March 30, 2017
by Ashley
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Brandied Cherries

1 lb cherries, pitted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tsp lemon juice
1 stick cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup brandy

Wash and pit cherries. You could use frozen cherries as well. Boil all ingredients except for the cherries and brandy. Reduce heat to medium. Add cherries and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add brandy. Tranfer to jars. Refrigerate. Ready to eat in 2 weeks.

I use the cherries in an Old Fashioned and in my sparkling water. I have also used them to top cheesecakes. They are delicious.

March 28, 2017
by Ashley
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Pressure Cooker Black Bean Soup

This recipe was very easy and I didn’t need to soak the beans at all. I put them in dry and the soup came out just as I expected. Skip the cayenne if you are planning on feeding this to younger children.

Pressure Cooker Black Bean Soup

2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, pressed
2 celery ribs, washed and chopped
1 lb black beans, dry and sorted
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
4 cups vegetable stock
3 cups water

1 juice of lime
1 tsp table salt

Saute carrots, onion, celery and garlic together with a tiny bit of olive oil or 1 cup stock. Saute for 5 minutes. Add in the herbs, stock and water and cover with pressure cooker top. Let the pot come up to pressure and stay at pressure for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit until the pressure naturally comes down. Add juice of one lime and salt to taste. Serve with desired toppings. Avocado, sour cream, cilantro, lime juice and corn chips are some good choices. Add points for toppings.

Soup makes about 10 servings for 2 points a serving.

March 23, 2017
by Ashley
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Pressure Cooker Pork Verde

Paul found this recipe on seriouseats and we decided to try it. It is not my recipe at all, but one that is definitely worth trying. We served it to some friends, and everyone loved it!

Pressure Cooker Pork Verde

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks|
4 tomatillos, quartered, husks discarded
2 Poblano peppers, roughly chopped, seeds and stems discarded
2 Anaheim peppers, roughly chopped, seeds and stems discarded
2 jalapeño chilies, roughly chopped, stems discarded
2 small white onions, roughly chopped
6 medium cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon (15g) whole cumin seed, toasted and ground
Kosher salt
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon fish sauce

Fresh corn tortillas and lime wedges, for serving

Mix together pork, peppers, onion, garlic, cumin and salt into the pressure cooker. Put on lid and place over high heat until up to pressure. Once up to pressue, cook for 30 minutes. Carefully release pressure. Remove the large pieces of pork and set aside. Add in the cilantro and fish sauce and blend together. I used my immersion blender which was very convenient, but you could use a blender if you needed to. Return pork to sauce and stir to combine. Serve with tortillas and lime wedges.

I also added chopped veggies to the top as well. Onions, sweet peppers and avocado.

March 23, 2017
by Ashley
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Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup

One of my friends turned me onto this soup and I have come up with my own recipe. It is quick, easy and if you have a pressure cooker, fast.

Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup

1 lb bag brown lentils, sorted
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, pressed
4 carrots, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
1 green pepper or 5 small sweet peppers, chopped
6 cups vegetable broth
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika

Pour out lentils and sort through to make sure there aren’t any small stones. Saute onion and garlic in the bottom of the pressure cooker with a little olive oil. Add in the rest of the chopped vegetables and saute for 3 – 5 minutes just to sweat them. Add in vegetable broth, herbs and diced tomatoes and place the lid on the pressure cooker. Bring up to pressure and keep at pressure for 3 minutes. Turn off stove and let cool a little before carefully releasing pressure. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.

March 21, 2017
by Ashley
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Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates

I love easy appetizer recipes and these would be one of the easiest with simple ingredients. Easy to increase recipe or decrease depending on the size of your group.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates

8 Medjool Date
1 ounce blue cheese
16 raw almonds, roasted

Split dates in half and take out the pit. Put about 1/8th ounce blue cheese in each date with 2 pan roasted almonds. To roast almonds, use a dry pan over medium high heat and roast almonds until they start to sizzle. Make sure to watch them so they don’t burn. Let cool completely before you eat them or use them. They will be soft in the middle otherwise.

Each date is worth 3 pts.

March 18, 2017
by Ashley
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St. Patrick’s Day 2017

This is a little late, but I thought I should post the pictures of my adorable children and what we did for St. Patricks Day again this year. Our daughters preschool has an adorable tradition where they make Leprechaun catchers and spend two straight days trying (desperately) to catch a Leprechaun and get their gold. She made a trap again this year, and we used it at home. Unfortunately, the Leprechaun at home forgot, and had to come up with a quick fix this year.

The kids found the green and yellow M&Ms set out on the counter. They were only there for less than 10 minutes, as they ate them all before I could make breakfast.

Our daughters leprechaun she made at school. Looks like he grabbed the chalk and threw it all over the table.

Cinnamon rolls with magic green frosting. I mixed the frosting in front of the kids and all they could see what the white of the powdered sugar. So it was pretty magic when I stirred and they saw it become green before their eyes.

The mess all over the floor that the leprechauns left for me to clean up.

We were invited to an Irish Dancing show on St. Patrick’s Day. She got this adorable face painting.

March 16, 2017
by Ashley
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Our Beloved Nespresso Machine

I have a confession….I dream about coffee. I know, pretty strange huh? But seriously, I go to bed thinking about how nice it will be to drink a cup of coffee in the morning. Maybe I could even drink it on the deck with some relaxing music playing or listen to the birds chirping. I dream about not having to rush through my cup of coffee. How I will finish the whole cup while it is still hot without having to warm it back up.

It is usually a dream, because in reality my mornings are pretty busy. I have school aged children who needs to be dragged out of bed (only on school days for some reason) and dressed. Hurried through breakfast and sent out the door with a lunch in hand, teeth brushed, library books gathered and winter gear on. I know this doesn’t seem that busy, but it can get pretty crazy here just trying to get both of them ready and out the door. Fortunately, my husband doesn’t have to be rushed out the door quite as quickly and we enjoy eating breakfast together most mornings. Our daughter who is left home with us, may or may not be ready to eat breakfast. She also may or may not feel like playing, and may or may not need a cuddle. She also needs to get ready for 4K and dropped off every morning.

That being said, my dream of a peaceful cup of coffee usually gets trumped by other things and I find myself either downing it to get Isla to preschool on time, or it is cold. Usually cold. So, I usually think of caffeine again at 2:30pm. At this point I am not going to make a whole pot of coffee for just me. Instead, I get to have a nespresso.

If you have never had a nespresso before, you should definitely try one. They are wonderful.

We first tried this magic machine out at an apartment we airbnb’d (I know this isn’t a word, but it makes sense here). The woman we rented from had a nespresso machine, and after just one use, we knew we needed to get one. We even have convinced some of our other friends to get one of these awesome little machines as well. We should get referral coffee credit, right?

I am not trying to sell you this, just saying it is awesome.

Mmm, I think it is time to brew myself a cup. Have a great afternoon!!!

March 14, 2017
by Ashley
Comments Off on Pancake & Bacon Dippers

Pancake & Bacon Dippers

These are on our regular menu for camping. They are easy and fun to eat. Isla doesn’t like the bacon in her pancake, but everyone else we camp with does. I make the mix below and just add water to create the pancakes.

Pancake & Bacon Dippers

Dry Mix

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg or 3 tbsp flax seed
1/2 cup dry milk
1 tsp kosher salt

Place all ingredients into a zip top bag and it is ready for camping.

For assembling the pancake dippers

1/2 lb bacon
1 dry mix for pancakes
1 1/2 cups water

Once you are ready to use, I add in 1 1/2 cups of water. Mix well either in a bowl or sometimes I just use the bag to reduce the amount of cleaning up after. You may need a little more water to make the batter runny enough. Use your judgement.

Fry bacon until crisp. Pour out fat and return skillet to the heat. Squeeze out or pour about 1/4 cup of batter into a straight line. Place cooked bacon into batter and pour a little bit in a zigzag over the top. Let cook until bubbly and flip to finish cooking pancake. Serve with fruit and maple syrup to dip.

6 points for two dippers.

March 7, 2017
by Ashley
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Rye Pancakes

I bought some rye flour recently for a bread recipe, and am not trying to figure out more ways to use up the flour. These pancakes turned out pretty well. They are flat, but the kids ate them which is always a plus.

Rye Pancakes

1 1/2 cups whole grain rye flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups 2 % milk
3 tbsp nonfat greek yogurt

Mix everthing well and cook on an electric skillet or in a pan on the stove top.

Made about 24 small pancakes. 3 pancakes for 4 points.

March 3, 2017
by Ashley
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Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
2 oz low fat cream cheese
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
⅛ tsp vanilla extract
10 medium strawberries

Use a small paring knife to cut out the center of each strawberry removing the stem. Whip the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla in a small bowl. Spoon evening between each strawberry and serve as a quick and easy dessert. Perfect for a hot summer day…which we are dreaming about right now in Wisconsin.

Only 1 smartpoint each.