Muffin Tin Mac and Cheese cups

Ingredients

1/2

lb uncooked elbow macaroni

4

tablespoons butter

2

tablespoons Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

1/2

teaspoon salt

1/4

teaspoon ground black pepper

1

cup milk 

2

cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (8 oz)

1/2

cup Progresso™ plain panko crispy bread crumbs

1

tablespoon finely chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

Directions

• 1 Heat oven to 425°F. Place foil muffin liner in each of 12 regular-size muffin cups. Spray liners with cooking spray. Cook macaroni as directed on package; drain, and set aside.
• 2 Meanwhile, in 4-quart saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add flour, salt and pepper; cook and beat with whisk 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened. Slowly beat in milk. Heat just to boiling, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese. Stir in macaroni. Divide mixture evenly among cups.
• 3 In medium microwavable bowl, microwave remaining 2 tablespoons butter uncovered on High 60 to 90 seconds or until melted. Stir in bread crumbs and parsley. Spoon on top of mixture in cups. Gently press.
• 4 Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until bread crumb mixture is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

These turned out so yummy. My kiddos loved them! Recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker!

Geeky Food Momma

Apple and Rhubarb with Oat Clusters

Apple Rhubarb with Oat clusters is one recipe I ate while on my Daniels Fast.
I promised to share the recipe with ya'll!

So here goes!

Geeky Food Momma

Day 4 and 5 Of Daniel Fast

Getting down to the finish line ladies and gents! Here are my day 4 and 5 meals.

Day 4:

Breakfast: oatmeal and banana
snack: applesauce
Lunch: veggie plate( carrots, celery, tomato, cucumber), hummus, hard boiled egg, cheese
snack: mini rice cakes, cheese
Dinner: fried green tomatoes, and a banana



Day 5:

Breakfast: fruit bowl (mango, strawberries,blueberries, golden honeydew melon, kiwi) Oat bran toast
snack: lentils, banana
Lunch: oatmeal, and remaining fruit from breakfast
snack: hummus, pretzels, and almonds
Dinner: fried green tomatoes, cottage cheese



So as you can see I still have some dairy, and eggs still included in my Daniel fast. With the fast you can modify it however you deem necessary and its great. I have been a vegetarian for almost 1 week! LOL 2 more days to go!



Geeky Food Momma

Day 2 & 3 Daniel fast

So on to my day 2 of our Daniel Fast.

Breakfast: Apple rhubarb oat crisp, banana
snack: mini rice cakes, strawberries
lunch: Sweet potato quinoa chili
snack: plum, peach and strawberries all sliced up and split with Little K.
Dinner: red potatoes, baked green beans, black bean burger

My day started very early! 6:30 am.. blah! I did get to take a nap though, so that is always nice. My ankle is still sore (and swollen), so I didn't take a very long walk today unfortunately.


Day 3:

Breakfast: Fruit bowl (mango, kiwi, honeydew melon, grapes)
snack: strawberries, cheese stick
Lunch: Sweet potato quinoa chili... frozen yogurt.
Snack: apple sauce, hummus with gluten free pretzels
Dinner: All baked: carrots, green beans and baby red potatoes


Back at work today and all weekend. This fast is always hard to stick to! Good thing you can customize it some!
Going to post the recipes I have used so far soon!



Geeky Food Momma

Day 1 Daniel Fast

So my husband and I decided to do what is known as Daniel's Fast. Now this fast can be modified some for whomever decides to go on this fast. It is a fast that usually lasts 3 weeks at a time, mostly a vegetarian diet, without added sugars etc.

There are websites and books you can view to get a list of what all is usually acceptable to eat and drink while on the fast.A pretty normal list of what you can have would be:

• All fruits
• All veggies
• Whole grains
• All legumes
• All nuts and seeds
• All quality oils
• Seasonings
• Beverages (water)
• Tofu and soy products

Now that is what you can have. Like I said you can modify it a little depending on how much into you want to go. This is based of a biblical fast from Daniel in the bible. He did his fast for a much more spiritual reason.

Now foods not to consume while on the fast:

• All meat products
• All dairy
• All sweeteners
• All leavened bread
• All refined/processed food
• All deep fried foods
• All solid fats
• Beverages (coffee, tea, herbal teas, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and alcohol.)
• Fast food would be included in this list

So for my day 1. 

I had :

Breakfast: Apple Rhubarb Crisp, and a banana

snack: golden honey dew melon

Lunch: carrots, celery, with hummus

snack: Pureed Apple tube (x2) and mini rice cakes

Dinner: Sweet potato and Quinoa chili

(recipes with pictures soon to follow for the breakfast dish and dinner)

Day 2 is already starting for me really early this morning/

We are only doing this for 1 week instead of 3. Our goal is to do it for 1 week each month. wish us luck!

Geeky Food Momma

Baked Zucchini slices

Okay so for this dish. I made baked zucchini "chips".

I used : zucchini, bread crumbs, seasonings, parm cheese and egg.

You just mix your bread crumbs, parm  and seasonings together.

your egg is for your wash.

slice your zucchini.

Take and coat slice in egg than in mixture.

Baked at like 400 for 8 minutes, then flipped slices over baked another 8 minutes.

YUM

Geeky Food Momma!

My 4th of July Quick sides!

So for the fourth of July weekend. My brother invited us to a cook out. All I was asked to bring was a side. I wanted something sorta healthy and of course to take a dessert. So I picked these two to take. Super easy and fairly quick to prepare.

First up the side dish.

What we have here is ...

baby red potatoes... in which I diced and boiled.
Then added half a packet of green onion mix (hidden valley), and a mixture of black pepper and onion. Stirred it all together and voila!



As for this dessert. it is chocolate chip cheesecake bars!

Ingredients

1

package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2

cup sugar 

1

egg

1/2

cup coconut, if desired

1

roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury™ refrigerated chocolate chip cookies

• 1Heat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth. Stir in coconut.
• 2In ungreased, 9- or 8-inch square pan, break up half of cookie dough. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust. Spread cream cheese mixture over dough. Crumble and sprinkle remaining half of dough over cream cheese mixture.
• 3Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store in refrigerator.

recipe courtesy of : http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/chocolate-chip-cheesecake-bars

Thanks again Geeky Food Momma

Did you miss me?

Sooooo...

I am sure you may be wondering where did Geeky Food Momma go?

Well my lap top decided that the keyboard will no longer work....And I was not about to try it on my phone. My PC was out of commission, however it is now back to working!! Woot woot. I have plenty of photos of food to start right back in the game!

So here I am ! YAY.

On the fly!

So for dinner tonight, I had no idea what we were gonna have. Pantry is looking pretty slim, really need to go grocery shopping! So I got to looking... decided on chicken. Okay so what to do with the chicken?

I took the chunk chicken in a can, threw it on the stove... grabbed a bell pepper, used half of it (chopped) and threw it in the skillet, added a can of rotel and let it all cook. Meanwhile I opened a can of black beans, rinsed and drained of course.
Once the stuff on the skillet was complete, I crunched up a serving of tortilla chips into a bowl, added a layer of the black beans, topped with the chicken mixture, plus jalapenos, crumbly cheese and sour cream.

Geeky Food Momma

Chili!

So I decided to make up a pot of chili earlier for dinner. I like to use the crock pot... so I make my chili in the crock pot.


CHILI

1/2 lb hamburger
1 can V8 vegetable juice
1 can of black beans
2 cans of chili ready tomatoes (first time using these)
1/2 onion diced
chili seasoning packet

Throw it in the crock pot and it will be done before you know it!

 For finishing touch, I use jalapenos and frito lays (chili cheese style of course) and usually shredded cheese, however I didnt realize we were out!

Geeky Food Momma

Hearty Beef and Butternut Squash stew

Here is a yummy hearty dinner, that is good for you!


((Makes 6 servings, 1 1/4 cups each))

1 tsp olive oil
1.5 lbs raw lean stew meat, boneless, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup low sodium beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. sea salt
2 cups cubed butternut squash ( I buy the fresh squared squash from the produce section or the frozen)

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Heat oil in large saucepan
Add beef, cook, stir frequently for 4 or 5 minutes, until brown
Add all ingredients into crock pot
Cook on low for up to 6 hours or high for less time.

All the yummy ingredients in the crock pot!

Geeky Food Momma

Black Bean Bacon Dip

 First off Happy Mother's Day! Thank you all for checking my blog out! Hope you are having a wonderful day! Enjoy it even though the weather is all rainy.


Here is a little recipe I found in a magazine the other day. Please do not ask what magazine because I totally forget. Probably Better Homes and Garden, or Family Circle.. maybe even Rachael Ray, I get all of the above!
This is my first time trying this recipe. Smells delicious while making it, and turns out not to shabby!


What you need:

4 slices of bacon (I used 3)
1 can of black beans (rinse and drain)
2 chopped cloves of garlic
3/4tsp of chili powder
Cotija cheese (however much you feel like crumbling up and putting in it)
2 tbsp sour cream

In a non stick skillet, fry your bacon.
Fry for about 5 minutes or so until crispy.
remove bacon.
Stir the black beans, garlic, and chili powder into the skillet with the bacon grease.
Cook about 2 minutes.
Transfer to bowl.
Add sour cream and Cotija cheese, smashing beans until spreadable.
Stir in the bacon.

Very Quick and simple recipe. Great for a late afternoon snack.

The chips I used are Tostitos with a hint of jalepeno. Just FYI


Have a groovy day!
Geeky Food Momma

Dinner or Lunch ideas

So here We have a few lunch and dinner ideas! Enjoy!

First up looks like we have Black bean burger with sweet potato fries and zucchini, along with some pasta salad.
Next up we have pasta salad with what I like to call pork chop dippers! 

 Here we have an everything bagel with a cheese dip. (the cheese dip is made up of cream cheese, and old english cheese)

And lastly we have sloppy joes, with cottage cheese and sweet potato fries!


Thanks!

Geeky Food Momma

Zucchini Bread

So I am sure all my many followers have missed me dearly! LOL Well anywho~~
This week I have a yummy treat! ZUCCHINI BREAD!!!!

Recipe time!

Total Time:
2 hr 20 min
Prep:
20 min
Inactive:
1 hr
Cook:
1 hr

Yield:
12 servings

Level:
Easy

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray, for coating loaf pan
1/3 cup walnuts (optional)
1 large zucchini
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup brown  sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons no-sugar-added apple butter
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

Spread the walnuts out on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Cool and roughly chop.

Coarsely grate the zucchini into a bowl and squeeze out the excess liquid; you should have about 1 1/2 cups zucchini.

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat the sugar, oil, apple butter, vanilla and eggs with an electric mixer on medium speed in a large bowl. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined, and then on medium speed for 30 seconds. Stir in the zucchini and nuts until evenly combined. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and completely cool. Cut into 24 slices and serve at room temperature.

Geeky Food Momma!

Something fun!

So I got a bag of Dove truffle pop mix for free the other day. I thought I had some Popsicle makers.... Unfortunately I have none. So while out and about at Walmart the other day I spotted these cute Popsicle makers! So I bought 2 sets! And I also bought the Jello Popsicle kit maker set! You can really never have to many Popsicle makers!

In the freezer! How much fun is it making Popsicle's!!!

Geeky Food Momma

Loaded Brocolli and potato soup

I found this recipe on TIP HERO earlier this evening while on facebook.
Now a few years ago you would not have been able to pay me to eat broccoli soup, now look at me! I tried some not that long ago and LOVED it. Surprised the crap outta me! So we (my hubby and I) made this soup tonight, and it is AWESOME!

http://tiphero.com/broccoli-potato-cheddar-soup/

Here is the link to the video and recipe. If I could ever figure out how to actually post videos and share them, that would be cool!

 So here is all my supplies!

All set out and ready to roll!

My onions and carrots all chopped up!

 Broccoli!

 Potatoes all ready to go in!

 Here it is simmering away

Finished product! Bacon crumbles on top! OH YUM!

This has to be the best broccoli potato soup I have ever eaten! *hands down*



Geeky Food Momma!!

PIZZA!!

Nontraditional pizza it is for lunch today! Today for Khaleesi's and my lunch... I made a pizza! Just a small pizza , very easy to make, and yummy to boot!
No pizza crust used here, so less calories!

 So for our ingredients.... I used Mission wraps: Sun Dried tomato, pizza sauce, hot pepper rings (on half the pizza), pepperoni, shredded mozzarella, and sweet peppers !

 Here is the pizza ready to go in the oven.
First I sprayed my pan with olive oil.
Then I placed my tortilla on the pan and spread a nice thin layer of sauce. Oh and I sprinkled oregano on the sauce too.
Next comes the other toppings, the pepper rings, the pepperoni, and the sweet peppers.
Last the cheese was sprinkled on top! Maybe a 1/4 of a cup give or take.
Oven has been pre heating to 350 degrees
Baked the pizza for close to 20 minutes. time will vary on your oven.

 Finished product. Nice and crispy! Super thin crust pizza! Less calories than your traditional pizza!

Here are a few slices on a plate! Sprinkled with parm cheese and roasted red pepper flakes.


Geeky Food Momma

Black Bean Burgers

For this dinner dish.... I have prepared a black bean burger, with sweet potato fries, baked zucchini, and a pasta salad.

Here is the finished product. Black bean burger on a whole wheat sandwich thin. baked sweet potato fries, and zucchini, as well as pasta salad with parm. cheese sprinkled on top! The second picture shows the fries and zucchini before going in the oven. 350 degrees for like 20 minutes.
Delicious!

Geeky food Momma.

Sausage and peppers

This dish was very delicious and pretty healthy too!
If you like sausage and peppers then this is the dish for you!

Peppers and onions about to be cut to be thrown in the skillet!

 Huge potatoes! Gonna be going in the oven in pieces!

 Chopped up potatoes with seasonings.. in the oven 350.

 Chicken sausage and beef sausage ready for the skillet!

 Finished product. Notice my peppers and onions are sitting on a nice bed of brown rice.

Here is a dish I made to have the next day.. cabbage with potatoes and onions in the crock pot. Wish I had more sausage to throw in with it!


Geeky Food Momma.