Cooking with Christy #1

If you have known me for any period of time you would know that I am in love with Lisa Lillian aka Hungry Girl.

I first fell in love with her when I randomly bought her cookbook at a Bed Bath & Beyond.  I made her pumpkin caramel cupcake/muffin and was like 'WHERE HAS SHE BEEN ALL MY LIFE?"  and then I tried her Lettuce Cups - they were 10 times better than PF Changs.   

Everything she makes is low fat/calorie - and almost everything I've made from her cookbooks has been amazing!

So needless to say when I heard she was coming out with yet another cookbook - you know I HAD to buy it!  I have been trying different recipes the last 2 weeks and I thought I would share one with you :)

PUMPKIN PIE OATMEAL PARFAIT -
from Hungry Girl's 300 under 300 by Lisa Lillian
"The invention of oatmeal parfaits was a stroke of genius. This pumpkin pie version will leave you speechless" 


Per serving (entire recipe=1 serving)
292 Calories
7.25g fat
542mg sodium,
51g carbs,
7g fiber
7.5g sugars
7g protein

**(I made 4 servings at one time - so the pictures will show MUCH more than one serving)**

INGREDIENTS:
Oatmeal:
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze milk
1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin
2 no-calorie sweetener packets (I used sugar)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup water
dash of salt

Parfait:
1 - 60 calorie sugar free vanilla pudding snack
1 sheet (4 crackers) low-fat honey graham crackers, roughly crushed (I used cinnamon grahams - and they were yummy!)
Optional Topping: fat free reddi-wip

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients for oatmeal in a small nonstick pot on the stove.

 

Mix Well.

Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.

Stir often to prevent burning:

Cook for 9 minutes, stirring often, until somewhat thick and creamy (it will thicken more upon chilling) Allow to cool slightly. (Think Cake Mix - not Oatmeal at this point)
 Transfer to a bowl,

cover

and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 1/2 hours.

To Make the Parfait:

Stir oatmeal throughly until uniform in texture.
Spoon half of the oatmeal into a tall glass, (I put it in a zip-lock bag so I wouldn't get the glass messed up - same for the pudding)

 

and top with half of the pudding snack

 and half of the crushed graham crackers.

 

Repeat with remaining oatmeal, pudding and crushed cracker.  

Top with reddi-wip, if you like and dig in!

My notes:

This recipe was REALLY good, and I got my hubby to eat oatmeal ;)  Like I said above I used sugar instead of sweetener.   I also made 4 servings at once - and stuck it in the freezer for 2 hours to chill it - if you were planning on putting it in the fridge and making multiple servings plan for more "chill" time.  My husband would have liked a more flavorful oatmeal - so I'm thinking next time adding more cinnamon, maybe some nutmeg.  Over all - VERY YUMMY!

Does anyone elses cookbooks look like this when you are done with a recipe? All of mine do!

(this was also the recipe/shopping trip that got me thinking about making all these things home-made, like pudding, whip cream etc...) 

Out with the Pre-Made in with the Home-Made

I am always striving to make meals from scratch - which I always thought that from "scratch" meant throwing a bunch of stuff in a bowl/pan and making it yourself instead of using a boxed item. This included a can of soup, or taco mix etc... I don't know why it took me SO long to realize that why you are making it at home - it's not really "From Scratch" know what I mean?  Now please don't take this as I don't EVER use boxed items - because if you looked in my pantry right now you'll find some - they are nice to have on hand when I don't have time or energy to do all the prep-work ;)

So I've been searching for recipes to make my own mixes instead of buying them pre-made. Here are a few that I've found:

Alton Brown's Hot Chocolate Mix: This is simply amazing - SOOO much better than the little packets you buy in the store! And very simple to make!  I did find it was actually too rich for me - so I use about 1/2 of the mix that he suggests.

Taco Seasoning: I haven't tried this one yet since I have a few packets still in my cupboard - but I'm excited about trying it!

Macaroni & Cheese: This is FABULOUS!! SOO yummy!  Much better than the boxed version! (next I'll need to start making my own pasta!)

Fruit Snacks : Can I tell you I'm addicted to fruit snacks - 100% addicted. I LOVE them. But I know they aren't the best thing for me - so I went searching for a recipe and low and behold they look SO simple to make! I'm excited to try these at some point!

Crackers: Here is a basic cracker recipe - I haven't tried it yet. I've heard good and bad things about making your own crackers so I'm a little scared ;)

Cream of Chicken Soup: Another recipe I haven't tried yet. I am wondering if I were to make a HUGE batch of this - do you think I could can it, and use as needed?

Condensed Cream of ________ Soups: I am so excited to try this recipe - because I have been trying to get away from buying canned soups - the sodium content is SO high - plus I know EXACTLY what I'm putting in the soup!

Yogurt & Pudding: I Never even THOUGHT to make these by myself - crazy, they both look pretty easy!

Ranch Dressing : This one will be a hard switch since my husband and I ADORE Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing - anyone have a recipe that tastes the same as Hidden Valley?

Mustard, Ketchup & Mayonnaise (I wonder if I could exchange the safflower oil for coconut oil in the mayo??) 

Hamburger or Hot dog buns - anyone have a recipe that is light & fluffy like the store bought ones?

Evaporated Milk  & Sweetend Condensed milk : - I didn't know I COULD make my own!

I know I could go on and on with this list - but I'll stop here. I'd love to hear what types of things you have stopped buying pre-made! Please share your recipes!!

I am a SLACKER!

Ok I feel horrible - I was supposed to announce the giveaway winner yesterday and well after a long weekend where I worked an expo for my Pampered Chef business, then church and going to see Beauty & the Beast on Sunday night (which was wonderful by the way!) and then on Monday I had a surprise root canal - not the best type of Surprise - that's for sure!  I totally forgot :(

But don't fret - I"m here now to announce the winner - by random drawing out of a bowl the winner is:

STEPHANIE B from "Happily Ever After"!! So email me your mailing address and I'll be mailing you all those fabulous Pampered Chef products!!!

Thanks to everyone who participated - I hope to do many more giveaways in the future!!

Look What I got in the mail!!

GIVEAWAY Information here!!

A few weeks ago while reading a blog that I follow I fell in LOVE with the wreath that Summer posted. While there are directions on the blog on HOW to make the wreath - I just KNOW that mine would turn out hideous! So I hummed and hawed and got some birthday money and bought myself this lovely wreath from Sugar Money and YESTERDAY it arrived YAY!!! I took pictures so you can see my excitement and my new lovely wreath!

Of course I had to use my handy dandy i-slice to open my box (seriously this might be my favorite Pampered Chef product - at $3.75 EVERYONE can afford it ;) )

 Getting excited as I start to see it!!!

 The sweet note from the maker of the wreath:

 Isn't it lovely???

I Love the bird sitting on top of the flowers :) 

 Yes, I didn't consider the color of the front door when buying the wreath - but I'm still in love with it!

 Sadly - it won't be on my front door until after Easter - since I have this little cutie hanging there right now ;)

What's hanging on your front door?

What I'm reading

GIVEAWAY Information HERE!!


When I was a little girl I used to read ALL.THE.TIME - I would easily read an entire book in a day or less. But then I went to college, and reading became "homework" and not for "fun" anymore. And after college I read maybe 15 books. I just stopped reading - and I think that having a TV of my own - and actual channels to watch - got in the way of my imagination going wild in the pages of a book :)

THEN 9 years after I started college:

I joined a book club.  I wasn't really sure what to expect - but I thought I would give it a try :) And I fell in love with reading all over again. In 2009 I read 20 books and listened to 3 audio books. In 2010 I read 37 books and listened to 12 audio books. I have been keeping a list of all the books I'm reading - just because I like lists and its nice to keep track of what I'm doing - makes me feel better about myself ;) LOL  This year I have read 5 books (I'm so behind!) and am currently in the middle of several books - something I usually don't do.

A few of my "favorites" off of my "list":
Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt - by Beth Hoffman
Redeeming Love - by Francine Rivers
A Woman's Place - by Lynn Austin
The Help - by Kathryn Stockett
Eve's Daughters - Lynn Austin
Her Mother's Hope - by Francine Rivers
Her Daughters Dream - by Francine Rivers (the second book in the series)

So here is my current reading list - yes, I'm actively reading ALL of these :

1. Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin. I've actually been trying to finish this book for over 9 months. I read the first 3 in the series and flew through them. This one has been harder to read. Honestly I can't "recommend" these books - they were just ok.

2. Walking In the Will of God by Steve McVey - I started this book back in Nov 2010 and i just couldn't get into it - even though I was leading a BRAND NEW book club/meeting with some new friends - I later found out that I NEEDED to be reading it at a later time in my life - like moving to another state less than a year after you had just done the moving process.  It is a great book - I highly recommend it.

3. A Patient's Guide to PCOS by Walter Futterweit MD with George Ryan. - I was diagnosed with PCOS last fall. I was pretty sure I had it before then - it runs in my family.  So I'm trying to study up on it and see what I can do to help control the issue. I JUST started this book so I can't say yay or nay about it yet :)

4. Intimate Issues 21 Questions Christian Women Ask About Sex by Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pinuts - This book was recommended to me from Mark Driscoll when hubby & I were watching "The Peasant Princess" (AMAZING for ANY married couple - a MUST for everyone!)  I haven't gotten into it too much yet - just the first few chapters.  I think I really want to do this more as a devotional type book - it has questions at the end of each chapter - but so far its good.

5. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah - this book was recommended to me by a friend that I went to church with when I was in Jr. High (Hi Beth!!) So far it's been pretty good - the story kinda "sucks" you into it. If you are easily offended by language this book might not be for you.

6. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown - My hubby and I went to the Library on Saturday to get a card and I saw this book on their "new books cart" and I thought - yes, that is a book I need to read. The tag line reads "See, we love each other, we just don't happen to like each other very much" (now this isn't the case for me - because right now amazingly enough, my sisters - Amanda, Heather & Leslie- and I are getting along! lol!) But I could relate - and lets be honest all sisters have a love/hate relationship at SOME POINT in their lives ;)  I started this book on Sunday while lying in a hammock outside on a GORGEOUS day :) I think it's going to be a hard book to read - especially if the mother's health keeps going downhill - but over all it's been pretty good so far.

What books are you reading right now? Anything I should check out?

GIVEAWAY!!

Here is the first of many (I hope!) giveaways!

Unless you don't know me - you know that I am a Pamered Chef Consultant - and that I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job! I get to sell some amazing kitchenware, and basically party for a living! (shhh...don't tell my husband!) So as a little shameless plug for my business I'm going to be giving away some fabulous Pampered Chef items!

Items shown above will be given away: 2 Help Whip Cancer shopping bags (you can't buy these anymore!), 1 easy opener, 2 (different) Season's best cookbooks and 1 Raspberry Habanaro Sauce (SO YUMMY!) 

DIRECTIONS TO ENTER: One entry for each of the following

1. Follow this blog  (Click either of the links to the left!)  - leave a comment saying that you did so

2. Go and like my Facebook Pampered Chef Site (as soon as I get 250 "likes" I'll be giving away our brand new food processor!!) - leave a comment saying that you did so

3. Invite your friends to like my Facebook Pampered Chef site (link above) 

4. Say something about this on YOUR blog or Facebook wall - come back and leave me a comment with the link so I can go look at it! 

5. Leave another comment below - compliments are always nice ;) LOL JUST KIDDING! (but not about the leaving a comment part)

6. Have a friend do all of the above - and then have your friend come back here and leave a comment with your name in it (You get an entry and your friend gets an entry!) 

EACH COMMENT MUST BE MADE SEPARATE FOR THE ENTRY TO COUNT. 

Contest ends Next Monday April 11th at NOON - many will enter only ONE will win ;) 

Now go and Share people! LOL!