Mandy and Jace

Rainy and cold weather always makes me want Mexican food. I’m not sure why but that is my comfort food. I’ll take bowl of salsa over mashed potatoes any day. So this week we are making enough tacos for tonight and for leftovers.

Here’s my meal plan.
Monday: Chipotle Beef Tacos with guacamole for me since Jace won’t touch the stuff.
Tuesday: Either leftovers or takeout. We are cleaning Pastor’s house for pastor appreciation.
Wednesday: Grilled Chicken, rice and corn on the cobb
Thursday: praise and worship practice so probably take out
Friday: Girls and Guys night. I’m having the girls over to my house and Jace is going to one of his friends house so pizza and brownies!

Healthy tip: Choose guacamole over queso. Avocado is great for you. It is low calorie and it is has over 20 different nutrients in it. I didn’t like it for the longest time but after I found out the nutritional benefits I slowly made myself like it. Now I love everything about it. I put it in soups and salads and I make guacamole when I can. You can find out more benefits of avocado here.

Happy eating!

You may have noticed that I changed the recipe plan from brown rice to white rice. We made it with brown rice last night and it took 65 minutes to cook. By the time the rice was done the veggies were mushy, so I am going to give the recipe to you with white rice. White rice cooks a lot faster: It only takes about 20 minutes and it is still very, very good. This is a very versitile recipe; you can throw in any kind of meat or veggies you want. We did chicken a couple of weeks ago and it was great. But you really don’t need any meat at all. In fact, it was the only time I’ve seen Jace say he could live without chicken on his plate.

Teriyaki White Rice with Veggies
canola oil
1 Squash, chopped into cubes
1 Zucchini, chopped into cubes
1/2 eggplant, chopped into cubes
1/2 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups white rice
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (I really didn’t measure what I put in, so just put in as much as you would like)
1/4 cup soy sauce (this serves as your salt so don’t use any salt and pepper)
Chicken broth

Coat the bottom of a large saute pan with your canola oil. Throw in your onion and sweat them until they’re just translucent (a pinch of salt here will help them sweat out a little faster). Then put in your squash, zucchini and eggplant and a little bit of teriyaki and soy sauce. Go easy on the soy sauce or it will end up too salty at the end. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Make a little empty spot in the middle of your pan and add the rice there. If the veggies have soaked up all the oil from your pan, add another teaspoon or so to help the rice. Once you add the rice you’ll need to stir pretty regularly to keep it from sticking (and then burning), so stir it all around for a minute. Pour in a can of chicken broth (or about 2 cups) and teriyaki sauce and cover the pan. When the rice soaks in the liquid add more broth. Do this until the rice is cooked to your liking. At the end taste the rice and see if it needs more teriyaki sauce or soy sauce. Serve immediately.

If you really want to use brown rice, since it is supposed to be quite a bit better for you, you could probably start by cooking the onion, then add the rice and broth, cook for 20 minutes or so and then add the veggies. But, really, white rice is fine and it’s a lot faster.

Every week I decide what we are going to eat for dinner ahead of time so that I can make sure I have everything I need to cook for the week. I didn’t do this until about a year ago when we decided to eat more meals at home. It has helped so much in keeping me organized and it also keeps me from making hurried trips to the grocery store every day.

This week is healthy week because I have to get into a bridesmaid’s dress on Saturday and look presentable. Here’s the plan:
Tonight: Leftover chili from Saturday with whole wheat crackers
Tuesday: Teriyaki brown rice with squash, zucchini, eggplant and red peppers. So good!
Wednesday: Grilled chicken and mashed potatoes.
Thursday: I have praise and worship practice so we will be having take out.
Friday: Clear Springs for the rehearsal dinner.

I will put up some of the recipes as we go.

Happy Eating!

I was a little afraid when I got this recipe. I didn’t like the sound of pumpkin brownies, but I assure you they are amazing. Contrary to what it sounds like there is no chocolate in the recipe only pumpkin. I got the recipe from www.whoorl.com.

Pumpkin brownies with cream cheese frosting

4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In your mixer beat the eggs very well. Add in the butter and sugar and continue mixing. Add the pumpkin and the vanilla and keep mixing. Last but not least at in the flour and spices and finish mixing.

Pour the batter into a 9×13 pan and put in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the brownies cool completely. While they are cooling combine all the ingredients for the frosting and spread onto the brownies when they are ready.

Have fun cooking!

Lately I have been trying to make some changes to our eating habits around the house. I have come to realize that by eating healthy, unprocessed foods I feel so much better than when I ate all the fast and pre-packaged stuff I was eating. I have more energy now and I also don’t have the daily headaches that I used to have. So I bought this cookbook:

The ladies who wrote this cookbook are Jennifer Aniston’s personal chefs (we all know how good she looks) and every recipe that I’ve tried is great tasting and very easy. Best of all, every recipe in the book requires fresh and natural ingredients. They even have a section for baby and kids food. I have to admit that I still do eat fast food, but I’m down to maybe once or twice a week when I have to go somewhere right after work or on Saturdays. We have saved money on not eating out and I feel great.