My Favorite Berry - The Raspberry...!!!

Bonjour Foodies,


I have been gearing my body in a attempt to eat healthier What does this mean for me? Well it means, less fast food, more home made food, less junk food,and more fruits and veggies. I even started to replace some things I eat with organic products. Some of these products are organic brown eggs, organic mozzarella cheese string, and organic low fat vanilla yogurt.

I'm also trying things like turkey bacon and sausage. I'm trying to eat better. And its hard but I know its possible. I'm just so use to eating whatever is easiest to get my hands on. Now I am really trying to push myself to do better.

Did I mention I love fruit? My favorite berry though is Raspberries. They are just so delicious and I can't seem to get enough of them. I usually just buy the small pack even though I know I'll eat them within at least two days of having them.

 

Yummy!!!

Unearthing my first Naturebox...!!!

Bonjour Foodies,

A few weeks ago, I turned twenty-three and with this incredible change of age came very important decision. I decided that I am overweight for my age. I currently weigh in at about, well that's not that important. Let's just say I weight between somewhere in the hundreds. I just know that what I weigh is not where I'm supposed to be. So I've been searching the web for ways to eat better. I found this website called Natures box. They send you a trail box for free. I just got mine in the mail yesterday.

 These are just some of the items I got from my nature box. I really enjoyed the cinnamon swirl kettle kernels. They were very delicious. I hope to find more places that do this type of thing. I was looking on online and found another company called Urthbox. They provide a box of non-gmo, organic products to their customers every month. I also think its good deal, they want nineteen dollars for their products.

One Skillet Lasagna - Two Words - Yummy...!!!

Bonjour Foodies,

Tonight for dinner, I put my hands to work and created a very delicious one skillet lasagna. I found the recipe online from Taste of Homes. I really enjoyed this recipe. I tried to cut back on the cottage cheese that this recipe calls for because I've never been a huge fan. I hope you all try this one for yourselves. Next time I think I want to try adding spinach and ground turkey to make it a more healthy meal.

Cheesy, Gooey, Lasagna

One Skillet Lasagna 

This recipe makes about six servings. 

Ingredients: 

3/4 pound ground beef

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic, don't drain. 

2 jars(14 each) spaghetti sauce

2/3 cup condensed cream of onion soup, I used cream of mushroom because I couldn't find cream of onion where I live. 

2 eggs lightly beaten

1-1/4 cups 1% cottage cheese

3/4 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, you can either purchase from a store or make your own. I purchased from the store.

9 no-cook lasagna noodles

1/2 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack Cheese

1/2 cup shredded part-skim Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet, cook the beef and the minced garlic over medium heat until the beef is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the can of tomatoes and spaghetti sauce;heat through. Then transfer into a large bowl.

2. In a small bow, then combine the cream of mushroom soup, the cottage cheese, the Italian season, and eggs until mixed well. The mixture will be very gross looking.

 

3. Add one cup of the meat sauce to skillet; spread even. Layer with cottage cheese mixture, I used a small amount, then 1 to 1/2 cups of meat sauce and half the noodles. Break the noodles if they don't fit. Repeat the process, layer the cottage cheese mixture, meat sauce and noodles. Top with the remaining meat sauce. Bring the lasagna to a boil. Then reduce the heat; cover and cook for 15 to 18 minutes or until the noodles are tender.

4. Remove the lasagna from the heat and cover with cheese and lid. Let cool for 2 minutes, waiting until the cheese is melted. Then serve.

This meas was so good. I can't wait to make it again and change it up.

The Perfect Piece of Heaven...!!!

Bonjour Foodies,

Today I'm gonna share with you something that holds a very special place in my heart. I made this for my boyfriend for our very first anniversary. He loved it so much.  But sadly I haven't made it since then. And we've been together for two years and six months this September. Which is such a long time and we are both so happy together.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Ingredients:

1 package of yellow cake mix
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1/4 cup poppy seeds
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup lemon juice

Lemon Glaze

Ingredients:

1 - 3/4 cupc confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Cake Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured fluted tube pan.

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients until smooth; drizzle over the cake.

This recipe is very good and I invite all of you to try it for yourselves.

Ice Cream...We All Scream...For Ice Cream...!!!

Bonjour Foodies,

So my phone won't let me add any of the photos I've taken of me preparing the last two meals I made this past week. I hope to figure out this problem soon. But in the meantime, I am gonna share something else I made with you. This was pretty easy and fun to make.

Ingredients:

Your choice of cookie

Your choice of ice cream

Your choice of toppings

This was a fun little food project that I made awhile ago. I decided I wanted to make ice cream cookie sandwiches. I bought Toll House Cookie Dough at the store. I baked the cookies and set them aside to cool. Once the cookies were cool enough, I got out the vanilla ice cream that my boyfriends mom bought from Target and placed that on the cookie. Then, I put another cookie on top to create the ice cream sandwich cookie. After all that funnest, I rolled the cookie in sprinkles and then shared them with my boyfriend's family. They all loved them.

Tips for a Heathier You...!!!

Bonjour Foodies,

I just wanted to give everyone some of the tips I follow when it comes to trying to be healthy. This includes exercising everyday and finding ways to improve upon the food you eat. I struggle with eating good, healthy food. I always seems to fall victim to my temptation of chocolate or sweet goodies.  I also have a problem that once I start eating bad food, I can't stop myself. So here is what I'm doing to stay fit and eat well.

Tips for a Better You...

1. Workout - Do this everyday when time permits. Right now, I jog three nights a week, do squats three to four nights a week, do crunches or sit-ups at least three nights a week, and yoga twice a week. I am trying to just get back into a workout plan. This is where I am starting because I think its a good place for me.

2. Eat Better - Keep a Food Journal and write down all the food I eat everyday. I found it is easier to have an app on my phone that allows me to input my food intake. The app also acts as a calorie counter and lets me keep a goal for my calories.

3. Improve - Write down how to improve workouts and food intake. Find a woman with a similar body type to my own. I have the type of body that once it starts to gain weight, it is very hard to loose that weight. I have to workout much harder than most people in order to loose weight. My body role model would have to be Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Lopez, and Demi Lovato. Now keep in mind, that these women's bodies might not be exactly like mine but we all have the same type of body.

4. Healthy Food - Keep a list of groceries that I think are healthy. For example, honey wheat bread is better for you than white bread.

5. Money - Be smart about money and try to save. Don't splurge on unhealthy choices.

6. Limit - Try to keep junk food and fast food out of the picture. If you must have it, then try to get the healthiest thing on the menu. Salads and chicken wraps are my go to when it comes to fast food.

I hope this helps others. Its hard to do all this at once, so you have to really work at it to find a balance that fits into your lifestyle.

Walking in my Garden...!!!

Bonjour Foodies,

I wanted to share my garden with all of you. I decided last winter that this year I would plant my first garden. I would like to say I was most successful. The only problem I came across was not putting some plants out soon enough.


So these plants right here are my banana peppers, a cucumber plant, a tomato plant, and some marigolds. This was my first start at growing flowers and vegetables outside.

This is my bigger garden. It is in a raised garden bed made from cedar wood. I purchased the bed from Home Depot's online website. I have tomatoes plants, some cucumber plants, some green pepper plants, marigolds, and two pumpkin plants. All these plants have at least doubled in size since these pictures were taken. I am very proud of my little garden. It has been very successful. I have harvested some of the plants to use in my own recipes. There is nothing better than to have a garden to provide fresh ingredients for recipes. I rather enjoy gardening. It is a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I'm glad I decided to try it. 

Also look to the future for me more garden news. I am expecting to have some very nice pumpkins before Halloween arrives next month. I also am looking forward to having two garlic plants next spring. I will keep you all posted. 

Cupcakes, Cupcakes, and More Cupcakes...!!!

Bonjour Foodies,

Don't these cupcakes look amazing and yummy. They were probably the best homemade cupcakes I have ever made.

I love baking. It is one of my favorite past times. I have made some awesome things in the past few years. One of my favorites was this homemade chocolate cupcake with homemade peanut butter icing. Those cupcakes were amazing and you could just taste the love that went into them. I made those cupcakes about 3 years ago for someone who didn't really deserve them. But I was naive and missed all the sad tell signs that they weren't someone who deserved fresh baked goodies.

 I hope you all enjoy the pictures I took of my cupcakes. I am still seeking knowledge of how to make better cupcakes and icing. I can't for the life of me make vanilla icing. I always screw it up.

Then last year for Valentines Day, I decided to make cupcakes. I made these cupcakes that were so delicious, that it was hard to eat just one of them. This recipe was not homemade because I had not had the right amount of time to create such amazing cupcakes in such a short amount of time. I believe they were strawberry flavored cupcakes with vanilla icing and red and pink hearts sprinkled on top for Valentines Day.

My Famous Shepherd's Pie...!!!

Bonjour Foodies,

So this is one of my and my boyfriend's family favorite recipes. We all love this amazing dish and I am excited to share it with all of you. I also usually go off of the main recipe and add a few touches here and there to make it more personal. 

This recipe makes about 6 to 8 servings or more

Ingredients: 

2-3 Ibs of Lean Ground Beef
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Onion, chopped
1 bag of Mild Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1-2 cups of Vegetables, frozen
5 Ibs of Red Potatoes 
8 Tablespoons of butter or 1 Stick of Butter
1/2 cup of Beef Stock
1 Teaspoon of Worcestershire Sause
Salt and Pepper and Other Seasonings of your Choice

Recipe 

1. I always start this meal by washing the red potatoes and cutting them into quarters. Then I fill a pot with water, add a few pinches of salt, and boil the potatoes until tender. This takes about 20 minutes. I can tell by poking the potatoes with a fork to see if they are ready to be drained. 

2. While the potatoes are cooking, I melt 4 Tablespoons of butter(1/2 a stick) in a frying pan. 

3. I then saute the onion and garlic over medium heat until they are tender, about 10 minutes. If you are adding vegetables, add them according to the cooking time. 

4. I usually add the beef and cook it until it is no longer pink. Then I drain the excess fat off, after I put the meat back into the frying pan. I add the beef broth and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. I sprinkle on the salt an pepper. Then add the Worcestershire sauce and more beef broth to keep it moist. 

5. I precede to mash the red potatoes, adding the remaining butter and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon out the mashed potatoes on top top of the meat in an oven safe dish. Add cheese on top of the Mashed potatoes to add some color to this dish. 

6. Cook at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes until lightly brown. 

Welcome to my Food Blog...!!!

Bonjour Foodies, 

    Welcome to my new blog about well food and the food that is inspiring me each week. Here in this new little blog, I plan to record my personal experiences with the recipes I  attempt to make each week. Along with these food adventures, I will also talk about my garden and what grows there. I hope you all enjoy this blog. I love to cook, bake, and garden and I can't wait to share that with all of you. I can't say I will post often but I will try to bring something new each week if I can find the time to blog. That is hard to come by theses days.