Pumpkin & Apple Breakfast Quinoa

Here's a delicious fall recipe that I made for breakfast the other day.  Packed with flavor and nutrients, but low on WW points, this is a definite crowd pleaser!  Here's how Mama makes it:

Pumpkin & Apple Breakfast Quinoa

Ingredients:
- 1 c. uncooked quinoa

- 2 sprays cooking spray

- 1 T. salted butter, divided

- 2 medium apples, chopped or diced
- 1/3 c. dried cranberries

- 2 c. cold water
- 1 c. canned pumpkin (not the pie filling)

- 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice

- 3 T. packed brown sugar

- 1/4 c. skim milk

- 1/4 c. chopped pecans, for garnish

Grape Jelly Turkey Meatballs

Here's a quick and simple recipe that's sure to become a tailgate favorite.  In honor of Butler's homecoming (which sadly I'll be missing this year since I have to work), here's a 3 ingredient staple of any tailgate or football watching day.  Go Dawgs!!  Here's how Mama makes it:

Grape Jelly Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:

-1 package frozen turkey meatballs

- 1 small jar grape jelly

- 1 bottle BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)

Pie Crust Cookies

In honor of my mom's birthday today, here's one of her favorite recipes that she used to make a lot when we were kids.  (Minus the honey of course, because she's not a fan.)  It's simple, yet oh so yummy and will satisfy any cinnamon/sugar craving.  I decided to make some the other night as a special treat for my family with the extra pie crust I had in the fridge.  Annalyn and Michael definitely approved!  Here's how Mama makes it:

Pie Crust Cookies

Ingredients:
- 1 pastry for 1 crust pie (I used an extra Pillsbury roll out crust I had on hand)
- 2 T. yogurt butter
- 2 T. cinnamon/sugar
- 1 T. honey

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment.  Roll out the pie crust and place on the prepared pan.

2.  Spread butter evenly across the pastry, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

3.  Fold the pastry in half and cut into slices.   Sprinkle with a little more cinnamon and sugar.  Separate slices slightly, then bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

4.  Remove from oven and drizzle with honey.  Serve warm alone or with a little ice cream or whipped cream.

printable recipe



Peanut was pretty excited for her evening treat!  Especially when we handed her a whole one - "Big one!  Mmmm, delicious!"  (one of her latest and most adorable sayings!)





Baby Product Review: Sucup Feeder

Here's a new innovative product recommended by one of my readers.  As you all know, I'm a complete sucker for gadgets, especially baby gadgets, so I was super curious.  After checking out the site (www.sucup.com),  I was so impressed and intrigued by this unique design that I couldn't resist ordering one just to see how it worked. 

The product is made in the UK and received a prestigious double gold award at the British Invention Show in 2012.  The Sucup comes in two different models - the Teeny-Weany for babies 4+ months just starting on solids, and the Toddler for babies 10+ months which is designed for lumpier foods and purees.  (Obviously I ordered the Toddler version for Annalyn since she's 19 months and been eating table food for awhile now.) The cost from the US was $16.37 and I received it within a week!

After ordering the product, I actually received a personal email from the inventor thanking me for my order and asking for my feedback.  Wow, talk about amazing customer service!  They even waived my postage charge since I was their first overseas order (though I'd imagine there will be more coming soon!).

At first look, the Sucup may seem a little intimidating because of all the parts, but it comes with great directions and is super easy to put together and use.  Here's my step by step directions on how to assemble the product:

The Return of Chili Season!

For the first time in awhile, I actually waited until official Fall to make a big pot of chili.  Usually the first day under 70 degrees, I get excited and go for it, but with all the wedding craziness in the past month, I had lots to distract me.  So imagine my excitement over this delicious chili on the third day of Fall. 

In our house, we make all kinds of chili.  A couple of our favorite (and most frequently made) ones are chicken chilies (like this and this one), but this time I decided to make a good old-fashioned beef chili like both of our mamas always made.  Well, sort of...  I started with a good old-fashioned typical chili base - beef, tomato, beans, onion, and chili powder, but added some Eddie favorites, too.  We have unique tastes in our household, so green/black olives, garden jalapenos, and a little Cajun seasoning were also involved.  All three of us LOVED it!  Here's how Mama makes it for her loves:

Family Favorite Beef Chili

Ingredients:

(8 WW pts per 1 c. serving)

- 1 lb. ground beef (5% or less fat)

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 2 T. minced garlic

- 1 jalapeno, chopped and seeded

- 7 oz. can chopped green chilies

- 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

- 14.5 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

- two 15 oz. cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

- two 2.25 oz. cans sliced black olives

- 1/3 c. sliced green olives

- 2 c. chicken stock

- 1/4 c. chili powder

- 2 T. Cajun seasoning

- 1 t. cumin

Serving suggestion:  top with small amount of reduced fat shredded cheese (may affect WW pt values)

Feta-Stuffed Turkey Burgers with Tomato Jam

Here's a yummy WW-friendly treat my Michael grilled for us the other night.  My homemade tomato jam is the perfect compliment to this tasty turkey burger, but you could always substitute ketchup.  This could easily make 4 burgers, but my hubby refuses to make burgers any smaller than 1/3 lb.  Here's how Mama & Daddy make it:

Feta-Stuffed Turkey Burgers with Tomato Jam

Ingredients:
(makes three 1/3 lb burgers, ... 9 WW pts each)
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1/3 c. onion, chopped
- 1/4 c. feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 t. cumin
- 1/4 t. oregano
- salt & black pepper, to taste
- 3 low-fat buns
- 3 T. tomato jam

My Brother's Mario Groom's Cake

I just had to share a picture of the groom's cake I made for my brother, Travis's wedding last weekend.  The top two layers are fondant on cake boards, and the bottom layer is a white almond confetti cake with buttercream icing and filling (because my brother's awesome like that).  After it's fair share of issues, the cake actually turned out really cute. 

"you are my star; together we are invincible"

I couldn't think of a better way to tie in the Mario theme

to the marriage of my brother and his bride

 

We've been playing Super Mario since we were kids, so this cake is not only fun, but it also reflects my brother and a little piece of our childhood.  Because what's a wedding without tradition?

 



 

Of course, you want to see this beautiful bride and handsome groom, too!

 

 

And what wedding would be complete without an adorable flower girl ;)

I just couldn't resist a picture with my Travi - didn't he look great?!

Gluten Free Mini Dutch Apple Pies

It is so cool to see all the new gluten free products that are becoming available lately.  A new one I tried recently was this Pillsbury Pie Crust.  It comes in a tub like butter and after a little kneading, is ready to roll out and use.  It makes two crusts or 1 muffin pan full of mini crusts.  Since I was short on time and had friends coming over, I decided to avoid the flour mess and just press them into the muffin tin.  Amazingly, the proportions were perfect for 12 little mini pies!  Using a quart of my pie filling and some gluten free flour to make a crumb topping, it made these perfect little pies. We decided not to tell Michael and see if he noticed a difference.  Impressively, he said he's have never known it was gluten free.  Here's how Mama makes it:

Gluten Free Mini Dutch Apple Pies 

Ingredients:

- 1 tub Pillsbury gluten free pie dough

- 1 quart apple pie filling (or about two cans of filling)
- 1 c. gluten free flour mix
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1 1/2 t. cinnamon
- 1/2 t. salt
- 6 T. chilled butter cut into chunks

Kale Chips

As I've mentioned before, my baby is now absolutely crazy about kale chips.  And by kale chips, I mean pieces of kale that have been washed, dried, tossed in olive oil and salt, then baked until dried and crispy.  It's that simple, but soooo good!  And don't tell Peanut, but it's super healthy, too!  Thanks again to my friend Brittany for introducing us to another favorite tasty snack.  Here's how Mama makes it:

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

- 1 bunch kale; chopped, washed, and dried (I used some pre-wahed bagged kale leftover from making soup)

- 1 T. olive oil

- 1 t. salt, or to taste (or try other spices, like seasoned salt, garlic, or cayenne)

Chicken Sausage & Mushroom Casserole

Here's a delicious, hearty Weight Watchers meal that was a hit with the whole family.  The portions are big and it combines veggies, meat, whole grains, and dairy all in one dish.  Not to mention, it yields lots of leftovers for the rest of the week - a definite plus for a working mama!  Here's how Mama makes it:

Chicken Sausage & Mushroom Casserole

Ingredients:
makes 8 servings, 9 WW pts each
- 12 oz. uncooked whole wheat rotini
- 1 t. olive oil
- 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
- 2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 t. Italian seasoning
- 8 oz. cooked Italian chicken sausage, thinly sliced
- 1 medium yellow pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 medium uncooked onion, chopped
- 1 lb. sliced mushrooms
- 1/4 c. sliced black olives
- 2 T. water
- 4 c. marinara sauce (I didn't have this much, so I used 3 c. marinara, 1/4 c. tomato paste, and 3/4 c. water to make up the difference - this does not affect point values)
- 1 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese