equals 192 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 28 mg cholesterol, 658 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber
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A few more recipes folks... with all things beef being less than desirable because of the largest Canadian food recall in history, I offer up a Zuppa Toscana soup with a spicy Italian pork sausage.
Zuppa Toscano
1 lb ground Italian sausage 11⁄2 tsp crushed red peppers 1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces
2 tsp garlic puree
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes 1⁄4 of a bunch of kale
1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve. Delicious!
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The next three recipes are ones that I plan to make while we are away in California. So sue me...I want to be able to find them and what better place to put them besides my blog? The first one is a Curried Red Lentil Soup with Lemon.
Serves 6
It's even better the second day, after the spices have had more time to mingle.
2 cups red lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 qt. low-sodium vegetable broth
1 large onion, finely chopped (2 cups)
4 celery stalks, finely chopped (1 1⁄2 cups)
2 large carrots, finely chopped (1 1⁄2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
1⁄4 cup chopped parsley
1 Tbs. curry powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1. Bring lentils, vegetable broth, and 4 cups water to a simmer in large pot. Skim away foam that rises to top. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic; simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. Add parsley, curry powder, and cumin, and cook 20 minutes more, or until lentils are soft. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and stir in lemon juice.
From: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/curried-red-lentil-soup-with-lemon/
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Remember these? I sure do, riding my little red bicycle was one of my favorite pastimes especially with the leaves crunching under the wheels!
I thought the next recipe sounded so "fresh" that it would be very nice as a summer soup, or soup for a hot weather day. What do you think?
Thai Prawn and Chicken Noodle Soup
This is such a quick and easy recipe, it makes a wonderful lunch that not only looks so pretty but is also so very healthy and light. You can of course vary the vegetables to what you have in, just make sure they can be quickly cooked though.
The Ingredients to serve 2
8oz peeled cooked prawns
3oz cooked chicken pulled into strips
1 pint of well flavoured chicken stock
2 cloves of garlic sliced
1inch piece of ginger sliced
1 star anise << I'll probably give this a miss in the US
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce << I'll probably give this a miss in the US
the juice of a lime
2 nests of fine egg noodles << I may use cellophane noodles instead
1 large red chilli sliced
2 spring onions finely sliced
handful of prepared sugar snaps peas sliced in half lengthways
3 Sweetheart cabbage leaves finely sliced << may sub in bok choy a few fresh basil leaves, sliced. Add the star anise, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and fish sauce to the chicken stock a bring to the boil in a large pan. Simmer for 5 minutes Add the noodle nests and simmer for 2 minutes, add the cabbage, sugar snaps, bring to the boil. Heat through for a couple more minutes or until the noodles are almost cooked. Take off the heat add the prawns, and chicken. Leave for a minute or two the warm through Finally add the chilli pepper, chopped spring onion and lime juice & test for seasoning. I didn't use any at all. Serve, with a little chopped basil From: http://ladifferencecatering.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/thai-style-prawn-chicken-noodle-soup.html ************************************************* We saw these sort of bikes at Walmart in Palm Desert last year. I wish we had a storage locker down there so we could keep bikes there. Maybe we'll see how cheap we can get a locker?? Last
And finally, one last recipe ...
Tortellini Vegetable Soup
2 TB. OLIVE OIL
1 MED. ONION, CHOPPED 2 GARLIC CLOVES, CRUSHED
1 SM. ZUCCHINI, DICED
1 MED. CARROT, PEELED AND DICED
5 -1/2 CUPS CHICKEN STOCK
1 TSP. DRIED BASIL (MORE IF FRESH)
1 BAY LEAF
1 C. CANNED CRUSHED TOMATOES
(I ADDED THE WHOLE CAN)
1/2 TSP. SALT
8 - 9 OZS. FRESH OR FROZEN TORTELLINI (CHEESE OR MEAT FILLED)
2 - 3 TB. CHOPPED FRESH PARSLEY BLACK PEPPER, TO TASTE
HEAT THE OLIVE OIL IN MEDIUM SOUP POT OR LARGE SAUCEPAN. ADD ONION, GARLIC, ZUCCHINI AND CARROT. SAUTE OVER MEDIUM HEAT FOR 8 - 10 MINUTES, STIRRING OFTEN, UNTIL ONION IS SOFT AND TRANSLUCENT.
ADD THE STOCK, BASIL, BAY LEAF, TOMATOES AND SALT TO THE POT. INCREASE HEAT AND BRING TO LOW BOIL.
ADD TORTELLINI AND BRING THE SOUP BACK TO A LOW BOIL. COOK FOR 2 MINUTES, THEN REDUCE HEAT AND LET SIMMER FOR 5 - 6 MINUTES LONGER.
GENTLY STIR IN PARSLEY AND PEPPER DURING LAST MINUTE OR SO.
YIELD: ABOUT 5 SERVINGS
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Stay tuned for tomorrow... sweet (Tarte au Sucre), savory (Carrot Cheddar Curry Tea Sandwiches) and Vegetarian (Zoe's Chili) will be posted! Mmmm!
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