Bacon Popovers

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe on here, so I thought that's what I'm going to blog about today. Popovers are super easy, super inexpensive, and super yummy. As some of you might know, I'm trying to go vegetarian. It's a slow process but so far I've been red meat free for over a week and pork free for a few days. My biggest challenge is going to be going poultry free (I love me some chicken).

Okay, so these are bacon popovers...you can use bacon or turkey bacon or leave the bacon out and add in veggies (onion and green pepper might be nice).

Bacon Popovers

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 slices of bacon (cooked and crumbled)

shredded cheese of your choice (cheddar is yummy)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray your muffin tin with some nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl mix your eggs, milk, and vegetable oil. Add in your flour, salt, bacon, and cheese and mix until everything is combined. Yeah, I know I didn't tell you how much cheese to use. I use a handful or two (we like cheese) but maybe you don't love cheese as much as I do so only use a handful. Pour the batter into your muffin tins and bake for 25-30 minutes.

***tip*** Sometimes I cook 4 pieces of turkey bacon (in microwave for crispiness) and use 3 in the batter and after I pour the batter in the muffin tin, I take the 4th piece of bacon a crumble it on top of each popover.

***tip***When they're done in the oven I usually pop them out of the muffin tin so they don't stick. They usually come out with no effort but every now and then I get a stubborn one and have to go around it with a knife.

These are great for breakfast on the go! I put them in a freezer bag and freeze them. When you want one, pop it in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. You usually can't eat just one.

Yummy Cocktails

There's just something about cocktails that makes you feel all relaxed and sophisticated while drinking them...sometimes. Sometimes you're dying a thirst and you're crazy waiter (who happens to talk to himself) won't bring you enough water but happens to make this delicious concoction and can't bring it to us fast enough. That was my experience with this cocktail down in Jamaica.

After asking what was all in this yummy little piece of Heaven, I attempted to recreate it at home. All you need is some pineapple juice, sweet and sour mix, peach schnapps, and some champagne (we brought ours back from Jamaica).

I've never been one to measure out my alcohol, I always go by taste. The trick is to make it not taste like alcohol! This is how I made mine: In a big 'ol wine glass pour in some peach schnapps (I say a shot worth maybe two) and then a shot or two of pineapple juice, a splash of sweet and sour, and then a shot or two of champagne. Stir it all up and enjoy. If it tastes too much of one ingredient...add some more of another. This drink is so refreshing and yummy, it's almost like you're drinking your juice for breakfast :)

This picture was taken in the morning after our drinks (Nathan let his go to waste, but it gave me a photo op) and you can see where the pineapple juice has settled. This reminds me, don't forget to shake your can of pineapple juice!

Another delicious drink we had in Jamaica is called a Shark Bite...okay okay it's a shot. Being a girl who does not do shots, and being able to do 4 of these in a row is a big deal. They're delicious and sooo pretty. I tried to make my at home version with my friends for Girl's Night, but they kept coming out green instead of blue so I'm going to have to work on it some more before I get it just right. Once I do, I'll be sure to share with you!

Simple Tips

Every now and then I come across a simple solution to a problem I've had. It's funny how hard you can stress out about something, or totally ignore things because you either don't know how to fix it or don't want to bother with it.

The other night my family and I wanted dinner and we had nothing to make (I hadn't gone to the grocery store yet). The only thing I had were random food items. Well, I wanted tuna noodle casserole! I had some tuna and some pasta. I checked dozens of recipes for tuna noodle casserole and turns out I needed more ingredients than what I had. A lot of them called for cream of mushroom. I didn't have that or cream of chicken or anything. I was getting upset and was about to tell Nathan to hop in the car and go to subway but I decided I was going to invent my own tuna noodle casserole. I started boiling my random pasta and in another pot I sauteed some onion and then added chunks of Velveeta with some milk. After that melted down it looked too runny, so I added in some sour cream that was going to expire the next day (which reminds me, I need to throw that out) and it made it a creamy texture. I flaked my tuna then added it to the cheese along with celery salt and pepper. After my pasta was cooked, I threw it into my cheese mixture and mixed it up then I threw it into an 8x8 dish and sprinkled some bread crumbs on top. I popped it into the oven for like 15 minutes. It looked like tuna noodle casserole and smelled like it but the true test was to see if it tasted like it...and it did! I was so proud of myself!

Simple tip #1...Make do with what you got!

So I see a lot of recipes that call for some sort of wine. I stay away from them because I know nothing about cooking with wine and I just am afraid I would mess it up. The recipe might sound delicious but as soon as I see "white wine" in the ingredient list...I freak out and pass it by. Turns out there is an easy solution if you don't have wine or just don't want to use it...try using chicken stock. Apparently it has the same result as using wine...and it's a lot cheaper!

Sometimes my washing machine gets smelly. I'm assuming it's from having water in it all the time and then not being able to air out (I always keep the lid closed). All you need to do to get rid of the smell is fill up the washer with warm water and pour in 2 cups of white vinegar. Let it stand for about an hour and then run the cycle as you would a normal load of laundry.

Simple tip #2...Keep vinegar on hands. It's an amazing cleaning agent, keeps ants out, and can be used to cook!

My mother drinks water like it's going out of style. She complains about hauling the heavy box of plastic water bottles at the store. You have to pick it off the shelf then put it in your cart, then lift it out of the cart so the clerk can scan it...then you put it back in the cart, then put it in your trunk....then haul it inside your house. It's a pain in the butt when you have lots of groceries and water bottles, etc. I know all of you know what I'm talking about...first off, stop buying bottles of water! Go buy a nice reusable bottle...one that matches your personality! Once that happens, you'll save the Earth from plastic bottles and keep more money in your pocket! This tip can be used for coffee drinkers as well. Stop buying coffee on the go, and bring your own in your own reusable mug. They even have these super awesome ones at wal-mart right now. I believe if you bring in your own mug at some coffee shops (Starbucks) they'll give you a discount.

Simple tip #3...Stop destroying the Earth by doing easy, simple things like buying reusable bottles.

If you're counting calories or would like to start, this tip is a must! I'm sure you've read to keep a food journal, well that doesn't work for me. I usually loose the paper that it's on or make so many scratches and marks on that I have no idea what I've written. I use a huge dry erase board and keep it in my dinning room (that's attached to my kitchen). I can write down what I've eaten and how many calories everything is, what time I've eaten, etc. If I need to add or subtract I can easily erase it with my handy dandy cloth. It keeps me motivated...because I don't hide it from company. They think I'm crazy, but I don't care.

Simple tip #4...Invest in a dry erase board. You'll get many uses out of it (counting calories, keeping your daily schedule, playing hangman, art board for the kids).

Shopping is inevitable. You're going to have to buy things...but you should never buy things without planning for them! Always make a list...whether it's for groceries, things you've run out of like shampoo, or an ongoing list of things you'd like to have but are not willing to pay full price (this is a good tip when shopping on ebay or craigslist). After making your lists and knowing what stores to hit...don't forget to print your coupons! I have stores on my facebook just so I know when a sale is going on or I can print a coupon! If you want to buy some cereal, google your favorite brand and see if they have a coupon you can print. Why not take an extra 3 minutes to search for money saved?!? It's a no brainer. Signing up for free rewards isn't a bad idea either. You can make a free email account and use that solely for free rewards.

Simple tip #5...Save money when you can.

If you have any simple tips for any aspect in life...let me know. Never hurts to help out some friends.

Veggies vs Animals

For the past few weeks I have been flirting with the idea of becoming a vegetarian or even a vegan. I want to start eating healthy and I don't really see how eating a slab of beef is being good to my body. I'm trying this whole "green" thing and I feel vegetarianism is just part of it.

I remember I tried being a vegetarian for one year while in college. I did it, although my reasons for doing that wasn't to help the Earth and save animals and make my body into a lean, mean, leaf eating machine. Basically, I didn't want to eat the nasty food they served in the dorms. I didn't really change my eating habits either...I just ate other crap that didn't contain meat.

If I start this, I want to do it the right way. I want to eat food that is healthy and looks beautiful and makes me want to eat it! I want to incorporate those weird ingredients that they have in health food stores (and even at Wal-Mart). Flax seed...what's that? I don't know but I want to eat it along with tofu, whole grains, hummus, and organic foods. I want to cut out salt,sugar, and other overly processed crap! I feel so guilty when I put this crap in my body (even though it tastes good) and I know it does nothing for me but makes me fatter!

I know this is going to be a challenge. I've always been a meat and potatoes kind of girl so I'm going to have to learn how to love eating veggies and learn to try things I've never tried before. And somehow I'm going to have to get Nathan on board with me!

I have some motivation lined up. There are a couple of books I want to get (I'm too cheap to buy them new so I'm looking at second hand shops and the internet) and a couple of DVD's I plan on renting through Netflix. I'm sure I can always call up my friend Jenny who has been a vegetarian for a long time and give me some advice and recipes. If you have any advice, recipes, questions, concerns, comments...please let me know! I'd love to hear it.

900 Mile Journey

Just a few days ago my daughter and I made the 900 mile journey back to our hometown. It was sort of a last minute trip. With that being said, I didn't save up any money because I honestly didn't think we would be visiting so soon. I had to make up a game plan in order to keep our travel expenses under a certain amount of $$$.

The day before leaving, I did all the laundry and ran all the errands I needed to get done (pay bills, get awesome wine for girl's night, make my brother homemade laundry detergent, etc). In the evening, I gathered up all my clothes and Emma's clothes and took them downstairs. Nathan is working, so he couldn't come with us so we wanted to spend some time together. While he was on the couch relaxing and watching a movie, me and Emma were packing our bags right next to him. Put your bags right next to the door so you don't have to haul them threw the house. Packing the night before saves time!

One thing that we spend too much money on while traveling is food. New York's interstate systems has these convenient plaza's where you just pull over and you can get gas and they usually have a few different places to eat in them. Super convenient but super pricey. Even the McDonalds in these plaza's are crazy expensive. So I decided to pack our meals. I made some peanut butter jelly sandwiches, packed some homemade muffins, threw in some chips and marshmallows, and we also had some drinks. I just used a big lunch box, but if you have a large family I would use a cooler. This was going to cover a morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack.

I decided I was going to attempt to wake up early (I'm not a morning person) the morning of our long drive. Originally I planned to wake up at 7am, well Nathan's alarm went off at 4:30am and it woke me up and then I debated with myself for 30 minutes whether or not I should get up or go back to bed. I got up and moving at 5am! I took a shower and got ready, finished packing the toiletry bag, and made myself and Emma breakfast. I ate my breakfast then woke Emma up, got her dressed and while she was eating her breakfast I was loading the jeep up with our bags. We were buckled in and pulling out at 6am! I totally saved time by multi-tasking!

On the interstate we go, and unfortunately we have to fill up. You really can't save money at the pump. If you can, please let me know! Here's a tip...don't speed! You don't have to stress out about being pulled over and you'll save money because you won't have to pay for that speeding ticket. To save time, everytime we made a stop (to get gas) we would take a bathroom break as well. Even if you don't need to go right then...just try because nothing is more annoying then getting back on the road and an hour later someone in the vehicle having to go to the bathroom. We also saved time by not having to eat breakfast or lunch at a restaurant, or having to pull over to get snacks!

Emma and I did spend some money on food. We stopped at Wendy's and spent under $8 for dinner. It was also nice to get out of the Jeep for a little while and stretch. I made use of our stop and called my parents and let Nathan know where we were at and I also filled up for the last time during our trip!

I noticed that I wasn't tired like how I usually get when I leave the house at my usual 8:30-9am time. Normally after I eat dinner while being on the road, I'm done for...we have to pull over and spend the night in a hotel. Not this time! I think waking up early is the way to go. I recommend waking up early for long trips. You're capable of longer driving time! Our 900 mile journey took 16 hours! 1 hour was spent with stops. I think that's pretty amazing!

I just wanted everyone to know what I do during my long trips (that I take every 3 months...maybe you should start coming up to see me) and tell you how I try to save time and money. The best tip is to have a game plan that fits your needs. Happy traveling!

The "D" word

Oh, the dreaded "D" word! How I hate to say it. No it's probably not the word you're thinking of. My "D" word is DIET! See, as soon as you say it, you roll your eyes. Dieting is not fun and honestly I don't know why people torture themselves trying to do it. Most diets that people go on are fad diets. Ones that aren't realistic or healthy, they might bring you good results for the first few days but as soon as you quit your diet, you gain your weight right back.



We all know losing weight is hard. It's a lot easier to put a few pounds on than it is to lose those few pounds. I believe the trick is knowing how we handle our relationship with food and changing the bad ways into good ways. Now, I'm no professional when it comes to weight loss but I would like to lose a few pounds. I'm going to tell you about my changes with food and let you know the results.



EAT BREAKFAST. If I plan on working out in the morning, I need to have some fuel in my body. Not eating anything for 12 hours and then attempting a workout is not going to happen for me. I'll pass out. If the thought of eating before a workout sickens you...eat afterwards. My breakfast of choice is quick-cooking oats with a little cinnamon (150 calories).



DRINK WATER. In a previous post, I talked about drinking 64 ounces of water. I find that if I measure it in a pitcher and keep it in the fridge, I drink more because it's colder. I also think that sometimes I go raid the fridge and cabinets because I think I'm hungry, but in actuality I'm just thirsty. I hope the water will make me feel full.



WORKOUT. You can't expect to lose weight by doing no kind of physical activity. I don't believe you have to go to the gym to get a great workout. I do a couple of different aerobic walking DVDs, I use Ab Ripper off my husband's P90X DVDs a couple times a week, and I also go on 2 mile walks in the evening (not every night), and when I'm cooking meals I have the radio on and dance to it. Do whatever works for you.



SMALLER PLATE. My mother has done this trick for over a year. Put your food on a smaller plate. Load that small plate up and it will look like you're eating a lot of food, but you're actually eating a smaller portion than if you put it on your normal sized plate. Also, don't go for seconds and thirds. I have trouble with this! I like to eat til I'm full so I'm going to try eating slower so my body will have time to know it's full. I'll let you know how this works for me.



EAT SNACKS. Besides eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, eat a snack. I usually start getting hungry around 3:30pm. I have a big sweet tooth, so I usually crave something bad for me. I started making my own popsicles (recipe in an earlier post) and they seem to hit that sweet spot. They're healthier and take a while to eat since their frozen. If you're not into popsicles, try to make your favorite snack into a healthier version.



STOP EATING AFTER DINNER. Another huge problem for me is wanting to eat a couple hours after finishing dinner. Half the time, I'm not even hungry. I'll be watching TV and think "hey a bowl of cereal sounds good." I need to learn after dinner the kitchen is closed! I think this will help me tremendously. I even told Nathan that we need to help each other out with this, and it's okay for him to yell at me if he hears me in the kitchen.



I'll keep everyone posted about my progress and if I find a new trick that works, I'll let you know. Wish me luck! Let me know what's worked for you in helping you lose those unwanted pounds! Or come clean and let me know what your weaknesses are and together we can help each other succeed!