Spicy Sausage Pasta

Here's the delicious recipe that I tried today! It came out just as beautifully as pictured & tastes amazing! All the gooey cheese & smoky sausage blended together well. Will definitely make again, & so simple!!! All credit goes to the blogger below. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/spicy-sausage-pasta.html#_a5y_p=668423

Operation Live Well

I was contacted by Operation Live Well to share some resources that may be valuable to those of you, like me, who are trying to eat healthier and get on the right track to a healthy lifestyle. The have a variety of recipes featured in numerous e-books on their page. Below are the links. If you get a chance, please head over there and take a look at all of the delicious recipes and let me know what you think. I plan to make a few in the upcoming weeks and will feature my favorites on my page. They even have some for the upcoming holidays:)

http://www.health.mil/Libraries/olw-materials/201311_FINAL_OLWFallandHolidayRecipes.pdf  Holiday Recipes

http://health.mil/Libraries/olw-materials/2013_OLWRecipeEbook.pdf?download=true Eat Well to Live Well Recipes

http://health.mil/Libraries/olw-materials/201308_FINAL_OLWHerbsEbook.pdf
Herb Recipes

http://health.mil/Libraries/olw-materials/201308_FINAL_OLWGrillAndChillEbook.pdf
Grill and Chill Recipes

http://health.mil/Libraries/olw-materials/201310_FINAL_OLWCookingTips_1.pdf
A to Z Guide to Cooking Tips

On their main page there are also many fitness tools, apps, etc. to help you on your journey! Just thought that I would pass along this valuable resource!

http://health.mil/News_And_Multimedia/Special_Features/operationlivewell.aspx

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Serves 10

INGREDIENTS
--3 lbs. ground chuck or turkey; browned
--5 tbs. minced garlic
--5 tbs. minced onion
--5 tbs. oregano
--2 tbs. garlic salt
--3 tsp. salt
--1 1/2 tsp. pepper
--5 tbs. sugar
--3 (12 oz.) cans tomato paste
--12 c. Water

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring all ingredients to a boil.
2. Reduce to a simmer; on low heat.  Don't put a lid on or sauce will be watery.
3. Cook 3 hours or longer stirring every 20-30 minutes.

Parmesan Green Beans

These are amazing & full of flavor for limited calories!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/11/roasted-parmesan-green-beans.html

Healthy substitutions

Great suggestions for healthy substitutions!

http://www.picklee.com/2012/08/01/recipe-substitutions/

Healthy Baked Buffalo Chicken

This recipe was delicious! We used Moore's Buffalo sauce instead though:)

http://culinarytuesdays.com/healthy-baked-buffalo-tenders/

Blueberry Cheesecake Squares

This looks as though it could easily be adapted to any fruit you would like so strawberries or raspberries would work too :) Recipe taken from Live Better America

Blueberry Cheesecake Squares

Ultimate BBQ Rubbed Chicken

This is another yummy one that will be coming up on the menu soon paired with some veggies :) Thanks to Live Better America for the recipe!

Ultimate BBQ Rubbed Chicken

Yummy Chili Recipe

Here's the recipe I am using to make chili this week. I follow the substitution and use ground turkey instead of beef.

Sunday's Dinner

Heading to bed and thought I would post what tomorrow's dinner is going to be while I am printing it out for myself:)

Chicken Fingers with Chipolte Honey
Oven Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges
Spring Salad with Light Balsamic Dressing

Chicken Stew over Biscuits
-2 envelopes chicken gravy mix
-2 cups water
-3/4 cup white wine
-1 tbs. parsley
-2 chicken bullion cubes or 1 to 2 tsp granules
-1tsp minced garlic
-1/2 tsp pepper
-5 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 large onions, chopped
-1 broiler/fryer chicken (3-4 pounds) cut up with skin removed
-3 tbs. all purpouse flour
-1/3 cup cold water
-1 tube (7.5 oz) buttermilk biscuits
***I also added in green beans and I think next time I would add in potatoes as well to beef it up :)

Directions
1. In 5 qt slow cooker, lined with a bag, combine the first 10 ingredients as well as any additional veggies you may choose to add. Stir. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
2. In a small bowl, combine cold water and flour til smooth. Gradually stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for one hour or until thickened.
3. Meanwhile, bake biscuits according to pkg directions. Place biscuits in soup bowls and top with stew.
Yields: 5 servings

Apologies!

Hi everyone! I am sorry I haven't been posting much. My husband and I PCS'd last summer and I have been trying to find a good balance between work and home. I was working at the CDC on base until I realized how much I missed teaching the elementary grades. So, I decided to go back to substitute teaching. For the last 4 months I have been super busy teaching 1st grade for a teacher who was out on maternity leave and DH was in and out for work so I didn't have much time to work on my blog. Now that I am free until August I should be posting more. I look forward to sharing some new tips and recipes with you soon!