Healthy Egg Salad Sandwiches

I am not a huge fan of eggs or mayonnaise but I really liked this sandwich. The Greek yogurt cuts way back on the calories and it tastes really great. Makes a really fast, easy, dinner or lunch.

12 large eggs, boiled and peeled

2/3 cup low-fat Greek yogurt

2 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 1/2 tsp. dried dill weed

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cut each egg in half and place in food processor bowl. Pulse 10-12 times until eggs are broken up into small pieces, being careful not to overdo it and puree the eggs. (Or, chop the eggs with a knife.) In a separate large bowl, use a fork to whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, dill, salt, and pepper. Add the chopped eggs and mix lightly with the fork until well combined.
 

Eat it as a sandwich with a good roll, or on a bed of lettuce, or with a tomato flower (slice wedges. starting at the top, in a tomato without cutting all the way through to the bottom. The wedges will fan out to make a flower like shape)

Caramel Chex

This can be made with either Chex cereal or with Crispix cereal. It has A LOT of butter in it but I suppose as long as you don't eat it every day it shouldn't be too bad for your hips! I meant to take a picture but my kids ate it too fast. I got the recipe here and she has great pictures. I didn't change anything in this recipe.

Ingredients:

 

2 small boxes of Crispix or Chex Cereal

2 cups of butter

2 cups of brown sugar

½ cup Light Karo syrup

½ tsp Vanilla

½ tsp Baking Soda

 

Instructions

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan.
2. Add brown sugar and bring to a boil.
3. Add Karo syrup, vanilla and baking soda.
4. I put the cereal in a large bowl then pour mixture over the top and stir.
5. Then pour into a brown paper sack.
6. Microwave for two minutes and shake.
7. Microwave again for two minutes and shake.
8. Spread the Crispix onto wax paper and let cool.
9. Enjoy!

Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Soup

  

My mom recently gave me a big Ziploc bag of leftover rotisserie chicken pieces from a family gathering. I'd seen this recipe on Pinterest so I thought it would be a perfect way to use up some of that chicken. I loved the flavor of this soup! I did change it some to meet our needs. I doubled the recipe and next time I plan on increasing the vegetables even more (this version shows the doubled amounts and an increase in veggies and is how I plan to make it next time) since I wanted it to be a bit more hearty.We will definitely be making this soup again soon!

Ingredients

4 garlic cloves, minced

6 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 yellow onion, quartered

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

8 cups chicken stock, store-bought or homemade

2-3 cups leftover shredded chicken or 1 pound cooked and cubed chicken breasts

1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme*

1 teaspoon dried rosemary*

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper

2 cup water

2 cups baby spinach

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Toss the vegetables in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
3. Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a large stockpot. Add the chicken, herbs, and salt and pepper. Cover and cook while the vegetables are roasting, about 15 minutes.
4. Add half the vegetables to the soup, and place the other half in a blender. Make sure to put all of the onions quarters into the blender. Puree the vegetables with the 2 cups of water.
5. Add the vegetable puree and baby spinach to the soup. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the spinach is wilted and the soup is hot. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

I left out the rosemary and thyme. I didn't have rosemary and I don't like thyme. I thought the flavor was still really great without those two ingredients but I listed them here in case you want to add them. 

Original recipe can be found here.

Applesauce Cake

You know that nostalgic life view where children come home from school to fresh baked cookies? Well, this is what I remember coming home to most often. And it always made my day! Please note that this makes a SHEET CAKE size cake. So you may want to half the recipe and do it in a 9 X 13 pan if you don't want that much!

Ingredients:

2 cups of sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup shortening
1 qt. applesauce
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp allspice
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
4 cups flour
chocolate chips

Mix well and add chocolate chips to the batter. Pour onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Cool and then frost with vanilla or butter cream frosting.

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp. minced garlic
8 cups beef broth
2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce, OR basalmic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Thyme (optional, I don't like Thyme so I always leave it out)
 Swiss cheese slices 1/2 tsp

Directions: In a large pan saute onions and garlic in one cup of the broth. Cook until the broth is completely evaporated and onions are caramelized. They should become a nice brown color without becoming burned. This is the step that gives the soup such a nice flavor.

Meanwhile, add broth, worcestershire, salt, pepper and Thyme (if using) to a crockpot. Add caramelized onions and cook on high for 4 hours or on low 8 hours.

Just before serving ladle soup into individual dishes and put a slice of cheese on top. Then either microwave for about a minute until cheese is melted or if you're using oven safe dishes you can put them in the oven for a few minutes. Also, it really is best to use swiss cheese. I ran out and tried cheddar instead on a couple and they weren't as good. Since this is really more of a broth it wouldn't be enough to be considered a main dish. I served this with grilled cheese sandwiches. Everyone in the family really liked it!

Mexican Fried Rice

 

 

Ingredients

2 cups long grain white rice (I used basmati rice)

4 cups vegetable stock or any stock of your choice

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 cup chopped colored bell peppers

1/2 cup sweet corn kernels

1 can stewed tomatoes (diced is best, but you can chop up larger tomato pieces)

1 can black beans *

1 can diced green chillies

1 Tbsp. taco seasoning

1 tsp red chill powder, Optional

Salt to taste

1/3 cup canola oil

 

* My picture doesn't show the black beans but I do like them. When I made this batch we were having friends over for dinner who don't like beans so I left them out. 

 

**I like it a little spicier so I do add a can of Rotel. 

 

Directions:
Rinse the rice really well. This is important so the rice doesn't clump. Then cook the rice in the 4 cups of broth. I use my rice cooker, but you could do it on the stove if you have mad rice cooking skills (I don't....hence the assistance of Cuisinart!) It's best if you do the rice ahead of time because it needs to be cold before you add it to the rest of the ingredients. I usually refrigerate it overnight. Warm rice will clump.

Then add the oil to a frying pan and saute the garlic, onion, and peppers. Add the tomatoes (if they aren't diced you'll want to chop them up a bit) and the corn, chilies, and black beans. Then add the salt and spices and fry for a bit, stirring occasionally.