Tater Tot Casserole

From Healthy Cooking:

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 lb extra-lean ground turkey

1 16 oz pkg frozen mixed vegetables, thawed and drained

3/4 cup french fried onions

1 10 3/4 oz can reduced fat/sodium condensed cream celery soup

1 10 3/4 oz can reduced fat/sodium condensed cream chicken soup

1/2 cup fat-free milk

4 cups frozen tater tots, thawed

In a large skillet, cook beef and turkey over medium heat until no longer pink. In a 13x9 inc baking dish coated with cooking spray, layer the meat mixture, vegetables and onions.

In a small bowl, combine soups and milk; spread over onions. Top with tater tots. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown.

1 cup is 340 calories

14 g fat

44 mg cholesterol

657 mg sodium

33 g carbs

4 g fiber

22 g protein

I personally felt it lacked a little in the flavor category. Next time, I'll be adding some Italian seasoning or some such . . . gotta make up for that luck of butter! But, still, everyone ate their entire bowl of the yummy casserole!

July's Book

Again, Dolly came through with another cute book! I LOVE the Imagination Library!

If you have a child under the age of 5, you may be able to get a free book a month as well.

Check it out!

http://www.dollysimaginationlibrary.com/home.php

Salsa Chicken

This was a new find - and Steve made it today while I worked and did 4 hours of overtime!

Miss Mia LOVED this recipe. It will be put in my Cycle Menu!

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast

1 can rotel (or 1 cup fresh salsa)

1 package taco seasoning

1 can reduced fat/sodium (condensed) cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

Mix salsa and soup; pour into Crock Pot. Add chicken to Crock Pot. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken. Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours. Shred chicken with a fork. Stir in sour cream until heated, then serve over rice or tortillas.

* I will be honest, I forgot to put the sour cream in and thought this recipe was just yummy without it!

Strawberry Jam!

Thank Goodness for all those baby food containers we've saved!

Just a few containers of the 4 batches of Strawberry Jam my Mom and I made this evening!

The Lake

Friday, July 17th . . .

Miss Mia experienced her first time on a boat and she fished with Tia and Maxine.

Then, we took some shadow people pictures.

Then, we had s'mores (Miss Mia's were sans chocolate) and headed home.

Happy 50th Carla!!!

Just a few pics from Carla's Party yesterday. The 17th was her 50th, and she thought she'd get out of a big "party" if she planned the Bocce Tournament this weekend.

She was wrong! Her candles actually MELTED the top of the ice cream cake!

Cherry Yogurt Bread

Miss Mia loved this!

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup sugar substitute

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 cup cherry yogurt

1/3 cup applesauce

1 T lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar substitute, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In another bowl, combine the egg, yogurt, applesauce and lemon juice. Stir in to dry ingredients just until moistened.

Pour into an 8x4 in loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.

Doc's Appointment

I went to the doc's Friday morning.

Long story short:

~ increased my meds again
~ all tests are finally coming back in the normal - if still high - range
~ pretty much have to give up my chance for any more children
~ have to go get more blood work in about 45 minutes
~ oh, and it may be a tumor causing these funky, funky problems

~ I cried.

Birthday Gifts

So, Miss Mia got a birthday gift from my friend, Barb, today . . .

She was hesitant at first about opening it . . .

But I think she may have liked it a smidge . . .

Maybe more than a smidge . . .

Maybe she liked it a little . . .

Maybe it was more than a little . . .

Nothing can make me smile more than my little gal totally enjoying one of her birthday gifts.

Thank you, Barb, for getting Miss Mia something she sooooo totally loved!

Zucchini Bread

Yep, it's that time of year!

2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 T cinnamon
3/4 cup egg substitute (or 3 eggs)
1 cup applesauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup sugar substitute
1 T vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini

Combine all ingredients. Pour into greased loaf pans. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Yield: 2 loaves.

Berries!

Miss Mia loves her berries! This year, we've been blessed with a huge crop of delicious, yummy, oh-so-juicy berries that we've been picking nightly. And - the animals have been leaving them alone, so we've had a nice time picking our "desserts" every evening this past week.

Quick Chocolate Snack Cake

Today, one of my Great Aunts and her Husband as well as one of her daughters came for a visit. They don't get to visit much due to their age and health, so we wanted to make the most of the visit - plus, this was the first time their daughter, Janice, has been back home in many, many years.

My Great Aunt, Stella, is a diabetic. We wanted to make certain to have a variety of healthy foods, as well as a treat that she would be able to eat. When my new cooking magazine came this month, I was excited as there was a recipe in it for a yummy looking cake.

After having tried it today, I'm posting this recipe on here and putting it in my "keeper" file.

*** ~~~ ***

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sugar blend
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips



In a large bowl, beat the applesauce, sugar, sugar blend, egg substitute, water, oil and vanilla until well blended. Combine the cocoa, flours, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into applesauce mixture until blended. Transfer to a 13x9" baking pan coated with cooking spray.



Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with chips. Cool on a wire rack.



1 piece =s 170 calories, 6 g fat (1g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol.

Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 fat

My Silly Girls

T and her BFF came up here around 8:30, dressed in fancy dresses. "Can you take pictures of us????" Steve was getting Miss Mia ready for a bath, so I said sure.

We took around 90 pictures. We had a blast the entire time as these gals do NOT like to do "nice" pictures. So, we have a ton with just the most horrid faces or awkward poses . . .

Here are a few I thought were kinda cute . . .

Dinner!

Okay, I had this nice entry all typed up and it disappeared. Long story short, I had a nice dinner with my friends. It's great that we're trying to keep up the monthly gathering. Yah, not everyone can always come, but we had a nice turn out tonight. It's especially nice as we no longer all work in the same section, building or company. So, this is our little way of catching up with each other, and just getting in some good belly laughs.

Tonight, we celebrated a new position, a son turning 21, a daughter going off to freshman year at college (okay, I don't think the mom is celebrating all that much), a vacationt to Florida and just having a great group of gals to gather 'round the table monthly!