Meatloaf

Look at all that meat! Well, you probably can't tell what it is in that basket. The picture just looks like I've been stocking up on boxes and boxes of pork products. I assure you that I have not. That would just be weird. I bought that pork from a man selling meat door to door. Then, I gave meat as Christmas presents last year. Men like meat. See?? Not weird. I didn't give any to the ladies. That would have been weird. Ladies like chocolate. But, I didn't give any ladies chocolate either. I knitted things and you can't wear a chocolate scarf....How fun would a chocolate scarf be? Like those candy necklaces when you were a kid. You could stay warm and nibble on chocolate all day. Someone should totally invent that! I would wear it. Definitely. But, I digress. 

Yesterday, Robbie and I were hauling some hay out to the horses. On the way in, I went out to the freezer to grab some ground beef for chili. It was perfect chili weather here in north Texas, cold and rainy. The freezer door was stuck. That's weird. Its a small upright freezer. I yanked on it and when it finally opened I noticed that the ground beef on the door was thawed. OH NO!!! Then, I started grabbing the meat further in and its thawed too. And there's a big, giant glacier at the top of the freezer. The stupid glacier got so big it pushed open my door. It has a mind of its own. Meanwhile, much like what they had to contend with on the Titanic and their big, stupid glacier, I have to contend with all this meat. 

Okay, okay. I know that my problem is not nearly as big as the problems on the Titanic. I get it. But, it FEELS that big at the moment and that's GOT  to count for something, right?

What you don't see in the picture is about 8 pounds of thawed, grass fed ground beef, 2 pounds of free range chicken breast, 1 whole free range chicken, 2 Amy's Kitchen cheese pizzas, 3 Eating Right frozen dinners (which were thrown away. I don't even know how long they've been in there.) 2 Pork roasts, 2 pork loins, 1 package of grass fed filet mignon, and 4 packages of nitrate/nitrite free bacon, in addition to all the pork you see at the top. Stuck inside the glacier is a free range turkey breast, more chicken, and a few more cheese pizzas. I'm attempting to defrost said glacier in an attempt to free the trapped meat at this moment.

Also, as an aside, what you don't see is that my floors are really a gorgeous, golden, hand hewn, expertly polished, wide plank wood. You just can't see that because its hidden in ugly linoleum. Its really there. Just in my imagination. But, now its in your imagination too, and that's like having the real thing, right? Or is that weird too?

So, at first Robbie couldn't be more excited. He's watching football and looking at the prospect for a meat filled feast. I thought so too at first. Then I calmed down and realized that a lot of that meat was not quite thawed so I cleaned out the freezer in the house and stored it there. Then, I cooked some of the pork for dinner. (It wasn't very good. Don't buy meat from door to door salesmen.) I boiled a package of chicken for a soup later this week, I gave a few questionable packages to the dogs and cats. They were so happy, they acted like it was their last meal on the Titanic. But, I still have 6 pounds of ground beef, the filet mignons, and a small pork loin that needs to be cooked. I'm on the lookout for a pressure canner to can some of the beef.  Meanwhile, I can spread that much meat out over the week, cook it and freeze it for later.

Tonight we'll be having meatloaf. This is my favorite meatloaf recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 can (6 oz)  tomato paste
• ½ c dry red wine
• ½ c water
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp dried basil leaves
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 c oatmeal
• 1 egg 
• ½ c shredded zucchini

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Combine the tomato paste, wine, water, garlic, basil, oregano, and salt in a small saucepan.
• Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Set aside.
• Combine the beef, oatmeal, egg , zucchini, and ½ cup of the tomato mixture in a large bowl. Mix well.
• Shape into 4 small loaves and bake for about 20 minutes.
• Discard any drippings. Pour  the remaining tomato mixture over the top of the loaf.
• Bake for 15 minutes longer. Remove to a serving platter.
• If you don't want to use wine, you can substitute the wine and water for 1 cup of beef broth

I will probably double or even triple it up and freeze it for later. Then, I'll be making the chili, some chicken soup, and...... Oh gosh, I'm already getting tired thinking of it. I'll for sure have to grill up those steaks or else I'll be in trouble and get thrown overboard! Wish me luck because much like the frozen ocean water from the Titanic, its snowing here in north Texas and I won't last long. 

Okay, okay, I know its not really like the Titanic but in my imagination it kinda is, so that makes it kinda real, right? Is that weird?

This post is linked to Barn Hop, Real Food 101, Monday Mania, and Fat Tuesday

Its Like Buttah!!

Oh CRAP!!

I'm looking in the refrigerator and see that I only have about 1/4 cup of butter left and I still need to make a pie crust AND have some for buttering rolls! We can't have Thanksgiving with no pie and we for sure can't have Thanksgiving with unbuttered rolls, even though they are the crappy, stupid Brown n Serve!

I know, I know....Brown n Serve! pfffft!

Robbie specifically asked for those. I said "Seriously? Cuz I could make some really good ones homemade, some really good yeast rolls."
Nope. Brown N Serve. Fine. At least it'll save me some time. Okay.

Jake specifically asked for "Thanksgiving mac & cheese" which in reality is my mother in law's recipe. This is the recipe: She whips open a box of Velveeta Shells and Cheese every Thanksgiving for the kids that may or may not want her store bought potatoes and dressing to go along with her opened cans of corn and green beans.
Again I said "Seriously? Cuz I could make some homemade that'll be really awesome."
Nope. Velveeta. Okay, at least it'll save me some more time.

And then, I'm back in the fridge wondering what to do about the butter situation. We live 20 minutes outside of town and I'm not about to stop cooking to make a trip in and I know that nobody else will either. Hmmmmm....I wonder if I can make that quarter cup be enough for both? All I need to do is divide it smartly. I was a science major in college. I should be able to figure this out. Also, just FYI, I was secretary of the math club in high school. That's not really pertinent to this story or anything else in life really. But, I just like to throw that out there every now and then, when the opportunity presents itself. Otherwise, being secretary of the math club has no real benefits.

But, back to the butter. I tried different divisions. Maybe if I cut it THIS way? Nope. How about THAT way? Nope. No matter what I do or how I divide it, I STILL only have 1/4 cup of butter and it STILL isn't enough. *sigh* Thanksgiving is ruined.........But, wait!!!!!

I've heard of people making their own butter. And they weren't even amish!

I was in an antique store last spring with a friend and saw these cute, little, wooden butter churns. I said "oooooh, I need to get one and try making butter!" My friend said "......yeah, OR you could just use your blender. Its way faster."

In light of my current butter crisis, I pulled out some cream. Coffee be damned, we're in crisis mode here! I poured it into a bowl and used my whisk attachment on my mixer. All I did was whisk up the cream * take a little taste...don't judge...I dare you NOT to taste some freshly whipped cream! You can't, can you?* until it turns really crumbly and yellow. Then, I whisked it a little more until it turned into a solid lump.

You have to pour out the buttermilk.

PSA -  Please don't throw it away. Pour it into a clean jar for use in a recipe. Its not as acidic as the buttermilk you get at the store, so don't use it in place of buttermilk. Use it in place of regular milk.

After you pour out the buttermilk, dunk your lump of butter into an ice cold water bath. Then, massage the butter to try and get out some more of the buttermilk. If you skip this step, your butter will be rancid in a couple of days.

The whole thing only took about ten minutes! It was a miracle I tell you. A Thanksgiving miracle. I turned cream into butter. Not quite as impressive as Jesus turning water into wine, but hey! I'll take it.

So, what happened next? Well. Then angels started singing, Robbie said "Are you almost done with that? I'm trying to hear the game." and I yelled "Yeeee-Haww! I just made my own butter!!!!" and he said "Were they out at the store??"

He just doesn't get me. But, he DOES love a good, buttery Brown n Serve roll.

Brown n Serve! pffffffftttt!


And THAT is the story of how I saved Thanksgiving!

I must say....I'm feeling very super-heroish. Go try it and we can be super heroes together.

This post is linked to Fight Back Friday, Farmgirl Friday, Homestead Revival's Barn Hop, and Monday Mania Although, they'll probably kick me out because my husband made me heat up those stupid rolls!!

Love Is In The Air

Listen to this while you read the rest of this post.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the bees are buzzing. There is love in the air. Its warm, springtime weather.......

Except its not.

Its overcast. The birds are all hunkered down (which reminds me, I need to put out birdseed later.), I haven't seen a bee in awhile, and Thanksgiving is later this week. BUT.......There is love in the air.

Just yesterday, this girl was just a baby.

Her name is Harley and she was sweet, cute, obnoxious, hyperactive, and beating up on this guy.

His name is Festus and he is literally hiding from her. He's a big lug. Not smart enough to realize he's not hidden in my lush, trumpet vine. Except its not. Don't judge my poor trumpet vine. We had a horrible drought this summer. In its defense though, this IS the lushest its been all summer.

Just yesterday, for real, I came home and saw a few strange dogs hanging around. I thought, 'hmmm...that's weird.' and Festus looked like we was guarding her. He was circling her with low growls coming from his throat, following her every movement. hmmmm....curious. Usually, he's good heartedly trying to get her off of him while she's pouncing on him.

Robbie was already home. When I walked in he said "I think somethings wrong with Harley. She looked funny." I immediately walked outside, worried,  to look at her and saw Festus licking her and rubbing his head on her like he was hugging her. Uh-Oh. She growled at him and he immediately backed up and sat down very attentively. Uh-Oh. That's different.

I walked back in and said "I think Festus is in love."

He doesn't leave her side. They are very cute little lovebirds.

(They've been swimming in our stock tank. They usually look much cleaner than this. Nah, not really. They are ALWAYS swimming in the tank.)

And I don't even KNOW who this little Casanova that just started hanging around is.

Since its not springtime and even though love is in the air, its cool out and a girls gotta feed the family! Its chilly outside and that made me think of chili.

Lucky for you, I'm posting it, cuz its gooooood!

You need:

1# of ground beef (grass fed of course)
1/2 chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beans (any beans will do. just pick your favorite)
1 container of V8 Bold and Spicy
2T buckwheat flour (you could use any flour or thickening agent or none. Its up to you)
1/2 C water

spices to taste:
garlic
salt
pepper
chipotle chili powder
ground red pepper
cumin

In a semi large pot, brown ground beef (if you use grass fed, you won't have any grease to drain.) and saute the onion with it. Add everything else, except the flour and water, in the pot and let it simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix the flour with the water to make a roux. Add into the pot. stir it in and simmer, stirring occasionally until its the thickness you want.

Eat it while its hot.....like my dogs.

....Too far?

Yeah, I thought so.  Oh well, try the chili while I mourn the loss of my dog's innocence. It really is like having a teen aged daughter. Except its not. But, how would I know. I have boys. There's probably a girls mom somewhere right now blogging a picture of my son with a mustache calling him a casanova.....deep, huh?

This is linked to Sunday Night Soup Night, Barn Hop, and Monday Mania.  Check em out!

Homemade Yogurt

Bam!!! That JUST happened!!

Did you see the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby? If you did then you know what I'm saying. If you didn't well, then never mind. Its not really relevant. A funny movie for sure, but not relevant to this particular post.
I do find myself thanking the baby Jesus a lot after seeing that movie. Again, sorry for the reference if you haven't seen it. So just go see it already. In fact....don't go see it. Its not at the movies anymore. Go rent it or better still, download it from Netflix and watch it right now. Then, come back and read this post about yogurt.

Okay. So you're back! Funny movie, huh?

I made my own yogurt!!!

It worked!!!

Okay, so here's how I did it so you can make your own yogurt too. I bought some raw milk from a local dairy. Let me send a shout out to ma homies at the Dry Valley Dairy in Forestburg, TX. Their milk is from Jersey cows so its full of grass fed, fatty goodness. And they're great people too. And the milk is only $4/gallon. Can you believe it?? There is another dairy in town too. They're closer to me and also great people but their cows are Holstein and not quite as fatty and its $6/gallon. Its called the Neu Dairy. I like me some fatty milk, yo.

 Sorry, Robbie and I have been watching Breaking Bad on Netflix and I find myself talking like a Madskills Drug Dealer. I can't help it. A drug dealer that likes raw dairy...without drugs in it...whatever.

Anyway, I also have some yogurt starter that I got from our local co-op. Its called Yogourmet. I also have a kefir starter. In each box there are 6 packets of probiotics ready to be made into yogurt. When I ordered it, I said "I want one of each yogurt and kefir starter" thinking I was going to get a box of each. But, no....I got a CASE of each!

So, if you want some, leave a comment with your email. I will email you to get your mailing address and send it to you for FREE!!! Then, you can make your own yogurt or kefir if you'd rather. I'll tell you that kefir making is much easier. I'll share later in another post.

Okay, so here's how it works. I took a quart of milk and heated it up to about 150 degrees F over a medium, low heat stirring occasionally. Then, I filled my sink about halfway with ice water and carefully lowered the pan into the sink to cool it off. Once it reaches about 78 degrees F, remove about 1 cup. Mix in the yogurt starter (you can also use yogurt you have on hand as a starter. I wouldn't use any yogurt thats full of sugar and junk. Kind of defeats the purpose I think.) Mix it in really well and add it back into the pot.
Then, pour your yogurt into clean jars.

This is the cool part. I got this idea from laurelofleaves. She's right. Its almost so easy its scary.
I filled up a hot water bottle, put it on the bottom of a regular, old Igloo cooler (any insulated cooler will do.) placed my yogurt on top of it. I wrapped a couple of big towels around them to keep them from tipping off  the water bottle. I placed an old pillow on top of them, tucked them all in, shut the cooler and went about the rest of my day. You can let it stay there as long as you want. I started mine at about noon yesterday and pulled it out this morning at about 8:00. I put two of them back in, because they seemed a little too liquidy.

I put this little jar of awesomeness in the fridge to stop the process. You have to do that. But, before I did, I took a teeny, tiny, little taste of it. Guess what it tastes like.

Go on, guess!

It tastes like YOGURT!!! Yay!!!

Go try it. Its fun!

This post is linked to Barn Hop and Monday Mania

Mocha Frappuccino

Who doesn't love THIS?

Well, I can tell you how to make THAT only a whole lot healthier with THIS.

This is so amazingly simple I'm almost embarassed to tell you how to do it.....ALMOST.

Seriously, I see so many people running to Starbuck's to get their coffee fix and I just think NOOOO! WHY?? Well. I KNOW why. A friend of mine works there and the poor girl who is a tiny, little, waif of sweetness gets berated by angry coffee drinkers ALL THE TIME! I'm amazed. Apparently people get cranky before they've had coffee. I think she should keep a spray bottle of water (or hydrochloric acid...um...just kidding...or am I?) to spray those angry fools in the face when their manners are bad. Don't say anything, just smile sweetly and spray every time they say something rude. Then only respond verbally when they behave themselves. I think it could work. I would do it. In fact, I want to go get a job at Starbuck's right now so I can try it out and see if it works. Purely as a scientific endeavor of course.

All that being said, I love the ambience of Starbuck's too. I love the music, the lighting, the lure of the fresh pastries, and the smell. OH! The Smell!! Is there anything more heavenly smelling than freshly brewed coffee? I think not. Well, okay, freshly bathed babies smell pretty darn good too. Its a draw.

What I don't like about Starbuck's is the coffee. Sorry, but true. It tastes burnt to me. I like their Mocha Frappuccinos though. They are super delicious but  loaded with all kinds of sugars and calories. Very occassionally, I would go in and buy one, but only if I skipped dinner or lunch or a weeks worth of meals to account for all the calories. Who am I kidding. I can't skip a meal. Now, this song comes to mind:

I can't help it. Sorry.

Lets pretend that didn't just happen.

Because what I REALLY got up to tell you this morning is how you can make the lovely mocha frappuccino at home and its really very healthy. I've seen lots of recipes on the net for diy concoctions and they are less expensive for sure. But, they are loaded with sugar as well. In fact, really its just espresso, sugar, milk, and whipped cream. That makes my tummy hurt just telling you about it.

My way is actually a meal replacement. It tastes good, you can give it to your kids, minus the coffee of course. Or...with the coffee...your call......but I don't think....its a good idea.....But, hey! I don't judge.

So, here's what you do:
In a blender, mix 8 oz water, 5 ice cubes, 1 packet Monavie RVL, 1 packet Stevia, and 1 packet of Starbuck's Via. Blend it all up until its frothy and creamy. I kid you not, it's delicious. Plus, it only has 190 Calories with the anti-oxidant equivalent of 10 servings of fruits and vegetables. You can't get that at Starbuck's or even your own diy version with milk and sugar.
And because its loaded with nutrients you really can give it to your kids! Especially if they are like my kid and are picky eaters that think vegetables are in the same food group as rat poison.

If you want to try some, leave a comment with a way to contact you and I'll send you a packet of RVL for free. It also comes in vanilla. The vanilla mixed with a little PB2 powdered peanut butter is absolutely to die for. It tastes like a pb milkshake and still full of nutrients without a lot of added calories. In your comment let me know if you want to try Chocolate Berry or Vanilla.

If you want to learn more about RVL and the ingredients go to this website Monaviervl.com. If you want to order some, go to my website on the right hand side.

Have your Mocha Frappuccino, be a little healthier, and don't listen to the Chipmunk's. They're Chipmunks for Pete's sake! What do they know about beauty trends? They don't even wear pants!!!


This is linked to Monday Mania and Barn Hop. A couple of other healthy living blog carnivals. Go check em out!!

Best Ever Cheeseburger Soup

Okay, I have the absolute best soup recipe EVER!!!  That includes my chicken tortilla soup, which my family just loves. There are loads of chicken tortilla soup recipes so I'm not posting that one.

THIS, though.....THIS is amazing!

I could hurt myself eating it. I crave it. I gots to have it.

So... my darlings, here it is.

2T butter
1# ground beef
1C diced onion
1C diced tomatoes (I used fresh)
1C diced carrots (I used pureed bc I have to sneak it into my family's food. They are babies. Baby men)
3 cloves minced garlic
1T basil
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large pot. Brown the beef and sautee the veggies and spices.
Add

3C chicken broth
2C cubed potatoes

Bring to a boil. Let simmer until potatoes are just done.

Add 1 1/2C milk

simmer and add

2C cheese (I used 1C velveeta and 1C cheddar)
1/2C sour cream
1/4C ketchup
2T mustard

Then, enjoy this warm, steaming pot of autumnal love!

Okay you may be sitting there thinking 'That sounds really good, buuuuuut......what's with the freaky, bloody gnome????'
Well, I took a picture of the soup and tried to upload it. But, I deleted it before it was actually finished loading. I'm no photographer. I tried, I really did. Im the person that always snaps the picture just a fraction of a second too late. Always.

So, I don't have a picture of the soup.

Because we ate it.

Its gone.

I told you it was delicious.

So, since its Halloween and I don't have a soup picture, you get to see the bloody gnome that makes me laugh and laugh. Mwaahahhaahhaa!!!

(that was my scary Halloween laugh)

If you want to know more about the bloody gnome and his misadventures at my workplace, read this My honey and I work together...with zombies....

This post is linked to Monday Mania and Barn Hop  and Sunday Night Soup Night check em out!!

Apple Crisp

Apple crisp, a photo by mistypearson@rocketmail.com on Flickr.

Okay so Operation Get Buff has taken a horrible, horrible, ugly turn into a dark abyss of misery and despair. I think my new name shall be Fatty McFatterson!!

Okay, so maybe that was a little dramatic. But, doesn't a girl get to be a little overly dramatic on fat days? I think if I were president, I would create a national holiday and it shall be called "Fat Day". Everyone gets to take a day off from work, wear sweatpants all day, and eat cookies! or donuts! Yes. Donuts!

But since I'm not president, and there is no Fat Day, Operation Get Buff is back on. In my attempt to get back on track, last night I made this apple crisp. Yesterday, in north Texas we had the best fall day ever!!! It was dark, cool, and rainy. Yeeee-Haw!! You have no idea how great that is. We just went through the hottest, driest, summer ever in history! It was so hot, I baked cookies on the dash of my truck while I was at work. If you want to read that story, its right here. Dash Cookies.
That cool, fallish weather just begs for something warm from the oven. I made potato soup for dinner. It wasn't super great, so I won't share. I didn't have enough potatoes. I was just using what I had on hand.  The recipe called for bacon, too. I only had 2 pieces of bacon and they were leftover from breakfast. I had to snatch them from Robbie's hand just as he was about to put one in his mouth and yell "NO!" like he's a bad dog that stole food from the table! He yelled, "Hey!!! I wanted bacon!"

Anyway, this post isn't about bacon....or potato soup....or my husband's addiction to food....Soooo...I don't know why I told you all that, except it was funny!!!

Okay, back to the apple crisp. Its not your normal apple crisp, its lighter and more apple-y.
Here's how I made it:

And because I'm all into the health and whatnot, I'm gonna tell you about the organicsness of it all!

2 organic honeycrisp apples, peeled and sliced
1 C oatmeal (of course, organic too!)
1/3 C organic butter
1 packet Stevia
1/4 t apple pie spice

In a bowl, melt the butter. Add the oatmeal, stevia, and spice. Stir to coat the oatmeal.
Place the apple slices in an oven safe dish and then spoon the oatmeal mixture over the top. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes until the oatmeal is a little crispy.

That's it!!! Super simple. And if I'd thought it about it a little more in advance, I would have whipped up some cream to go on top. But, I thought it was really good!!! In fact, I had two bowls of it.

I know!! seconds aren't really conducive to my Operation Get Buff, but.........I didn't eat 20 cookies so I call it SCORE!!!! :)

Robbie wanted me to tell you that he didn't like it (in fact, I almost ate his too...but I do have at least a little self control).....In fact, when I handed it to him, he said "What's this stuff on top?"
I said "Oatmeal"
He said "I KNEW you were trying to trick me into eating something healthy!! Oatmeal isn't a dessert!"

That's okay. Don't listen to him! He's embraced his fatness.

Next time, I'll have to tell him the oatmeal are "buttery flavor crystals"!

He'll LOVE it!!!! And for the rest of you....Enjoy the buttery flavor crystal apples!

This recipe is submitted into Monday Mania. A real food, recipe carnival. If you want to read more recipes to help you join me in Operation Get Buff, or if you just don't want to be called Fatty McFatterson, then check it out HERE.

Homemade Pop Tarts

If you've read my blog much you'll know that I've only been doing the "real food" thing for about the last 10 years or so.

As you'll recall, I got most of my nutrition advice from Shape magazine. Okay, let me take that back. About 15 years ago I saw a nutritionist and he told me I should stop using non dairy creamer and use half and half instead. Also, that I should eat more fruits, vegetables, fat, and protein. He told me to give up my junky low fat, high carb, heavily processed diet.

Then, I overheard a very stylish homeschool mom who had recently lost quite a bit of weight say that she lost the weight by giving up boxed foods. I thought that was a smashing idea and I wanted to do it too!!!

So, I call my best work out buddy and we vow we're gonna make all our food from scratch! Man! This is gonna be great! We're gonna be healthy. Our kids are gonna be healthy. And we are AWESOME moms! Yeah!

Wait a minute........what about crackers???? Crap! Do we have to make crackers.

Ring, Ring.

Me: Hey, I just had a thought....what about crackers...Do we have to make our own crackers???

Her:  I don't know....I sometimes give my kids cheese and crackers on the way to sports practices....I don't know what else to feed them. I don't have time to make crackers.

Me: Yeah, me neither. Okay. So, we won't buy anything from a box EXCEPT crackers.

Her: Okay. Sounds Great! We're gonna be such great moms!

Then:

Ring, Ring....

Her: Do we have to make our own BREAD too?

Me: Well, I don't want to have to make bread...I'm busy. And, its TECHNICALLY not in a box....sooooooo,,,

Her: Okay, so we can buy crackers and bread and we'll make everything else we would normally get from a box.

Me: Sounds great!! We're gonna be Sooooooo healthy! Woo-Hoo!

one word:  pop tarts

mmmmmmm.....hmmmmmmm..

So a couple of years go by and I read an article that says this is the first generation in history that the kids are not expected to outlive their parents.

YIKES!!!!!

Okay, that'll perk up a mom.

The article also says that this reason for early death in our children is directly related to their diet.

Okay. Complete overhaul mode. For real this time.

I go through our pantry and throw out anything with hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list.

I don't care what Aibileen Clark says...Crisco is NOT the best stuff on earth!

The first, and dare I say, PAINFUL thing to go is....you guessed it.....POP-TARTS!

There was much crying, begging, pleading, gnashing of teeth, and all around general moping about this little deletion from our regular grocery trip. Everything else was pretty chill until you start messing with the dang pop-tarts!

I told him.."Honey, NO. When Kellogg's stops putting hydrogenated oils in their pop-tarts I will buy them again. Until then, I'll figure out how to MAKE some and they'll be even more delicious!!"

Well....I'm busy. I can't make pop-tarts. How in the heck am I supposed to figure out how to make pop-tarts???? I tried. I really did. I looked online. Remember dial up?

Yup. Guess how long I tried to look up homemade pop tart recipes? I did find one and it was long and drawn out and in the end quite disgusting.

So, my precious darling finally, finally got over the fact that we never buy pop-tarts anymore. Poor baby! Such sacrifice!

THEN...*angels singing*

Nature's Path comes out with ORGANIC TOASTER PASTRIES!!! In wonderful flavors like frosted chocolate, Cherry Pomegranite, Strawberry, Maple Brown Sugar, etc.

Whew!! Okay, life isn't so creepy amish anymore in the Pearson household. We've been buying those for a couple years now. I even ate one last night! I know, I know. I vowed to give up sugar until I lose 7 more pounds. But, my husband "cooked" it for me... (his words) and its RIGHT THERE. I can't waste it, can I?? Not when children in Africa are starving? In fact, it would be un-humanitarian of me NOT to eat it so....

Hey! Don't judge! You would have eaten it too! And stop looking at me......

But, look what I just found on Pinterest!!! A homemade pop tart that looks sparkly delicious. Seeeeee?

Pinterest IS productive! Somebody tell my husband....would you please?

I haven't made these little beauties yet (sugar give up, you know. Im back on as of this morning.) but, I'm going to make them for my family soon.

If you want to make them for yours, here is the link to the recipe Pop Tart deliciousness!

Its so simple and super easy to tweak to make even healthier and with different flavors!

Apple, Cherry, and Cranberry Tartlets

I have to tell you that I LOVE butter!!!!

More importantly, I love fruit cooked in butter! Well, actually, if truth be told, I love everything cooked in butter!!!

More importantly than that, I like to be thin, beautiful, and healthy!

I know, I know! I know what you're thinking. Well, maybe I don't. If you're sitting there wondering why those dang middle easterners just can't get along, then I can't help you with that. Or maybe I can. Here's my theory on that: They're Crazy!!!!! That's the best I can do on that. But, if on the other hand, you are thinking 'Yeah, too bad! You can't have butter and a nice butt, too!' Well then you're wrong!! And you too can have butter and a nice butt too!! Are you loving me right now or what?

The reason a lot of people think they can't have butter is because they are brainwashed into thinking saturated fat is bad for you. Its not. Whats bad for you are artificial, chemical laden food-like substances, margarine, for example, or non dairy creamer.

No, no, no!! Never put those in your mouth! Eat real butter and real cream, preferrably from grass fed cows.

I have to tell you that when I was younger and in my fat free days I tried to make a low fat pecan pie for Thanksgiving....to take to my mother-in-law's house......I know.....What the heck was I thinking? I used egg whites, corn syrup, fat free margarine, sugar, and pecans. It was not pretty. But, I did learn an important lesson at that time. The lesson is 'Its Thanksgiving for goodness sakes! Just eat it and enjoy it! You can walk it all off later.'

As another aside, this is completely unrelated to my post, but its funny. When Robbie and I very first got married I made lasagna for dinner. I was at the grocery store looking for ricotta. I couldn't find it but found feta. I was standing there looking at it thinking 'It looks like ricotta....It probably tastes like ricotta.' You know it doesn't. It was awful! Robbie, however, really liked it. Yuck! Which, that all by itself, sounds like a nice, little romantic story, huh? The new wife screws up dinner. The proud husband likes it anyway. Oh, PROUD? you ask...Yes, because his mother showed up while I was at work. Since he liked it so much I saved the leftovers for him. This is where the story turns from romantic to dark. While I was at work, his mother pops in and Robbie says "Misty made some really great lasagna last night. You should try it!" I know!!! Gasp! Horror!!!!!! He tells me all this when I get home. As I stand there listening to his tale of horror (he doesn't realize its a tale of horror. He's a man, what are you gonna do?) my mouth hangs open and after a few seconds of stunned silence I ask him "You fed your mother that lasagna?!? Oh No!!!!........well, what did she say?"

She said "I like a litte more ricotta in my lasagna."



See? funny, huh?

So, with that all being said, I'm going to tell you what I made last night and Oh My! It was delicious!!! I made apple, cherry, and cranberry tartlets.

Here are the ingredients:

2 T butter
2 apples, peeled and coarsely chopped
15 cherries, chopped
1/4 C dried cranberries
1 T stevia
pie crust, I used Immaculate Baking premade pie crust. Its good and doesn't have any artificial ingredients in it. Plus I had it on hand which is what put the idea of tartlets in my head.
4 small tart pans

*You could increase this recipe to make a big tart. But, I wanted little tarts for single servings. I told you I like to be thin and beautiful!! While you can eat butter and still look good, you can't eat a whole pie and still look good! I'm just sayin'

Okay, pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure out the crust into the pans. Melt the butter in a frying pan and then add the apples. Cook them about 5 minutes until they're softish. Then add the cranberries and cherries. Cook another few minutes to get them all buttered up. Add the stevia and mix it all up making a bit of a glaze. Pour the fruit into the crusts and bake for about 15 minutes until the crusts are lightly brown.

And voila!!! All done. Now you have a healthy, fruity dessert with no added sugars for you and your family to enjoy. If you really want to enjoy it further, add cream to it!!!!

There's nothing better in the world than fruit cooked in butter and stevia with cream poured on top!!!

Man oh man! I cannot wait for peach season! :)

I'm submitting this recipe in Monday Mania If you want more real food recipes you should definitely check it out. Definitely. Its right Here!

EFAs and Skin Moisture

Wow!! 2 entries in one day!!!! Can you believe it?

I'm here at our store, Pearson Pools, your one stop pool shop! *I know, I know...I'll stop.* I'm here after cleaning pools all day because today is opening day of baseball and Robbie the guy who is regularly in this seat has gone home early to watch the Rangers beat the Red Sox. As an aside, I don't really know if the Rangers are beating the Red Sox nor do I honestly care. Don't get me wrong, I want the Rangers to win, but not so much that I feel a need to go HOME to watch them!!!

We have a little tv here and we've offered to mount it and hook it up to cable but he thinks its too much money....Really? Do you know how much money cable costs? No? Then how do you know???

.....what? the fish? Oh....riiiiightttttt... again, I digress. See? I need you to keep me in check otherwise my fishy blog entry turns into a baseball entry. Or was it an entry about the cost of cable? I can't keep up.
So, back to the fish!

I follow Suzanne Sommers blog. She's really smart about nutritional stuff! Who knew, right? I used to think 'She's an actress! What does she know about nutrition??' I thought the same thing about Marilu Henner. As it turns out, they know quite a lot. I was waiting for my son at Boy Scouts one night in the church library. I picked up one of Suzanne's books and was really blown away. So, I'm going to share something she was talking about in her blog. Its about moisturizers.

Apparently, she has a skin care line. Some women were complaining that their aging skin wasn't holding moisture. As it turns out, they were deficient in their omega 3s!!

The point is, if you consume enough of those essential fats your skin will glow. I will tell you that we've noticed that drinking Monavie. Its perfectly balanced omegas 3, 6, and 9. You can also get your omega 3s from fish and fish oil. I recommend the fish as the oil goes rancid really quickly.

Because its your lucky day, I'm going to tell you my favorite way to prepare fish. Its tilapia. I don't know how you feel about tilapia being from China and all. Oh sure, I bet you could find some around here but EVERYTHING comes from China anymore. I kid you not, that I even sprung for a case of expensive, health food store tilapia to get away from those pesky Chinese and would you believe that those came from China as well. So, I'll let you be the judge on that. I just love it! Its very mild and light on the calories.

Here's what ya need:

tilapia fillets
salt
pepper
garlic powder
chile pepper powder seasoning (I use Rudy's Rub, but Emerils is good too)
lemon
olive oil

Turn on the broiler. I cover my broiler  pan with foil so the clean up is a super breeze! place the fillets on the pan and brush each one with olive oil. Sprinkle spices on each fillet to taste and then squeeze lemon all over them. Turn the fillets over and do the same thing to that side. If you don't like spicy leave out the chile powder seasoning. Its super delicious without it too! Put that in the broiler for about 3-4 minutes (till they're not pink) flip them over and cook another 3-4 minutes until they flake with a fork. Boooyah!!All done! How easy is that????

Now, you have a delicious meal for your family that's low in calories and youthful skin all the same time! Now that's some multitasking!

This post is part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Fridays. To check out even more healthy suggestions shoot on over there at this website http://www.foodrenegade.com/fight-back-friday-april-1st/ 

Some Really Good Pork!!!

We just recently bought some meat from a man selling it off the street!!

Well, kinda but not really. I usually buy grass fed, free range, antibiotic, hormone, and nitrate (ite) free meats. But, I had decided to get some of the guys on my list (who frankly could care less about healthy eating!!!) some steaks for Christmas. Well, then all of a sudden a guy comes in selling such meats for less than I had planned to spend. Yeee-haw!!!! So he threw in a case of pork for free. Well, okay. I'll give some of it a try. Because not only do I like to eat healthy but frugally when I can.

So, I found a recipe from http://allrecipes.com/ and found pernil pork loin. Its a Puerto Rican Pork Loin. And oh my!!! Was it ever delicious!!!!! So, since its your lucky day, I'm going to tell you how I made it and what I served it with. Then I'll tell you how much my husband gushed over it and promised me all sorts of diamonds and furs and trips and....... Oh, well, okay he didn't really promise me all that but he did really love it. :)

Puerto Rican Pork Loin:

In a food processor add:

4 cloves garlic


1 large onion, quartered

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons chipotle chile powder
2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon white wine

Chop and blend until its all paste-y. Spread it over:
1 (3 pound) boneless pork loin roast

Cook on low about 5 - 6 hours and then squeeze the juice of

1 lime

all over the top. :)
 
 
 
 
I served this with a Caesar salad (because we love them) and some rice. I cooked rice the regular old way, following the directions on the package but I added baby spinach and pine nuts sauteed in butter. mmmmmmm....butter......
 
I love butter.
 
So the rice is mildly bland while the meat is pretty tangy. Its a perfect complement. My husband not only loved it he had it for lunch 2 days in a row until it was all gone. I was going to use the leftover meat for sandwiches and tacos or something.
 
Home Run in the Pearson kitchen!!!!! Now it can be in yours too! :)
 
This post is part of Food Renegades Fight Back Friday. You should go over there and check it out! Here is the link http://www.foodrenegade.com/fight-back-friday-december-17th/#more-2542

Pumpkin Oatmeal

IMAG0536
Originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/50173102@N04/

Well, its a chilly 54 degrees here in Texas. I know some of you Yankees are laughing your hiney off! But, hey.... We like it hot!

Hot as in Hot, yo! Not hot as in "Oh My Lord, Its a hundred freaking degrees outside!" which we get a lot of here in Texas.

But....Not Today!!!! Today its chilly out and has me in the mood for some phat (pretty, hot, and tasty) oatmeal. Its super good with pumpkin added to it as well. I had some myself and now I'm going to share it with you. This is enough for one serving because I only made some for myself. Heee Heee.

No, no! Before you get all sideways thinking I'm a bad wife and mom, let me say, that my honey doesn't really appreciate oatmeal the way I do and has elected to eat some organic Koala Crisp cereal with raw, whole milk and my son is spending the night with a friend of which and a side note, he accidentally called my phone in the middle of the night and I eavesdropped on his activities for a while. Heeee Heeeee!

HEY!! don't judge me! He called ME so its okay...... Right??? Yeah well, a mom has to use all the tools in her chest. :)

But, anyway, back to the oatmeal. Here's what you'll need:

1 cup water
1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup organic pumpkin puree
1/8 t cinnamon
1/16 t nutmeg
1/16 t cloves
1/16 t ginger
pinch of salt
1 packet of Stevia
1/4 cup raw cream (you heard me!! I said CREAM)

Then: Here's what you'll do:

Boil the water and add the oatmeal. Cook for about 5 minutes or so until its creamy. Add the pumpkin and spices and continue until  everything is all melty and warm. Add the Stevia. If you want it sweeter you can add another packet. Spoon into your bowl and pour the cream all over the top.

Then, sit down and count your blessings today. One of which will most definitely be the fact that you just found your new favorite way to eat oatmeal!! :)


And seriously.....Don't be afraid of the cream!! Really!!! Don't put sugar in it and the cream will skip right past your thighs much like I skipped right past my shorts this morning to put on my blue jeans and sweater!

eggs

eggs
Originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/50173102@N04/

This is one of my favorite way to eat eggs. And since its your lucky day, I'm going to share it with you!!!!

Okay, you can do the happy dance now.

Go ahead, cowboy, dance.........


That's how you dance? Really? Okay, then.....

Just kidding!!! I'm sure you're a really great dancer! In fact, you should go out dancing tonight! If you do, call me. I've been wanting to go out dancing lately myself. Cut a rug, do a jig, get my groove on...


What? Oh yeah. The eggs. *sigh* Okay, here it is.

Before, I tell you, you need to know that I'm a dumper inner and not so much a measurer. But, I'll do my best.

melt some butter in a skillet. This is just one serving so I'm gonna guess it was about a Tablespoon of Butter.

Sautee a handful of chopped onions, a handful of chopped mushrooms in the butter until the onions are translucent. Then, add about a cup (or more) of torn baby spinach. You can use a lot of spinach. It cooks WAY down. Then, add 2 eggs and scramble around. I also added a pinch of garlic and a pinch of salt. When the eggs are done, turn off the heat and add grated cheese. Lots of grated cheese.

Now, you can use whatever makes you happy, but because I like to be super healthy, I used organic veggies, free range eggs, and raw cheddar cheese, and sea salt. And let me just say......MMMMMMMMMMM
and even better? It took about 10 minutes from start to finish to prepare. I had some fruit with it to make it a meal. Dinner in fact!

This post is part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday. You can check out all the other entries here http://www.foodrenegade.com/fight-back-friday-october-29th/

Yogurt

Yogurt
Originally uploaded by mistypearson@rocketmail.com

Here's another recipe for you. If you like sweet, fruity yogurts, you have to try this instead! It's so much better for you and doesn't have any added sugars or artificial anythings added to it.

1 small container of plain, fat free, greek style yogurt
2 packets Stevia
1/2 t vanilla extract
handful of raspberries

Mix together the first 3 ingredients well (you could stop here and it will taste delicious!!!) then fold in the berries (you can also use other fruits as well)

That's it!


Now go make it!


Feed it to your kids...


Then, go sit and read a book. Let them do whatever they want. Don't let it bother you. You've fed them a super healthy snack so you've already been a good mother today. Rest in that knowledge and feel superior to the other mothers who fed their kids a sugary, fake yogurt.


aaaaahhhh! feels good huh???? You know you can eat the yogurt too! It's really delicious and it won't make you fat. Man, does this day just get any better????????

Yummm!

Yummm!
Originally uploaded by mistypearson@rocketmail.com

I live in the south and we southerners love our fried foods.

As a diet nazi, I like to eat real foods that are healthy. I also want my family to live a long, healthy life so I like to feed them healthy foods too. I, personally, plan to live to be 130 years old and I don't want to be here all by myself!!

When we first started eating healthy (as defined by me and other real foodies and not crazy fitness mags!) I found it hard to break old habits. We used to either eat out a lot or eat food from boxes. I just didn't know there was any other way. I'm sure there are a lot of people that think that way too. I know, because I've looked in their pantries. I've seen lots of Hamburger Helpers and cake mixes.

Then, I realized that if you just eat meats and veggies you're pretty set. So I bought a George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine (I love both George Foreman and his grill!!!! I read his book. You should definitely pick it up and read it) I've grilled lots on it but that gets to be just a little boring eating that all the time. Then, I figured out how you can turn almost any of your favorite foods into healthy foods just with a few little tweaks!

Now, you will see some butter in my recipes. But don't freak out!! Butter is your friend and not the enemy those crazy low fatties would have you believe. I eat lots of butter and cream and I'm not fat, nor do I have high cholesterol, blood pressure, or blood sugar. You just have to trust me on this. If you don't, then read some books by Drs Perricone and Mercola and Suzanne Sommers, Marilu Henner too. I know it sounds crazy but its true!

Here's a recipe for you:

Salmon Patties
We love to fry salmon in a patty form here in the south! You will occasionally find some who pronounce it correctly (sa-mon), but mostly you'll find everyone says (sal-mon). Don't try and correct them. They don't want to change. Believe me, I've tried. It doesn't work. Just enjoy the patties!

1 large can wild caught alaskan salmon
1 egg
1 cup oatmeal
1t. garlic powder
1t. onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

In a large frying pan, heat up some peanut oil ( I use peanut oil for frying because as far as I know, it doesn't turn into trans fats at high temps. While olive oil is a nutritious oil, it's not stable at high heats so it's not a good option for frying.)

In a medium large bowl mix up all the ingredients. form into hand size patties. When the oil gets hot, place the patties in the oil. fry until they are brown on one side and then flip. Cook until brown on all sides. Drain on paper towels.

I served these with fried sweet potatoes ( melt butter in a frying pan and slice sweet potatoes. Place sweet potatoes in the melted butter and fry until mildly brown and soft. Add a little salt) and canned beans.

And voila!!! You have a pretty nutritious, quick meal! Its fairly low glycemic and has your protein, starch, and fiber. I would also serve a side salad as well to get some greens in the body. But, the whole thing takes about 20 minutes to prepare start to finish and my family loves it (Well, not my son, but he's a picky eater and behaves as if I'm poisoning him if he thinks I snuck a vegetable into his food. But, don't listen to him, he's odd. He gets that from his dad I'm sure!)

sugar free peach melba

sugar free peach melba
Originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/50173102@N04/

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM...........


Imagine this with real, fresh, organic cream poured on top.



MMMMMMMMMMMMMM.......

Let me tell me how you I made it. Its super simple and it won't make you fat. I promise. In fact, it can help you lose weight. NO!!! Really!!! Its true. Now look at that delicious picture again.

Unbelievable huh??? But, I kid you not.

This is enough for one person. So don't tell your family. Or better yet, tell them that its healthy and they'll stay away from it and you can have it all to yourself.

Take one organic nectarine (I know, I said it was peach melba. It's really nectarine melba. But peach melba just sounds better, ya know?)
Cut that up into chunks while you're melting 1/2 Tablespoon butter in a pan. I love butter. I'm going to marry butter when my darling husband of 20 years is not married to me anymore. I don't know when that will be but I'm going to keep stringing butter along until then.
Once the butter is melted, reduce the heat to medium and add the chunks to the pan. Sprinkle two teaspoons full (real teaspoons that you stir iced tea with and not measuring spoons) of ZSweet on the nectarine chunks and stir around, or sautee, if you will. ZSweet is Xylitol and Stevia. It has zero calories, is all natural, and is low glycemic.
Once the nectarine is softish*, add a handful (or 3!!) of organic raspberries (blackberries are super yummy too!!) into the pan and stir them around gently just to coat them with the glaze.
Turn off the heat and pour your mixture into a bowl. Then pour cream over the top.

*This recipe works really well with peaches or nectarines that are not quite ripe. You know, the ones that aren't very tasty and juicy to eat right out of your hand? Yeah, those. The juicy ones, just eat 'em before you get in the house. That's what you're supposed to do with those. That way you can hose your face off while you're still outside.

Then, sit back and enjoy every single, delicious, nutritious, slimming bite!!!

The caveat to eating butter and cream and still losing weight is that you can't eat fat and sugar together. So, you could have this with protein and vegetables and still be losing weight. You can't eat anything starchy or high glycemic and then have this. Otherwise, it WILL make you fat. Soooo, you can enjoy the buttery, sweet goodness just don't have any sugar, bread, pasta, or potatoes when you eat it. Easy, huh? :)

Sugar Free No Bake Cheesecake Pie!!

Last weekend was 4th of July and some family friends, my son, and I all headed over the river to Winstar Casino to have a pre-fireworks tailgate party. It was immensely fun!! We all brought food. We had a little wine, hung out, chatted, and laughed. The food was excellent. Sue brought a little grill and some sausages. Monty and Mel brought some homemade hummus and venison burgers and tomatoes from their garden. YUMMMM! and I brought chicken salad, a gingery jicama salad, and a sugar free, no bake cheesecake pie. The pie was absolutely delicious!!! I would show you a picture of it, but we ate it too fast!!!! It's basically pretty healthy and even better, quick and easy! So, I'm sharing it with you here.

Here's what you need:

1 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs


1 cup pecan sandies cookies

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons xylitol

8 ounces cream cheese

1/3 cup xylitol

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Here's what you do with all that stuff:

1.In a bowl, mix together crushed cookies and graham crackers with melted butter and the 3 tablespoons xylitol.


2.Press into a 9 inch pie pan. Place in refrigerator until ready for use.

3.In another bowl, beat cream cheese, 1/3 cup of xylitol and lemon juice.

4.Whip cream, and fold into cream cheese mixture.

5.Spread into pie crust.

6.Freeze for 1 hour, covered with foil.

7.Place in refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
 
It went fast cuz it was goooooood!!!! I have to say that it's not TOTALLY  sugar free because there is sugar in the graham crackers and cookies for the crust. You could probably substitute ground nuts in place ot the cookies to make it even healthier. I may try that next time I make it. Its a great, summery dessert that's not quite as heavy as a regular, baked cheesecake. Do yourself a favor and make one tonight. If you do, let me know how you liked it!!

Lemon Pasta

Saturday night is Junk Food Night at our house. It's my best effort at getting my family to eat healthy. I bribe them with junk food once a week. The concept is this: Eat healthy all week and then splurge on your favorite junky things on Saturday. In theory that works pretty well. We've been so busy though with the pool business we haven't had time to breathe let alone prepare healthy meals all week. You would shake your head in pity and disgust if you happen to get a look at my roots!  So, we've been eating fairly junky for a couple of months.

I personally could live without Junk Food Night, but the guys in my house are like rabid dogs on Saturday night. Basically, I just throw food at them and then back up really fast. If not, then I'm liable to lose a hand!

So, this past Saturday night they were having cheese dip with sausage in it and Ruffles. You know the Velveeta and ro-tel stuff? Well, I'm way past ever wanting to have that again. So, I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman's website. Here's a link if you want the real recipe: http://www.pioneerwoman.com/. The recipe is lemon pasta.

I have to tell you that I'm a dumper inner and not a measurer when I cook. All my friends with really great recipes are dumper inners too and we can follow recipes perfectly well. But, if you're a measurer and this bugs you, then don't even try this recipe. If, on the other hand, you're like me, then give it a try because I made it up and its absolutely delicious!!

This made enough for just me in a big bowl, tweak it if you need more:

I boiled a handful of spagetti noodles and when they were done cooking I drizzled olive oil and mixed.
While that was cooking, I melted 1/4 c of butter and minced 3 cloves of garlic. Yes, I said 3!!! I love me some garlic. I also chopped up a handful of mushrooms and added that to the butter. When, all that sauteed, I turned off the heat and added some cream...mmmmmm, cream! Just enough to make it "saucy". Then, I stirred the noodles into the sauce and squeezed a lemon all over all of it. You need that much lemon. The lemon makes the whole dish. It's quick, it's easy, it's LEMON PASTA!!!!!!

It's not super healthy, but it's not full of junk either. So, eat it with no regrets and let me know if you just love it.

*disclaimer*  This is definitely girl food!!

Mocha Latte

mocha latte
Originally uploaded by mistypearson@rocketmail.com

This makes a wonderful sugar free, caffeine free dessert for the Chicken Soup I posted earlier today.

Forget the wine in the picture. You don't need wine for this recipe unless you just WANT to put wine in it. In that case, I suggest you omit all the other ingredients and just have the wine! Also, in that case, stop reading this because you're already thinking about the wine and the rest of this post is just going to disappoint you. Go have your wine!!



If you elected to NOT have the wine and you're still here, well, then you're just as boring as I am. I'm not having wine right now either. Maybe we should try and hook up with the fun people that just left. No? Well, okay then.

If you read anything by Suzanne Sommers you'll know that it's okay to have all the fat you want as long as you don't pair it with sugar. I don't know how true that it is, but it really makes sense. Plus, I followed her diet and lost 25 pounds. So, there ya go!

I don't drink coffee anymore, but even if I did, I wouldn't want to have it for dessert. I would be up all night. What would I do? hmmmm.....I could play badminton with the dogs. No, they cheat! I could paint the carport. Well, I'd have to move the stupid chickens first. They've been roosting in there. I built them a very nice coop, too! I could clean house....nah! I'd rather sleep anyway. Sooooo..... Caffeine Free it is. If you haven't ever tried Cafix, it's way good! It's instant so you just add hot water. Here's the recipe:

1 T Cafix
2 T cocoa
1 packet Stevia (add another packet if you need it sweeter)
hot water to fill your cup almost full. Leave room for the cream!!!
Then, duh! add the cream until the cup is full and it looks tan and creamy instead of brown and coffee-y. Is that a word? I think not, so forget I said it and go enjoy your latte!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Chicken Enchilada Soup
Originally uploaded by mistypearson@rocketmail.com

Here's a little soup recipe to get you through your day! It's delicious!!! You should try it.

Here's what you need:

2 cooked and shredded chicken breasts (I use leftover chicken. I sometimes plan my weekly menu so that I cook a chicken or have one of those delicious little rotisserie numbers from Wal-Mart. So, what I'm saying is, you don't HAVE to have breasts. If I don't have any leftover chicken, I'll just boil 2 breasts real quick.)

1 can mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 can enchilada sauce ( I like Hatch brand. It doesn't have all the junk in it)
1- 4 oz can chopped green chiles
1 med chopped onion
1 qt of chicken broth
1 T garlic powder
1 t. smoked paprika
1 t. chipotle pepper
1/2 t. cumin
2 bay leaves
salt
1/2 lemon
handful of cilantro
grated cheese

Dump all the ingredients except the last 3 into your slow cooker. Cook on high 3 hours or low 6. I sometimes do that in the morning and put it on the setting "keep warm" and let it go all day and come home to a delicious dinner. 30 minutes before you're through cooking, squeeze the lemon into it and throw in the cilantro.

You can make it hotter or milder by using more or less of the peppers. You can also add a little cayenne for even more of a kick!

sprinkle the cheddar on top and enjoy!!!