Blueberries

One of my favorite summer superfoods is the blueberry. We've been eating quite a few of these this week, since our trip to Indigo Farms last weekend. This farm is known locally for it's blueberry fields, and there are days that you can go pick your own. We haven't done that yet, but it would be a fun adventure! They also have a produce market, with some great prices, and what seemed to be a flower market, though we didn't go to that side of it.

Before I go on, let me point out that I have NO education in nutrition, other than what my nutritionist has taught me and what I've learned myself online. We all know you can't believe everything you read on the internet, but I believe the links I'm going to post here are reliable. Just remember - I'm no expert!

On WebMD, I found an article regarding Superfoods that was the basis for the list I previously posted. This is what they say about blueberries:

Blueberries -- Antioxidant Superfood

Packed with antioxidants and phytoflavinoids, these berries are also high in potassium and vitamin C, making them the top choice of doctors and nutritionists. Not only can they lower your risk of heart disease and cancer, they are also anti-inflammatory.

I'm not sure what a phytoflavinoid is, and couldn't seem to find a good definition online anywhere. So I kept looking for more articles on blueberries that had words that meant something to me. I found a great article here. It sets out all the health benefits of blueberries, their nutritional information and even a history of blueberries. I found it interesting that they weren't marketed as a food until 1916! This site also has a link to some recipes, though I haven't checked them out yet.

Here's a recipe I featured earlier in my blog, but only with a link:

















Banana Blueberry Bread
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups flour, all-purpose sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/3 cup Butter
2/3 cup Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 cup Bananas mashed
1 cup Blueberries


Directions
60 minutes Prep: 10 minutes Cook: 50 minutes
Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs one at a time. Add flour mixture and banana alternately in three parts. Gently stir in blueberries.
Turn into oiled 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Turn out of pan to cool.
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And finally, though it actually has nothing to do with food, here's a video preview of a new book by one of my favorite authors.

Blueberry Girl, by Neil Gaiman

Pictures Speak Louder than Words

I'm tired tonight, so you get pics, with short descriptions...

Breakfast on Monday - Kashi cereal with bananas and blueberries from Indigo Farms


Lucas working on grinding the dehydrated onion, garlic and jalapenos for a spicy powder seasoning

End result...YUM
Dinner last night - spinach mushroom quesadillas, bean and cheese nachos and homemade salsa. Lucas makes the best EVER!
Yum...SALSA

Yummy, Messy bite

Today's breakfast - Kashi Maple Oatmeal and more blueberries


Tonight's dinner (credit for recipe to follow) BEST QUICHE EVER

YUMMY CHEESE

So fluffy and delicious....


Walking off the dinner with Chuck

A pic of us...



See, what happened was...Chuck went after the dog statue, then got tangled in the pole, and Lucas tried to get him out, and Chuck followed him...quite entertaining!




Then it was home to rest...well, after the 71 situps! I'm wiped out tonight!!!

Vegetable Lasagna Recipe

Here it is!

* 9 uncooked lasagna noodles
* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* Cooking spray
* 1-1/4 cups chopped broccoli
* 3 chopped carrots
* 6 chopped scallions
* 1-1/2 minced garlic cloves
* 1 big can mushrooms
* ½ red pepper
* 3 tbsp butter
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 cup milk
* 1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 5 oz frozen chopped spinach
* red pepper to taste
* 1cup low fat cottage cheese
* 1 cup low fat mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. Boil lasagna noodles per directions on the box.
2. Saute carrots, onions, garlic, mushrooms and peppers and broccoli in olive oil. Sauté until tender and set aside.
3. Combine mozzarella and cottage cheeses and red pepper in a bowl. Mix until and set aside.
4. In a saucepan, stir together flour and butter until well blended, then add milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat when thick (it will take about 5 minutes). Season with pepper and add 1/8 cup of Parmesan. Stir until smooth, then mix in the spinach.
5. Spray a 9×9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup of the spinach mixture on the bottom. Next, then lay 3 lasagna noodles over the spinach mixture (you may need to cut noodles to fit the pan).
6. Pour spinach mixture over the noodle layer to cover.
7. Spread ½ cheese mixture over the noodles.
8. Spread half the carrot-onion-broccoli mixture over that, then add another layer of noodles.
9. Pour spinach mixture over the noodle layer to cover.
10. Spread the rest of the cheese mixture over the noodles.
11. Spread the rest of the carrot-onion-broccoli mixture over that, then top with a layer of noodles.
12. Spread the rest of the spinach mixture over the noodles and sprinkle with 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese. If there is not enough, add a little cottage cheese and milk and heat until thickened, then spread on top.
13. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Two in one day!

Yes, I'm actually posting twice in one day - can you believe it??

Just a quick recap of the rest of our day, which was VERY relaxing. We spent quite a bit of time just sitting on the couch and catching up on some shows we had on DVR. I finally got around to take a shower and head out to do the rest of our shopping. We needed to go to Big Lots to try to find some looseleaf paper for the kids for school, since there was NONE at Walmart last week. While we were there, we also picked up some All Natural Peanut Butter treats for Chuck, and stocked up on some Kashi products. They had some amazing deals on Kashi - GoLean cereal for $2.50, TLC chocolate coconut bars for $2.00 and microwave oatmeal for $2.00. I figure all of these were AT LEAST half off of normal prices. I was so excited, since we don't usually buy Kashi because of the price. After that, we ran to Bilo to grab some last minute groceries for the week, then back home to the couch.

For lunch we made some chip dip out of the left over roasted red pepper sauce from last night, mixed with some sour cream and eaten with Full Circle Organic Potato Chips. I LOVE these chips! We also had grilled havarti cheese sandwiches on Earthgrains Wheatberry bread, topped with some spinach, and a tomato on mine. YUM!


Some more lounging on the couch, then cleaning up the house a bit, weeding the garden and it was time to start dinner. I made the vegetable lasagna that we discovered a couple of months ago, with a side of jalapeno cheddar bread. YUM! Times Two!


I think I already posted my veggie lasagna recipe, but I'm not sure. If I didn't, I'll do it again in a bit.




Ok - True Blood starts in less than one minute - so I gotta run! Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!!

Mmmmm veggies!

Well, so much for trying to keep up! It's Sunday and I haven't posted since Thursday! We've been pretty busy since Friday, so I haven't really had time to get on here.

Friday morning started with breakfast at work, as usual. Lucas bought some Grape Nuts cereal, and I was excited because I had never tried it before. I made a bowl of it for breakfast and topped it with some of our homemade banana chips.


Looks yummy, but I wasn't a fan. I ate the banana chips, but got rid of the rest of it. I think they'll be good to use in recipes though, as breading, stuffing, etc. I was still hungry so I grabbed a Larabar that I had purchased. Kath, over at Kath Eats, eats these all the time, and I was curious so I picked up a few on my last trip to the store.




SOOO good! It only had dates, peanuts and salt, but tasted just like a peanut butter cookie! It was absolutely delicious!

We had an early lunch for the office at Olive Garden. I shared some artichoke spinach dip with Michelle, and had the portobello mushroom ravioli with cheese and sun dried tomato sauce. It was so good, and not too much to eat. We all decided to get dessert and share. I had a bit of the Black Tie Mousse cake, Lemon Sponge cake, and an amazing donut square dipped in chocolate.



After work we went to have some drinks with friends, then had to hit Walmart to buy some cleaning supplies for my cleaning job on Saturday, and something for dinner. Friday marked our first day of a week of pretending we are vegetarians, so we needed to pick up something quick and full of veggies. We decided on quesadillas, which were delicious and really quick to make. We didn't cook the veggies before putting them on the quesadilla, so they still had a bit of a crunch. It was so good we didn't even use the salsa we put on the plate! Tortilla, chedder jack cheese, red onion, jalapeno pepper, red pepper, green pepper toasted in olive oil just until the cheese melts and the tortilla is brown. Delicious!



Saturday I stupidly skipped breakfast and headed right to my cleaning job. That was HARD work. I cleaned a 6 bedroom/6 bath house and a 3 bedroom/3 bath house in 3 hours and was ready to DROP. I was starving when I got done, so I ordered some Vegetable Chow Mai Fun from the chinese place down the road. It was loaded with broccoli and hit the spot. Then we headed out to our weekly shopping trip. Holden Brothers Farm Market, Indigo Farms, and Lowes Foods were on the list. As always, we got a HUMUNGOUS bag of veggies at Holden Brother and then went in search of Indigo Farms. There we bought some blueberries and a huge watermelon, which was just $2! We also grabbed an eggplant for dinner later in the week. It's a really nice little place, and I'm sure we'll be going back! Lowes Foods was great as always, and we got some great help from Customer Service, especially from Paula, the manager. We had been having trouble with our Esavings, and they fixed it all right away.

Last night my sister came over and we had the Portobello Mushroom burgers that she had been begging for. We topped the night off with a bottle of wine and followed the Browns game online - then headed to bed.

This morning we woke up and decided to make Oatmeal Blueberry Pancakes. Another win!! I found the idea on Kath's blog, and changed it a bit to make it my own.

Here's the recipe, and some pics:

1 1/3 cups oats
3 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 banana, mashed
cinnamon to taste
Blueberries

Mix all together, make into pancakes (makes 5 medium size). Melt butter in pan. Add pancakes to hot pan. Flip when they start to get firm and won't fall apart when flipping. Serve with preserves, mashed banana or maple syrup.





I figured out a great way to mash bananas that aren't quite overripe enough to be mushy. Squeeze the banana slightly while it's still in the peel. Eventually the peel will split and a half-smashed banana will come out. Finish the rest of the mashing with a fork and it's easier then trying to mash a firm, ripe one!

Well, I think we're all caught up now! Today I plan to be lazy. I'm going to throw together some jalapeno cheddar bread - in the bread machine (cheating again!) and vegetable lasagna for dinner. Then it's True Blood!! I love Sunday nights!!

Grab your life preserver!!

Lots of random stuff today, beginning with our new office duck! Meet our mascot for the 5th Annual Paws Across the Water Duck Derby! This is a race on the waterway to profit the North Myrtle Beach Humane Society. Businesses and individuals can purchase rubber ducks, they get dropped in the water to "race", and whatever duck gets to the finish line first, wins!


Created by our office receptionist, Liz - all out of her own creative mind!

Speaking of Liz, here's a picture of the giant watermelon I mentioned last night:


I had a little of this with my lunch today. My breakfast was a super juicy grapefruit, and a bag full of grapes. For lunch, I brought some egg salad, lettuce and tomato. We were out of bread at home, so I had to run to Bilo. I was so glad to see that the Earthgrains bread we have grown to love was once again free with 2 lbs of produce! I went back to the produce section and grabbed a huge bunch of firm, just ripe, bananas. The banana chips in the dehydrator last night were pretty much a fail (Lucas liked them!) so I wanted to make some good ones. You can tell just by this picture that they are going to be better than the last batch!



We also threw in a batch of jalapeno and banana peppers (from the garden!), onions and garlic. We want to powder the onion and garlic to make some seasoning. Look at how big our banana peppers have gotten!!




For dinner tonight we kept it pretty simple. My son, Dalton, had requested porcupine meatballs for dinner, which I usually serve with mashed potatoes and corn. Since Lucas and I aren't eating ground beef (for the most part) and the canned soup was FULL of stuff we don't want either, we decided to eat the mashed potatoes, with some sauteed mushrooms and onions, topped with brussel sprouts. I have to say that this was quite possibly THE most filling dinner we've had lately! I am still stuffed!



Lucas would like me to point out his cool new Google Phone - and even further, the cool Ohio State picture on the phone!

We ended our evening with our sit-up program. We're up to 67 sit-ups now! I'm still trying to get a good form and do them the right way, but I'm learning! My shoulders and neck were sore all day today because I'm doing it wrong and pulling myself up with my neck. I did better tonight - Lucas pointed out that I need to be doing more of a crunch and not lay back down all the way.

Well, I have to stay awake until midnight tonight to get the next batch of stuff out of the dehydrator. I'm going to try to read some more Harry Potter without falling asleep...wish me luck!

Best Day EVER!!

Well, maybe not ever, but it was definitely a good one, which I needed after yesterday. Yesterday was filled with computer problems at work, kid problems at home and was one of those days where it seemed best to just call it a day and start over tomorrow. Once the house cleared out and calmed down, Lucas and I decided to make an spontaneous "what's in the fridge?" dinner. We decided on some mashed potatoes and veggies, which became an "out of the crust" pot pie. We had some left over chicken from Sunday's cook out, and I mixed up a quick gravy, added the chicken and the Full Circle Organic Mixed Veggies that were left in the freezer and like magic, we had a yummy, hearty dinner that we didn't even know was there!


At the same time, we decided to make our Sweet Watermelon Rind Pickles. We had the watermelon soaking for 2 days, which is 1 day longer than instructed, but I had forgotten to buy sugar the day before.
The recipe was super easy to make, and I just hope that I did it all right! The one thing I had to change was that I didn't have whole cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks. I used the ground spices and mixed it right in with the syrup. I was a little disappointed because it turned the syrup brown, of course, so I added a little red food coloring to the mix....

And to the wine glass...


And to my face.... I made a mess.



In the end, the jars came out pretty great.



After dinner, we made a special recipe given to me by my boss. He calls them Monkeys in a Blanket. It goes like this:
2 slices of white bread
drizzle of honey
sprinkle of cinnamon
1 banana
2 tbsp of butter, melted.

Roll out the bread with a rolling pin until good and flat. Drizzle honey on the bread and place 1/2 a banana on top of that. Roll the bread around the banana. Sprinkle the cinnamon in the melted butter, then roll the bread/banana in the butter to coat. Place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes and you get sweet, hot, gooey, sticky, toasted bananas.





We finished the night with some tv, which Chuck rather enjoyed, too.




Today started out good enough - got to work, no computer issues, got some stuff done. Then I got a message on Twitter from Lowes Foods. They had read my blog entries about their store (see below)and thanked me and offered to send me a free cookbook! Score!!!! I decided right then that I need to pay more attention to my blog, since it's already paid off and I didn't even try!! That led to my awesome husband creating the new title for me...great job, baby!! Then, this afternoon, my brand new food dehydrator arrived at the office. I had mentioned to my boss that I really wanted one, and he went ordered one for me right away! Best Boss EVER, and I'm not exaggerating that one! Finally, my friend and receptionist, Liz, bought a HUMONGOUS watermelon at Bilo (I swear it weighed at LEAST 50 pounds!) She came and asked me to help her cut it up and that used up the rest of my dragging afternoon. I'm hoping to have a picture to post soon so you can see just how huge it is! I sent her my watermelon pickle recipe so she can use the tons of rind she'll have left over!

So I rushed straight home, put down my bags and broke out the dehydrator immediately! I sliced some bananas, apples and kiwi and got them going.


For dinner, I somehow ended up with 5 kids here to feed, so I made them the old standby of grilled hot dogs and a pan of macaroni and cheese. Lucas and I had stuffed cabbage rolls. We had some leftover Spanish Rice from Saturday. I boiled some cabbage leaves and sauteed some chopped up zucchini, mushrooms, pepper and onion. I added the left over spanish rice and some diced tomatoes to the mix and warmed it all through. The cabbage leaves came out so green and not rubbery like cabbage usually is. I wrapped up the rice stuffing, put them in a little casserole dish, topped them with more tomatoes and baked them. Soooo yummy!!





And that brings us to now. Lucas and I have barricaded ourselves in the bedroom and let the kids have the living room and the Xbox. Time for some tv and the stack of Better Homes and Gardens, Southern Living and Cooking Light magazines that are piling up, neglected by me.

Have a great night, everyone!