quick and easy Archives - Page 8 of 8

‘Lightened Up’ Apple & Snicker Bar Salad

Kim

This is one of those dishes that isn’t really ‘pretty’, but taste oh soooo yummy! I was wondering if anyone would notice the apples in yesterday’s What was it Wednesday! I saw versions of this all over the web, and first spotted it somewhere on Pinterest. Since I sorta winged this when I made it, I don’t have any particular person to give credit to.

For Mother’s Day, I decided I wanted needed a lighter dessert, but it still had to have chocolate. (duhhh!) This fit the bill, and would be great all during the summer. Speaking of, today is supposed to be 90 degrees with 93% humidity. Yep, bring on the hot sticky NC weather!

Lightened Up Apple & Snicker Bar Salad (it seems odd to call this a salad)

4 Apples of choice (I used Granny Smith and Pink Lady)

4 regular size Snicker Bars*

1 tub of Sugar Free Cool Whip (regular size, not large)

1 small box of Vanilla Sugar Free/Fat Free pudding**

1 cup skim milk (optional – see notes)

*I used Almond Snicker Bars b/c I can’t eat peanuts

Chop apples into bite size pieces. You can dip them in lemon juice to prevent browning, but they are going to be covered in cool whip so it doesn’t really matter. If you are going to pre-cut your apples like I did, you may want to do this just so they don’t look all yucky (technical cooking term). Chop your candy bars into small bite size pieces. This is easier if you have them nice and chilled.

In a large bowl, add your container of Cool Whip and your pudding (see notes). Fold in your apples, and candy bar pieces (reserving a few to sprinkle on top if desired.) Chill for about an hour (not really necessary if you are in a time crunch).

**NOTES: Learn from my experience….if you buy the SF/FF INSTANT pudding – you need to add 1 cup milk to your pudding mix first. Mix it together and then add to your Cool Whip. If you buy the SF/FF Cook and Serve pudding, you can just add that to your Cool Whip.

Oh yeah, and I chopped up a few Hershey’s Miniatures too, b/c it didn’t seem like enough chocolate. But it’s rare that I feel like I have enough chocolate. and it was Mother’s Day and all.

You can play around with the recipe and use whatever flavor pudding and fruits you like.

I also made an apple/strawberry version with chocolate pudding! I skipped the candy bars to reduce the calories, but it would be awesome with them! My girls love this.

I’m going to link this recipe up with these fab linky parties – , , , ,

London Broil

Kim

Yes, it’s actually a post about MEAT! It’s not something I’m very proficient at cooking, and mainly we eat some form of chicken…but since I have learned how simple it is to make , I think we will be having it more often.

This is a leaner cut of beef, and can be very tough and tasteless if not cooked properly. However, it is super simple to make a great meal with it, and it’s FAST – so it’s easy to do on a week night.

I use this….

Tones Canadian Steak Seasoning 28oz 794g

and following the directions on the bottle, I marinate the london broil in a gallon size baggie or a casserole dish. (All you need is the seasoning mix, water, oil and vinegar. I use olive oil and red wine vinegar.) Usually I will do this in the morning and leave it in the fridge all day until I’m ready to cook it. It can also be done the night before.

When ready to cook it – just place on a pan (I use a cookie sheet/baking pan with sides to it) and place under the broiler on high for 7-10 minutes. Flip meat, and broil on the other side for 5-10 minutes. The time varies on the thickness of your meat and how rare you like it. I think I usually have about a 2 pound steak and cook for abt 10 mins on one side and a little less on the other, so that I have it pink, but not bloody in the middle, and more well done on the ends (for the kids – they don’t like to see pink meat!)

kid’s plate – more well-done

my plate – medium

After broiling meat (which I usually don’t care for, but this is good and flavorful), let it rest for a few minutes so all the juices don’t ooze all out when you cut into it.

This is great plain (we had whole wheat cous cous, salad, and homemade bread – recipe to come!), but it also makes an awesome steak sandwich or salad topping, which is often what I do with leftovers.

So there you go….a quick, easy, fairly inexpensive meal, but very tasty! (I buy my meat from Sam’s Club and very rarely tenderize my london broil. However, a lot of recipes recommend doing that to prevent toughness, since it is a lean piece of meat. Use a meat mallot or rolling pin to pound your steak – I was going to say ‘beat your meat’, but that just makes me giggle b/c I have the mind set of an adolescent boy.)

The best part of this meal, other than being easy and delicious, is that my kids will eat it! (Except for Mr. Three….who, as you know, hates almost any “real” food)

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway going on right now for Cheerios! (Something my son will actually eat!)

I’m linking up today with , , , ,

Homemade Brownie Larabars

Kim

Do you eat ?

They are made only with fruit and nuts. And my favorites, of course, contain chocolate. When I saw over at Chocolate Covered Katie’s blog, I knew I wanted to give it a try. I found a large container of dates at Sam’s Club the other day, and decided it was time.

Homemade Brownie Larabars

from

1 cup walnuts
1 and 1/3 cups pitted dates
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 T cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Dark cocoa)
1/8 tsp salt (optional)
chocolate chips (optional) (of course I used chocolate chips! Ghirardelli 60% chips)

Blend all the ingredients, using a food processor, Magic Bullet, etc. Form into bars. (bars are sticky, so I placed in between waxed paper and shaped them into ‘bars’)

Verdict? They taste just like Larabars! Wholesome ingredients that are great for an energy boost or quick snack on-the-go. You can change up the nuts and add different fruits to make your own varieties of bars.

I’m linking this recipe up with at All the Small Stuff, @ 33 Shades of Green, @ iBlog4Me,Wow Me Wednesday at , , , , , , , , , , for Savory Sunday

Banana Ice Cream with Oreos

Kim

Yesterday I posted this pic –

and asked if anyone could guess what it is.

On Facebook I had a guess of “maybe a smoothie of some sort? With blueberries and chocolate??”

Excellent guess, but it was actually

Banana ‘Ice Cream’ with Oreos!

Yes, once again, I have taken something perfectly healthy and uhh….de-healthified it?

oops. my bad.

My kids wanted a treat, and I had frozen bananas on the brain since having an email conversation with another blogger who is preggars, and ‘enjoying’ all the crazy food obsessions and repulsions that come along with pregnancy. And yes, that conversation included the healthy banana.

For whatever reason, I had Oreos in my house. Which is such a NO.NO. Since I have absolutely zero will power. Anyways, I decided I would take the bananas we had in the freezer, blend them up and toss in a few Oreos.

My kids thought it was a delicious, decadent treat!

Oreo Banana Ice Cream

I used 3 frozen bananas

4 or 6 Oreos (sorry, can’t remember!)

1/2 T. cocoa (mainly for color – my kids eat anything chocolate)

and had enough to fill 3 ice cream cones, plus some leftover!

**Don’t throw away those over ripe bananas, just peel and stick in the freezer in a freezer bag. Then you can enjoy ‘ice cream’ whenever the mood strikes. Leave out the Oreos, and it can be completely guilt free!

Linking up with ,

Bubble Up Pizza

Kim

If you are popping over from Pinterest, Welcome to Makin’ it Mo’Betta! This is a popular recipe for good reason…it’s so easy to make, and kids love it! (At least mine do) Feel free to look around, and consider following me on any of my social media outlets for more easy recipes.

You’ve probably seen these casseroles floating around for a while – Bubble Up Pizza, Bubble Up Enchiladas, etc. I decided to give it a try since it was so simple to throw together, and totally kid-friendly! With the girls involved in so many activities in the evenings, I need meals that are quick and easy to get on the table. This is one we had when the hubs wasn’t home, since this is definitely not a low carb meal. (for a low carb pizza casserole, you could try this one)

(my original picture, I’ve added some newer ones!)

Bubble Up Pizza

2 cans (12oz) golden layer buttermilk biscuits (Pillsbury Grands! Jr)
1 jar (15oz) pizza sauce *I used this easy homemade sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese
your favorite pizza toppings – cooked sausage, turkey pepperoni, peppers, mushrooms *we had mini turkey pepperoni and Canadian bacon
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut biscuits into quarters and place in medium bowl. Toss biscuits with pizza sauce. Add pizza topping and half of the cheese. Toss until well blended. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Pour biscuit mixture into pan and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, or until biscuits are done.

Recipe Source:

Verdict? The kids loved this! I thought it was pretty good too, just not very calorie friendly. I think I’m going to try it with rolls (like frozen Rhodes rolls) next time and see how that goes. It would be less fat than the biscuits. I’ll let ya know! I mixed everything up before basketball practice, then baked it when we got home, so I had a hot meal on the table in about 30 minutes! We had a salad to go with it. Quick and easy!

I’m linking up today with , , , , , , , , – ingredient spotlight, canned biscuits/rolls/etc,

hump day hankerin’

Kim

On Tuesday I made a quick stop at grocery store. It’s pretty awesome compared to the grocery stores near my house, so I was like a kid in a candy store. Even my 9 year old was thoroughly impressed – but, she was a kid in a candy store…with the huge display of candies, chocolate covered goodies, etc. I picked up just a few items (and lunch) but they have sparked some serious cravings. And the best thing to do for cravings is SATISFY them – otherwise, you’ll obsess over them, consuming everything else in the house and still will be left with that unfulfilled yearning, that gnawing sense of NEED in the pit of your stomach…..oh….sorry, got carried away. That’s probably just me that OBSESSES over things. So anyway, back to my purchases. I picked up this lovely jewel –

I don’t even like tomatoes, but this one was so pretty i had to have it. I’ve got tomatoes on the brain b/c mine are not growing in the garden. Well, they are growing, but not very big, and not turning red. And then the stupid birds are pecking at them. I want red freakin’ tomatoes. See, that obsession thing again. I did get my first, perfect, red cherry tomato today – so I’m feeling a little less over the top about them not growing. Once again, I digress.

I found this gorgeous tomato and bought it thinking it would go into a pasta recipe I saw. (Which now I can’t find, otherwise I’d share). However, after looking at this tomato and my sister mentioning BLT’s, all I could think about was piling some bacon on this bad boy. So much so that I caved and made a special trip to the store with Mr. Two to get everything I would need for a mac daddy BLT. I should also mention that I have never eaten a BLT before. But I had a hankerin’. I’m pretty sure this is another Southern-ism

I guess I had a BLOT – since I added onion!

don’t ask me why it’s blurry in the middle

and can you believe my local grocery store ONLY had iceburg lettuce…that’s it! ugh!

Neither shot can do this sandwich justice. All I can say is….OH YEAH! It was that good.

And then I did something really mean…I hid the bacon so my husband wouldn’t eat it all, so that I can have another sandwich later. hmmm, better keep that quiet.

This was another purchase. It’s not nearly as pretty as the tomato, but for some reason I wanted it. It’s called ‘Morning Mix’, and is full of healthy sh…um, stuff. Oats (obviously), cinnamon covered raisins and apples, sunflower seeds, etc., etc. It looked very….healthy. So I bought it. and don’t know what to do with it. I’ve mixed it in some yogurt – that was good. I took some, mixed it with almond butter and mini chocolate chips for a snack – that was the bomb. But this morning, I really wanted MUFFINS!! So what did I do? I made muffins.

and added some mix to the tops of half. YUM. I made (again). Made my usual changes – 1/2 white flour, 1/2 wheat, made it “egg-free”, added a little extra lemon juice since I didn’t have any zest, and threw in a half of a peach I had left in the fridge.

I am also not a huge fan of peaches (surprise, surprise) so I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out.

but the combination of blueberry, lemon and peach worked. They were deee–licious. Unless you’re Mr. Two, who took one bite and pushed it away “not good”. I said “it IS good, it’s yummy and good for you, take a bite”. He said “NOOOOOO, no good”. and he ate Cheerios. and I ate his muffin.