What's Cooking Beautiful? Day 4-8

First, let's talk spaghetti sauce...

My best friend Jenny gave me a recipe a while back for spaghetti sauce. This is how it goes:

• 1 cup minced onion (or puree it if your family has a texture issue...FYI that will make the sauce thicker)
• 1 tbsp. fresh garlic

Cook those together until the onions become translucent.

• 2 cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (more if you like it hotter)
• 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

You can add 'extra' spice to fit your taste buds if you desire. It's all a trial and error till you get it just how you like it. So play around with it. If you like thinner sauce add some water or possibly tomato sauce.

You can cook this in a large pan on the stove - most would say to do the onion/garlic in a skillet, but unless I'm using a crock pot for my spaghetti sauce I tend to just cook them in the same large pan as I plan to put the spaghetti sauce in...less dishes (and my hubby likes that!). If you chose to use your crock pot just mix all ingredients together and turn on low for a few hours. I'm not sure how long Jenny cooks hers for - maybe she'll comment and remind me... :) Remember to cook the onion/garlic in a skillet should you decide to use your crock pot.

I will be making spaghetti sauce, possibly today since I'm home with a sick little man and I will take pictures and post for you...later.

Now, here is the 2 most wonderful things about spaghetti sauce.

1. You can freeze it! Divide into portions and freeze - makes cooking dinner go so much faster!
2. You can hide just about anything in it! If don't right and when nobody is looking.

Here are a couple of locations where you can find some 'deceptive' ideas for those picky unhealthy eaters in your household.

1. Simply Homemade Goodness
2. Tastebook
3. My Crazy Adoption

And I'm sure if you go to google and search deceptively delicious recipes you'll find a lot more! There is even a book out by Jessica Seinfeld called Deceptively Delicious. You can buy it or search the recipes online which ever you prefer.

9 times out of 10 if they don't know it's in there...they will eat it and then they will benefit from all the healthy goodness you are aiming to give them, just make sure it taste good and very similar to what it 'normally' tastes like. :) You're gonna have to spend sometime in your kitchen darlin' all I can tell ya.

Now, then I've been a bit behind on my posts and photos of what I've been eating. So let's get those posted now.

May 4th 2012

Breakfast Burritos! From Clean Eating magazine. The only thing that needs to change I think is that flour tortilla shell...

I will post a second blog with the recipe after this one...so look for it!

Santa Fe Panni from the gym snack bar. It has salsa chicken, tomato, spinach, avocado, and mozzarella cheese. YUMM!

Snack: Pepper Jack cheese stick and a few tortilla chips - has anyone realized I'm a 'salt' girl vs a 'sweet' girl?

Bad. Bad. Bad. Domino's. It was late and I didn't feel like cooking and didn't not have anything easily ready in the house - mistake!

Drinks of the day: 1 cup coffee and water.

May 5th 2012:

I had another breakfast burrito & coffee.

For lunch I was at a baby shower where healthy and not so healthy was all mixed together. I had a cucumber style sandwich (shaped as a heart). I had a slice of gluten free bread with smoked salmon on top. I had some fruit and veggies with a little dip. I had strawberries, plane scone (x2 - they were so good...thank you Emily's Tea Room!), 2 teacups of punch (you know with the 7up and sherbet or however that's made), 1 cupcake/muffin thing and 1 very small glass of peach liquor. :) It was a very nice party! And I got my first British tea cup as a party favor!

For dinner Ashlynn & I were on our own and very lazy. We've both been craving broccoli lately so we had a box of broccoli/cheese in the freezer (last one) and split it between us.

Drinks of the day: coffee, water, punch, and peach liquor.

May 6th 2012:

Another breakfast burrito. For lunch was a 1/2 a left over enchilada and Spanish rice. For dinner, I still had some spaghetti sauce, so I boiled some noodles and there you have it - dinner. No need to post photos of those as you've seen them already. :)

This is my FAVORITE gum. I have about 1 piece daily, usually right before a workout. On weekends, I might have a piece to avoid something else. :)

Rumor is 'mint' flavored gum helps with asthma.

Today's snacks. I love the "Born in the USA" graze pack, dried cranberries, walnuts, and almonds. I think I read somewhere that if you are craving sugar eat almonds. Not sure if it helps but doesn't hurt to try it, right?

May 7th 2012:

My first British tea cup/saucer! Great place for my coffee. :) Or peppermint tea. So what did I have for breakfast? Yep, another burrito. They are easy and good. Really gotta swap the flour shell for a healthier option though.

Lunch: I had a date with my daughter. We went to see Mirror Mirror, very cute. We had popcorn and Sprite - I won't lie to you. Then we went to Frankie & Benny's and I had a Cajun Chicken Pasta Bake...I only ate 1/2 of it...first time ever! Plus, I had maybe 5 of Ashlynn's little dough balls. They just were not as tasty as usual. None of it was actually, except the popcorn - love me some popcorn.

Dinner: I was not hungry. The family had chicken Alfredo, but I just didn't feel like eating. Later I had a 100 cal pack of cheez-it's as it was the only form of crackers in the house and crackers is what I really wanted.

Drinks of the day: Coffee, Water, Sprite.

May 8th 2012 - Today!!! I'm finally caught up, aren't you proud? :)

Breakfast: coffee & 1 slice toast, 3 tablespoons baked beans (yes from a can - anyone know a healthy from scratch way to make those?), 1 fried egg (yolk slightly runny), and 3 small slices of a fried tomato. My husband calls this my "British Breakfast".

Yes, 'George' is in the background...never very far from reach. :)

Lunch & Dinner will be posted later. I'll go post the Breakfast Burrito recipe now. I hope you've read or seen something today that will help you press forward and step away from the Pizza! :)

Have a Be.YOU.tiful day!

~T~