Autumn Harvest Trail Mix

Even though it doesn't feel like it outside here in AZ...it's autumn time!  We are making our way into baking season and I am so excited!   To kick it off, I've got a simple yet delicious one for ya.

My mother-in-law made this for us a few years ago and it has become a must have for me ever since. As soon as they put those candy corn on the shelves... I'm there!  I actually like it even better without the m&m's just cause they aren't my favorite... but either way it's still pretty good.  I have always like the sweet and salty combo.  You know, like back in high school when we would by fries and a shake for lunch every day, and use our fries as the spoon?  Yeah, weird I know... but don't knock it until you've tried it!

This time I used the autumn candy corn mix. It has the pumpkins and chocolate ones in it too. But usually I just use regular candy corns. Totally up to you.

Autumn Trail Mix

1 ½ cups salted roasted peanuts

1 cup candy corn

½ cup m&m’s
Pour all items into a bowl and scarf!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I really enjoy a good Chicken Salad.  My mom made one growing up that I'll share in the future.  I have really enjoyed more fruit in mine lately. I've been playing around with a couple of recipes and my husband and I combined some and made this one.  It's super yummy!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches



2 ( 12.5 oz) cans of chicken (or 3 cups diced cooked chicken)

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 cup red grapes, halved

1 green onion, diced

1 rib celery, diced

1/2 cup diced apple

salt and pepper to taste

pecans or cashews, optional

¼ cup of sugar

Combine all ingredients into a bowl. Stir well.

Serve on any type of bread (I like to put it on a bagel.  Using lettuce to cover the holes.)

Cooking Class Picts

Here are a few pictures from our last couple of cooking classes!  We had such a great time. 

 I had 4 crock pots going for almost a week, for our burrito class.  That's a lot of food!!!

The first Burrito class. Making the Chile Lime Chicken Burritos. Yummm

My friend September was my Sous Chef for the day. I couldn't have made it without her!!

2nd burrito class.



A Huge thanks to all that attended and helped out.

Box Tops Giveaway

I'm back! At least for a little bit. (4 weeks left before I have my baby!) My life has been crazy lately but it's been loads of fun!  My cooking/freezer meals classes have been such a huge hit lately!  It has been really fun for me to do those.  We did another burrito class this week and I actually remembered to have someone take pictures!  We have made over a thousand burritos the past 2 months!  Crazy huh?

Well to get things rolling again, I've got a cool little giveaway for ya.  This one comes through  My Blog Spark via Betty Crocker. The thing I like about this one is that it celebrates Box tops for education!

Last year box tops contributions earned more than $59 million dollars for Americas school.  And a pizza party for my little girls class!  (the school offered a pizza party to the class that brought in the most box tops!)

The winner of this Giveaway will receive this cool package. It includes

Cupcake iclips

Cupcake bag

Cupcake notepads

Box Tops for Education pencils

Neoprene Lunch Sack

Here's how to enter:  you may chose one or both.  Choosing both will give you an extra entry...

1: Post a link to your favorite recipe of mine, on your facebook page, then  leave a comment on this post about which one you shared with your friends.

2: donate 5 or more box tops to any school of your choice (you can give it to a school aged child who collects them. You don't have to take it to the school yourself.). If you need a school, my daughter would happily take them! Leave a comment telling me which school will be receiving your box tops!

The giveaway ends Friday October 7th! So hurry and get your submissions in!!!

PS.  Some people have had issues with making comments on the blog... I think I fixed the problem. If you still are having trouble, please send me an email of Facebook message and I'll get it taken care of.

"Disclosure: The Betty Crocker products, information, and giveaway have been provided by Betty Crocker through MyBlogSpark."

Betty Crocker Website http://bit.ly/bcbtfeweb
Betty Crocker Facebook http://on.fb.me/bcfbook
Betty Crocker Twitter http://bit.ly/bctweet
Box Tops for Education Website http://bit.ly/btfeweb
Box Tops for Education Facebook http://on.fb.me/btfefbook
Box Tops for Education Twitter http://bit.ly/btfetweet

Skinny Soup

I have a delicious and nutritious one for you today!  My husband loves this soup.  It's a great one to help you get your daily vegetables in.  I found this recipe online and my husband changed it up quite a bit.  I really like the way he makes it.  It's loaded with fiber and all kinds of good stuff.  See health info below.

Skinny Soup



8 cups chicken broth

28 oz diced tomato (with juice)

2 tbs tomato paste

1 head of cabbage chopped 

1 large yellow onion diced

1 cup sliced carrots

1 can green beans (drained) 

2 large zucchini chopped 

1 green bell pepper chopped

4 celery ribs chopped

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp dried oregano

1/2 tbsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp granulated garlic (or about 4 cloves)

salt and pepper to taste

pepper

1 tbsp Oil

Pour olive oil into a pot and saute onions garlic and carrots 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low for 1 hour.

Nutritional information

This makes 12 servings. 

Each serving is 79 calories

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 340 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 79

Calories from Fat 22

Totals with % daily value

Total Fat 2.4g   4%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg                      0%

Sodium 546mg                       23%

Total Carbohydrates 10.1g     3%

Dietary Fiber 3.3g                  13%

Sugars 5.6g

Protein 5.3g

Vitamin A 55% • Vitamin C 65%

Calcium 5% • Iron 7%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 340 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 79 Calories from Fat 22

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 2.4g 4%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 546mg 23%

Total Carbohydrates 10.1g 3%

Dietary Fiber 3.3g 13%

Sugars 5.6g

Protein 5.3g

Vitamin A 55% • Vitamin C 65% Calcium 5% • Iron 7%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Good points

• No cholesterol
• High in dietary fiber
• High in manganese
• Very high in niacin
• High in phosphorus
• Very high in potassium
• Very high in vitamin A
• High in vitamin B6
• Very high in vitamin C

Bad points

• Very high in sodium
• High in sugar

Recipe adapted from Calorie Count

Nutritional information can be found at caloriecount.com and type in the recipe under recipe analysis.

(take out words like chopped, diced etc)

Sara's Chili

It's day one of the biggest loser contest that my husband and friends will be doing.  I wanted to post a nice protein packed dish for ya today. 

 My dear vegan friend Sara, shared this recipe with me a few years ago.  I created my own version of it that I posted a while back. Worlds Best Chili .  Her recipe is much healthier.  We figured out that this dish has about 375 calories per serving.(1 1/2 cups) It's a filling dish and is a great way to get loads of protein without eating all of the calories that red meat has to offer.  This dish would even be healthier if you soaked your own beans and didn't used the canned ones.  This is a quick and easy version for ya though. 

Sara's Chili

2 Cans Pinto Beans

2 Cans Diced Tomatoes

1 Can Black Beans

1 Can Dark Red Kidney Beans

1 Can Light Red Kidney Beans

1 Can Red Beans

1 Can Chili Beans

Crushed Red Pepper to taste (I did about 1/4 tsp)

Onion Powder to taste (I used 1 tsp)

Pour all ingredients into a crock pot. Do not drain. Cook 8-10 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high.

Serve with your favorite toppings

Make a double batch and freeze it for a rainy day!!



Sopapillas

If you are a "Poncho's" lover like our family, you'll love these Sopapillas. They are super easy, and will surely melt in your mouth!

My husband and a bunch of friends are doing a "Biggest Loser" Contest starting tomorrow.  So the next 8 weeks I'm going to try to add a little more healthiness to the blog.  I'm on the lookout for some super yummy, super healthy recipes to try.  I've never been one to care much about calories etc.  But I really want to quit adding temptation and learn a thing or two.  So if anyone has some recipes that you would like to share, please feel free to email them to me. My email address is on the home page. Also, if you would like to submit it with a picture and something clever about the recipe, feel free. You can be my guest post for the day!! 

Don't worry, I'll make up for things with some super holiday goodies for you all in a few months. 

Sopapillas

1 C flour

1½ t baking powder

Dash of salt

1 Tbsp. Shortening (you can also use butter or margarine)

1/3 C warm water

Shortening or cooking oil for frying

Combine flour, baking powder and dash of salt.  Cut in shortening till mixture looks like fine crumbs.  Gradually add warm water stirring with a fork (dough will be crumbly).  On a lightly floured surface knead dough for 3 to 5 minutes or till smooth.  Cover dough and let rest for 10 minutes.  Roll dough into a rectangle. (it needs to be very thin)  Cut into 2½ inch squares.  Fry 2 or 3 squares at a time in grease heated to 425 degrees for 30 seconds on each side.  Keep warm in a 300-degree oven while frying others.  (I don't do this part... they don't make it long enough to get cold!)