cooking – Page 39 – Hewes Family Fun

Easy One Pot Meal: Salsa Chicken

April 11, 2016August 24, 2017Abby H.3 Comments

01128 This is one of the most popular recipes that I’ve ever cooked! It is a family favorite and is very popular for meal trains and freezer meal swaps!

I’m constantly tweaking and improving my recipe, so I wanted to share this recipe with you. I cook this all day in the crockpot and it makes the house smell sooooo good!

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (rule of thumb for this recipe 1/4 lb of meat per person, plus an extra 1/4 lb of meat for leftovers or seconds)
3 cups of your favorite salsa
1 bag frozen tri colored peppers and onions

Optional ingredients:

1/2c. chicken broth
1 cup rice or 1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 C shredded cheese

Directions:

In a crockpot, place the first four ingredients.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
(If you opt to add the last two ingredients) About an hour before serving add rice or quinoa to the crockpot along with the broth and turn crockpot up to medium or high. Meal is done once grain is done to your liking.
Stir before serving.
Ladle into bowls.
Top with cheese (optional, but tasty) and serve.

Makes 6-8 servings. Sometimes I turn leftovers into quesadillas, or add more broth and some C&W Southwest veggie blend and it transforms into a hearty soup! It’s so versatile and easy to make!

Review: Freshly

April 11, 2016April 11, 2016Abby H.

Screen Shot 2016-04-11 at 11.02.14 AM

Have You heard of Freshly? It’s a gourmet fresh meal delivery subscription service. Every Freshly meal is free of gluten, wheat, refined sugars, peanuts, artificial colors & artificial flavors. And as a bonus, most of the meals are Paleo too!

Packed with veggies and lean proteins, these meals are low in calories too, especially when compared to other fresh meal delivery services. What I love about Freshly is their four company tenets:

Screen Shot 2016-04-11 at 11.04.53 AM

It’s nice that a company is concerned about what goes into it’s food! We tried six meals, and here are the two I was able to photograph before they seemingly evaporated (into our tummies, that is).

Grilled Chicken Breast Fajita after heating for just 2 minutes — Grilled Chicken Breast Fajita

Chicken Rustica with Roasted Cauliflower

The Grilled Chicken Breast Fajita was very moist and juicy- and the chicken breast was HUGE! The rice with the sauce was super tasty!

Hubs gobbled down most of the Chicken Rustica with Roasted Cauliflower– The sauce was so rich and creamy!

They have breakfast entrees too!

While I love to cook, I know that some people don’t. And for those people who crave healthy food and either can’t or don’t cook, Freshly is a great option! They are a bit pricey compared to frozen entrees in the grocery store, but honestly, the portions with Freshly are 2-3 times bigger that that frozen entree in your freezer! And they are delivered FRESH to your door! These entrees were perfect for the week when Hubs was working 14 hour days, between his day job and rehearsal for the play he is in.

To check out their current offering of entrees and any deals, visit their website at https://www.freshly.com. I don’t have a coupon code to share with you, like I usually do with my reviews, but you may be able to find one with a quick google search.

Disclosure: I received six meals free from Freshly in order to facilitate this review. I received No financial compensation, and all opinions are my own.

Recipe: Honey Lemon Ginger Syrup

March 18, 2016March 17, 2016Abby H.1 Comment

P1050863 I’m no doctor, but I do know that when we don’t feel good, nothing is more soothing than lemon and honey.

I recently made a very soothing syrup, and I had to share it with you. I put 1/3 cup of the syrup in the bottom of a coffee mug and pour boiling water over it. I have been drinking a mug full twice a day.

It’s quick and easy to make!

Ingredients:

2 C honey (real honey, none of that honey flavored syrup junk!)
Juice of 10-12 lemons (reserve two lemons and chop them up)
A Thumb sized knob of ginger, peeled and sliced

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine the honey, juice, and ginger.
In a jar with a screw on lid, pack in reserved chopped up lemon pieces.
Cook on low for about 20 minutes. Do Not boil!
Pour honey mixture over lemons.
Screw lid on and let sit on counter until it reaches room temperature.
Store in the fridge.

If you’re looking for the science behind all of this, Lemons contain a lot of vitamin C! Honey is very soothing and coats a sore throat. Remember that honey should not be consumed by anyone under 12 months of age. And ginger contains anti-oxidants.

Learn a new skill from Craftsy for free!!

February 26, 2016Abby H.

I love Craftsy! I love making stuff and being creative, but sometimes it’s hard to learn a new skill or hone one you already have on a budget. Craftsy to the rescue! They have awesome free classes where you can learn to do all kinds of cool stuff from cooking and baking to knitting!

The free mini classes can be viewed on any device, so you can learn anywhere! Right now there are 47 mini classes that are free. Mini-courses feature student-led discussions and are shorter in length than regular courses. They are a perfect way to learn new skills and experience the Craftsy platform first-hand.

Here are just a few of the ones I’ve saved to watch and explore:

For the complete list, click here.

Which Mini-Classes are you going to take?

Protein Shake Recipes!

February 7, 2016Abby H.12 Comments

For some of us, our New Year’s Resolution to lose weight has already started to peter off. NOT ME! I’ve got 40-ish lbs to drop to get back down to my pre-bitty Bird weight. I’m using protein shakes to help me.

A few years ago hubs and I did Sharp Weight Management to lose weight and to this day, we still use the protein shakes that are part of their program. HMR shakes are tasty and have a good amount of protein and other nutrients. All of the recipes below use HMR shakes, but you can use whatever kind of protein powder you like best (everyone has their favorite!).

I usually start my day with a coffee based shake!

Hazelnut Mocha: Mix Chocolate protein powder with tablespoon sugar free chocolate pudding powder, 1 tablespoon Cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons Sugar Free Torani Hazelnut syrup, and 12-20 ounces of strong, hot coffee, When blending hot drinks in the blender make sure to vent the lid or it might pop off! To do this cold, use cold coffee and add 8-10 ice cubes.

Cinnamon Dulce Latte: The same drink at Starbucks (made with Fat Free milk and without whipped cream) has 210 Calories. With my version, you save 40 calories, and score at least 10 more grams of protein- this will vary for you, depending on how many grams of protein your protein shake has. Mix vanilla protein powder with 12-20 ounces of hot coffee (I like a larger drink, so I add more coffee), 2 tablespoons of Torani Syrup Brown Sugar Cinnamon (sugar free), a dash of cinnamon. When blending hot drinks in the blender make sure to vent the lid or it might pop off! To do this cold, use cold coffee and add 8-10 ice cubes.

Frappacino: If you have leftover coffee after making your morning pot, don’t throw it away, put it in the fridge and make yourself a blended frozen protein shake. They will taste just like a frappacino, but with a lot less calories. The average ice blended drink from a coffee shop has 300 calories!

The basic Frap recipe is as follows:

Protein Powder (the amount indicated on your package for 1 serving)
12-20 oz cold coffee
8-10 ice cubes (add more if you want it more icy)

Add in any of the following:

2 tablespoons of your favorite sugar free syrup
1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder, Ovaltine, Sugar Free Pudding powder (your choice of flavors)
Use Walden Farms Calorie Free Chocolate Syrup (or one of their other ice cream syrups- they make caramel and strawberry too) as a drizzle inside the cup and on top to make your drink with more of a Coffee House Flair without adding any calories!

Here are a few more of our favorite shakes. When we did the Weight management program through Sharp, we drank 6-8 a day, so creativity was the key to keep us from becoming bored and deviating from the program. (AKA cheating) These days, I use these shakes as a swap for a higher calorie dessert most of the time. That way my sweet tooth is happy, and I’m consuming WAAAY less calories!

As a note, I usually use a lot more ice to make it more “ice cream-y” and less like a chocolate milk.

Cherry Cheesecake shake: 1 pouch vanilla HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free cheesecake flavored powdered pudding, 3 pumps (roughly 3 tablespoons) sugar free black cherry Torani Syrup. You can substitute Strawberry syrup in place of the black cherry.

50/50 Bar Shake: 1 pouch vanilla HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free vanilla flavored powdered pudding, 3 pumps (roughly 3 tablespoons) sugar free orange Torani Syrup.

Eggnog shake: 1 pouch vanilla HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free cheesecake flavored powdered pudding, 1tsp. rum extract, sprinkle/dash of grated nutmeg. (Mr. C had this on X-mas eve and it was FABU!)

Lemon/Raspberry Shake: 1 pouch vanilla HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free lemon flavored powdered pudding, 3 pumps (roughly 3 tablespoons) sugar free Raspberry Torani Syrup.

Peanut Butter Cup Shake: 1 pouch chocolate HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free chocolate flavored powdered pudding, 2 tablespoons of PB2 powder.

Almond Joy Shake: 1 pouch chocolate HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free chocolate flavored powdered pudding,2 pumps (roughly 2 tablespoons) sugar free Almond Torani Syrup, and 2 pumps (roughly 2 tablespoons) sugar free coconut Torani Syrup . You can use 1 tsp. Almond extract if you prefer in lieu of the almond syrup.

Mounds Shake: 1 pouch chocolate HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free chocolate flavored powdered pudding,3 pumps (roughly 3 tablespoons) sugar free coconut Torani Syrup .

Milky Way Shake: 1 pouch chocolate HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free butterscotch flavored powdered pudding. To make a snickers shake, add 1-2 Tablespoons of PB2.

Butterfinger: Mix chocolate protein powder with 1 tablespoon PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter, 1 tablespoon sugar free butterscotch pudding powder, 1 tablespoon Cocoa powder, 8-10 ounces of cold water and 8-10 ice cubes. Blend on high until the ice cubes are incorporated.

Mud Pie: Mix chocolate protein powder with 1 tablespoon sugar free chocolate pudding powder, 1 tablespoon Cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon Ovaltine, 8-10 ounces of cold strong coffee and 8-10 ice cubes. Blend on high until the ice cubes are incorporated.

Chocolate Malt: MIx chocolate protein powder with 1 tablespoon sugar free chocolate pudding powder, 1 tablespoon Ovaltine (choose the malted variety- it’s in the yellow package), 8-10 ounces of cold water and 8-10 ice cubes. Blend on high until the ice cubes are incorporated.

PB&J: Mix vanilla protein powder with 2 tablespoons PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter, 2 pumps of your favorite fruit flavored Torani Syrup (strawberry, grape, raspberry are just a few), and 8-10 ounces of cold water and 8-10 ice cubes. Blend on high until the ice cubes are incorporated. Tastes just like a PB&J!

Later in the week, I’ll be posting my home made protein bar recipe and an oatmeal protein muffin recipe- perfect for keeping you on track!

DIY Frozen Pizzas!

January 19, 2016Abby H.8 Comments

file7501340931583

A cheese pizza baking away (and a calzone)!

We love Pizza. Probably too much. About 6 months ago, hubs bought How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food,10th Anniversary Edition by Mark Bittman. It’s amazing. We’ve cooked a lot of stuff out of it, but the best is probably the pizza crust recipe.

It’s easy -only three ingredients, but I usually add a few extra! You can make a few batches, put a ball of dough in the freezer, and save it for when you want pizza, but are feeling lazy. OR- You can make a couple frozen pizzas (which I do once a month), and when you are feeling really lazy, you’ll have no need to call Noid or Cesar (wow, both of those totally date me, right?)

DIY Frozen Pizza

Makes 1 pizza

Crust (recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s):

3 c flour, plus extra for kneading
2 t. yeast
1 c. very warm water (90-100 degrees)
2 T parmesan cheese (it’s ok to use the Kraft in a green canister stuff)-OMIT IF YOU ARE VEGAN!
1 T Olive Oil
dash salt
dash pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Mix all of the ingredients together until a soft sticky dough ball forms.
Turn out onto a floured board or counter top and knead briefly.
smooth a round ball of dough into a clean bowl. Cover bowl with a cool, damp cloth and allow to rise someplace undisturbed for 1 hour.
After an hour, punch the dough, and turn out onto a floured board or counter top and knead for 2-3 minutes. At this time, you can roll the dough out and move onto the next step, or you can do a secondary rise (makes the crust extra crispy and chewy). If you elect to do a second rise, repeat step 3 and 4.
After dough is rolled out to your preferred size and shape, lift into well greased cookie sheet or pizza pan. pierce the crust with a fork several times. This keeps the crust from getting weird bumps and lumps during the par-baking.
Par-bake crust for 3-5 minutes. Allow crust to cool completely.

Now that you have cooled par-baked crust, it’s time to get topping! Transfer the pizza to a large piece of aluminum foil.

1 cup or so of sauce, your choice
1-2 c. cheese
Assorted toppings (precooked meats, veggies, fruit, herbs, etc)

Top the pizza as you like,, wrap the foil around the pizza, loosely around the top of the pizza so you don’t squash the toppings. Place in a large freezer zip top bag (don’t forget to label what kind of pizza it is) and freeze. pizzas should freeze at least 24 hours before cooking.

To heat, bake pizzas at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes

Some of our favorite pizzas include:

Gyro (Sprouts sells it wit hthe pre-sliced deli meat!), feta, and spinach
Caramelized onions and peppers and sliced meatballs with cheese
whatever veggies we have in the house (broccoli, spinach, onions, peppers) topped with cheese
chicken, bacon, and pepper jack cheese

You can substitute in whatever your fav crust is, whatever sauce, cheese, and toppings you like! And because the pizzas are room temp/cooled when you top them, it’s a great opportunity for kids to help assemble pizzas. These pizzas are a frugal way to have a yummy dinner- Each pizza costs about $3.00 and feeds the three of us!

Healthy Recipe: Pumpkin Protein Shake!

January 18, 2016Abby H.

DSCN0612

We drink a lot of protein shakes. I have 1-2 a day. They help me stay full and keep me out of the fridge, and they give me the energy I need to wrangle the munchkins.

This is an easy, yummy recipe- especially if you like pumpkin!

Pumpkin Protein Shake

Makes 1 shake

Ingredients:

1 scoop or pouch vanilla protein powder/protein shake (we use HMR 120)
1 cup canned pumpkin (not the canned pumkpin pie filling, but the plain canned pumpkin)
1/2 cup water (You can add up to an additional 1/2 c. if you want your shake thinner)
1/2 cup ice cubes (You can add more if you like your shake thicker)
2 T. sugar free butterscotch pudding powder
1 T. sugar free vanilla syrup (like Torani)
cinnamon & nutmeg to taste

Directions:

Place all ingredients in blender or magic bullet and blend for 1-2 minutes, or until all ingredients are blended and ice is broken down.
Serve immediately.

Modifications:

If you do not use protein powder, substitute 1/2 c. fat free plain greek yogurt, and reduce water to 1/3 c.
If you are vegan, use soy yogurt (like Silk Brand).
If you have an ice cream maker, pour the mixer into the ice cream maker and use machine as directed for yummy pumpkin ice cream!

Calories for base recipe with no modifications: 225 Calories

Sensible Swap: PB Cup Shake

January 13, 2016Abby H.

It’s really hard to lose weight and eat well, especially when there are restaurants like Sonic Drive-In. They have these yummy, thick rich shakes and blasts (which is soft serve ice cream with cookies or candy mixed in and topped with whipped cream), but good lord, do they have tons of calories.

This recipe is a Swap. We swap out stuff with crazy high calories for lower calories ingredients to make a yummy, less calorically dense treat. For reference, a MINI Reese’s Cup Sonic Blast is 580 calories and is about 8 ounces (oh, yeah, they come in four other, progressively larger sizes!). The HMR recipe is 380 calories, and the Swap version is between 380-420 calories depending on which brand of light ice cream you use. Oh, and the recipe makes about 20 ounces! Hooray for more volume and less calories!

I’ve included two versions: One with HMR ingredients (you can substitute your favorite brand of vanilla protein powder and PB Protein Bar), and one using ingredients from the grocer.

Screen Shot 2016-01-13 at 5.29.21 PM

Peanut Butter Cup Shake
Makes 1 large shake (or I guess you could split it and share, but trust me, you won’t want to!)

Ingredients:

1 packet Vanilla HMR Shake (or scoop if you use the 120 version)
2 Tablespoons PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter(I used the choc. PB2, it’s all we had)
1 HMR Chocolate Peanut bar, chopped into small, bite-sized pieces and frozen
2 handfuls of ice cubes
10 oz water
Optional, but yummy: 3 T. Walden Farms Chocolate Syrup

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the blender, except for the syrup
Blend on medium until all ingredients are incorporated. Mixture should be thick and frosty.
Swirl the syrup in a cold glass.
Pour shake into cup and serve with both a spoon and a straw.

Freaking Delish! I have one of these about once a week!

Here is the second recipe, for those who just want to eat a little better:

Peanut Butter Cup Shake
Makes 1 large shake

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Fat Free Vanilla ice cream (Your favorite brand)
2 handfuls of ice cubes
2 Tablespoons PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter
1 Atkins Endulge Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, chopped into small, bite-sized pieces and frozen (there are two in each serving- if you want your shake extra yummy, you could use both of them)
Optional, but yummy: 3 T. Walden Farms Chocolate Syrup

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the blender, except for the syrup
Blend on medium until all ingredients are incorporated. Mixture should be thick and frosty.
Swirl the syrup in a cold glass.
Pour shake into cup and serve with both a spoon and a straw.

We have both a Ninja NJ600 Pro Blender and a Magic bullet. The Magic Bullet is great for making shakes at the office (for hubs) and the Ninja is great for making multiple shakes at once at home.

Holiday Cookie Recipe: Chocolate Yum Yums aka Poop Cookies!

December 4, 2015Abby H.

IMGP5051

My mom makes these awesome cookies that we referred to as Poop Cookies as kids. But they are really called Chocolate Yum Yum’s. And Oh, Lord are they delicious…..

They are delicious, chewy and chocolately. You’ll have a hard time keeping them around.

Once you make them, you’ll see why we called them Poop Cookies.

Chocolate Yum Yum’s (aka Poop Cookies)

Ingredients:

1 c. chocolate chips (your fav. variety- Vegan, GF)
1/3 c butter (You can use coconut oil if you are vegan, don’t use spread)
16 large marshmallows (You can use vegan marshmallows)
1 t. vanilla
1c. coconut
2 c. oatmeal (GF oats are a great substitute. Don’t use Steel cut oats)

Directions:

Over medium heat, combine chips, butter, and marshmallows. The mixture may separate when melting, but that’s ok. Stir frequently to prevent chocolate seizing.
Once the mixture is melted and smooth, remove from heat and add remaining ingredients and stir until well combined.
Drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper on a cookie sheet.
Refrigerate for about an hour or until firm.
Serve with cold glasses of milk

Mom has made them with lemon marshmallows and white chocolate chips. With all of the marshmallow and chip flavors, the combinations available are endless!

If you are looking for another Poop Cookie Recipe, Check out Seraphina’s Unicorn Poop Cookie recipe here. They are really good!

Packing an awesome school lunch on a budget!

November 27, 2015Abby H.1 Comment

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Most kids are on Fall break right now and school starts back up on Monday, but this post comes from my heart. I can’t tell you how many times I opened my lunch bag as a child, only to be disappointed by a limp, sweaty bologna sandwich, a warm juice box and a bag of chips. My mom is an awesome cook, but lunches as a kid were always uninspired. She packed us the same lunch that our friends had.

Kids now have a lot more choices when it comes to lunches. Cooler bags/soft sided insulated bags are now chic, and many schools have restrictions on what kids can bring to school (mostly due to common food allergies).

Here are some tips that can help you pack a yummy, nutritious, frugal lunch for your kids (or heck, even for you if you pack your lunch for work):

Plan ahead. Take an inventory of your pantry, fridge and freezer. Make a list of lunches you can make with what you’ve got on hand.
Eat what’s on sale! You’ll save more if you eat what’s in season.
Involve the eater of the lunch: if you involve the kids, they’ll be more apt to eat what’s packed.
Keep Lunch fun! Use cookie cutters (like this one– I love it for sliced cheese) to make sandwiches, fruit, and cheese into fun shapes.
Set aside time for prep: When you get home from the store, set aside some time to chop veggies, fruit, and cheese and place single servings in baggies. Store the baggies in a drawer in the fridge. Resist the urge to snack on them!
Resist the urge to buy individual packages of snacks. They are usually not the best value for your dollar. Set aside some time after your shopping trip to portion out cookies, crackers, snacks and even yogurt.
Along the same lines: Resist the urge to buy pre-made sandwiches, like UnCrustables. Many schools don’t allow Peanut Butter (or other nut butters) in school lunches. If your kids love those sandwiches, make your own. All you need in an empanada press (like this one) or a Wonder Bread Sandwich Sealer and D-Cruster a loaf of bread, your fav. peanut or other nut/seed butter, and some jam or jelly. Make about 12 sandwiches for less than $10. The average price for a box of 4 UnCrustables is around $3.50! You can use whatever type of sliced bread you like too!
Sandwiches need not be an everyday food! Make wraps with tortillas, sliced cheese, deli meats, and flavored cream cheese. Send sliced cheese, sandwich meat, and crackers (think a homemade Lunchable!) in a plastic box in separate muffin papers. Cold Pizza, salads that include a protein, soup in a thermos, heck, even cereal in a plastic container and a thermos of cold milk.
Re-use your empty Mio containers to send condiments or salad dressing to keep sandwiches and salads from getting icky and soggy. Simply remove the wrapper from the empty bottle, pop the top off and clean out the bottle and lid. Once they are dry, fill 1/2 to 3/4 full and write on the front of the bottle with a sharpie.
Don’t just stick to Major Grocery Store chains! I love shopping for lunch yummies at Grocery Outlet. They have a wide variety of crackers, cookies, lunch meat, and a killer cheese section! Now that we have a Grocery Outlet and a 99 Cents Only in the same shopping center, I can get most of my school lunch shopping done in one trip!

Oh, and most importantly- Don’t forget the note. My mom always put a note in our lunch each day. It made my day, especially when I was having a hard morning!

Looking for more ideas on keeping school lunches fun? Here are a few books I found on Amazon:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: