Crab Manicotti

Oh this is good stuff! I found this recipe in a healthy cooking/ taste of home magazine. It's extremely easy, and I even changed it up a bit to use some of the things I had here at home. I'll give the original(which is low-fat) along with my twisted one. The recipe is for only two servings but you can double, triple ect. for however many people you are cooking for or for how hungry you might be.

4 uncooked manicotti shells

(I used lasagna noodles and rolled them up with the filling inside)

1 Tbsp butter

4tsp. all purpose flour

1 cup fat-free milk(I used whole milk)

1 Tbsp grated parmesan (I used the powder)

7oz crabmeat( fresh, canned, in pouches) I used the trader Joes canned crab meat which is slightly less than 7 oz but it worked

1/3 cup reduced fat ricotta cheese (I used cottage cheese)

1/4 cup shredded part skim milk mozzarella(I used an italian cheese blend)

1/4 tsp lemon pepper (I used grated lemon peel )

1/4 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp. Garlic powder( I grated garlic- the way to go!)

Minced fresh parsley

-cook noodles

-melt butter in a sauce pan. Gradually add flour; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes until thick. Stir in parmesan cheese.

-mix crab, ricotta, cheese, lemon, pepper, and garlic. Fill your noodles with the mixture.

-put a 1/4 cup of the sauce mixture on the bottom of a 8in baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with stuffed noodles then pouring remaining sauce over top.

-cover and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle parsley on top. Enjoy!

Garbanzo(chick pea) Burgers

I copied this recipe from a cook book my sister had that all the proceeds from sales went to Haiti. It was full of great some what unusual recipes. I'll try to find a link to where you can find the cook book forsale. I've been wanting to try my hand at making my own "veggie burgers" for a while now. Very simple and delicious enjoy!

15 oz can of gabanzo beans

1 sm carrot grated

2 garlic cloves

1 sm onoin chopped

2 eggs

blend the above ingredients in the food processer until beans are smooth

add 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1 tbsp oil

I cooked them on my non-stick griddle(saves me from having to add more oil by useing a pan) I cooked them at 250 for about 5 minutes each side

I dressed them up just like a regular burger.

lemonaid and blogs

Welcome Back to Me! I had pledged at the start of 2010 that I would join the ranks of millions of other people in this world and start blogging(or start again). As with most resolutions they get lost somewhere between the doctor appiontments, dinner, laundry, and what ever mandatories that consume our time. I was inspired to pick of my tiny little resolution and dust it(puff, puff) when I spent a week with my sister, who is an avid blog reader. She showed me some amazing blogs.(I think she should blog. She's an awesome mom, homemaker who rocks organic living like no other) My goal in doing this is not to meet Oprah when my blog gets a billion hits, I'm just hoping that I can lend a few readers the fun ideas and inspiration that I've enjoyed from other blogs.

I've been living on lemons lately. It's such a happy ball of juice. I've made three lemon pies in the past month. My husband also loves fresh lemonaid, so I had a brilliant idea and I made the usual lemonaid but added it to some celestial seasonings True Blueberry tea that I had iced from the day before. LOVE was born in my pitcher!!!!

The even more marvelous thing is that it comes in a Fruit Tea Sampler, so you can choose Raspberry, peach, Berry, or Cherry if you like.

I brew a tea pot with 3-4 tea packets. chill. Juice about 5 lemons. Add sugar and more water to taste.

YOSEMITE

I spent two days in the natural wonder of Yosemite with my husband. It was glorious and breathtaking. I could live there! Camping in a sense is not all that relaxing. While sitting by the campfire one night I thought I would kill just to have my bathroom here...not the whole house, just the bathroom. It was nice to get away, but stress seems to follow me in the most unlikely of places. Maybe two days wasnt enough to reenvent myself. Here are some of the awe-inspiring views.

This is for you Mary

Today I walked away from the security of a job to the open arms of the great unknown. Since I was seventeen I have spent only 5 days unemployed. Although I may have another job in a day or two the truth is I may not, and to a born and breed workaholic that is quit the feat. Right now I am dreaming of bike rides, camping, farmers market, baking and all the lazy little things I never seem to find the time to savor. Maybe I'll finish the 10 books I have started over the past couple of years. Maybe finally letting go and diving in to the unknown is my saving grace. I am not saying that everyone should up and quit their job, but sometimes holding on is all we have and other times letting go is all me need.

I'm not on an internal trans external quest for the higher meaning to life ( I already know what that is in the general sense) but I am closing a chapter in my life. We'll call it my early twenties. I'll be 27 in a couple months and I still can't knit so I know I'm not getting old, but I am sliding in to my skin a little better.

So here's to my late-twenties.... and those bright red juicy tomatoes I'll find at the farmers market tomorrow!

Bran Muffins

So I have a bran muffin fetish and I also admit I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to the quality of my beloved muffins. They have to be sweet and cakey and for god-sakes they have to have bran in them. I love ordering a bran muffin and getting nothing but a plain muffin tainted with some brown dye, like I wouldn't notice. I recently found a great recipe for bran muffins and I thought I should share it with the world and thus spread the cheer of health and happiness to everyone!

Oven Ready Bran Muffins ( from the Hodgson Mill Bran box)
Mix batter according to directions, store in refrigerator. Bake muffins at your convience.

3 cups unprocessed wheat bran
1 cup boiling water
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 1/2 unbleached white flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk

Mix 1 cup wheat bran with 1 cup boiling water; stir and let water absorb into bran. in a seperate bowl blend butter and sugar. Measure and combine flour, baking soda, and salt. combine the moist bran with beaten eggs, remaining 2 cups of bran, buttermilk, sugar-butter blend, and flour mixture. stir until well blended.

bake at 400 for 15min. mix will keep in the fridge for 2-4 weeks in an air-tight container.
makes 2 dozen

Happy baking and healthy eating!!!!!!!!!

How To Eliminate Coffee Stains..

Every time I wear white I know with out a doubt I will indeed spill coffee on myself. Okay, so whatever color I wear I spill coffee on myself, but wearing white pretty much makes a bill board size statement to the world that I am indeed clumsy. Needless to stay much of my white shirts stay in the closet for years on end for the day when I give up my cup of joe for the much earthier green tea....it hasn't happened yet despite my best efforts to do what's best. My remedy, which will allow me the pleasure of drinking joe while wearing my white shirt, is to simply dye all my white shirts coffee color!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just brewed a steaming 12 cup pot and smashed a few shirts in a large pot. I'll update you on the finished product.

Here is a link to a professional how to on tea and coffee dyeing : http://www.reddawn.net/quilt/teadye.htm