Split-pea and Ham Soup

This is a super simple recipe and it's very healthy and delicious.

Split-pea and Ham Soup

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups dried split peas, (1 pound), sorted and rinsed

8 cups water

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

2 medium celery stalks, finely chopped (1 cup)

2 cups of ham, chopped

2 cups of baby carrots, chopped

2 cups of potatoes, chopped

salt and pepper

Directions:

Add all ingredients into slow cooker, except the salt and pepper. Cook in slow cooker until done. Then add salt and pepper to taste preference.

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Easy Pizza Pita Pockets

Easy Pizza Pita Pockets

Ingredients:

1 pita round

¼ c. marinara sauce

1 c. grated mozzarella cheese

Your favorite pizza toppings

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread marinara sauce inside the pita pockets. Stuff them with cheese and your choice of extras, and lay them on the baking sheet. (FYI, if you’re using pepperoni, five per pocket is the perfect amount.)

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until gooey cheese is oozing out of the pockets. Turn off the oven and use the oven mitts to remove the baking sheet. Let your Pizzazz Pizza Pitas cool a bit before you take a big bite—I’m sure you know the agony of pizza burns.

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Healthy Beef Taquitos recipe

Healthy Beef Taquitos

Ingredients:

6 ounces steak fillets

2 teaspoons taco seasoning mix

1 cup finely chopped brown button mushroom

1⁄2 cup finely chopped onion

1⁄4 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend

1⁄4 cup pico de gallo, drained

8 (6 inch) corn tortillas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Season beef with 1 teaspoons taco seasoning, and cook for 4 minutes.

Flip beef, and add mushrooms and onion to the skillet. Sprinkle veggies with remaining 1 teaspoons taco seasoning. Stirring veggies occasionally, cook for about 4 more minutes, until beef is cooked through and veggies have softened.

Remove skillet from heat and, if needed, blot veggies dry. Transfer beef to a medium bowl. Shred with two forks -- one to hold the meat in place, and the other to scrape across and shred it. (It's a little difficult to shred, but it's worth it!).

To the bowl, add veggies, cheese, and drained pico de gallo. Mix well.

Place tortillas between 2 damp paper towels. Microwave for 1 minute, or until warm and pliable.

Evenly distribute and spread beef mixture among tortillas. Tightly roll up each into a tube, and place on the baking sheet, seam side down. Secure with toothpicks, if needed.

Bake until crispy, 14 - 16 minutes. (Don't worry if they crack and "explode" a little!).

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Reason for my absence...

Hey everyone. I just wanted to let you know why I haven’t posted and recipes or other stuff on here in awhile. On Friday afternoon, one of our beloved cats Smokey, passed away.

We had taken him to the vet, thanks to a non-profit organization. Smokey had lost a significant amount of weight and he had stopped eating just this past week. I stayed up all night on Thursday and I found Rose’s Fund. They helped us take Smokey into the veterinarian. He did a complete blood work-up, gave him fluids and pain killer. The next morning, we received a phone call, telling us that his test results came back that Smokey was in his last stages of cancer.

We knew he was suffering and had come to the decision to take him to the vet for euthanasia. The problem we were facing was we didn’t have the money to do so. But thanks to a family friend lending us the money and our vet working with us, we were able to put Smokey to rest.

My older brother and sister took Smokey to the vet. They were waiting in the exam room, and before the vet came in to do the procedure, Smokey took two last breathes and passed away. We went peacefully.

We are really grieving over our loss. We had Smokey for 14 years. We took him in when my other brother wasn’t able to take them with him when he moved away. We still have his brother Rufuss, who doesn’t understand why his brother is no longer here. We’re giving him a lot of love and comforting him and each other. Please bare with me. I don’t know when I will be able to start posting again. But I’ll try to do so soon.

Thank you for all of your support. It means the world to me.

Crock-pot Corned Beef Dinner

Corned Beef Dinner - Crock Pot
(Courtesy of www.food.com)

Ingredients:
2 -2 1⁄2 lbs corned beef brisket
1 medium onion, sliced
1 stalk celery, cut in 3
4 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
4 medium carrots, peeled cut in 3
1 cup beef bouillon
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1⁄2 teaspoon dry mustard
4 small cabbage, cut into wedges
1 teaspoon caraway seed

Directions:
Trim brisket of all visible fat, cut to fit 4 qt or larger crock-pot, if necessary.

Place onion, celery, potatoes and carrots in bottom of crock-pot, lay brisket on top.

Whisk together bouillon, bay leaf, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and dry mustard.

Pour over brisket, cover pot.
Cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours, adding cabbage wedges and caraway seed for the last hour of cooking.

To serve, discard cooking liquid, slice meat onto hot serving plates, accompany with the cooked potatoes, carrots, celery, cabbage wedges and your favorite mustard.


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Frittata With Ham and Roasted Peppers

Frittata With Ham and Roasted Peppers

Ingredients:

5 eggs

1⁄2 cup milk or 1⁄2 cup half-and-half cream

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 cup crouton

1⁄4 cup ham, chopped

1⁄2 cup fontina or 1⁄2 cup provolone cheese, grated

1⁄4 cup roasted red pepper, drained and chopped

1⁄4 cup green onion, finely chopped (green part only)

Directions:

In a bowl, with a whisk, whisk eggs, milk and Dijon mustard. Add croutons, ham and half the cheese, half bell peppers and half green onions. Pour the mixture of eggs in a greased pie plate of 9 inches or an 8 inches greased square pan. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, bell pepper and green onion.

Cook in a preheated oven of 350 F for about 20 minutes or until the frittata is golden and the eggs are set. Keep cooking under the preheated grill for about 2 minutes or until frittata is golden and is lightly puffed. Put the pan on a rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to loosen the edges from the pan and cut in wedges.

Courtesy of www.food.com

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How to Lose Weight Without Excess Skin

How to Lose Weight Without Having Excess Skin

If you're losing a large amount of weight quickly, it's difficult to avoid excess skin. But slower weight loss of 10 to 20 percent of your body weight minimizes the potential that you'll have baggy skin once you reach your goal. Lose weight without excess skin by consuming a healthy diet, plenty of water and adding muscle tone. Take your time and lose the weight properly. It took some time for your skin to stretch as you gained weight, so allow the same time -- if not more -- for your skin to return. Losing the weight too quickly can result in saggy skin that can only be removed through surgery.

Step 1

Lose one to two pounds per week. This realistic time frame provides time for your skin to shrink, and is recommended as the healthy approach by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Step 2

Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. The epidermis layer of skin is primarily composed of water. Increasing the fluid content of the skin leads to a greater skin thickness, whereas dehydration causes the skin to lose its elasticity. Staying dehydrated for long periods of time can cause more elasticity to be lost and your skin may not be able to recover.

Step 3

Add resistance training to your workout to help build muscle tone. Losing weight without building muscle will remove any mass between the skin and bone, causing the skin to sag. As you build muscle mass, the skin has something to grab onto, filling the void left by the loss of body weight.

Step 4

Avoid smoking and sun exposure. Both cause skin to lose its elasticity and minimizes its ability to respond to your weight loss.

Tips to drink more water...

Tips to drink more water!

1. Add flavor to your water: Chugging several glasses of water a day can seem like torture when every cup is tasteless. Add a bit of excitement by dunking fresh fruit (grapefruit, strawberries, lemon), veggie slices (cucumber, ginger, celery), and herbs (basil, mint, lavender) to your carafe.

2. Drink a glass of water after every bathroom break: Start a habit by linking water with some of your most common daily activities. Getting up from your desk for a bathroom break? Stop by the kitchen to chug a glass of water after leaving the restroom. Every time you pass the water cooler, fill up a cup. 

3. Sip some water before every meal: When the waiter comes around and asks for drink orders, always request water. Drinking a full cup before each meal can curb calorie intake because it causes you to feel full.

4. Use an app to track your cups: Keeping up with how many glasses you’ve finished can be easy (and fun) with the help of a free app.

5. Dillute sugary drinks with water and ice: If drinking juice, lemonade, or iced tea is a daily habit, water down your sips with H20 and a healthy helping of ice (aim for a one-to-one ratio). You’ll still get the sweetness you’re craving with a healthy dose of the water your body needs.

6. Keep a gallon jug nearby: It’s easy to remember to fill up on water when the source is nearby. Keep a gallon jug or large carafe at your desk, by the bed at home, and on the kitchen counter as a constant reminder to drink up.

7. Invest in a water filter: Filtered water can taste better than the liquid coming out of the tap or water fountain. So, invest in a system for your kitchen sink and for your portable bottle.

8. Choose sparkling or mineral water over soda: Pouring this bubbly, zero-calorie drink is just as good for your body as drinking water—except it’s got more pizzazz. Add a squeeze of lime juice, and it’s basically like drinking a fancy cocktail (without the alcohol).

9. Eat water rich foods: One sneaky way to increase the amount of water you consume on a daily basis: eat your H2O. Add fruits and vegetables with a high water content to your grocery shopping list. Some top picks include cucumber (96% water), zucchini (95% water), watermelon (92% water), and grapefruit (91% water). 

10. Stick to a one-to-one rule when drinking alcoholic beverages: You’ve probably heard the drinking rule: for every cocktail turn up one glass of water. This is a great strategy to avoid a hangover the next day, but you can also use it to make sure you get plenty of H2O in your system to balance out sugar-packed mixers and syrups.

11. Use an unmarked water bottle:  A bottle that’s marked with ounces or even hours can help you reach your personal water goal each day. Plus, you’ll know exactly how many times you need to refill!