I am going to be a Grandmother!!! Nolan's baby shower!!!

Well, way too much time has passed since I have been here but I am back and just recently gave my daughter, who is now 20, a baby shower.  It was really stressful but it turned out wonderful!!  Lots of fun games and great prizes! Lots of great gifts for my daughter and I am so close to meeting Nolan!!

Here are some pics from the great day!!

Baked BBQ rubbed wings

I was looking for a healthy alternative for BBQ wings as deep frying these days just is not an option. 

We had picked up a BBQ spice rub from The North Market on our last trip to Columbus, that was step one of the wing process, then it was finding a recipe that would work, which was an easy web search .  

For the wings with the rub, put them in a container, add rub and shake.  

Lay on wire rack over pan

Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes

And Whala! BBQ rubbed baked chicken wings and Chipotle sauce chicken wings!  Yum! 

Jambalaya in the Crock pot

Tonight I made Jambalaya for the crock pot and it was really good!!  I wanted to find a recipe for a pot luck I was attending that was healthy.  My husband and I are living a new life of eating better and taking a dinner that was healthy for us to eat was very important to me and just knowing that I am making something healthy for all of us meant a lot too. I was pleasantly surprised at how well this recipe tasted and it also got a lot of compliments.

Jambalaya for the crock pot


Ingredients
12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups green peppers, chopped
1 medium onions, chopped
2 celery ribs, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced (I used store bought already minced garlic 1 tablespoon)
1 (14 oz) cans whole tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 (10 1/2 oz) cans beef broth (I used the beef base for soup mix)
1 tablespoon parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (I used Aldi's brand of hot sauce)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lb shrimp, shelled
3 cups cooked rice

Directions


1. Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces.
2. Put all ingredients (Except shrimp and rice) in crock pot
3. Cover; cook on low for 8 hours.
4. Add shrimp the last 20 minutes of cooking.
5.Stir in rice before serving.

Nutritional Facts: 
Serving size:  1 Cup
Calories 288.2
Calories from fat 26
Total fat: 2.9 g
Saturated fat .5g
Cholesterol 131.5mg
Sugars 5.6g
Sodium 1008.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 37.4g
Dietary Fiber 3.0g
Sugars5.6g
Protein 27.1 g

Low Fat Banana Bread

With the new year came my determination to eat healthier.  With that, I have found a new Low fat banana bread which actually taste really good.  One could even take this recipe a little further and use Splenda instead of the regular sugar it calls for.  

LOW FAT BANANA BREAD

Ingredients

1 ½ cup flour

1 ¼  teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon vanilla

2 servings of egg substitute or 2 egg whites

1 cup Mashed banana

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup applesauce

Directions

Combine banana, egg whites, applesauce, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.  Add dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and baking powder, salt) until well mixed. Pour batter into bread pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the loaf comes out clean.

Number of servings: 20

Nutrition info

 Calories:  84.2

 Fat: 0.2g

Carbohydrates: 19.5g

Protein: 1.6g

Yule Bread

The best YULE BREAD around! 

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Ingredients:  

2 pkgs. dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
3/4 c. warm milk
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/4 c. shortening
3 1/2 to 4 c. flour
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. candied or 15 chopped cherries
1 1/2 tbsp. cardamom
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in water and warm milk. Add sugar, salt, egg, shortening, and 2 cups flour. Mix; add yeast. Beat until smooth. Add raisins, cherries, nuts, and cardamom. Mix well. Add remaining flour. Knead dough until easy to handle; place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubles. Shape in round loaves. Place on cookie sheet. Brush top with egg whites. Let rise until double. Bake 35 minutes at 375 degrees.Frost: While warm with 3 tablespoons butter, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons hot water.

Yule Log

I moved and sold my house 2 years ago.  I now live in an apartment and we don't have a way to burn wood inside or outside.  I have been wanting to burn a Yule log since my move but I have had to compromise. 

We went down to my parents house a week ago in Hocking county. They heat their whole house in the winter with wood and with a wood burner.  I asked my dad if i could get a couple of logs that he had that were cut in half.  He said i could.  My husband picked them out for me.  (He could reach them where i couldn't, my parents have a wood shed and it's full to the top) 

I ended up bringing them home.  My husband went and bought a 2" drill bit so drill the holes to place the votive candles in.  After that, I got out the dremel and sanded it down, glued felt on the bottom so not to scratch any tables.  I then got out the glue gun and glued on some pine cones i picked up on a couple of walks and I also glued on some seasonal greenery that is sold in the holiday sections at your local store. 

I did two of these this way and they turned out wonderfully.  Now i can light the candles to welcome the sun back and wish for prosperity and good things to come to us in the new year. 

These were really easy to make and a LOT of fun!! 

Bird Seed Ornaments for outdoors

 If you love to feed the birds i found this really easy recipe to make your little feathered friends happy and to give them a little food to eat to help them get through the winter months.

These are also great gift ideas.  Keeping it simple and giving the experience of spending a few moments watching nature-a few moments to slow down, relax and slow the mind.

What you will need:

3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 tbsp. corn syrup
4 cups birdseed
molds (muffin tin, cookie cutters & mason jar rings)
nonstick spray
drinking straws
waxed paper
twine

1:  boil water and dissolve the gelatin, add the corn syrup and flour and stir until well combined in large mixing bowl. 

2: Add the birdseed to the mixture, stir until well coated.  If you start mixing with your hands, i recommend spraying a little oil on your hands so the seed won't stick. 

3: Spray your molds with cooking spray and spoon the birdseed mixture into each mold  & pack it down.  Cut straw in sections and insert in center of mold, making sure it goes all the way through. 

4: Leave the birdseed mixture in the molds for 2-3 hours. Then remove the straws and lay out a sheet of waxed paper. Gently remove the hardened ornaments from the mold and place them on the wax paper upside down. Allow them to dry for at least another 2- 3 hours or overnight. 

5: Cut your twine and carefully put it through the hole.  

6: Package them up for gifts or place on tree for our little feathered friends.