Our society is becoming more health conscious these days. With the increase of health conscious people comes the influx of preprocessed, ready to serve "health" food that is marked up so high that it's difficult for even the middle-class working man to afford.

Why buy all that expensive junk when you can stick to a healthy diet by making homemade meals from scratch, still be aware of the Nutrition Value of your recipes and save money in the process!

By knowing what the Nutrition Value of your homemade meals are, you will not only be able to keep track of your calorie intake, but you will also be able to experiment with healthy alternatives to making your old family recipes nutritious for you and your family!

To calculate the Nutrition Value of my family's recipe collection I use the Cook'n Deluxe Ultimate Recipe Organizer software! I not only can save old family recipes into the program, but it calculates the nutrition values for me, and adjusts my recipes whether I'm cooking for 4 or for 400!

This software was worth the price I paid for it several years ago. Being a military family on the move, it's nice to have all our favorite recipes together in one place so I can just pack my laptop into my carry-on bag and take it with me from Japan to Washington D.C. or where ever the U.S.A.F. sends us!



But let's talk sense here, sometimes all we want is something that is convenient and at our fingertips to do exactly what we want it to do at just a click of a button, and on a moments notice. I searched all over the net this evening, looking for a sensible website that offers a free Recipe Calculator where there are no strings attached.



I thought I wouldn't find anything until I remembered that Spark People always seem to have what I'm looking for when it comes to Diet and Nutrition! Sure enough, in the Spark Recipes section of their site was a free Recipe Calculator! You DO NOT need to sign up to use the calculator unless you wish to save and share the nutrition values of the recipes you punched into the calculator. The calculator is extremely easy to use and it gives all nutrition values for any recipe you key into the calculator!

Image: Recipe Calculator on SparkRecipes.com

I highly recommend even becoming a member. Membership to Spark People and Spark Recipes is FREE with no strings attached and I guarantee you will love the site!!

I raise my glass to healthy habits! I love you all!! xoxo

Cheers!!

http://mardigrasday.com/

Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)...The  last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of Lenten (Ash Wednesday)! Bourbon Street will be alive with music, laughter and celebration on this day!

When I was a tween I remember visiting my Aunt Lori in Mississippi. She took my family to New Orleans where we walked down Bourbon Street, and soaked in the history of this beautiful city. For lunch we ate alligator on a stick, yum! It tasted like chicken! We devoured red beans and rice smothered with cajun seasonings. For dessert we ate these dainty square-shaped fried pastries, called Beignets, sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.  I will never forget that summer. It was one of the most memorable family vacations we took.

For years I've searched for a Beignet recipe that tasted similar to those scrumptious pastries I ate when I was a kid. To my delight I finally found one person who's recipe comes to an almost perfect match to what I tasted as a kid. And why shouldn't it be an almost perfect match, this person is a southern belle who knows her stuff.  If you are looking for a Beignet recipe, Paula Deen's French Quarter Beignets is the recipe you want!

Here is Paula Deen's recipe taken from The Food Network website:

French Quarter Beignets

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 7 cups bread flour
• 1/4 cup shortening
• Nonstick spray
• Oil, for deep-frying
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture. In a separate bowl, measure out the bread flour. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
Add the confectioners' sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside.
Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color. After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towels, and then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly.

Hip-Hip Hooray, It's Dr. Seuss' Birthday!! Today in school we will be having a celebration! We have streamers and balloons swooping down from our ceiling tiles.  All our OAAP (Oklahoma Alternative Assessment Program) lessons will be done in a Seussical Style! It's going to be a Fantabulous Day!!

As you all know I have a obsession with collecting cookbooks. I'm sure it doesn't surprise you that I have a Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook (by Georgeanne Brennan). Because of this exciting celebration I am going to share one recipe from my book!


1.        Preheat the oven to 300*F.
2.       In a large bowl, mix together the orange juice, oil honey, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. 
3.       Add the barley, rye quinoa, oat bran, and rolled oats.  Mix until all are well coated, using your hands if necessary.
4.       Spread on two larbe, ungreased baking sheets and bake until lightly toasted, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so.  Stir in the walnuts after about 30 minutes.
5.       Remove, let cool to room temperature, and stir in the raisins. (May be stored in airtight containers for up to three weeks.)
6.       Cut the banana in half and peel it.  Cut each half lengthwise to make 4 long slices.  If desired, heat in a frying pan or microwave.
7.       Put ¼ cup of granola in a bowl, top with half the yogurt, and add the banana slices.  Add another ¼ cup of granola and the remaining yogurt and top with the cherry.

Man Oh Man, today was National Pancake Day at IHOP and I missed it!

That's ok though, I would much rather make my own pancakes and before I post the recipe we use, I want to share a few pictures of this morning's Sunrise from my back porch!

Look at that beautiful moon in the sky!

From my back porch looking to the Southeast.

We love pancakes, Yum! During football season, after Friday Night games, you can find us all packed into the local IHOP with a party of about 20 people eating pancakes 'til midnight. We like to celebrate the hard work our boys put forth out on that football field whether they win or lose.

Now if anyone can make good pancakes, it's Martha Stewart! I love her recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes!

FYI: Since buttermilk does not keep very long in the fridge I keep powdered buttermilk in the pantry so I can whip up only what I need when the recipe calls for it.

Goodnight Friends!

Ingredients

Makes nine 6-inch pancakes.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle

Directions

1. Heat griddle to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.
2. Heat oven to 175 degrees. Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon of butter or reserved bacon fat onto griddle. Wipe off excess.
3. Using a 4-ounce ladle, about 1/2 cup, pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.
4. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in oven. Serve warm. 

Warmer weather is on its way! My Health Coach e-mailed me this super yummy main dish chicken recipe to break-in the grill.

I have just one confession to make though.... I have not purchased a new grill to replace the one I torched last summer!  And with Sherry being one of the ingredients in this recipe I might as well invite the fire department over for a cookout because Lord only knows how the chicken will turn out!I'm excited for Summer to arrive! All this Oklahoma warm weather has got me eager to open our pool!

My Torched Grill, Yikes!

Weber: My Dream Grill!

                          



















 I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hugs 'n Kisses to all my lovely readers! Have a blessed week!
                                                                                                                                                            
xoxo,
                                                                                                     

1. Marinade: Mix tamari, sherry, orange juice, ginger and garlic.
2. Marinate chicken or fish for 6 hours (or overnight).
3. Grill chicken about 10-12 minutes on indirect heat or fish about 10 minutes (depending on thickness), brushing with marinade. Flip half way through. Add mandarin oranges w/ juice half way through.  
4. Alternate: If you'd rather use your oven, preheat oven at 350 degrees and bake chicken for 40-45 minutes or until juices run clear  (bake fish for 20-minutes)