Fresh & Healthy

  • Super Easy Way to Make Hard Boiled Eggs

    I am all about finding ways to help make cooking even more efficient in our household.  Our refrigerator typcially has a carton with hard boiled eggs in it for making a quick egg salad sandwich, to stick in a smoothie, make deviled eggs, salad topping, or many other uses we find for it.  Several years ago my husband started putting the eggs in the steamer to hard boil them.  I LOVED it!  It is super easy and my eggs don’t crack (once or twice an egg has cracked if it already has a weak spot or was knocked when put into the steamer)!

    Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs

    • Eggs
    • Steamer
    • Water

    Stick the eggs in the steamer (we usually do between 10 to 12 eggs depending on how many we have in the carton).  Fill the water level up to high.  Steam for 25 minutes.  Once it is done steaming remove the lid and allow eggs to cool.  You can run cold water over them if you need them to cool quicker.  Use hard boiled eggs or place back in the carton to use for later.

    If you come to our house and open up an egg carton you may encounter something like the picture above.  I make sure to mark the eggs that have been hard boiled with an “X” so anyone that wants to grab an egg whether regular or hard boiled it is easy to decipher which ones are which.  This especially comes in handy with kids who like to help in the kitchen! 🙂

  • Phillycheese Steak Sandwich

    Jake made this meal for us a little while ago.  I love his Phillycheese steak sandwiches.  They are delicious!  This time around he did a Phillycheese steak sandwich with a side of freshly sauteed vegetables.  Do I need to mention how much I love it when he cooks? 🙂

    Phillycheese Steak Sandwich

    • 1 pound thinly slice Beef Steak
    • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
    • 1/2 medium Onion (thinly sliced)
    • 8 ounces Fresh Mushrooms (thinly sliced)
    • 1/2 cup shredded or 4 slices Provolone Cheese
    • 4 Hoagie Buns

    Trim off any extra fat from the beef and cut the meat into thin slices.  Set aside.  Heat oil on medium-to-high in a large frying pan.  Add onion and season with salt and pepper, stirring occasionally.  In a few minute (about 5) once the onions have softened and started turning brown add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until they are slightly browned.

    Move all the vegetables to one side of the pan and add in the meat and cook for a few minutes until it is no longer pink.  Divide the meat and vegetables into 4 equal piles.  Spread the cheese evenly across the 4 piles of meat and let set aside for a moment.

    Slice each hoagie bun and set on a plate.  Transfer a pile of meat with a spatula to each hoagie bun and serve immediately.

  • What To Do With 25 Pounds of Fresh Organic Carrots

    A few months ago I found this 25 pound bag of Fresh Organic Carrots marked down to $2.99 at our local Ingles store.  Yippee!!!  I checked to make sure all the carrots looked fresh and good.  I was super excited because our family loves carrots, these looked great, and having a big bag could be beneficial for several recipes over the next few of months.  We counted the carrots and if I remember correctly there were 76 large (some very large) full size carrots in this bag.

    What did we do with all the carrots?

    • Eat It – we ate them raw, in salads, dishes, cooked, and a variety of other great ways (our kids love munching on raw carrots or really anything with carrots in it)
    • Share It – we gave several bags of carrots away to friends and family to use in their cooking too.
    • Feed It – since we have goats they enjoyed a lot of delicious carrot treats over the next few months.

    A bowl of fresh sliced carrots

    How did we store all the carrots?

    After scrubbing, washing, and drying the carrots we did a number of different things with them:

    • Dehydrated Carrots – we sliced up a dehydrator full of carrots to use in soups, stews, and as treats for the goats.  The goats LOVE crunchy dehydrated carrots as a snack!
    • Frozen Carrots – some of the carrots we sliced up or shredded then put into Ziploc bags in the deep freezer to use for future recipes.
    •  Fresh Carrots – we used some right away for various recipes, ate raw carrots, and stored them in the refrigerator.  We put the carrots in a drawer with other vegetables and our BluApple to help keep them fresh longer.

    Tray full of sliced carrots ready to be dehydrated

    Dehydrating 5 trays of sliced carrots – these are very good in soups and the goats love these as a special treat!

    The carrots were still really fresh and I didn’t have to throw any out.  These carrots lasted for several months frozen and dehydrated.  Even though it is a lot of work when you get a big bag (25 pounds) up front the benefits will last a long time so it can be really worth it.

  • Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals

    Packing up a lunch for the kids

    The girls get out of school on today for Christmas Break!  It is hard to believe that today is their last day of school of 2012.  They will start back up shortly after New Years Day 2013!  This year has flown by so quickly.  I have so much to be thankful for this year.  It has been a year packed full of amazing memories, while there were some tough moments and days, the blessings far outweigh the inconviences.

    Lunch Box Meal

    • Hotdog in a Bun
    • Fresh Kiwi (fresh our friends Kiwi tree!)
    • Fresh Carrots
    • Guacamole Chips
    • Small Bag Flavored Marshmallows
    • Homemade Christmas Candy Pieces (with Sprinkles of course)
    • Wild Cherry Juice Bag

    Hot Dog in a bun

  • Snowman Pizza

    Snowman Pizza

    Cool days, Christmas approaching quickly, and pizza just seem to go together really well.  During the Holidays the girls always hope for snow.  I can only remember one Christmas since my time in South Carolina where it actually snowed on Christmas day so that’s a rare treat!

    The nice part about snowman pizza is you don’t actually need snow to make it!  We made homemade pizza and decorated it.  The girls chose black olives for his mouth, a cheese wedge for his nose, pepperoni (with black olives) for the eyes, and two slices of ham for the eyebrows.

    You can use your favorite pizza recipe and make any snowman variation you want.  If you are looking for a pizza recipe here is one of our favorites from Money Saving Mom.  You can get really creative and make three separate pizzas and put them together to make a whole snowman (instead of just the head).  🙂

    Freezer-Friendly Homemade Pizza Dough

    • 2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)
    • 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
    • 2 teaspoons sugar
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • 4 Tablespoons oil (vegetable, Canola, or olive oil)
    • 5 cups flour (can use all whole-wheat, half white/half whole-wheat, or all white)

    Pour the warm water into a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir to dissolve.

    Add the remaining ingredients and mix.

    Dump onto a floured surface and knead dough for two to five minutes until smooth and no longer sticky.

    To freeze: Cut lump of dough in half and place each half in an airtight freezer bag. Freeze for up to 4-6 weeks.

    To bake: Place frozen dough in a greased bowl and thaw at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours. Roll out and shape onto a greased pizza pan.

    Add pizza toppings of your choice. Bake at 500 degrees for around 10 minutes (until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned).

    If you don’t want to mess with freezing the dough, take the kneaded dough and roll out and shape onto a greased pizza pan. Add pizza toppings and bake as directed above.

  • Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals

    Packing the school lunches

    How is possible we are almost halfway through December!  Are you ready for Christmas?  I find myself rushing to get the girls lunches packed and ready the night before with all the extra activities going on this Season.  While it is really busy it is very important that the kids continue to eat healthy.  There are days when I think it would be easier to have them eat at school, but since I have one with food allergies and I have no idea how much they are eating or exactly what they have ate it probably would be more complicated in the long run.

     

    Lunch Box Meal

    • Homemade Roast Beef Sandwich
    • Fresh Red Plums
    • Fresh Green Beans
    • Fresh Broccoli Straws
    • Fruity Raisins or Mott’s Pomegranate Applesauce
    • Peach Yogurt
    • Fit & Active Blueberry Fruit Strip
    • Animal Crackers or Ritz Bitz Peanut Butter Crackers
    • Vanilla & Chocolate Oreos
    • Sweet Tart
    • Strawberry Kiwi Juice Bag

    Fresh red plums, fresh green beans, and roast beef sandwich

  • Do You See Apple Slices or A Candy Cane?

    It is the super simple things that can add an extra festive touch to a family snack or get together.  The girls wanted a snack so I sliced up some apples, but instead of putting them in a bowl or on a plate I left them on the cutting board in the shape of a candy cane.  I love it when I am thinking clearly enough to actually do the “little stuff” because it is so worth seeing them get excited over apple slices in the shape of a candy cane or something similar.

    Think of 3 simple ways you can add a festive touch to things you are already doing.  Not to mention it may coax your kids to eat more apples or other healthy foods around the Holidays! 🙂   You don’t have to make  elaborate dishes to spark a smile in your family members!

  • Love It – Cuisinart CPB-300 Compact Portable Blender & Chopper

    My husband bought me a Cuisinart Blender a little over a year ago and I LOVE it!  He got me a Cuisinart CPB-300 SmartPower 15-Piece Compact Portable Blending/Chopping System and it has been a huge hit with the whole family.  The best part is it is compact and comes with four 16 ounce single smoothie cups as well as a bigger blender.  I will often whip up a quick smoothie for myself for breakfast or a snack as I am walking out the door.

    I have used this blender A LOT and it has held up very well (its still in great condition).  Before this one I went through 2 KitchenAid Blenders which were much bigger and I didn’t use them nearly as often because it was harder to clean.  I cannot say enough good things about this blender.

    I have made a lot of different recipes with this Cuisinart.  The fruit smoothies are my favorite!  I have enjoyed experimenting with smoothies and  have discovered how easy it is to make smoothies at home.

    The girls will often request a smoothie for a special treat or snack too (so I am not the only one who loves the Cuisinart Blender).  I have included some of our favorites smoothie recipes.

    Smoothie Recipes

    Product Specifics

    • Sleek electronic touchpad with LED indicator lights
    • Powerful 350-watt motor
    • High, Low and Pulse controls
    • Standby mode; safety interlock and auto stop features
    • BS housing with stainless steel front pane
    • BPA-free Tritan 32-oz. blender jar, 8-oz. chopping cup, and set of four 16-oz. travel cups
    • Patented ultra-sharp stainless steel blades
    • Two interchangeable blade assemblies: blending blade and chopping blade
    • Recipe Book
    • Dishwasher safe
    • Limited 3-year warranty

     

    Blender

     Are you ready for a smoothie?

    “Love It” is a series of posts on items that I use regularly in my household that I love!  There are some items in our daily lives that make life more enjoyable, efficient, or just plain fun.  I will be sharing with you some of the products that have been given to us (or to me) that have made it to the top of my list.  It’s my way of giving a huge thumbs up!

  • Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals

    A rainbow on a cloudy day always brings a smile!

    I really didn’t plan to have the two rainbows match up, but it turned out pretty well.  The girls always enjoy seeing the new chalkboard note or drawing.  One day I had appointments all day and an event in the evening so Daddy put together the girls lunches.  He left up the picture from the previous day and they definitely noticed.  Although, he did put an extra “surprise” they were happy about in their lunches.

    Homemade pizza, Raisins, Pistachios, Chocolate Fudge Coconut Oreos, Mixed-Berry Fruit, and more!

    Lunch Box Meal

    • Homemade Pepperoni Pizza
    • Mixed-Berry Freeze Dried Fruit
    • Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows
    • Pistachios
    • Cheese & Peanut Butter Crackers or Animal Crackers
    • Jelly Beans
    • Chocolate Fudge Coconut Oreos
    • Regular or White Raisins
    • KoolAid Jammers Tropical Fruit Punch

    Festival ziplock bags make the lunch even more fun for the kids!

    I was able to pick up some Snowman bags at the Dollar store to use for the girls lunches.  The first day I put them into their lunches they came home excited about the neat “Christmas” bags.  Sometimes it is the little stuff that makes a big difference.

  • Love It – BluApple

    I am very excited to share with you a little item that has saved me a lot of time, energy, and money over the past year while helping our family eat healthier! I have been asked many times how I can purchase marked down fresh vegetables and fruits without them going bad within a day or two…..well, I am going to share my little “secret” with all of you.  If you love to eat fresh fruit and vegetables, but wish they would stay fresh longer I have stumbled upon something that will really brighten your day! 🙂

    When I got the BluApples I was a little skeptical, to say the least.  How can these little blue apples really help extend the life of my fresh fruits and vegetables?!  Do they really work?  Is it worth the cost?  And many more similar questions.

    I waited for a few weeks and found an amazing deal on these little BluApples.  I was able to get these free (only had to pay $3 shipping).  Unfortunately, I haven’t seen that deal again otherwise I would stock up on some for my family and friends.  Either way these little apples have more than paid for themselves MANY TIMES OVER!

    Our family loves to garden, buy fresh fruits and vegetables, however, when our fridge is full of produce sometimes fruits and vegetables would go bad before we had a chance to eat everything.  The BluApples extend the life of our fruits and vegetables (even ones that I buy which are already on the “edge”) for weeks!  These BluApples really do preserve the produce and help the items last much longer!

    I used to clean out my fruit and vegetable drawers out about once a week.  Now I do it once a month and sometimes longer because the items in the drawer are staying fresh. Enough of my raving, here are some more facts about this neat apple:

    • 2 Bluapples – Last for 3 Months Each – Additional Absorber Refills Available Separately (Our BluApples lasted longer than 3 months, typically lasted 5 to 7 months)
    • Prolongs freshness and storage life of fruits & vegetables
    • Made In USA
    • Put in refrigerator crisper drawers
    • Place in the fruit bowl on the counter or anywhere you keep fruit
    • Pays for itself dozens of times over in the the first year alone
    • Extend storage life of your produce (up to 3 times longer)
    • Average household can save up to $600 per year

    How Do The BluApples Work?

    • Ethylene gas is given off naturally by fruits and vegetables as a signaling mechanism in order to coordinate uniform ripening. However, once concentrated in your refrigerator or other storage areas, the presence of ethylene gas continues to speed up ripening and hasten spoilage.
    • The BluApple is designed to provide effective ethylene gas absorption for three months in a typical home refrigerator produce bin or storage container.
    • The active ingredient does not “wear out”, but continues to absorb ethylene until it has reached its capacity.

    This would be a wonderful gift for any cook in your family.  It really does WORK (and BluApple is not paying me to say it either).  Your Mom, wife, sister, friend will probably come back to you in a couple months thanking you again for this gift.  Hey, they even make you a special meal out of some the fresh produce just to say thanks!

    You can pick up the BluApple Ethlylene Gas Absorbers – Starter Pack of 2 – Refrigerator Fruit & Vegetable Preserver on Amazon for around $9.95 with two packs of or many major retailers. If you have a Swagbuck Amazon Gift Cards you can even get this it for free!  You’ll love it!

    “Love It” is a series of posts on items that I use regularly in my household that I love!  There are some items in our daily lives that make life more enjoyable, efficient, or just plain fun.  I will be sharing with you some of the products that have been given to us (or to me) that have made it to the top of my list.  It’s my way of giving a huge thumbs up!