Mo' Betta

Chicken Tortilla Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:00:00 +0000

I have raved and raved about the Meyer Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup, but I also made this Chicken Tortilla Soup after seeing it posted over at PreventionRD. It is also delicious!! As a matter of fact, I am planning on making both of these soups again this week. It's chilly and rainy and soup will be perfect. Plus I love it and it's generally low calorie. Of course, I enjoyed this bowl with plenty of cheese, guacamole, and...no that's not sour cream. It's plain yogurt! It makes an excellent and healthier alternative to sour cream.

And fresh cilantro definitely makes it mo'betta.

Chicken Tortilla Soup adapted from PreventionRD

2 t. olive oil
1 lb (about 3) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced
2 jalepeno, seeded and diced
1/4 large yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can of Rotel Tomatoes with Cilantro and Lime
8 oz tomato sauce
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

I prepared my chicken in the crock pot, so it was ready to shred and add to soup that evening. Add the peppers, and onion to a stock pot with the 2 tsp of olive oil. Cook for a few minutes on medium heat until they just begin to soften. Add garlic and stir, and heat for about 30 seconds. Add the can of tomatoes (juice and all), cumin, bay leaf, and tomato sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes to combine the flavors and cook the vegetables.

Add the chicken broth. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the flavors have developed.

Remove the bay leaf and pulse process the soup in your food processor (in batches, if necessary) or immersion blender, to your desired consistency. Do not overfill your food processor or you may have soup spewing all down the sides. Trust me on this. Add the soup back into your stock pot (the blending is completely optional btw. It IS more work, but I prefer my veggies to be pulverized and it gives the soup and nice hearty texture.) Add the shredded chicken into the soup. Let this simmer for about 20 more minutes. I just allowed my soup to cool and then stuck it in the fridge, so the flavors got to mingle all night. My plan was to have it for dinner the following evening, but it was calling my name by lunch time, so I had it for lunch, and dinner too!

Check out the original recipe because I made several changes - I didn't use corn, tortillas or anaheim peppers, but it was still very good! (It also freezes well!) Of course, I think the container in my freezer was in there for all of 3 days.

I loved this soup. It's mildly spicy and just a bowl of warmth and comfort. Amen.

I'm linking up today with Everything Under the Moon, Homemaker on a Dime, Beyer Beware, Delightfully Dowling, A Southern Fairytale, Skip to my Lou, The Girl Creative, Life as Mom, Things that make you say "mmmmm!", Making the World Cuter

This post is not for the weak

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:50:00 +0000

TGIF. It's been an exhausting week. And I don't know why I'm TGIF'n, b/c the weekend is going to be busy too. Thank GOD basketball ends this weekend. As much as I love for my children to be involved in sports (unlike myself) & as much as I enjoy watching their games - I'm tired of Thursday night practice, Friday night practice, 2 games on Saturday. I bees basketballed out.

Anywho, lots of stomach bugs going around here right now, and sure enough, it hit the Mo'Betta house Sunday evening. My 3 y/o started running a fever, then started puking, ran a fever for 2 days, but thankfully only one evening of barfing. Of course, a few hours after he started, my middle child started as well. And she decided to puke on the floor, right in front of the toilet, even though she had a trash can/sink/toilet at her disposal. I might have said a really ugly word. Not my finest mother moment. *sigh* I feel like I've been having lots of those recently. Oh - and now my youngest is broke out in a lovely rash all over his trunk. I've diagnosed him with Roseola. I hope I'm right since I haven't taken him to the Dr. (I am a nurse before anyone decides they need to inform social services of my lack of parenting skills). Who needs doctors when you have the internet anyway? Just kidding! The internet will make you think everything is some terminal illness & will cause my paranoid mom self to have a full blown anxiety attack.

And since I've already talked about vomit...I have another story. *Leave now if you don't enjoy a good puke story* The kids and I have started attending a new church. On Wednesday nights they have dinner, then the kids have class/choir. I know a few of the moms there, so it's nice to sit and chat while the kids are occupied. Well...on our SECOND visit to the church, my 3 y/o goes upstairs for the little preschool missions class. He comes down when it's over looking very....odd. He is making weird faces, his skin looks splotchy, and he is drooling. He is also holding a few mini Musketeer candy bars. You know the little bite size pieces from Valentine's? If you've been reading my blog, you know that my son is allergic to eggs and nuts. 3 Musketeers have eggs in them. I guess you see where I'm going with this. Yes, he had eaten one of the little teeny tiny candy bars....and was having an allergic reaction. I felt like the worst mother EVER for not making sure his teacher knew about his allergies. (See?! Another bad mommy moment!) I just ASSumed that since we had just eaten dinner, that they would not be eating anything. Big mistake on my part. So anyway, I'm watching him, trying to decide what I should do and see how bad the reaction is going to be. He's never really had a severe reaction, but the drooling was freaking me out. I had visions of his throat swelling and was torn between running to the car to get the Epi Pen and just taking him home. As I'm having my internal debate, my son starts to cough. That kind of gagging cough that makes me realize what's getting ready to happen. We are no where near the bathroom, and I don't see a trashcan - so I grabbed my cup I was drinking iced tea from. Just in the nick of time - my son spews all in my drink. Nice. So here I am, sitting in the middle of this large room, with a bunch of people, with my kid sitting in my lap, puking in a styrofoam cup.

It gets worse. He fills the cup! I'm not sure what to do with it or what to do next. Then another cup gets handed to me, and one of the other moms TAKES THE PUKE FILLED CUP and throws it away for me. Then another mom brings me some wet paper towels. Then someone else brings me another cup. I had all this help. I didn't even know how to respond! They then kindly asked me not to return. Just kidding - they didn't say that ~~out loud~~.

The good news is - once my son emptied his tummy, he was fine. He went back to playing and didn't have any problems. I also learned a valuable lesson. I don't care how neurotic or paranoid I seem to be - it is important to let everyone that is around my son know that he has food allergies. I was trying to not be SO super-paranoid-freak-everyone-out mom, but it turns out that you have to be diligent 24/7. It was kind of funny though, I thought later...only another mom would grab a vomit filled cup and not bat an eye!

Soooo, anyone still reading? Do you have any barf stories you'd like to share? Feel free. I feel a lot better now that I've purged (no pun intended) my bad mommy moments. I'm just hoping I don't have anymore to share for quite a while - barf stories that is. I'm sure there will be plenty of bad mommy moments. I'm awesome, but I'm not perfect. haha.

On a positive note - I did manage to sneak in a hot stone massage on Wednesday. Then I treated myself to a Starbucks coffee (brewed coffee with gingerbread syrup is YUMMO. And cheap!) Best morning I've had in a loonnng time! (and I shopped around Target for a bit) Does a morning get any better than that? I think not.

Have a great weekend - we are having freakish weather in NC. It was 80 yesterday, with a chance of snow flurries next week. Mother Nature is going through menopause or something. Holla.

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Butter Biscuits

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:56:00 +0000

I made these to go with our Valentine's Day dinner...

aren't they cute?

I made some round ones too.

They were pretty darn delish.

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Butter Biscuits adapted from Pumpkin Biscuits @ Sugarcrafter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white whole wheat **

1 T. baking powder (yep, that's a tablespoon)

3/4 t. salt

2 T. brown sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

2 T. butter

3/4 cup sweet potato puree **

1/2 cup milk

2 T. pumpkin butter **

1- Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Blend in the butter using a pastry cutter (or 2 knives).

2- In a medium bowl, combine the sweet potato, milk and pumpkin butter.

3 - Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed together. Knead lightly on a floured surface and roll out to 1 inch thickness. Using a biscuit or cookie cutters, cut out shapes/circles, whatever your heart desires :)

4 - Place biscuits on prepared pan and bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. (They actually don't change color all that much, so if unsure, check the bottoms of the biscuit...they will brown more)

**Notes - can use all AP flour if you want, or a mixture of white and wheat. If you increase the wheat flour, I would probably increase the sweet potato a little. Pumpkin can be used in the place of sweet potato. I cooked my sweet potatoes in the microwave, then pureed them in the food processor with just a little bit of water. Maple syrup, honey or apple butter could be used in the place of the pumpkin butter.

mmmm, nice and soft, with a hint of spices

and they were really good the next day with some ham & Dijon mustard.

yeah, baby - Mama be eatin' good up in here!

I'm linking this recipe up over at Blue Cricket Design, Lady Behind the Curtain, This Chick Cooks, Ginger Snap Crafts, The Newlyweds, It's a Keeper, Feeding Four, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, A Little Nosh

Wordless Wednesday - Beware of cuteness

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

yes, congratulations are in order.

I am expecting a new addition to the Mo'Betta clan in a couple of weeks :)

and just to make you go 'awwww'...

via Pinterest

So cute I can't stand it!

Pizza Monkey Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:44:00 +0000

I had about a half a bag of Rhodes rolls in the freezer and decided I would try making pizza monkey bread. I've seen it all over food blogs and Pinterest and I knew it would be a hit with my kids. Especially since they are so 'anti-sauce'. Weird, I know.

Any dough would work really. You could use biscuits, homemade pizza dough, store bought dough, or any thawed frozen bread dough. I love a versatile recipe! I took my frozen rolls and stuck them in the fridge the morning I was going to make them. That afternoon, I pulled them out and cut them in half. After we got back from karate, the girls and I took the pieces of dough, flattened them out into small circles, and placed cheese in the middle. I cut up a variety of cheese sticks I had, so we had mozzarella, colby jack, monterey, and cheddar. What can I say, we like cheese. I cut them into about 1 inch pieces. We also added some mini turkey pepperonis to some of them.

After adding your cheese/pepperoni, just seal the dough around the filling, making little balls of cheese-y goodness.

I sprayed a bundt pan with cooking spray, then added a layer of cheese filled dough balls. Then I lightly sprayed them with olive oil and sprinkled on a little garlic powder. Then we added the next layer, spraying with olive oil again and adding a little more garlic powder. Then I sprinkled on some oregano. After using all the dough (which only ended up being about a half a pan), I baked it up until golden brown...

The kids enjoyed this....

Cheese please!

You can also warm up some pizza sauce on the side for dipping.

I will definitely be making this again!

I'm linking up today with It's a Blog Party, All the Small Stuff, 33 Shades of Green, Blessed with Grace, From Mess Hall to Bistro

Spicy Red Pepper Ravioli with Maple Apple Chicken Sausage

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:58:00 +0000

I wanted to call this 'clean out the vegetable drawer pasta', but considering some of the unidentifiable things I've pulled out of my veggie drawer...I decided that wasn't a good idea! One of my goals has been to decrease the amount of food that gets wasted in this house. However, when you try to eat healthy, and cook with fresh ingredients...well....you know that fresh stuff just doesn't last that long! I have a tendency to be really ambitious at the store, and buy a HUGE container of spinach - vowing to drink 'green monster smoothies' every morning...but then, more times than not, I do not want spinach for breakfast. Silly me.

This is one of those dishes that will utilize all those remaining veggies...and still taste yummy. It also comes together pretty quickly, which is always a bonus.

This is more of an outline than a recipe - since it can be modified to what ever you have on hand, and you can make as much or as little as you want.

The playas....
veggies
meat (optional)
pasta
sauce
cheese

I used spinach, 'matchstick' carrots, onion, garlic, maple apple chicken sausage, cheese filled ravioli, spicy red pepper spaghetti sauce.

Cook your (meat) chicken sausage in a skillet. When almost done, turn heat down and add a little olive oil, if needed, and saute your (veggies) carrots, and onion. When onions are translucent, add garlic. Give it a good stir, and allow garlic to cook for a minute or two. While the meat and veggies are cooking, boil water and cook the (pasta) ravioli according to package directions. Add sauce to meat and veggies and simmer. You can use whatever sauce you like. I happened to see a new jarred sauce - Spicy Red Pepper (I forget the brand) and wanted to give it a try. Drain pasta. Serve pasta with sauce and added red pepper flakes if desired, and cheese! I skipped the cheese since I used cheese filled ravioli. Even though you really can't have too much ~~money~~ ~~chocolate~~ cheese!

I liked the combination of the sweet from the chicken sausage, and the spicy from the red pepper. I also liked that I was using those remaining veggies instead of letting them go to veggie heaven in the crisper. Since I was the only one who ate the sauce - b/c I have kids that refuse to eat sauce on their pasta - I had leftovers. I threw that on some naan bread, with more cheese, and baked it up....

I love naan. And cheese. So I can pretty much turn anything into a 'pizza'.

And check out my fine china. Don't be hatin'.

The giveaway for FIVE boxes of General Mills cereal ends tomorrow. Go enter!

I'm linking up today with Everything Under the Moon, Homemaker on a Dime, Beyer Beware, Delightfully Dowling, A Southern Fairytale, Skip to my Lou, The Girl Creative, Life as Mom

Zenni Optical

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:01:00 +0000

Is that an awesome deal, or is that an AWESOME deal?! If you wear glasses, (or have had to buy them for your kids) then you know exactly what I'm talking about. I just found out about this deal from Zenni Optical and I was happy to share the news with you guys! I mean, $6.95 prescription eyeglasses? That's pretty incredible. With those prices, it would be easy to take advantage of the deal they have going on now - Buy 2 pairs, and get a 3rd pair FREE (of equal or lesser value of course). Prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, fashion frames....you could have them all! Zinni Optical also offers tinting for only $4.95!

With these prices, you don't have to agonize over one frame to go with every outfit and mood - you can have more than one pair so you can switch it up!

Feeling pink?

Blue?

rimless?

There are SO many affordable eyeglasses in all different styles. Also, you can virtually 'try on' the frames you like with the Zenni Frame Fit! Just pick the "model" with your similar facial structure and try on any pair of frames to get an idea how they will look. I love that feature! I 'tried on' several :) I also like that they have so many frames to choose from for kids too. I saw a pair with peace signs that my girls would love. Thankfully, they don't need glasses right now, but since my husband and I both wear glasses - they are probably in their future. At least I know where to look when the time comes!

So, if you are looking to buy new eyeglasses, I suggest you check out the incredible deals from Zenni Optical!

I am receiving compensation for writing this post, however, all opinions are 100% my own. To see my full disclosure policy, please refer to the Disclosures Tab.

Egg free Waffles

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

The other night the kids wanted waffles. Yes, I said night - we often eat breakfast for dinner! The problem with pancakes and waffles is almost all of them contain eggs. Eggs are not our friend in the Mo'Betta house due to Mr. Three's allergies. (Actually, the rest of us love eggs, but they really don't love my little man.) So, I'm often on the hunt for new recipes that are egg free, yet delicious, AND somewhat healthy, that the whole family can enjoy. Thanks to Pinterest, and some awesome 'pinners' and bloggers, I have found lots of vegan and other egg free recipes!

No Egg-o Waffles adapted from Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes

Dry Ingredients

1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or a mixture of all purpose and wheat)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Whisk these together in a bowl and set aside.

Wet ingredients:
1 1/2 cups ~~soy~~ skim milk
2 tbsp ground flax whisked with 5 tbsp water
2 tbsp apple sauce
6 tbsp ~~canola~~ olive oil

Whisk the wet ingredients together and add to the dry ingredients. Mix together but let some lumps remain.
Heat a waffle iron and spray lightly with cooking spray. Make waffles per instructions for your waffle maker.
Enjoy with syrup or fruit, or....

just pick them up and eat them plain!

For some reason, he has decided that he no longer wants syrup (which is fine by me!) and doesn't want them cut up. Whatever. As long as he is eating something other than chicken nuggets and cereal!

These waffles were a hit with everyone. Next time we will double the recipe. They had a great texture - crisp on the outside, but tender on the inside. I would also recommend using a light olive oil b/c I could taste the EVOO a little. You can also use canola (which I rarely use anymore), and probably coconut oil, which I've never tried before - but it's on my grocery list!

Have you used coconut oil before? What are your thoughts on it?

I'm linking up with Cybele Pascal for Allergy Friendly Friday!

Wordless Wednesday - Spring Fever

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Spring....

bring it!

Shrimp and Grits

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:13:00 +0000

On blogs everywhere I am seeing the most delicious looking foods celebrating Mardi Gras. Since I pretty much no nothing about Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday, have never been to New Orleans, nor am I cajun...I really don't have much to offer today. However, I do have a shrimp and grits recipe that is SO good. It's as close as I can come to sharing in the spirit of the day!

Shrimp and Grits - adapted from Joy the Baker

4 cups water
1 cup stone ground grits (or polenta)
salt and pepper
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter *I used Smart Balance Light
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined without the tails
~~6 slices bacon~~ *al fresco apple maple chicken sausage
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
1 large garlic clove, minced

Bring water to a boil. Add grits to the boiling water while whisking to prevent clumps. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Lower heat, bring to simmer and cover until water is absorbed. Follow the directions on your box of grits or polenta. Cooking times vary. Once thick, remove from heat and stir in butter and shredded cheese.

Rinse and pat shrimp dry. Cook the sausage in a large skillet. When cooked through remove from the pan and add shrimp into the grease pan (I had very little grease from chicken sausage, but it was fine). Cook until shrimp turn pink. Add lemon juice, sausage, scallions, garlic and parsley. Cook for another three minutes.

Spoon the grits into a serving bowl and top with shrimp mixture. Serve immediately.

This has just made me seriously hungry. And I'm ~~pretty~~ absolutely sure I would love beignets. Which has nothing to do with this recipe, but I always think of them whenever I hear anything about Mardi Gras! *sigh*

What are your plans to celebrate? Anyone giving something up for Lent? I'm not Catholic, but with my pants so tight, fasting sounds like a really good idea. I need to learn more about this!

Student Loans

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:35:00 +0000

Thanks for the guest post by Jo Levy

I graduated a couple of years ago, and obviously I’ve been paying my student loans every month, but I hadn’t been paying that much attention to the balance or how much longer I had to pay. As part of a New Year’s Resolution I decided I’d try to get a better handle on my finances, so I sat down with my loan statements and had a good look at them. And then I promptly almost had a heart attack. Because as it turns out, after paying on my loans for a couple of years, they have actually gone up. If you are feeling shocked by that, I can assure you that I know how you feel. I called my dad immediately to try to have him explain the situation to me, and I have to say he was a little condescending. I guess the idea of interest accruing is a fairly simple concept, now that I think about it, but the problem is I didn’t think about it! I resolved to start cutting costs everywhere I Could to get the loans paid down as quickly as possible. I checked out a few websites my dad recommended to help me out, and one of them has actually made a pretty big difference—http://www.shopelectricityratestexas.com/. In Texas, we can evidently select our own energy providers and can save a pretty decent amount of money doing so. Who’d have known?

See Disclosure Tab for full Disclosure Policy

Meyer Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:44:00 +0000

This is definitely my new favorite soup!

The fresh taste of Meyer lemons combined with classic, comforting taste of chicken soup....ahhhhhh, it just makes you all warm and cozy and happy all at the same time :D Yes, my emotions are tied up tightly with food. It's a problem, I know. This however, is a guilt free meal that you can enjoy every day. And I did. Now it's all gone, and I'm sad. However, I will be making more today!

Meyer Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup slightly adapted from My Kitchen Adventures

1 tsp. Olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

3 ribs celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf (or 1/2 tsp. crushed dry bay leaves)

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

3 - 32 oz. boxes of fat free, low sodium chicken stock

~~8 oz.~~ 1 lb cooked and chopped chicken breast

8 oz. orzo pasta~~, parboiled in salted water for half the time called for on the package and drained~~

1/2 cup fresh meyer lemon juice

zest from one lemon *I took one of the Meyer lemons that I juiced and minced the whole thing (peel & all). I wouldn't recommend this if you are using regular lemons!

salt and pepper, to taste

8 oz. organic baby spinach

lemon slices and Parmesan cheese for garnish ( optional )

In a large stock pot heat olive oil on med heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook until vegetables begin to soften. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute. Add in the bay leaf, thyme, oregano and salt and pepper. (to taste) Cook for another 30 seconds or so, and add in broth & chicken. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to a simmer. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, then bring back to a boil, add in orzo. Reduce heat, add lemon juice and zest, cover, and let cook for about 10 minutes or until orzo is soft.

Before serving, stir in baby spinach and allow to wilt in hot broth. Add salt and pepper if needed and remove bay leaf if used. Garnish with lemon slices and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Verdict? FABULOUS! Head over to Renee's blog for Weight Watchers/nutrition info!

I'm linking this recipe up with Homemaker on a Dime, Delightfully Dowling, Mouthwatering Monday @ A Southern Fairytale, Skip to my Lou, Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative, Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party, Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff, Tasty Tuesdays @ 33 Shades of Green, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Made from Scratch Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday @ For The Love Of Blogs,Blue Cricket Design,Wow Me Wednesday at Ginger Snap Crafts, Lady Behind the Curtain, These Chicks Cooked, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, A Little Nosh, EKat's Kitchen, Simply Delish, Feeding Four, It's a Keeper, Bacon Time with the Hungry Hungry Hypo, Six Sisters' Stuff, The Sweet Details for Savory Sunday, Life as Mom

Double Dark Chocolate Cookie Balls!

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

(for lack of a better name)
Look how cute they are!

Better yet, look how chocolate-y they are...

And guess what else! They are healthy(ish) ;)

Come check out the recipe I have posted over at FaveDiets.com!

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Nothing says comfort food like chicken and rice! This is another variation of the chicken and rice casserole, that was approved by 2 out of 3 children in the Mo'Betta household.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole adapted from BHG.com

1
~~6 ounce package~~ ~~long grain and wild rice mix~~ box Rice-a-Roni Wild Rice Mix
1
medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup) *I used 1/4 cup
1
stalk celery, chopped
2
tablespoons ~~butter~~ olive oil
1
10 1/2 - 10 3/4 ounce can condensed chicken with white and wild rice soup or cream of chicken soup or homemade cream of chicken soup
1/2
cup ~~sour cream~~ plain yogurt
1/3
cup dry white wine or chicken broth *I used chicken broth
2
tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
2
cups shredded cooked chicken (or turkey)
1/3
cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

- Prepare rice mix according to package directions.

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large skillet, cook onion and celery in ~~hot butter~~ olive oil over medium heat until tender.

-Stir in soup, ~~sour cream~~ yogurt, ~~wine~~ chicken broth, and basil. Stir in cooked rice and chicken.

-Transfer mixture to an ungreased 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 35 minutes or until heated through. Makes 4 servings.

I'm linking this up over at Life as Mom for the Ultimate Recipe Swap!

Butter Pecan Popcorn

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:13:00 +0000

Well, mine is actually minus the pecan...

The absolute BEST popcorn treat I have ever made was this "Cinnabon" Popcorn - it was unholy good. Probably b/c it's made with a stick of butter, among other things. So, when I found this recipe, claiming to be a caramel corn alternative that was much lower in fat/calories...I decided to give it a try. It wasn't over-the-moon good, but it was a tasty, quick, sweet treat. My kids and I crushed it one day after school.

Butter Pecan Popcorn from Recipes.com

8 cups popped popcorn (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup unpopped)
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup broken pecans **I omitted due to little man's allergies
2 tablespoons butter or margarine **I used Smart Balance
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup instant butterscotch (or butter pecan pudding mix) **I used sugar free/fat free butterscotch
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Discard unpopped popcorn kernels. Spray a 17x12x2-inch roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the popped corn and pecans in the pan. Keep popcorn warm in a 300 degree F oven while making coating.
In a small saucepan melt the margarine or butter. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in the corn syrup, pudding mix, and vanilla. Pour syrup mixture over popcorn. With a large spoon, gently toss the popcorn with the syrup mixture to coat.
Bake popcorn, uncovered, in a 300 degree F oven for 16 minutes, stirring halfway through baking. Remove the pan from the oven. Turn mixture onto a large piece of foil. Cool popcorn completely. When cool, break into large pieces. Store leftover popcorn, tightly covered, in a cool, dry place for up to 1 week. Makes about 9 (1-cup) servings.
Verdict/Notes - I think I may have used more than 8 cups of popcorn. I made a big bowl with my air popper and went with it - so, that may explain why I didn't have great coverage of my popcorn. Therefore, I recommend measuring out 8 cups! Also, I used sugar free/fat free instant pudding, so I don't know if that made a difference in the coating or not. I may try it next time with regular instant pudding. I think it would be really good with the pecans, but since my son loves popcorn, I wanted him to be able to eat it too. Bottom line, it was a decent after school snack! I will probably make it again, and play with the recipe and see what I come up with.

*I have a giveaway going on now for FIVE boxes of General Mills cereal, be sure to enter!

Wordless Wednesday - Valentine's

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:12:00 +0000

and this will be me very soon...

Picture Source

ahhhhh - if you've never had a hot stone massage...I highly recommend it! This was my gift from my hubby. SO looking forward to it!

Giveaway going on now for 5 boxes of General Mills cereal - check it out!

General Mills, Whole Grains, and a giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:28:00 +0000

I don't know about y'all, but I spend a lot of time in the grocery store. I mean, it takes me for-ev-er. I am an avid 'label reader' - trying to make the best decisions on foods for my family. Not to mention, I have to scan the ingredient lists on everything before my son can eat it due to his food allergies. So, what if I told you that General Mills has come up with a way to make your cereal shopping so much easier? Awesome, right?!

We all have probably heard by now how important whole grains are in our diet. Well, General Mills has made it so much easier to identify their cereals that have more whole grain than any other ingredient...they have placed a white check on the front! Easy to identify, and allowing me to spend less time in the cereal isle. (If you have been reading for a while, you know that my family eats A LOT of cereal - myself included.) My son went through a stage where he wouldn't eat hardly anything but cereal, and he is still quite the Cheerios fanatic.

You should really check out the Whole Grain Nation website to learn what whole grains are, why they are so important, and enter the sweepstakes to win all 50+ Big G cereals! Talk about saving me money on my grocery bill!

Because General Mills feels like whole grains are such an important part of a healthy diet, and to introduce you to their new 'white check' packaging, they are offering a great giveaway....

FIVE boxes of Big G cereals that contain more whole grain than any other ingredient!

My 3 y/o was so excited when I pulled out his beloved Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch AND Lucky Charms! He thought it was Christmas :) My girls and I love Honey Nut Cheerios, and I like to eat my Total with either blueberries or mixed dried berries, and a few walnuts. That's a lot of nutrition packed in one bowl of cereal!

(I'm using Rafflecopter for the first time, so let me know if there are any problems!)

Disclosure: The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

TO ENTER GIVEAWAY -

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Preschool Valentine's Par-tay

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:30:00 +0000

So, true to form, I spent yesterday getting everything ready for today's pre-school Valentine's party. At least everything is nice and fresh ;)

Valentine's for his classmates

The little boxes came from the dollar section at Target - they were 4/$1. I love that section!

I filled each box with Valentine's Chex Mix - a nut free version (recipe below). I forgot that I did the Pumpkin Spice Chex Mix for the Thanksgiving party, but oh well. I have a thing for mixes I guess.

Since I'm one of the party moms for this party, I made egg free sugar cookies for the kids to decorate (then eat!). We will also have some fruit and probably cheese doodles - kids love some cheese doodles.

For this to be an egg free recipe, it had a great consistency (not too crumbly) and perfect for cut out cookies. I'm going to frost them with pink frosting, then let the kids decorate them with M&M's and sprinkles. It's so nice that his preschool still allows home baked goods (the public schools here do not), because it allows me to make allergy friendly cookies/cupcakes, etc that my son can have along with his classmates.

Valentine's Chex Mix - adapted from Betty Crocker

9 cups Rice Chex® cereal

1 cup white vanilla baking chips

1/2 cup ~~peanut~~ WowButter

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup Valentine M&M's

sprinkles

heart shaped marshmallows

choice of red/pink/white candies (I used Mike & Ike cherry flavored candy)

Place cereal in a large bowl. In small microwavable bowl, microwave vanilla chips, Wowbutter (or any nut butter or peanut butter replacement) uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Place 1/2 of the cereal mixture in gallon sized plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil; cool about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir candies and sprinkles into remaining cereal mixture. Spread on waxed paper or foil; cool about 15 minutes. (you may want to leave out the M&M's b/c they get the mixture all over them and are not as pretty!)

Once cool, mix both cereals together, then add in your additional candies and marshmallows.

For the egg free Sugar Cookies, I followed this recipe from the Art of Dessert. The only change I made is I used butter flavored Crisco sticks instead of butter. (Crisco actually has less saturated fat. Who knew?!) And I also added a little cinnamon - b/c I can never leave well enough alone ;)

Don't forget, my giveaway from Shabby Apple ends tomorrow!

I will also have another giveaway starting :D

Now, off to be party mom....

Valentine's....stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:14:00 +0000

Since I haven't done anything for this Valentine's yet (I'll be working on that Sunday night at bedtime I'm sure - since my little one's party is Monday...yep, that's how I roll) I thought I would give you a look at last year's stuff :)

Heart shaped cake for the kiddies.

I made it egg free and lower calorie by just adding a can of Diet Sprite to a box of cake mix. Can't get much easier than that! Then I heated up the frosting and poured it over the cake and the kids added sprinkles. Easy, cheap and the kids loved it. (I'm not a fan of strawberry cake.)

We dipped pink marshmallows in white chocolate, then dipped them in sprinkles (or added the M&M - which sorta looks like a cupcake, and some of them looked like a nipple, but...whatever. Hopefully that's not the first thing everyone else thought of. ~~Perv~~.) These were for the teachers.

These were the Valentine's Mr. Little Man gave out.

The printable came from HERE if anyone is interested. I thought they turned out very cute.

Last, but not least, I made Valentine's bark - that I plan on doing again if time permits. You can see the original post HERE.

Terrible lighting, but add some bark to some pink marshmallows, and you have another neat little gift to give.

Wow, I did some cute stuff last year. Damn, now people are going to be expecting something all cutesie and I haven't planned a single thing. Well, that's not exactly true...I am planning on making large egg free heart shaped sugar cookies for the kids to decorate at the preschool Valentine's party AND I think I'm going to make some Valentine's Chex Mix to give out as Valentine's. I found some cute little boxes from Target to put it in...I'll post pics when I get it done!

Wordless Wednesday - Before and After

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Before = AGH! Scary!

After = I'm so sad Picnik is closing.

I had different plans for this post and ~~was going to delete~~ the picture, but got to playing with the soon-to-be-extinct features of Picnik.

btw - this is my "quit playing with my camera and eat your dinner" expression :)

Healthy Faux Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Vegan Whole Wheat Faux Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

adapted from Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Bars from Chocolate & Carrots

I, of course, had to make ~~a lot~~ some changes to accommodate our allergies, and most importantly, add chocolate!

Ingredients -

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup canola oil *I used olive oil

1/2 cup peanut butter *I used Wowbutter - soybutter

1/2 cup sugar *I used 1/4 cup sugar & 1/4 cup NuNaturals Stevia Baking Blend

1/4 cup honey *I omitted

2 eggs *I used 1 "flax egg" (1 T. milled flax mixed in 3 T. warm water -let sit for 10 mins) &

1 homemade egg replacement

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions-

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Set aside an 8″ x 8″ pan that has been covered with non-stick aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray. This is for easy removal from the pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.

In a bowl, combine the olive oil, soybutter, sugar and Stevia, egg substitutions and vanilla extract.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Stir until just mixed. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread into your pan. (my batter was thick)

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until it is set.

Allow to cool before cutting.

Verdict? I know you're thinking with all those changes it's no way they turned out. That's exactly what I was thinking as they were baking. However, THEY WERE AWESOME!! These were demolished in record time. Even my super picky Number One loved them. My only complaint is that they were a little greasy/oily from the soybutter, so I'm thinking I could reduce the olive oil. I was seriously craving chocolate and peanut butter, and these definitely hit the spot. Just looking at the picture is making me want to bake more!

Please check out and enter my current giveaways if you haven't already - Pillsbury Valentine's Cookie Gift Pack - ends 2/8 and Vintage Inspired Black Cameo Necklace from Shabby Apple - Ends 2/14

I'm linking up today with It's a Blog Party, All the Small Stuff, 33 Shades of Green, Blessed with Grace, From Mess Hall to Bistro, iBlog4me, Giggles, Glitz & Glam , The Sweet Spot

Valentine's Day Cookies and a Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:51:00 +0000

Valentine's Day is right around the corner! (How is it February already?!) If you want to bake up some Valentine's love quick, fast and in a hurry, then Pillsbury Ready-to-Bake Valentine cookies fit the bill. They are super cute, with Disney characters that kids love, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and Disney Princesses- Belle, Cinderella and Tiana.

Cookies make my kids very happy.

(Cookies make mommy happy too, for that matter!)

**and please don't ask me about the black polka dot glasses my daughter has insisted on wearing non stop all weekend long. They don't have a prescription in them, and came with tape in the middle and everything. She thought they were super cool that they looked so nerdy. I must be getting old, b/c I don't get it!

So not only has Pillsbury made it possible to bake cute (and yummy) cookies in 8-10 minutes, they are offering all of YOU a coupon for $1.10 off the purchase of one package of Read-to-Bake! Shape Cookies. Click HERE to print your coupon!

If you want to keep up with other special events, coupons, promotions, etc, going on at Pillsbury, you can "like" them on Facebook, follow on Twitter, and on Facebook I found out they are also on Pinterest!! Yay!

So...what am I giving away today?! Well, cookies, of course - but that's not all!

This giveaway will include all you see pictured - an adorable little cookie spatula, a cookie jar, a VIP coupon for a free box of Pillsbury Ready to Bake Shape! Valentine cookies, and a nice, thick oven mitt. The cookies lasted all of 6.4 seconds at my house, but I'll be using the oven mitt, spatula and cookie jar for quite some time.

You know what it means now that I have a cookie jar right? I have to keep it stocked! YES!

To enter the GIVEAWAY, please leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite cookie (or your Valentine's plans...since I have none).

*Give yourself an extra entry for being a follower of Mo'Betta (just leave additional comment telling me the way(s) you follow. Extra entry for each way!)

*Extra entry for following Pillsbury on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest too. Links above. (just let me know in the comment section. Again, entry for each way)

*Extra entry for tweeting - just use the hashtag #MyBlogSpark

*Extra entry for posting on Facebook

*5 extra entries for blogging about giveaway

This will be a short giveaway since Valentine's is almost here! ENDS Wednesday 2/8/12 at midnight EST!

Disclosure: The VIP coupon, prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark.

Cheers!

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:03:00 +0000

Brought To By Wine.com, Purveyors of Fine Wine and Champagne

See, now you can spout out random fun facts at your next party :) Seriously, if you want to know more about wine (different varieties, ratings, etc), you should check out Wine.com. If you want a RED that is Light & Fruity or Earthy & Spicy, or a WHITE that is light & crisp...they are all divided by style - or, you can search by region, price, you name it. I found it very informative since I pretty much know nothing about wine. You can also join different Wine Clubs. How nice would it be to have bottles of fine wine delivered to your door step?! Yep, I'm all for that one.

So what about you? Are you a sommelier or like me and just know to buy a bottle with a cork and not a screw top?

{Healthier} Double Chocolate Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Double Chocolate Muffins slightly adapted from Fiber One

1 cup Fiber One® original bran cereal

1 1/3cups buttermilk *I used skim milk w/2 T. vinegar (let sit for 5-10 mins)

1/4 cup ~~canola or vegetable oil~~ olive oil

1egg *I used a "flax egg" replacement (1 T. milled flax seed in 3 T. warm water - let sit 10 mins)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar *I used 1/2 cup

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup ~~miniature~~ semisweet chocolate chips

crystallized ginger (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 12 regular-size muffin cups.

Place cereal in resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag and crush with rolling pin or meat mallet (or crush in food processor).

In medium bowl, mix cereal and buttermilk; let stand 5 minutes.

Stir in oil and egg. Stir in remaining ingredients except chocolate chips.

Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove from pan. Serve warm. Top with powdered sugar or crystallized ginger if desired. We did a little of both!

My little man was a fan!

(actually, everyone agreed these were yummy. It's amazing what a little chocolate for breakfast will do.)

Even with the Fiber One and the flax, the muffins didn't cause....uhmmm...excess, uhhh, what's the politically correct way to say this.....air pollution? haha. Yay, fiber! It's good for you :D

I'm linking up with It's a Keeper, Feeding Four, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, A Little Nosh

Wordless Wednesday - Weaknesses

noreply@blogger.com (Mo 'Betta) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

And GIVEAWAYS! I have one going on right now for a piece of vintage jewelry from Shabby Apple!