Wildtree

My cousin had been talking about having a freezer party. It sounded like a good idea; prep food for busy times. The more I learned, about the company that she did the party through, the more I liked it. Wildtree wasn't just about prepping food, it was about healthy food. We all need help making healthy choices. We picked what bundle of spices we wanted to buy to make 10 recipes at the party with. We prepped meat and veggies for the party. At the party, we got our spices and measured everything out into the freezer bags. I'm in grad school and working full time. Fall is an especially busy time for me in both areas. I knew that I needed all the help I could get to make healthy choices. So, I was very excited for the freezer party.

Since then, I've been eating some tasty, healthy meals that are so easy to prepare. My favorite is the Mexican Chili, so good! Many of the products are also organic and gluten-free. I'm definitely making efforts to move to more organic eating.

Since, I have rheumatoid arthritis and often deal with swollen feet, I pay a lot of attention to sodium content. Thankfully, Wildtree's products have low sodium content and no weird preservatives.

Now, my cousin that introduced me to Wildtree is selling it, check it out: www.mywildtree.com/tessieriffel

Recipe #19: Blueberry Breakfast Grilled Cheese

I'll cut to the chase; these are as wonderful as they sound!

After a rough day, nothing sounded appetizing. Thankfully, I remembered the recipe a co-worker had shared with me for Blueberry Breakfast Grilled Cheese. For once, I actually had all the ingredients.

As always, I tweak recipes based on ingredients I have. I used blueberries covered in greek yogurt from my freezer. I sprinkled sugar on my cream cheese too. I don't have a sandwich press, so I just used a skillet. This was so good!

I was talking about this recipe with a friend while at the grocery store and it must've sounded good to the lady behind us in line, because she asked for details. :) We all started talking about other fruit combinations, like strawberries and/or bananas.

So, I dreamed up a banana and brown sugar mix. I tried it this morning and it was wow! The heat made the banana nice and gooey!

Try it, you know you want to! What other fruit combinations do you think would work well?

MasterChef

I absolutely love watching MasterChef! I love to cook and it's wonderful inspiration. There are several cooking shows that I watch, but this is my favorite by far. I think, I like it so much because most of the chefs are home chefs, not people who cook for a living. Their passion and skill level are always so impressive. It makes me want to cook more and get cooking lessons! So far, from this season the recipe I most want to learn to make is panna cotta. I definitely plan to cook more and make more impressive recipes. Here's a clip from today's episode: .

What's your favorite cooking show and why do you like it so much? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Recipes #14 and 15: Healthy Mac & Cheese and Frozen Blueberries in Yogurt

I've been meaning to try out a few new recipes, so check out these:
Creamy Greek Yogurt Mac & Cheese.
It was a really easy recipe.
Ingredients
8 oz. (about 2 cups) elbow pasta
8 oz. (about 2 cups) shredded cheese
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
2 cups fresh spinach
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
I didn't have elbow macaroni, so I used rotini. I also didn't have spinach, so I used peas (I love peas!).
Here's how mine turned out; probably needed more cheese. Otherwise, quite tasty.

Next, I tried this recipe for frozen yogurt covered blueberries. They did have a nice fresh sweetness. So, as you'll see mine didn't turn out as pretty; I tried. :)
Both recipes I found on Pinterest. Yes, I'm an addict! ;)

Has anyone tried any of the recipes I shared? I'd love to hear your feedback. Be brave! ;)

Recipes # 12 and 13: Italian Chicken and Chicken Avocado Patties

I read somewhere about marinating chicken with an Italian dressing packet. I marinated two chicken breasts with an Italian dressing packet overnight. I cooked them at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I think, next time I'd add some pats of butter and cook it for 35 minutes. It did have a nice flavor though.


Next, I tried a recipe I recently found on Pinterest; Chicken Avocado Patties. It was a very easy recipe and I really liked it.


The ingredients were ground chicken, an avocado, panko/bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper. It wished the recipe told how much salt to use since you can't sample raw chicken. I had to cook a few test them and add more salt twice. I used more than a pound of chicken. I probably ended up with at least half a teaspoon of salt.

First, I cut the avocado in the skin, added the bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and chicken.

After mixing it, I cooked them on medium heat in a skillet.

Here's the finished project; super yum! It would be really nice paired with some rice and mixed veggies.

Easy Berry Cobbler

This summer my parents and I grew blackberries. I love blackberries, but my parents aren't fans of the seeds, so I have a freezer nearly filled with blackberries. I've been using them in shakes. You know greek yogurt, skim milk, bananas, blackberries, and honey... Pretty much all those ingregients are my favorite on their own. Together they're so refreshing.

Well, I was invited to dinner at a friend's house. They said I could bring an appetizer, side, or dessert. It also happens to be the day before that friend's birthday and she just so happens to love berry pie. I realized I wouldn't have time to bother with crust, etc., so I decided on something easier; berry cobbler. For recipes, I of course turned to Pinterest!

I found numerous recipes and chose a very easy one. From there, I of course tweaked it. Don't I always?!

Here's the recipe:


At the store, I bought a mix of frozen blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. I used two cups of blackberries and two cups of the three berries. So, technically this is a quadruple berry cobbler. Some recipes mentioned adding tabs of butter and a cup of sugar. I added roughly six small tabs of butter to the finished product. I ended up using roughly eight ounces of soda. I also used roughly a tablespoon of sugar. I probably should've added the sugar when I only had the berries in the dish, but we'll see. I also slightly greased the pan. Some recipes said to cover with aluminum foil, so I compromised and added foil about 15 minutes in. It ended up needing to be baked longer than the recommended time; needed about 55 minutes total. So far, it smells delightful!

Yay, it was yummy! My friends enjoyed it and I left most with them. Looks tasty right?!

Pinterest Experiments #1 and 2: Part One

I'm actually really looking forward to trying some new things. Lately, I feel like I eat the same things all the time because it's easy and I've run out of ideas. My goal for my recipes is to use all the items I purchase; I am on a budget anyway. :) I should say that most of the Pinterest recipes I've tried in the past haven't turned out very well, but I'm willing to try again. I must be a glutton for punishment. :)

I'm also looking forward to trying something pretty with my nails!

Recipe #1: Chicken Salad Sandwiches



So, I changed up the recipe. I'm not a huge fan of grapes, so I used dried cranberries. I had whole almonds instead of slivers, so I used my food processor. I also used mayo instead of Miracle Whip, which I HATE!

The garlic powder was genius. I accidentally used garlic salt AND salt, so I just added more of everything else to even it out. The garlic was a tasty touch. I'm definitely making this again!

Recipe #2: Honey Lime Shrimp



So, I should've added more honey. Despite marinating about an hour as suggested, the shrimp weren't all that flavorful. Maybe I should've marinated it overnight.

Well, these two recipes made for an interesting dinner combo tonight. :)

Next on the menu, several cabbage recipes.

Follow me on Pinterest: Myranda Kimble's Pinterest

Trying Something New

In addition, to my new endeavor to go to bed early. I've decided to try out something new from Pinterest every week. Anyone brave enough to go through this journey with me? I'll be chronicling my journey right here, complete with pictures. I'll try out work out suggestions, make up, hair, style, nail ideas, recipes, other tips, etc. First post coming next weekend. Anyone excited? I sure am!:)