Odd Mom

Quick and Easy Microwave Spiced Apples Recipe

Odd Mom — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:20:52 +0000

We had waffles the other night and I made this super healthy, low-calorie apple topping for our waffles. I drizzled just a smidgen of real maple syrup over the top, and it was just divine.

It’s also a very frugal recipe, as you can go ahead and use apples that are bruised or just not perfect for serving raw – just cut out the yucky parts and use the rest.

Quick and Easy Microwave Spiced Apples

Quick and Easy Microwave Spiced Apples

4 Granny Smith apples, cored, and sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger (or 1/4 teaspoon ground)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. In a medium bowl, toss the apple slices in the lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix the spices and brown sugar together. Add the spice mixture to the apples and toss to coat.

2. Cover the bowl and microwave for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the cover and stir the apples. Re-cover and microwave for another two minutes. Test the apples if they aren’t softened, microwave more in one minute increments.

Servings: 4

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 104 calories, 3 calories from fat, <1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 3.6mg sodium, 171.5mg potassium, 27.5g carbohydrates, 4.1g fiber, 21.2g sugar, <1g protein.

These are really great over ice cream for dessert, or stirred into oatmeal. Yum! Your house smells fantastic after cooking them, too.

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Super Easy, Super Quick, and Super Easy Caprese Salad Recipe

Odd Mom — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:32:04 +0000

My tomatoes aren’t ripe yet (although they are taking over the sidewalk, so I really need to stake them), but roma tomatoes are crazy cheap right now. Mozzarella was on sale this week, too, and I’ve got basil in the garden. What’s a girl to do, but make Caprese salad?

This differs from the usual in that it’s chopped instead of sliced, I add balsamic vinegar (yum) and I mix it in one of those Ziplock storage jars. So tasty!

Quick and Easy Caprese Salad

Quick and Easy Caprese Salad

5 roma tomatoes
6 ounces fresh mozzerella cheese
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (break out the good stuff for this one)
salt and pepper to taste

Seed and chop the tomatoes. Chop the mozzarella into similar-sized pieces. Put the tomatoes, the cheese, and the rest of the ingredients into a jar. Put the lid on and shake gently.

Servings: 4

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 159 calories, 91 calories from fat, 10.4g total fat, 27.2mg cholesterol, 269mg sodium, 309.3mg potassium, 5.7g carbohydrates, 1.4g fiber, 3.5g sugar, 11.4g protein.

I made this last weekend when the kids weren’t home, and had it by itself for dinner and then lunch the next day. Then we had it the other night along with Boca burgers and chips. And I’ve got just enough left in the fridge for my lunch today!

Asian Lettuce Wraps Recipe

Odd Mom — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:48:52 +0000

A couple months ago, I saw this recipe on Hon, What’s for Dinner? and vowed to make it. Although I’ve never had the PF Chang’s version, I’d had them at a local restaurant and was crazy about them.

For some reason, though, I put it off until a couple of weeks ago, when ground chicken was on a half price sale, and WOW! We have a new favorite in the house! We’ve had it a couple of times since. They are super quick, easy, frugal, healthy, and oh so very tasty!

I’ve made a few minor changes, so here’s my version:

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Asian Lettuce Wraps

1 pound ground chicken
1/2 white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 4 oz. can water chestnuts, drained and diced
3 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 whole lettuce leaves

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat, with one tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chicken and cook until browned lightly. Add onion, soy sauce, vinegar, crushed red pepper, and cook for two minutes. Add garlic and cook until onions are translucent and soft. Add water chestnuts, hoisin sauce, green onions, and the other tablespoon of oil. Stir and cook just until green onions start to wilt.

2. Fill lettuce leaves with meat mixture and serve.

Servings: 4

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 227 calories, 47 calories from fat, 5.6g total fat, 66.3mg cholesterol, 492.5mg sodium, 626.8mg potassium, 18.1g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 6.6g sugar, 28.5g protein.

I used romaine leaves, because that’s what I had, but this will be a lot better – and easier to eat – when I use rounder leaves.

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Broccoli-Lemon Couscous Recipe

Odd Mom — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:06:19 +0000

The kids and I love to watch the show Chopped on Food Network. A couple weeks ago, one of the contestants made a broccoli and lemon couscous, and I loved the idea, so I decided to see if I could figure out how to make it — it sounded simple enough. We loved it!

Broccoli-Lemon Couscous

Broccoli and Lemon Couscous

3 stalks broccoli
1 lemon
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup couscous

1. Cut the florets from the broccoli, saving the stalk and stems for another purpose. Chop the broccoli into tiny bits. You should have about a cup. Zest and juice the lemon.

2. Bring the water to a boil. Add the salt. Remove from heat and stir in the couscous, broccoli, and lemon zest. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

3. Fluff with a fork and toss with the lemon juice. Fluff again and serve.

Servings: 6

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 115 calories, 2 calories from fat, <1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 202.4mg sodium, 101mg potassium, 24g carbohydrates, 1.6g fiber, <1g sugar, 4.1g protein.

I served it with some pan-seared barramundi. I’ve decided that I’m not overly fond of barramundi, so next time we’ll serve this with cod. It really does make a great accompaniment to fish. Plus, it uses only one pan for both starch and broccoli, and it doesn’t heat up the house much, since it cooks so quickly. All things that make me happy!

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How to Wash Your Hair

Odd Mom — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:16:35 +0000

Me from 2007 - Photo copyright Mark Hayes Photography

These tips can save you money on shampoo and conditioner, and if you have fine hair like me, it can also help keep your hair from getting limp halfway through the day. My hairstylist told me this several years ago, and my hair is very much happier for it.

When you wash your hair, just massage shampoo on the 3 inches closest to your scalp. When you rinse your hair, the water will pull just enough of the shampoo through the rest of your hair — the part closest to your roots needs more because of the oil coming from your scalp, but the rest of it doesn’t need to be stripped of the smaller amount of oil that is there.

When you condition, reverse that process — put the conditioner on just the bottom part of your hair, near the ends. That’s the part that’s more likely to get dried out.

Rinse your hair in cool water. That will help close the cuticle, making your hair easier to comb, and it’ll help with shine, too.

Linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Frugal Fridays

No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake Recipe

Odd Mom — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:33:06 +0000

Well, apparently I had a little unplanned blogging break. Last week, we were getting my daughter ready to go off to camp. Between that and the heat, I just wasn’t up to sitting in my roasting office to get on the computer!

Moving on, though… For the week my daughter was home, in between visiting her grandmother and camp, we decided to try to combine two of her favorite things – my no-bake cheesecake, and key lime pie. I thought it was phenomenally good, and so did one of my sons. My other son doesn’t like cheesecake, and my daughter felt like it just made her want key lime pie more.

I love that this is no-bake. There’s just no way I’d turn on the oven in this heat! Well, and there’s the fact that I don’t have a working oven right now.

No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake

No-Bake Key Lime Cheesecake

1 graham cracker crust
8 oz. low-fat cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
10 key limes
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Prepare graham cracker crust. (I used a store-bought one, because we don’t have an oven at the moment – but the oven repair person is coming tomorrow! Yay!)

2. Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Mix in the sweetened condensed milk.

3. Zest 3 of the limes, and juice all of them. Add the zest and juice to the cheese and milk mixture, beating until smooth. The mixture will thicken.

4. Whip 1/2 of the cream with 1/2 of the powdered sugar, to soft peaks. Fold in one third of the whipped cream, and then another third, and finally the last of it. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

5. Whip the other half of the cream with the other half of the powdered sugar, and spread over the top of the pie. Slice and serve.

Servings: 12

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 385 calories, 201 calories from fat, 22.8g total fat, 63.1mg cholesterol, 234.5mg sodium, 248.7mg potassium, 41.4g carbohydrates, 1.1g fiber, 32.6g sugar, 6.4g protein.

I will warn you that this is not even remotely in the land of low-calorie foods. And that it’s really, really hard not to go back for a second slice.

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Cow Shopping Bag

Odd Mom — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:38:55 +0000

I took a break for awhile in my quest to teach myself to sew. Today, though, I made a shopping/picnic/tote bag out of some fabric I’d bought back when I started this adventure. I’m pretty happy with the results:

Cow print picnic or shopping tote

I did learn a few things, though. I learned that when buying a novelty print fabric like this, I should buy extra so I can decide what shows – there’s an adorable barn under the pockets, and I don’t like how the cows’ heads are cut off.

I also learned to take my time and think things through. When I sewed the lining and the bag together, I sewed the handles so that they were between the two! Oops! I got a lot of practice with my seam ripper, though.

Next up, I think, is to make some small drawstring bags. I love learning new things – keeps me young.

Oh! And the pattern for this (and the other tote bag I made) was McCall’s M5898.

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Deviled Eggs Recipe

Odd Mom — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 00:00:57 +0000

The final recipe from Doodle’s birthday party!

My deviled eggs are really very basic – and that’s the way we like them. None of us are fans of “stuff” in our deviled eggs — no pickle relish, no horseradish, no diced onion — although I’ve tasted perfectly fine eggs with those things added, they aren’t “deviled eggs” to our family. Of course, if your tastes are different than ours, feel free to stir in some relish or whatever. Or share your recipe with me and try to change my mind.

Deviled Eggs

Deviled Eggs

12 eggs, steamed or hard-boiled
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Paprika for garnish

Cut the eggs in half the long way, and put the yolks into a gallon-size zip-top plastic bag. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper to the bag, and seal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Work the bag with your hands until everything is smooth. If it’s too thin, add a little more mayo and mustard (sometimes, I don’t know why, they just need more moisture). Cut a corner off the bag and pipe the filling into the divet in the whites. Sprinkle with paprika and serve.

Can be made a few hours ahead – just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Servings: 12

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 106 calories, 67 calories from fat, 7.4g total fat, 242.6mg cholesterol, 330.1mg sodium, 80mg potassium, 1.9g carbohydrates, <1g fiber, <1g sugar, 7.4g protein.

I think most people love deviled eggs. I have never taken these to potlucks and had any to bring home. And what a frugal (but popular) choice to bring to a potluck! With all the 4th of July parties going on this weekend, you can bet I’ll be bringing lots of deviled eggs!

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Wordless Wednesday

Odd Mom — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:42:02 +0000

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Shaving Tip

Odd Mom — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:20:28 +0000

Yes, another shaving tip! I remember telling this to my younger daughter, and my older daughter exclaiming, “Hey! You never told ME that!”

Razor and shaving gel — ready to shave

When you shave your legs, you shave against the growth of the hair, to get a closer shave. Your underarm hair, however, grows in every direction – so you should shave your underarms in all directions (up, down, left, right, and even diagonal), to get a closer, smoother shave.

Linked to: Works for Me Wednesday