I have so many pears!

First off, I hope everyone had a great weekend. I actually didn’t go on the computer at all over the weekend! (Which was kind of nice!) I have the day off today, it’s the last day of summer vacation since my kids start school tomorrow. I feel like the summer went by so fast and I didn’t really do all that I wanted to, I need to become a better planner so life doesn’t pass me by!

We went to a family party over the weekend, celebrating my nephew leaving for college. An Aunt on his Dad’s side of the family has a pear tree in her back yard. I mentioned last week, my co-worker has a pear tree, so I had no business taking more….but I did!

They look great, but now I don’t know what to do with them

I am looking for suggestions as to what to make with them, last week I made pear/apple sauce which turned out great. I was wondering if anyone has ever peeled and diced up pears and put them in the freezer for smoothies later? Does that work?

I’m going to spend the day organizing in prepping for the school year.

And, I’m going to hop over to Robin Sue at BIG RED KITCHEN to review her lunch packing tips, she’s a super organized woman!

Do you pack your kids lunches, or do they get hot lunch?? Mine won’t touch the hot lunch with a 10 foot pole, so they always bring their lunch. This year I plan to be a night before girl, where everything (including my lunch) is made the night before. I have 3 kids, in 3 different schools this year and everyone is leaving at a different time, so the stress of having to make lunches before school is not fun. We’ll see how long that lasts!

If your kids do eat hot lunch, it’s not too late to have your voice heard about healthier lunches at school. I am a member of Slow Food and they have been campaigning with Michelle Obama to change what is served to our kids, check out this article from a couple of weeks ago. The deadline to pass the bill is September 30th.

Also, if you are getting back into the back to school frenzy this week, check out Eating Well Magazine’s No Cook Dinners! Most can be put together in under 20 minutes!

Have a great Monday everyone!

So yesterday I was checking my e-mail and I clicked on Food Buzz’s featured recipes for the day. One was from THIS SITE and it was for bacon, cheddar and cornmeal waffles. It sounded amazing to me, but I don’t have a waffle maker, so I wondered, “Can I make these into muffins?” And the answer is a resounding “YES!”

First, I had to make it lower in calories. So I used turkey bacon instead of real bacon, I added minced green onions, and I used skim milk instead of whole milk and I lessened the amount of cheese.

I though my version turned out great!

Turkey Bacon, Cheddar and Cornmeal Muffins (adapted from THIS SITE)

This recipe makes 12 muffins.

Each muffin is 177 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1.2 grams of fiber, 22.5 grams of carbs and 8.2 grams of protein.

Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
½ cup plain yogurt
1 green onion (optional)
1 ½ cups skim milk
6 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 oz. cheddar cheese + some for sprinkling on top before baking(try Sargento Reduced Sodium Cheddar cheese!)

I chopped up the uncooked turkey bacon and added it to a skillet with 1 tablespoon of butter so it would crisp up. I finely chopped up the green onion and added it to the bacon and cooked for several minutes.

In a big mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients. Next, add the cooked bacon/green onion mixture, the other tablespoon of butter and the rest of the ingredients. Beat on low for about a minute, or until it’s all incorporated.

Let the batter stand for 10 minutes.

In a 12 muffin tin, sprayed with Pam, take a 1/2 cup measuring cup and start filling the muffin cups.

Sprinkle a little shredded cheese on top and bake at 375 for 10-13 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The great thing about this recipe, is that you can freeze the leftovers and have a quick breakfast when you are in a hurry, just re-heat in the microwave for a minute.

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Now onto the free cheese coupons! I received 5 coupons to try the New Sargento Reduced Sodium cheeses.

They come in these flavors:

Colby-Jack Slices
Provolone Slices
Colby-Jack Snack Sticks
Sting Snacks
Mild Cheddar shredded chees
Mozzarella shredded cheese

So, 5 lucky readers who post a comment will be eligible to win!

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If you haven’t tried Mission low carb tortillas, they are great. Super soft and yummy!

You have to try these, they are so good!

Ingredients: Serves 1

The ingredients!

2 Mission 6″ low carb tortillas
3 oz. grilled chicken, cut into chunks
2 TB. diced celery
2 TB. diced red onion
A few tablespoons of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 avocado, diced

Directions:

1. Fill each tortilla with half the chicken, red onion, cheese and celery. Place fillings down the center. Roll up tightly like a taquito. Place seam side eown on a preheated grill or skillet and baste the outside with bbq. sauce.

2. Cook for about 3 minutes, then turn over, baste again with BBQ sauce if necessary and grill for another 3 minutes or until the inside is heated through. Then serve!

This BIG portion is 465 calories, lots of fiber, some veggies and SO GOOD! I loved the crunch of the celery and onion, the tang of the blue cheese and the creaminess of the avocado, it was amazing!

BBQ Chicken Rollers!

Check out Tricia’s blog today for a chance to win some cool sunglasses!

The best part? You don’t need to turn on the oven. And the cookie dough is made without eggs, so no worry about getting sick!

Here is what I used, adapted from Risa’s original recipe:

1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
dash cinnamon
1/2 stick of butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1-2 TB. of skim milk, until the dough comes together

I just put all the ingredients except the skim milk into my mixer and mixed for a few minutes. Maybe because I used half the butter, the batter was kind of dry, so I added a few tablespoons of skim milk and it turned out perfect!

I used wooden skewers for kabobs for the lollipop sticks

Just roll the dough into small balls and insert the sticks in them. When its complete, freeze for about 20 minutes.

I used almond bark in chocolate flavor and vanilla flavor to coat the cookie dough balls. It melts in a microwave safe bowl and once you coat the cookie dough balls, it dries very fast.

The almond bark can be found in major grocery store chains right next to the chocolate chips.

They turned out really good! The leftovers I am storing in the freezer, if one of the kids wants one, they can just set it on a plate and in a few minutes it will be softened enough to eat. Now, I know these aren’t the healthiest thing to eat, but because they are sweet, one is enough!

Thanks Risa for posting such a fun recipe, check out her site for many other great desserts!