THE UNARTISTIC ARTIST

Thanks

2012-01-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

I made this card for my grandparents to say thanks for their Christmas present to me this year. They always appreciate letters and cards and my grandmother can't see very well so I usually try to make cards for them bold shapes and colors so she can at least get a glimpse.

2012 is here!

2012-01-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

I made this post card to text to my family. Hope 2012 is a great year for everyone!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone's having a great day! I made these place cards for our yummy Christmas dinner this year.The pictures above are the fronts and below are the backs (each of us identified by nicknames and funny little blurbs about us).

Happy Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T09:32:00.000-05:00

Instead of mistletoe I hang this "kissing" ball from Crate and Barrel (got it a few years ago) up in my apartment - isn't it cute?

Anyway, hope everyone enjoys your Christmas Eve and finds this an encouraging and amazing time to remember the incredible thing that Jesus coming to earth was and how much it means to all of His people!

Christmas Centerpiece

2011-12-17T09:29:00.000-05:00

As I've said before I like simple. I found these inexpensive snow globes at Target and decide to use them for my centerpiece this year. I love the red candy pictures I found to put in them. If you can't tell the one in the middle is a close up of a red & white lollipop, yum.

Red, White, Silver (& Green)

2011-12-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

This is what I did with my built in book case this year. All of my other decorations (tree and presents included) are red, white and silver, no green. But I have these pretty green dishes in there year round and I like the way the look with my decorations :)

Aesop's Fables - Family Christmas 2011

2011-12-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

This year I wanted to do something a little different than I've done in the past. So I compiled some of Aesop's fables and gave them new morals like if my family member's read the fable that's what they would take away from it (in a humorous light). I got it printed very inexpensively at thebookpatch.com. These pictures above are the cover and one of the pages.

Birthday Comedy

2011-12-01T09:13:00.000-05:00

This is the front of the card I made for my little brother's birthday this year. I used the stand up comedian picture cause I told him a funny Jack Handy deep thought inside.

Happy Thankgiving

2011-11-24T16:00:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone has a great time with family this Thanksgiving. I was looking through the book "Monkey Portraits" and got this idea to do for our Thanksgiving place cards this year. On the back of each is a monkey that reminded me in some way of that family member with their eyes inserted into the picture. It's pretty funny. I'd show you the pictures but I'm afraid it would be copyright infringement (if that's what you call it).

Oh and the phrase is a song that my mom used to sing to us when she'd wake us up on our birthday's. Except of course it was Happy Birthday to you (instead of Thanksgiving). Yes, my mom is fun like that :)

Being 30

2011-11-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law is turning 30 this year and this is the card I made for her. I hope this encourages her and also anyone else who reads this who's turning 30 this year!

Birthday Stories

2011-11-16T09:59:00.000-05:00

This is the front of the card I made for my mom this year. Inside I made her a little book (cover below) telling her life story briefly and humorously though all true.

41st

2011-08-29T16:37:00.001-04:00

This is the card I made for my parent's (who are the best ever) anniversary this year. I "commissioned" this water color portrait for them - it is actually a real picture of their wedding day so many years ago, just effected to look like a water color.

Can you imagine being married for 41 years? How awesome is that!

Beach Retirement

2011-08-20T21:00:00.000-04:00

Wouldn't it be nice to retire to a house on the beach? It's a long way off but my older brother was talking about it on our vacation last week and it inspired this card I made for him for his birthday this year. As I said to him in the card I feel like birthdays are always about possibilities ahead.

Happy 4th! Have a great long weekend!

2011-07-01T21:21:00.006-04:00

As I've said before my Dad's birthday is Independence Day. This is the card I made him this year. The film strips were actually taped together into one long strip rolled up inside the card under a cover and around a wooden dowel so it could be pulled out like a film, sort of.

I hate cube steak and my Dad loves it, thus the ineffective attempt at subliminal messaging. He will be having it for his birthday dinner.

(I blanked out the words on the strip because they're personal. Those are the blank strips.)

Cauliflower and Cheese Casserole

2011-06-25T09:00:00.002-04:00

I came up with this yummy cauliflower dish a couple weeks ago when I was trying to think of how to make a lower calorie macaroni and cheese dish.

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked cauliflower
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
2 cups skim milk
6 oz. low-fat Mexican cheese blend
2 oz. Swiss cheese
panko

Directions:
Serves 6-8 (Makes 8- 2/3 cup servings)

In a saucepan melt the butter; blend in the flour salt and pepper. Add the milk and cook and stir constantly until thick and bubbly (takes 7-8 minutes usually). Add the cheeses and stir till melted.

Mix the cheese sauce with the cauliflower. Put mixture into a 1 1/2 quart dish and top with the panko.

Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes or till heated through.

Calories per serving = about 163 for 1/8 or 230 for 1/6 of the whole dish

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-17T23:47:00.007-04:00

My awesome Dad was an astronomy major in college and has always loved all things "outerspacey" (my word, not his) and science fiction. So my brothers and sister in law and I made him a SCI FI magazine all about him for Father's Day this year. This is a few of the pages I did for it. It was so much fun to make, I think he'll really enjoy it.

Bubble Book

2011-05-20T23:05:00.021-04:00

These are the pages from a book I wrote/made for Ryleigh's first birthday. It was so much fun to make. I was so proud of myself, I actually drew all the animals :) (I'm not much of a drawer - unartistic, remember.) I hope my adorable little niece really enjoys it when she's able to!

Also for anyone reading this with kids I made the book by using one of these blank board books. I think that would be so much fun for kids to do themselves.

Momville Weely News

2011-05-14T10:48:00.008-04:00

My brothers and sister-in-law and I made this "newspaper" for my mom for Mother's Day this year. This is a few of the pages. It of course is all personal stories and things about my mom. We also had local news, book review, comic strip, human interest and local scene pages. It was so much fun to do and she loved it!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T23:06:00.005-04:00

These are the cards I made for my mom & sister in-law-this year (respectively). The one I made for my mom is an inside family joke. I thought it was cute. I traced a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip and put my own words in. We made my mom a newspaper all about her as her gift. I'm posting some of that next week.

Blue Cheese Meatballs

2011-03-05T09:00:00.002-05:00

This recipe is adapted from an The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook recipe for meatloaf. Several years ago I adapted it to make my version of their meatloaf. And then I was hungry for meatballs the other night and decided to try this. I was very pleased with the results. This makes a lot of meatballs so you may want to cut the recipe in half. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:
8 slices light bread, torn into small pieces
1/4 cup skim milk
1 4-oz pkg blue cheese (or 4 oz. feta cheese)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 pound ground round
1/3 pound reduced fat sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Makes about 80 meatballs.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mixing till all the ingredients come together.

Form mixture into about 1 - 1/2 inch balls.

Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Brown meatballs on each side just for a few minutes till nicely browned (you will probably have to do this in several batches).

Once all the meatballs are browned, bake in the oven @ 350 for 25-30 minutes, till cooked through. Serve imediately. (They also freeze very well. I just put them in the oven frozen for 15 minutes or so and they taste as good as new.)

Calories per serving (5 meatballs): about 150

Chicken and Bacon Pizza

2011-02-26T09:42:00.001-05:00

Yet another pizza. It's very flavorful and yummy. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 7-in thin pizza crusts
olive oil cooking spray
2 tablespoons chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup cooked seasoned chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
4 slices center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
6 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons feta cheese
7-10 grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

Directions:
Spray a non-stick saute pan with the cooking spray. Saute the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes until the onions are tender.

Spray both crusts with the cooking spray and the top each with half of the garlic and onion mixture. Divide the rest of the ingredients between the two crusts. I like to layer as follows:

Parmesan cheese (about 2/3)
feta cheese
chicken
bacon
mushrooms
tomatoes
remaining Parmesan

Then bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes till cheese and crust are as brown as you want them.

Calories: about 520 per pizza, 130 per 1/4

Christmas for Ryleigh

2011-02-19T09:32:00.003-05:00

Kind of got behind on posting so this is a little late but this year was my niece's first Christmas I wanted to make something special for her. So this is what I came up with. And yes, in case you are wondering, I miss-spelled elephant on purpose - it was the way her daddy (my little brother) used to say it when he was little.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T09:24:00.000-05:00

I made this simple but I thought very cute card for Valentine's Day this year. It's pink in real life. It came out a little purple here :)

Veggie Pizza

2011-01-08T08:02:00.007-05:00

When I made this "Greek Pizza" it was the first time I tried a pizza without sauce. And I loved it. So I thought I'd try it again same thing with this pizza. It's yummy (sorry about the picture though - it tastes better than it looks)! Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:
2-7 inch thin pizza crusts
1 cup cauliflower florets
Olive oil cooking spray
2 tablespoons finely chopped yellow onion, plus 1 slice chopped in half and rings separated
1 clove garlic
1/4 c. plus 2 tablespoons mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp. feta cheese
Handful or more of baby spinach, stems removed
1 cup sliced mushrooms
10 or so quartered grape tomatoes

Cook cauliflower just a couple of minutes till it is slightly tender but still has some firmness. When they are done, season as desired. I like to use a pinch of salt and cilantro. Chop into small pieces.

Meanwhile saute the chopped onion and garlic in a saute pan (sprayed with the olive oil spray) over medium heat until tender.

Spray each pizza with the olive oil spray and divide the sauteed garlic and onions evenly over each, spreading to cover. Layer on enough spinach to loosely cover each pizza (or if you want the spinach thicker feel free to use more).

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the mozzarella and 1 tablespoon of feta over each pizza. Then divide the cauliflower evenly over the cheese.

Top each pizza with the mushrooms, sliced onions and tomatoes in whatever order you desire.

Bake at 450 for 10 or so minutes till the cheese is melted and crust is as crispy as you desire.

Calories: Per pizza, about 440, per slice about 110

My "Family Tree"

2010-12-11T09:00:00.003-05:00

For my annual homemade family Christmas present this year I decide to make a family tree. Of course this is not at all a traditional family tree but kind of tells our history pictorially and starts at the bottom of the middle with my parents. Then goes in a sort of round way up to the top my with little niece, the newest member of our family at the top. I really like how it turned out. I already gave it to them at Thanksgiving because that is when everyone was going to be there which is why I can already post it.

Fedoras and Cigars

2010-12-04T10:31:00.004-05:00

This picture made me think about my little brother, he's a big fan of hats and cigars. so I used it as the cover of his birthday card this year. Yes in case you are wondering we have 3 family birthdays in close proximity.

Peaceful Happiness

2010-11-27T09:15:00.005-05:00

This is the front of the card I made for my sister-in-law's birthday this year. She's got a lot of new stuff going on right now (house, baby, I think that's plenty). So I wanted to convey peaceful happiness on her card and this is what I came up with.

Nutter Butters & Milk

2010-11-20T23:10:00.006-05:00

This is front of the card I made for my mom's birthday this year. She loves Nutter Butters and milk so I took this picture and I wished her some happy time with them. Does it make you hungry for them? Does me!

"French" Pear Tart

2010-11-13T09:46:00.001-05:00

Just thought it would be funny to call it that in light of my last post title. Anyway it is supposed to be French. And it does actually have apricot jam that was produced in France in it. I made it recently for a Reformation Day lunch at my church where we were supposed to bring food only from countries where the Reformation took place. And since it is a tart, made with frangipane and pears and french apricot jam I really think it does count as French, right?

So I tried it and it was yummy. I'd recommend it. It's an Everday Food recipe (though I used my own crust recipe), and you can get it here. The one I made is of course pictured above.

"Greek" Pizza

2010-11-06T10:15:00.003-04:00

I was thinking about this awesome pizza from a Greek restaurant in Decatur, GA called Chris's Pizza. It's so wonderful! (so if you happen to live in the area and haven't been there you should totally try it).

Anyway, I thought I'd try to recreate it to the best of my ability. And this is what I came up with. Not the same as theirs but reminds me of it and is very yummy regardless. Hope you enjoy!

Makes 2 - 7 in. pizzas

Ingredients:
2 - 7 in. thin pizza crusts
3 oz low fat ground pork sausage
Olive Oil Cooking Spray
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
4 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
10 or so grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms

Instructions:

Brown sausage and drain.

Meanwhile spray a non stick cooking pan with the cooking spray and saute the onion and garlic over medium heat.

Spray both crust with the olive oil spray and when the onions are cooked remove from heat and spread over the 2 crusts, dividing evenly. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the mozzarella and then 2 tablespoons of the feta cheese over each crust. Top each crust with the sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes.

Bake at 425 for 7-10 minutes till cheese is melted and the crust is as crispy as you want it.

Calories: about 120 per for 1/4 pizza, 475 per whole pizza

1939

2010-10-16T10:08:00.001-04:00

That's the year my grandparent's got married. It's amazing think how much has changed since 1939 and they've been together through it all. They're both in their 90's, which is amazing enough itself, and that means they've been married for over 75% of their lives.

This of course is the front of the card I made for them. I made it kind of sepia toned just to give it that long time feel. And I love this picture of them.

don't know what to call this post

2010-10-09T09:49:00.002-04:00

But here you go. It's a carrot cake. Made this for a friend to say...

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-01T22:56:00.007-04:00

So it's fall. Which is kind of sad and yet very exciting to me. I don't like the cooler weather but I love the holidays. And pumpkins kind of put me in that mood. So this is my centerpiece this year.

Fried Potatoes with Turkey Kielbasa

2010-09-25T09:56:00.001-04:00

This is a slight change to my Fried Potatoes With Mushrooms that makes it into a very tasty and low calorie but filling main dish. I love it! Hope you do too.

Serves 4 (or 2 if you so desire)

Ingredients:
Canola oil cooking spray
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
3-4 golden potatoes, cleaned and cut into bite sized pieces (peeling still on)
4 oz. turkey kielbasa (sliced about 1/4 in. thick and then each slice halved)
2-4 cups sliced mushrooms
Salt free all purpose seasoning, to taste
Salt free garlic and herb seasoning, to taste
Dash of kosher salt

Directions:
Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray (you will also need to spray a few more times with cooking spray as you go when the pan gets dry). Add the remaining ingredients and saute for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are tender. Then serve.

Calories: About 200 calories each for 4 servings.

Labels

2010-09-18T09:43:00.003-04:00

I made labels like this (got the picture on-line) for a meal I took to a family of a new baby girl recently. Since I was giving it to them at church instead of at home (and they might not be eating it right away) I thought it might help. And I think they turned out so cute.

40 Years!

2010-09-10T10:20:00.008-04:00

My parents have been married for 40 years! this year and have a great relationship so they have a lot to celebrate when every anniversary rolls around. This is the front of the card I made for them this year. (Translation: "Here's to you")

Pesto Pizza ala Ruth - adjusted

2010-09-04T09:11:00.004-04:00

Also known as my Dad's favorite pizza, this is a pizza inspired by one my friend Ruth made for me years ago. I can't remember exactly what she put on it except for the pesto but I've been making this ever since and it is yummy! So thanks Ruth, if you're reading this, for the idea!

This recipe is actually for 2 mini pizzas (you know how I like to make things mini). But you can of course make a regular sized pizza, just increasing the amounts as makes sense.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
2-7 in Thin Pizza Crusts
1/4 cup prepared Knorr's Pesto Sauce (Prepared according to pkg directions)
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
4 ounces reduced fat sausage, browned and drained
1/2 cup of a red, yellow or orange bell pepper, cut into bite sized strips
1/2 cup red onion, sliced and cut into bite sized strips

Instructions:
Spread 1 tablespoon pesto sauce over each crust (so 2 tbsp. total), reserving the rest to drizzle over the top of each pizza later.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over each crust reserving the rest to sprinkle on the tops of each pizza later.

Divide sausage over each pizza and then add mushrooms, onions and bell peppers. Sprinkle each with the remaining cheese and drizzle the remaining pesto on top.

Then bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes till crust is lightly brown and cheese is melted.

Calories per serving: about 525 per pizza, or about 262 for 1/2.

Nicknames

2010-08-21T10:30:00.005-04:00

This is the front of the card I made for my big brother's birthday this year. He's such a fun and funny person that he's inspired quite a few nicknames over the years (some from when he was little of course - in case you're wondering) and I decided to commemorate them in this card. And I think this picture of him just so perfectly illustrates his laid back and hilarious humor.

Holding Ryleigh

2010-08-14T20:11:00.002-04:00

I don't really think there's much of anything I'd rather do than hold my niece (and apparently the same goes for the rest of my family, as pictured here - her mom and dad are in the bottom left and right corners). And she is coming on vacation with us this year! I made this little informal collage for my family as a fun thing to give them for while we're at the beach. This is the first I'm sure of many creative projects featuring Ryleigh.

Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-04T18:00:00.003-04:00

My favorite thing, as I told my Dad on the inside of this card, about the 4th of July is him - because it is also his birthday. I hope everyone has a great 4th of July and has something about the day to make them as happy as he does me! Independence maybe?

My Two Favorite Fathers

2010-06-20T19:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Father's Day!

I of course only have one father but my little brother is a father now too of the most beautiful little baby girl ever. My father has been an amazing dad and I know my little brother will be too. These are the fronts of the cards I made for both of them.

Mushroom Lasagna

2010-06-12T09:06:00.002-04:00

People were eating lasagna on a show I watched last night. And it made me hungry for it. Then I remembered I had a bunch of mushrooms and I thought yummy! So I came up with this. Hope you enjoy.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
6 lasagna noodles
4 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
8 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup white wine
Black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup reduced fat feta cheese

Directions:
Spray a 11x7 in. baking pan with cooking spray. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.

Meanwhile melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, mushrooms and white wine. Allow to cook until all but about 1/2 cup of the liquid is evaporated.

While the mushrooms are cooking, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the two tablespoons of flour until smooth. Add the cream and milk and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and bubbles (will take probably at least 7-8 minutes).

Once thickened, add to the mushrooms and stir. Cook for a few more seconds just till all is combined. Then remove from heat.

Layer the lasagna as follows:
1. 1/2 of the mushrooms
2. 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese
3. 1/2 of the lasagna noodles
4. 1/2 of the feta cheese
5. remaining noodles
6. remaining feta
7. remaining mushrooms
8. remaining Parmesan

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, allow to cool slightly and then cut into desired portions and serve.

Calories per serving: about 325 for 1/6, about 240 for 1/8

I'm an Aunt!

2010-06-05T10:40:00.002-04:00

front of card

back of card

I have a beautiful new niece! I've been dying to say so (she's a week and a half old already) but I had to wait to till her parents had opened this card to post this. I made this for them - and her, in thought anyway, because of course she can't read yet or understand what it says :). The picture on the front of the card is one of her nursery walls (isn't it pretty? ).

Summer Again

2010-05-31T11:08:00.004-04:00

Happy Memorial Day! I know its not officially summer but when you live in FL and the average temp has been in the 80's for several weeks now and you hang out at the beach every weekend it might as well be. So I decided it was high time for a new centerpiece on my dining room table. I decided to go more beachy this year (those are sand dollars in the tall vase). And a friend gave me the shorter vase, I think it looks kind of jelly fishy. Anyway, simple as usual but I love it.

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day and a great summer too!

Funny Quotes Collage

2010-05-23T00:01:00.001-04:00

click on pictures to enlarge

This is a compilation of my favorite funny quotes from or about movies or TV (some of them are only funny if you know the context but I hope they make you smile anyway). I posted the pictures from the file I made these in instead of them assembled so you could read them more easily (when you enlarge). On my wall they in a 16x16 inch frame in the same order.

I'd highly recommend any of the tv shows/movies cited here ... except Primeval (the movie about Gustave, which was reviewed in the no longer published magazine Premier). I have no desire ever to see it but I couldn't stop laughing when I read the referenced quote.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T17:43:00.004-04:00

I made this card for my mom (she's the best!). Since I kind of waxed nostalgic about her on the inside I thought this design I came up with for it kind of fit that feeling.

In this inside part I filled the word "MOM" with phrases/things that come to my mind about my mom when I think back over my life with her. I took the words out since they are personal but you get the idea.

I hope that any mother reading this has or has had a wonderful Mother's Day this year!

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

2010-05-01T08:53:00.003-04:00

This was so easy and yummy (not heavy but healthy and delicious). I wanted to do something with chicken and broccoli and this is what I came up with. This would be so easy to customize to your taste, substituting seasonings and vegetables, even cheese as desired. I hope you enjoy it.

Serves 4 (or 2 if you eat large pasta servings)

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked pasta (make sure to reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water)
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 1/2 - 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
Salt Free Garlic & Herb Seasoning, Black pepper to taste
2 cups fresh broccoli
1/2 cup white cooking wine
2 seasoned cooked chicken breasts, chopped
1/3 cup toasted sliced almonds (*see below for toasting instructions if needed)
2 heaping tablespoons shredded Parmesan

Directions:
Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray (will have to spray several times throughout as needed). Saute garlic, onions, mushrooms and seasonings together for about 5 minutes on med heat until tender.

Add broccoli and cooking wine and season again. Saute just a few minutes more until broccoli is crisp tender.

Then stir in the pasta, chicken and reserved pasta water and continue to saute just until the chicken is heated and the pasta water is absorbed.

Remove from heat, stir in toasted almonds. Top with the Parmesan cheese just before serving.

*To toast almonds simply saute them in a non stick pan over med heat until lightly browned. Watch closely because they will burn easily. And remove them before the get too dark. Once you start to smell them they are pretty much done.

Calories Per serving: About 400 (for 4 servings)

Yogurt Happiness

2010-04-24T09:45:00.006-04:00

I'm sharing here with you the news I shared with my Mom recently in this sort of postcard I made for her (which I had a lot of fun making for some reason).

When she was here visiting me we discovered this awesome yogurt place (Yogaberry) with the most delicious flavor (Taro) and there aren't any in Atlanta where she's from. I mentioned the yogurt on Facebook and a friend told me ... well you can read the postcard (click on it to view a larger version). Anyway, if you can find the Taro flavor frozen yogurt anywhere I'm telling you it's worth a try. It tastes better than ice cream! Oh and by the way it's fat free!

Happy Cake

2010-04-17T09:58:00.000-04:00

I made this fudge cake (also known as Texas Sheet Cake but I think fudge cake is more accurate - and if you've never tried it you should) for a co-worker who didn't want to acknowledge her birthday. Thus the "HAPPY" without "Birthday". And with yummy chocolate cake what's not to be happy about?

I liked the way "HAPPY" by itself looked so much I may just do that even for people who do want to acknowledge their birthdays :)

Fried Potatoes with Mushrooms

2010-04-10T20:22:00.003-04:00

Yummy, easy, low calorie, low sodium (just cause we often get too much sodium without even trying). Add more salt or oil if you don't care. Enjoy.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
Canola Oil cooking spray
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1-2 cloves minced garlic
2 golden potatoes, cleaned and diced (with peeling still on)
2 cups sliced mushrooms (cut the slices in half if they are large mushrooms)
4 tablespoons white cooking wine
Salt free all purpose seasoning, to taste
Salt free garlic and herb seasoning, to taste
Dash of kosher salt

Directions:
Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray (you will also need to spray a few more times with cooking spray as you go when the pan gets dry). Add the remaining ingredients and saute for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are tender. As I said, yummy!

Calories per serving: about 160 ea for 2 servings, 80 ea for 4

Spring Has Sprung

2010-03-20T09:48:00.001-04:00

Happy first day of spring, isn't it exciting?! And along with the first day of spring, out goes my winter centerpiece and in come this years spring/Easter centerpiece. I used these beautiful eggs again (see last year's post) but in a different way this time as you can see. The eggs in cups remind me of decorating eggs (the part when they sit in the cups and soak up the dye) and I just love them all lined up in a row like this.

A Nod to Crate & Barrell on St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T09:00:00.003-04:00

This is how I decided to fill the built in bookcase in my living room in my new apt. (I have other bookcases for my books). Last year I posted my green magazine files in honor of Martha Stewart on St. Patrick's Day. So this year I thought I'd pay a little tribute to my favorite store and the inspiration for a lot of my decorating style. Some of these dishes are from Crate & Barrell and others are from Target and Williams-Sonoma. But the whole effect reminds me of a Crate & Barrell display and I love it. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Vegetable Strata

2010-03-06T08:04:00.003-05:00

I had a bunch of fresh vegetables I wanted to use in a new dish and came up with this using a sort of combination of two of my favorite scalloped potatoes recipes and adding to them. I'm not sure how appetizing the picture looks but the result was delicious! Sooo good.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
Black pepper
Crazy salt, to taste
Pinch of Kosher Salt
1 1/2 golden potatoes
1 oz. Swiss cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Heat onion and garlic in the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the zucchini, squash and mushrooms. Season with black pepper, crazy salt and kosher salt. Saute until vegetables are tender but not too much so.

Meanwhile, peel and slice potatoes very thinly (as you would for scalloped potatoes).

Spray an 8x10 pan with cooking spray. Layer in about 1/3 of the sliced potatoes. Add a layer of 1/2 of the veggies. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the Swiss cheese. Repeat these layers and then top with the final 3rd of the potatoes. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper if desired.

Cut butter into thin slices and layer over the top. Combine the milk and cornstarch and pour over the whole dish.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Meanwhile combine the panko and Parmesan. When the 40 minutes is up, sprinkle with the panko/parmesan mixture and turn the heat up to 425. Continue to bake 10-20 minutes more till the topping is nicely browned and the vegetables are tender.

Calories per serving: about 210 (remember I don't really count the veggies, except for the potatoes).

Coconut Cream Parfaits

2010-02-27T09:14:00.010-05:00

Like coconut cream pie but faster. And yummy!

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
Coconut Graham Cracker Crust (the crust in this recipe), crumbled
1 cup vanilla pudding (prepared with skim milk)
1 cup whipped cream (homemade or store-bought)
1/4 cup coconut

Instructions:
Combine pudding with whipped cream. Fold in coconut.

Layer as follows in each of 4 individual dishes:

1/4 cup pudding
1 tbsp. crust crumbles
1/4 cup pudding
1 tbsp. crust crumbles

If desired, top with more layers and/or more whipped cream. Just note that the calories are figured for the layers as I've listed above.

Calories per serving: about 271

Happiness

2010-02-20T09:55:00.005-05:00

My little brother and sister in law recently had an anniversay and I made them this card. And they are going to be parents before their next anniversary of a sure to be adorable little girl and so I couldn't help representing her by the cute little face peeking out on the front.

Sausage, Feta & Corn Nachos

2010-02-06T09:05:00.005-05:00

I love these nachos but they're a little unusual. I combined several flavors I like together. Hope you'll give them a try and enjoy them.

Serves 1-4 (depending on you)

Ingredients:

Approx. 5.5 oz ground sausage, browned and drained
1/4 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
1/3 c. canned whole kernel corn, drained
1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese
1.5 oz. white cheddar (or whatever kind you like), shredded
Approx. 30 tortilla chips (I used blue corn chips because I like the way they taste, but use whatever kind you like)

Instructions:

Assemble however you like. I like to layer half of the chips and then half of everything else on top and then repeat. Bake at 425 for about 10 minutes till cheese is melted as much as you want it to be. Serve immediately.

Calories: about 760 for the whole thing or 380 if 2 servings and so on.

Cheesy Fingerling Potatoes

2010-01-30T09:59:00.008-05:00

I was hungry for some potatoes and had some tomatoes I wanted to use up and so I came up with this. Not super low calorie but not super high either. And pretty yummy. Hope you enjoy.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumble with a tiny bit (or more if you don't care) of bacon grease reserved
1 tbsp. olive oil
3/4 lb. fingerling potatoes, cleaned and halved lengthwise
1/4 c. chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
A pinch of coarse salt
Black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 c. grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 c. shredded swiss cheese
1/4 c. shredded white cheddar

Instructions:
Heat oil in a pan over med heat. Add the onions, garlic and potatoes and toss to coat with the oil. Season with salt, pepper and thyme.

Continue to cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Remove the potatoes from the pan and place in a casserole dish and drizzle with a tiny bit of bacon grease.

Add the tomatoes to the pan you were cooking the potatoes in and saute for a few minutes until tomatoes are cooked.

Combine the tomatoes with the potatoes and add the crumbled bacon. Toss with the cheese and bake in the oven at 450 for just a few minutes till the cheese is melted to your liking.

Calories per serving: about 280 if 2 servings, 140 if 4 servings

Unpleasantness

2010-01-23T10:12:00.008-05:00

I made this sign to explain some unpleasantness in my otherwise wonderful apartment so I don't have to explain it to guests every time they come over.

Money Gifts

2010-01-16T13:00:00.007-05:00

Several people in my family got some money gifts for Christmas this year and since I like every opportunity to create something this is what I put the money in before wrapping it. Get it?

My Favorite Family

2010-01-09T10:06:00.006-05:00

Yes they're my only family but they're awesome. I made this for them for Christmas this year. It's a scene of us all doing/reading things that had to with what we are currently involved in or have been in the past year.

Cupcakes for Christmas

2010-01-02T12:33:00.005-05:00

This year I made a variety of cupcakes for my coworkers. I gave everyone one of each: carrot cake, yellow w/ chocolate frosting, chocolate with pb frosting and coconut. And I found these great inexpensive cupcake boxes which were perfect!

Christmas Presents

2009-12-26T00:30:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone enjoyed what they got this year. In keeping with my tree and other decorations I wrapped everything in red, white or silver paper and ribbons and I love the way it looks.

My Tree

2009-12-21T00:25:00.006-05:00

I'm all for traditional Christmas trees. But so long as my mom has hers at home, I love love love my white tree in my apt. Hope everybody's enjoying the season so far!

Alfred Hitchcock

2009-12-12T16:02:00.000-05:00

I have been trying to think of something to decorate my new living room above my couch which until now has been a wide open white wall. And this is what I decided on - and I love it! I love movies and though I'd have a hard time picking one favorite movie, it's not hard for me to pick my favorite director, thus this collage.

I found pictures from my favorite 12 of his movies and put them together here. Can you tell what movies they are? And if you've never seen any of his movies look at the faces, hands, lighting, angles in these pictures. If only you could hear the music that went with each scene you'd totally want to see these. I don't think anybody's ever been better than he is at using all of those things to totally scare you. And by the way, the only comedy he ever directed is pictured here too.

30 Wonderful Flavors

2009-12-05T10:30:00.000-05:00

That's the phrase that kept running through my mind when I made this card for my amazing little brother's 30th birthday (note: the phrase is actually 31 derful flavors). I chose 30 pictures of things I have known him to enjoy in varying degrees but in no particular order, although I did purposely put his wife front and center for good reason :). I thought it turned out pretty cool.

Birthday Rain

2009-11-28T20:35:00.005-05:00

When we were little my older brother (who happens to be the funniest person ever) made himself a button that said "looks like we're in for some rain" and he would only wear it when it was actually raining. So when I didn't have any idea how to wrap the pretty umbrella we were giving my mom for her birthday I decided to make her this paper button and wrap it in a jewelry box and give it to her as a clue to the real gift.

More Cupcakes

2009-11-21T13:59:00.000-05:00

I did not make these cupcakes but did use them for the front & back of this card I made for my awesome sister-in-law's birthday. Aren't the they adorable? They're fitting for her because she is adorable too and she is so good with food decorating.

Corn & Potatoes

2009-11-15T14:28:00.000-05:00

This is the front and back of the card I made for my mom's birthday this year. Corn and potatoes are some of her favorite foods and they fit her because they are basic and simple, while she is calm and stable, but both are also important and wonderful. And the pictures of the corn and potatoes are beautiful (I think) without any embellishment, just like my mom.

And this is the card my sweet puppy made for her. Well, ok, I made it but he posed so well for this picture he must have known what it was for. And he loves my mom too!

Mushroom-Swiss Burger Pizza

2009-11-07T12:56:00.002-05:00

So I went grocery shopping the other day and bought some ground chuck. I started thinking about what I wanted to make with it and pizza popped into my head. But I wanted to try something new. That's when I got the idea to make a pizza that was reminiscent of a mushroom-swiss burger. It turned out really well and did remind me of said burger. Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it.

This recipe makes 1-12 inch or 4-7 inch pizza's.

Ingredients:

Pizza:
1-12 inch or 4-7 inch thin pizza crusts
swiss cheese sauce (see below)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound ground chuck
seasoned salt, to taste
1/2 - 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
pepper, to taste

Swiss Cheese Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
2 tsp. flour
dash salt
dash pepper
2/3 cups skim milk
3 ounces swiss cheese, cut into chunks

Directions:

Make the swiss cheese sauce: melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper quickly so that lumps do not form. Add the milk and cook and stir constantly until the sauce thickens and bubbles. Turn the heat down to low and add the cheese, stirring until the cheese melts. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Saute the ground chuck with the garlic, onions and seasoned salt until the meat is browned. Drain.

Layer the pizza as follows:
1: the swiss cheese sauce, leaving a little to drizzle over the top
2: meat mixture
3: mushrooms
4: swiss cheese
5: drizzle of remaining sauce
6: black pepper, to taste, if desired

Bake at 4:25 for 10-15 min. till the cheese is melted and the crust is crispy and golden. I like to broil it for the last few minutes.

Then cut into slices and enjoy.

Calories: for 12 in pizza = about 425 per 1/6; for 7 inch pizza about 730 per pizza. Note: I used Momma Mary's pizza crusts for the calories figured here.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T10:23:00.003-04:00

I made these for Halloween this year. They are supposed to be jack-o-lantern brownies. I mean, they are actually brownies:) It's the jack-o-lantern part I'm not so sure is clear.

Cauliflower Fritters

2009-10-10T10:00:00.007-04:00

I was inspired to come up with this recipe after seeing several different fritter recipes on another blog recently. If you hate cauliflower you might not like these, but if you can at least tolerate it I think you'll love them - I do. They are very low calorie and so good!

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups cooked cauliflower
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
Pepper, to taste
1 egg
1/4 cup skim milk
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

Mash the cauliflower (but should still be slightly lumpy).

Stir in the onion and garlic and season with pepper. Then stir in the egg and add the milk.

Once that is all combined stir in the swiss cheese. Add bread crumbs just until the mixture holds together enough to make balls that don't fall apart.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Then form the cauliflower mixture into approx. 1 inch balls and place on the cookie sheet. Spray again with cooking spray.

Broil 5-10 minutes until they start to get crispy and golden on top. Then enjoy!

Calories per fritter: about 15 (the cauliflower is not counted in these calories)

Fall Centerpiece

2009-10-03T11:45:00.001-04:00

Summer is my favorite season but fall is always exciting to me because it means "here come the holidays!" As I've said before I like very simple decorations and this is my fall centerpiece. I love the little white pumpkins and how simple and elegant I think they look in this vase.

Chicken & Cashew Pasta

2009-09-26T10:30:00.004-04:00

If you're in the mood for a very simple and quick but yummy dish here you go. That's the mood I was in when I made this.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked bow tie pasta
1 cup frozen broccoli stir-fry
1 cup chopped, cooked seasoned chicken breasts
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup cashews

Directions:

Serves 4.

Cook pasta al dente according to package directions and then drain.

Meanwhile, saute veggies over med heat for a couple of minutes. Then add the chicken breast, teriyaki and soy sauce. Saute a couple of minutes more until the chicken is heated through.

Stir in the cashews and pasta and continue to cook just until heated through. Serve.

See, easy and quick.

Calories per serving: about 385.

Dolphins, Divers and Charros

2009-09-19T14:30:00.009-04:00

For my favorite big brother's birthday this year I wanted to make him a card that kind of said who he is to me. So for the front and back designs I chose a few of the things I have known him to love throughout the years: The Big Blue (good movie and thus the reference to divers if you haven't seen it), dolphins, and the Spanish language.

Cities

2009-09-12T13:01:00.001-04:00

Los Angeles, Atlanta & Paris. I love cities - people everywhere, so much to do, great fashion, delicious food, bright lights, things happening!

I saw this idea somewhere (can't remember where now) using real clocks set to the current time in each place of your choosing. I really liked the idea but didn't want to buy 3 clocks so I made these.

They are all set to whatever time it is in that city at 7pm (when my favorite time of the day starts) in my present time zone. One is the wonderful city I grew up in, one is a city I visited and loved, and one is a city I'd like to visit but haven't yet. Guess which is which.

Now I just have decide to where to hang them :)

Cowboys and Cowgirls

2009-09-05T16:00:00.002-04:00

My parents just had their very happy 39th anniversary and I made them this card. Not because there is anything western about them but because all of us (their children) were giving them money to go to one of their favorite restaurants, Longhorn Steakhouse. Probably corny I know but I thought it was so cute.

And of course this is them from behind also which made up the back of my card. Don't they look so nice together? (I do want to note though that my mom is much thinner today than when this picture was taken).

Gemelli with Sausage and Tomatoes

2009-08-22T16:11:00.005-04:00

Yummy! I saw some low fat sausage in the store and wanted to try it. I came up with this dish and it was delicious.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound gemelli (or pasta of your choice)
12 oz. low-fat ground pork sausage
1 clove garlic
1-2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 cherry tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Serves 4 ( 1 & 1/2 c. /serving) -6 (1 c./ serving)

Directions:

Cook pasta al dente (according to pkg. directions) and drain.

While the pasta is cooking, brown the sausage with the garlic and mushrooms over medium heat until the sausage is cooked through. Soak up any excess grease from the sausage with a paper towel, but there won't be much with the low-fat sausage.

Turn heat down slightly and add cream and tomatoes and continue to cook for a minute or two. When pasta is done add to the sausage and toss till well combined. Remove from heat.

Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Calories per serving : about 475 for 1 & 1/2 cup, 340 for 1 cup

Coconut!

2009-08-15T19:59:00.015-04:00

I just made this cake for a church lunch a few weeks ago. I love coconut and this is one of my favorite cakes (although my mom's carrot cake is my all time favorite). It's the Coconut Cream Cake from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook (which I highly recommend if you're looking for a good cookbook, though it looks like it might be hard to find these days).

In addition to tasting so incredibly good, the nice thing about it is that even when, like me, you aren't a talented cake decorator, it still turns out great. The wonderful coconut hides any frosting flaws! Isn't it beautiful in a not perfect sort of way?

Vacation Silliness

2009-08-08T17:33:00.000-04:00

My older brother sadly could not join us on our annual vacation this year and we all missed him. I tell you that to explain why he is missing from this picture. I spared him the silly door tags (which identified each of our rooms) I made for the rest of us which is what this is a picture of, of course.

ALOHA!

2009-08-01T12:21:00.002-04:00

My family is coming for a visit. I live in a beach town and I decided to make this simple "sign" to welcome them made from several different beach pictures. I figure what says welcome to the beach better than "Aloha?" I put my sign on the first piece of furniture you see when you walk in my door. We'll see if they notice it :).

Mini BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

2009-07-25T18:29:00.000-04:00

Yet another mini sandwich (I like making them this way so I can have all the flavor without all of the calories ). I'd been wanting to try the onion strings for awhile and was hungry for bbq chicken too and thought of this sandwich which turned out to be very tasty. Hope you like it!

Ingredients:

2 seasoned cooked chicken breasts, shredded
1 cup balsamic barbecue sauce (I used the bbq sauce from this recipe)
8 whole wheat dinner rolls (45 cal each)
Onion Strings (from thePioneerWoman.com)
2 oz. white cheddar, grated

Directions:

Makes 8 mini sandwiches.

Marinate the shredded chicken in the bbq sauce for a couple of hours or overnight. Heat in a non-stick frying pan over med-low heat for a few minutes until heated through.

Meanwhile slice the dinner rolls in half and sprinkle 1/4 of the grated cheese over the top halves of each roll. Broil all halves in a 400 degree oven until the cheese is melted and the bottom halves are toasted.

Top each bottom half with 1/4 of the bbq chicken and desired amount of onion strings. Place the top halves (with the melted cheddar) on top and serve.

Calories per serving (2 mini sandwiches): about 350

The Many Faces of My Sweetie-Pie

2009-07-17T22:08:00.005-04:00

My dog is so cute I often find myself taking pictures of him. I've been in a collage-ing mood lately so I decided to assemble some of them together, showing him in some of his various adorable "faces:" going left to right, starting with top row, his wild face, his satisfied face, his sleepy face, his curious face, his silly face and his "I need some attention" puppy dog face.

Coconut Dipping Sauce for Chicken Fingers

2009-07-11T20:10:00.002-04:00

My mom and I came up with this tasty recipe a few years ago when we wanted something other than barbecue or honey mustard to go with chicken fingers. It's very simple to make. Hope you enjoy it.

This recipe yields about 3/4 to 1 cup.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. orange marmalade
2-4 tsp. water
2 tbsp. butter
6 tbsp. shredded coconut

Directions:

Melt the butter over med-low heat in a small saucepan. While that is melting blend 1/2 of the orange marmalade and water in a blender until combined. Add with the remaining orange marmalade and coconut to the melted butter and stir well.

Continue to cook over medium-low heat for just a minute or two to give all of the flavors a chance to meld and thicken slightly. Then remove from the heat and let cool slightly before serving (it thickens as it cools). If desired sprinkle a little more coconut on top before serving.

It's also good cold.

Calories per serving (2 tablespoons): about 100

Happy 4th! - Red, White & Blue Nachos

2009-07-04T19:29:00.005-04:00

In honor of the day I came up with these red, white and blue nachos, so yummy and I'll share the recipe here with you.

And while it's a little late for this 4th I wanted to let you know about a fun party idea for any patriotic holiday. Just invite a bunch of people and have them bring food with the qualification being that it is red, white or blue (you may want to add more qualifications unless you just want a bunch of desserts, which are the easiest red, white & blue things to come up with). But it's really fun when people get creative with it. These nachos would be great for example. I went to a party like this a few years ago and took two chicken pot pies, one with a blue crust, one with a red crust (food coloring of course), but sorry, no pictures.

Anyway, hope everyone has enjoyed this Independence Day!

Ingredients:

4 cups blue corn chips (about 40 chips)
1 oz. queso quesadilla cheese, shredded
1 oz. white cheddar, shredded
1 cooked and seasoned chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons chopped yellow onion (or more, to taste)
garnishes: salsa and sour cream (as much as you like)

Sauce:
1.5 tablespoons low fat sour cream
1.5 tablespoons salsa verde

Directions:
Serves 2-4 depending on how many you want to eat :)

Combine sour cream and salsa verde to make the sauce.

Layer as follows (or however you like):
1/2 of the chips, drizzled with 1/2 of the sauce
1/2 of the cheeses
1/2 of the chicken
1/2 of the onions
Repeat

Heat in a 425 degree oven until cheese is melted and everything is heated through about 10 minutes. I like to broil for the last few minutes. Top with salsa and sour cream if desired and serve.

Calories per serving (1/4): about 240, if using about 1 tbsp. sour cream as a garnish

Summer is here!

2009-06-27T21:00:00.001-04:00

This is my summer centerpiece which I understand may not be obvious to anybody but me. I know people tend to think of summer in bright colors. But the epitome of summer to me, the part that makes me love summer especially, is the sunny summer mornings on the beach, when the light is a crystal clear and almost invisible blue, the sand is bright white and the water is blue blue. Not the hazy yellow light, off-white sand and almost green-blue water of the afternoons. Don't get me wrong, I'll take a summer afternoon over any other afternoon of the year but there's just something especially perfect about the mornings. And this centerpiece to me says not cold and dark as I suspect it may to most, but bright and crisp and clean like a hot summer morning on the beach.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T15:12:00.001-04:00

This is the front of the card I made for my Dad this year. The peas refer to a story my dad told us when we were little so it won't mean anything to anyone outside of my family. But I really love the way it looks. And just a note here to say I really do have the best dad ever but here's wishing a happy Father's Day to all the other great fathers out there too!

Individual Honey Mustard Chicken Pizza

2009-06-14T18:16:00.008-04:00

As I mentioned in my last post what inspired me to make the chicken salad club sandwich was a store-bought pizza that I thought would taste better home-made. And I was soooo right, can't wait to make this pizza again. You may notice I don't like lots of cheese on my pizzas (other than the traditional pizza) so you may want to add more, but that will of course effect the calories. Here's my recipe.

Makes 1 pizza.

Ingredients:
1-7 in. pizza crust
Honey mustard sauce (recipe below)
1/2 cup seasoned cooked chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 slices center-cut bacon, fried and crumbled
Fresh tomato salsa (recipe below - sounds wierd on a pizza but delicious with this combo!)
2 tablespoons reduced fat cheese - your choice (I used parmesan and mex. cheese blend, my favorite combo of late)

Honey Mustard Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons prepared honey mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons light mayo
1 tsp. sugar (optional, mine needed it)

Fresh Tomato Salsa:
2 cherry tomatoes diced
2 tablespoons diced red onion
Salt, pepper and cilantro as desired

Directions:

Make the fresh tomato salsa by combining ingredients and set aside until ready to use.

Combine all ingredients for the honey mustard sauce. Spread over the crust, leaving a little bit for the top. Add the rest of your ingredients in whatever order you desire and then drizzle the remaining sauce over the top.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes or until the crust is crisp and the cheese is melted.

Calories per pizza: about 560 for the whole pizza, 140 per slice (1/4)

Mini Chicken Salad Club Sandwiches

2009-06-07T17:35:00.004-04:00

I had a chicken club pizza the other night (purchased from the store). It had honey mustard sauce instead of pizza sauce, chicken, tomatoes and chopped bacon. It was ok but I realized how much better it would be made from scratch. And in thinking about that I decided to try making a sandwich out of similar ingredients. This is what I came up with.

Makes 4 mini sandwiches.

Ingredients:
4 slices center-cut bacon, cut in half
4 whole wheat dinner rolls, split in half (the ones I used were 45 calories/roll)
1 slice reduced fat provolone cheese, cut into four pieces
Honey mustard chicken salad (recipe below)
1 small tomato (diameter to fit rolls), sliced

Honey Mustard Chicken Salad:
2 cooked and seasoned boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1/4 c. sliced water chestnuts, chopped roughly
1/4 c. light mayo
1/4 c. honey mustard
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions:
Fry bacon and then drain on paper towels, leaving a small amount of bacon grease in the pan. Toast all of the rolls on their bottom sides in the bacon grease over med. low heat. When they are toasted flip over and lay a piece of cheese on each of the top halves. Continue to toast until the cheese is melted as much as you want it to be.

While the rolls are toasting make the honey mustard chicken salad, combining all ingredients.

Layer 1/4 of the chicken salad on the bottom rolls of each sandwich and then top each with 1 slice of tomato and 2 half slices of bacon. Then top with the remaining rolls.

Calories per sandwich: about 200

Vacation

2009-05-31T17:32:00.008-04:00

I can't help but think of our annual family beach vacation when it starts feeling like summer. It's something I really look forward to all year and we've been doing it since I was 13 so I have lots of pictures and memories. I decided to make a collage so I scanned and uploaded a bunch of photos to photoshop.com, made the color blue pop (for the ocean of course) and then printed them all out. I was pleased with the results and love having so many memories in one visible place.

Happy Memorial Day! - Mini Fruit Tarts

2009-05-25T13:51:00.008-04:00

The frosting from a jello cake (a mixture of vanilla pudding and whipped cream) my mom makes is really light and delicious. So I got the idea to use it as an easy and tasty tart filling. And in honor of Memorial Day, this flag arrangement is perfect. It would of course work for the 4th of July too!

35 mini baked tart shells (I only used 24 for the flag arrangement)
1 cup skim milk (for the pudding)
1/2 of 1 small box instant vanilla pudding, made according to package directions
1 cup real whipped cream (or can use cool whip but the calories total will be different)
Fresh blueberries, raspberries, strawberries
Flaked sweetened coconut
Sugar
Simple Syrup

Directions:
Combine the prepared pudding and whipped cream. You can make this part ahead of time and refrigerate overnight or use immediately.

Fill each tart shell with about 1 tablespoon of the pudding mixture no more than an hour or two before serving.

About 45 min. before serving, hull and slice the strawberries in half and toss with some sugar. Set aside.

Make the simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar heated over low heat until the sugar has dissolved). Cool. Soak the blueberries and raspberries in the simple syrup (keeping the blueberries and raspberries separate).

A few minutes before serving drain the berries and top your tarts with the berries and coconut as desired.

Calories per tart (not including the crust as the calories for that will vary depending on the type you use): about 25

Mini Barbecue Burgers

2009-05-16T19:52:00.000-04:00

I don't think there are any better burgers around than my Dad's on the grill and I don't think you can replicate the flavor anywhere but on a grill. But sometimes an outdoor grill is not convenient so I wanted to come up with a way to add flavor and this was the result. The only problem is they are pretty crumbly, but as long you keep them mini and if you're careful with them, they mostly stay together. And they tasted sooo good so I wanted to share them with you. Plus, they're actually as good leftover after being frozen as they are fresh (which I have never found to be the case with a traditional hamburger).

6 dinner rolls (split in half)
1/2 lb. ground chuck
2 tbsp. finely chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. barbecue sauce (I used the balsamic barbecue sauce from this recipe)
2 tablespoons reduced fat mexican cheese blend
Black pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste - opt.)
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
4 slices reduced fat provolone cheese (each slice split into 3 dinner roll size pieces)
2 cherry tomatoes (sliced into 6 slices)
1/4 to 1/2 cup arugula

Heat a non stick frying pan or indoor grill over medium to medium-high heat.

Combine the ground chuck, onion, garlic, 1/4 cup barbecue sauce ,and Mexican cheese. Form into 6 equal sized hamburger patties. Fry on each side until cooked through.

While the burgers are frying, spray another frying pan with cooking spray, add the sliced mushrooms and saute until tender (you can use butter or olive oil but I didn't want the extra calories).

Spread each half of each roll with 1 teaspoon of the remaining barbecue sauce and then top each half with 1 piece of provolone.

When the hamburgers are done layer them on top of the provolone on the bottom roll of each sandwich. Then split the sauteed mushrooms between the 6 burgers and layer a tomato slice and a bit of arugula on top of the mushrooms. Top with the remaining rolls and enjoy.

Calories per burger: If the rolls used are 100 calories each, about 270.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T18:06:00.002-04:00

My mom is my best friend and a really great mother. I made her this card this year and thought it was really cute. I came up with a poem (which I've replaced with dashes here) and noticed it looked like a dress so I added the head and arms and legs. And please note that my mother is not short and chunky like the woman above. It is only meant to represent her generally. She is actually short but also thin and beautiful :)

Recipe Index

2009-05-03T17:57:00.047-04:00

(see below for picture credits)

Though this is a blog about all of my creativity, not just recipes I've created, I've been coming up with a lot lately so I thought I'd start an index. You can click on the category title to pull up all of the recipes in that category or on the individual recipe to just see that one. I'll put a link to this under the Categories section on the right side of the page and update it as I create new recipes.

Appetizer s
Blue Cheese Meatballs
Cauliflower Fritters
Mini Sausage Calzones
Ham, Bacon and Mushroom Quesadillas

Condiments
Coconut Dipping Sauce

Desserts
Mini Fruit Tarts
Coconut Cream Parfaits

Main Dishes
Blue Cheese Meatballs
Fried Potatoes with Turkey Kielbasa
Ham, Bacon and Mushroom Quesadillas
Mini Sausage Calzones
Potato Chili Casserole
Red, White & Blue Nachos
Sausage, Feta & Corn Nachos

Pastas
Chicken and Broccoli Pasta
Chicken and Cashew Pasta
Gemelli with Sausage and Tomatoes
Mushroom Lasagna

Pizzas
Balsamic Barbecue Chicken Pizza
Chicken and Bacon Pizza
"Greek" Pizza
Honey Mustard Chicken Pizza
Mushroom-Swiss Burger Pizza
Pesto Pizza
Veggie Pizza

Sandwiches
Chicken and Bacon Wraps
Fried Green Tomato BLT
Mini Barbecue Burgers
Mini Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches
Mini Chicken Salad Club Sandwiches

Side Dishes
Cauliflower and Cheese Casserole
Cauliflower Fritters
Cheesy Fingerling Potatoes
Fried Potatoes with Mushrooms
Vegetable Strata

Disclaimer: I list calories with each recipe I post but please note that they are my estimations (but pretty close) and my totals will not include vegetables in the recipe unless they are high calorie veggies such as corn. This is because vegetables are often very low in calories and the benefits outweigh any calorie concerns (in my opinion).

(The picture above is one a talented photographer friend of mine took of some grilled vegetables my mom and I did for a wedding we catered a few years ago. It just says "yummy food" to me. To see her website click here. And please note that this is a scanned version of her picture because I did not have the original file).

Fried Green Tomato BLT

2009-04-26T18:14:00.001-04:00

This is kind of my twist on a BLT. Several years ago I had a delicious fried green tomato sandwich at a coffee house where I grew up and went home and came up with my own recipe. But I just made it again recently and realized how I could make it so much better by making several adjustments and using bacon and arugula, hence the BLT. Note: I didn't toast the onion rolls for mine, I like them just warmed but if you prefer them toasted I'm sure that would be tasty too.

Makes 4 sandwiches.

Ingredients:

fried green tomatoes*

4 onion rolls (or any bread desired)

bacon mayo (recipe below)
4 slices reduced fat provolone cheese
1 cup arugula

Bacon Mayo - combine all of the following ingredients:

1/4 cup light mayonnaise (I used Hellman's)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
4 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
Black pepper (to taste)

While the tomatoes are frying, wrap the onion rolls in tin foil and heat in a 150 degree oven until warm.

Spread about 1/2 tablespoon of the bacon mayo on both slices of each warmed roll (so that's about 1 tablespoon per sandwich.)

Layer 3 tomato slices, 1 piece of cheese and 1/4 cup arugula in each sandwich and serve immediately.

*(I used this recipe from Martha Stewart except I omitted the salt and I used 1 tablespoon oil, about 1/2 cup of cornmeal and 2 tomatoes for the calories I came up with.)

Calories per sandwich: about 375

Potato Chili Casserole

2009-04-18T22:00:00.001-04:00

Another recipe using leftovers - chili this time. Be sure to use your favorite chili for this because the chili really is the star. And I hope that with all of my recipes you add or subtract whatever you like, they're all easily customizable. This one was fairly simple but I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium sized yellow potatoes
ground cumin, to taste
black pepper, to taste
1 & 1/2 cups thick beef chili
1/4 c. shredded mexican cheese blend (reduced fat)

Directions:

Serves 4.*

Preheat the oven to 375.

Heat the olive oil in a med-sized pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until tender.

Peel and slice the potatoes into very thin slices (using a mandolin slicer or by hand).

Arrange the casserole in a 9 x 13 in. pan coated with cooking spray as follows:

1. 1/2 of the sauteed garlic and onions
2. 1/3 of the sliced potatoes
3. Cumin and black pepper to taste
4. 1/3 of the shredded cheese
5. 1/2 of the chili

Then repeat again and top with your remaining 1/3 potatoes and cheese and more cumin and black pepper.

Cover with foil and bake at 400 for 20 minutes or till potatoes are tender. Then remove foil and bake for 10 minutes more.

*I say this serves 4 because while it is made in a large pan, the layers are very thin. Feel free to increase the layers by using more of everything. I just like to keep things low calorie.

Calories per serving: About 275.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:15:00.009-04:00

I made these cute little Easter Bunny sugar cookies for Easter this year. If you look closely you'll see I'm not the best at decorating with frosting but I thought they turned out cute anyway. I used mini marshmallows for the tails and little white sprinkles for the eyes. Anyway, hope everyone reading this has had a very happy Easter!

Easter/Spring Centerpiece

2009-04-02T20:53:00.002-04:00

As I've said before I have very simple decorating tastes. This is the centerpiece I chose for spring this year. The eggs are from Crate & Barrel a couple of years ago. And this will likely be the most colorful centerpiece I have all year :)

Mini Sausage Calzones

2009-04-02T19:43:00.015-04:00

I had some store-bought pizza dough and was hungry for calzones but didn't want too many calories so I made them mini. Here's my recipe if you want it. This makes about 7. They might not look mini in this picture because of the way I took it, but they're actually only about 1.5" x 3".

Ingredients:

Store-bought pizza dough
3 oz. ground pork sausage
1/4 cup sliced and roughly chopped mushrooms
1 slice yellow onion, chopped
1/2 clove garlic
1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons mozarella cheese
2 1/2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, plus a little more for sprinkling

Directions:

Brown the sausage in small pan over medium heat. Drain.

While the sausage is browning spray another pan with cooking spray and saute mushrooms, onions and garlic together until tender.

Roll out the pizza dough and cut out 7 rounds about 3" in diameter. I used a bowl that was the right size and cut around it with a knife, pretty easy.

Put about a tsp. of sausage on the right side but close to the center, leaving space on the edge, and top with about a teaspoon of the mushroom mixture on each of your 7 rounds. Add a little bit of the chopped pepper and about a teaspoon of each of the cheeses. Fold the rounds in half over the filling and press the edges together carefully. Place on a greased cookie sheet.

Sprinkle each with a little more parmesan cheesse and bake at 425 for about 10 minutes till golden brown.

Hope you enjoy! You might want to serve with a little pizza or marinara sauce, or even add some to your filling before closing, but I like them without it.

Calories per calzone: about 130.

Chicken and Bacon Wraps

2009-03-19T19:49:00.015-04:00

I had some leftover chicken after the bbq chicken pizza and came up with these yummy wraps to use it up. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 flour tortillas
8 slices center-cut bacon
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
2-3 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups cooked seasoned chicken breasts, chopped*
3 tablespoons (approx.) reduced-fat shredded cheddar

Herbed mayo:
1/4 cup light mayo
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
chopped cilantro (or other herbs) to taste
ground black pepper
hot sauce (just a dash if you don't want it spicy, more if you do)

Directions:

Wrap the tortillas in tin foil and heat in a 200 degree oven till warm.

Fry the bacon in a non-stick pan, then remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Leave a small amount of bacon grease (a teaspoon or 2) in the pan, swirling around to coat it. If the pan is too dry spray with cooking spray for more coating. (Or you can use more bacon grease or olive oil, but if you do the calories below will not apply.)

Add the onions, garlic and mushrooms and season with pepper (and salt if desired, but not necessary). Saute over medium heat for a few minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Add the cooked chicken breast to the pan and cook just a couple of minutes more till the chicken is heated.

Meanwhile, combine all of the ingredients for the herbed mayo in a small bowl. (I used Hellman's light mayo and Texas Pete Hot Sauce).

Remove the tortillas from the oven and spread each tortilla with about 1 tablespoon of the herbed mayo. Top each with 1/4 of the chicken mixture, 2 slices cooked bacon and about 2 teaspoons of the cheddar. Then roll up the tortillas and serve.

*Using leftover cooked chicken saves time, but you could use raw chicken if desired, just make sure to season and cook it with the veggies until it is cooked through.

Calories per wrap: about 350, not counting the veggies. For future and past reference I never count veggies in the calorie total unless they are high calorie vegetables, like corn for example.

A Nod to Martha on St. Partick's Day

2009-03-16T19:48:00.009-04:00

These are the magazine files that contain my years of saved Martha Stewart Living's (the inspiration for a lot of my unartistic creativity throughout the years). I'm not big into lots of colors, I like mostly black, dark brown, white, silver/gray and those are the predominant "colors" in my apt. But I have a few (very few) splashes of color here and there. And these magazine files from The Container Store are one of them and I love them! And since they are green I thought it was fitting to post this on St. Patrick's Day.