Broccoli and Cheddar Frittata ~ page 32

This was my very first Frittata to eat or make! It was very tasty. The changes that I made were to use whole eggs, I'm just not into Ellie's egg white thing to save calories...just give me the whole egg. I used 7 eggs and it was perfect. The other change I did was to add mushrooms which was a great idea, loved the addition of those. Oh, and next time I will up the salt. She has it at 1/4 teaspoon...I would do 1/2 teaspoon at least. The hardest part was to not stir it once I poured the eggs in. I had to just walk away to resist the urge to fiddle with it on the stove.
I wrapped the rubber handle of my skillet in foil since I wasn't sure if it was heat proof or not. But then the huge thing wouldn't even fit in the oven. The handle arched up so much that it hit the top of the oven, so I had to leave it sticking out of the door while it broiled for a few minutes. Even with that it still came out perfect! I can't wait to try this again maybe with some added ham. --Carissa

Maple Mustard Chicken Thighs and Macaroni and Four Cheeses

I am not a big fan of dark meat but with this maple –mustard sauce on it I could become a fan. The sauce was super easy to make and like the cookbook said it had really big flavor! Instead of grainy French mustard, I used plain yellow mustard because I had it already. Even with using a different mustard it make a very nice “crust” on the chicken.
As a side dish I also made Macaroni and Four Cheeses. I had a hard time finding the frozen pureed winter squash so I went with plan B. I just bought yellow squash and make it into a puree. I found this dish good, but for me personally, I prefer more of a creamier macaroni and cheese. Instead of cooking this in one large dish, I decided to cook it in single serving bowls just for fun.
Over-all both dishes we like by all at my house and I know we will be making the maple mustard chicken dish again.

Linguine with Shrimp and Vegetables

Here's the plate with the Linguine and Green Bean Salad

This was DELICOUS!  I used frozen shrimp, let them thaw, and then cooked.  Easy and yummy! 

Make sure you let the sauce reduce all the way- I didn't , and it was a bit "liquidy," but still delicious. 

We will be making this one again!

Green Bean and Walnut Salad

I made this with the Linguini with shrimp and veggies- wasn't the best combination, but separate they both tasted delicious! 

I steamed fresh green beans in my steamer and then tossed with the dressing.  Make exactly what she says, cause it goes a long way and is a very strong, but yummy, flavor. 

I think we will make these for a holiday party- a great healthy substitute for creamy green beans.

Grilled Zucchini Rollups with Herbs and Cheese

I made these for our wine club appetizer last Saturday evening and they were a huge hit!  Very healthy and easy to make.  I grilled the zucchini slices on my grill pan inside and they did great.  Don't forget to season them with salt and pepper- it needs it. 

If the goat cheese is a bit strong for you, or you want to only use half a container of it, mix it with fat free cream cheese and it tastes the same! 

Blueberry Blast Smoothie

One of Brayden's favorite snacks or breakfast foods are smoothies- I usually use a bag of frozen mixed frozen fruit, milk, a sweet n low, and voila!  You have a great smoothie.

I can't wait to try all of hers and learned that the honey sweetens just as well as the sweet n low.

I added one cup of crushed ice because I used fresh blueberries and wanted some crunch.

I also added one banana just because we love them and they were turning brown :)

Very yummy!

Pumpkin Pie Flan ~ page 297

This was a very yummy dessert! It tasted just like the middle of a pumpkin pie. Before I made these little flans I looked up Ellie's recipe online to read a few reviews. The only trouble people had was with the caramel topping. The recipe just says to stir 1/3 c of white sugar in a pan till it melts. Sounded easy enough, but most people said it hardened and didn't soften enough to drip over the top, so several recommended making double the sauce, so I melted down 2/3 cup and sure enough when I turned the flans out, half of the sauce came out perfectly, and the other half had hardened in the ramekin, but since I had doubled the sauce it was fine.

The sugar looked really weird as it melted...got crystal-y and chunky before it completely melted, but as you can see below, finally got all pretty and carmel like. She calls for 8 - 4oz ramekins, I just had 7 oz ramekins, so I used 4 of them, they were perfect.

After I turned them out I popped out the hardened caramel and used it to decorate the flans like a fancy restaurant would! I would make these again, I have 2 more in the fridge to eat later, I'm curious to see how they are after being chilled. They were great warm.

Oh, maybe I am blind, but I couldn't find the oven temp on the recipe, I had to look it up online! It is 350 degrees --Carissa

Sesame-Teriyaki Chicken Thighs p. 209 and Maple-Mustard Chicken Thighs p. 212 as well as Sugar Snap Peas with Miso Sauce p.247

I had lots of chicken thighs in my freezer so was looking for recipes to use them up - with hurricane season upon us, you never want too much stuff in your freezer!!

Made the teriyaki sauce from p. 197 which was really easy as was the chicken recipe. We all liked this chicken and I would make it again.

The sugar snap peas with miso sauce were really good and I will make these again and again. The most difficult part is finding the white miso paste - don't carry at my local Krogers so I headed off to my local asian market - H Mart on Blalock. Of course they had about 15 different varieties of miso paste and since I don't really read Japanese I just picked one! I think it was $4.95 for the smallest package and it is a lot of miso paste! Need to find more recipes that call for this but it definitely had a great taste with the snap peas - don't think you should skip this ingredient!


The maple-mustard chicken was super easy but not a repeat recipe. Didn't like the maple taste with the chicken and my kids did not like the looks of the grainy mustard! I served with sweet potato fries and edamame radish salad.



My daughter and her bestie wanted to be photographed for the blog! For some reason they feel they are famous when their picture appears on this blog - how could I say no?

Blueberry Blast Smoothie ~ page 41

This was pretty simple, only 4 ingredients. I didn't use all fat free like she calls for. My milk was 2% and my yogurt was low-fat. The only addition I made was to add a few ice cubes to make it more milkshake like. My 5 year old and 2 year old LOVED it!

I will definitely make this again. --Carissa

Mango Lassi

I made this for an afternoon snack yesterday and it was a big hit with the whole family! It's a snap to throw together and very yummy! At the time I made it, I didn't have plain yogurt, so I used the vanilla yogurt I had on hand and then skipped the honey - no one seemed to think it tasted funny, so this is probably an okay substitution. :)

Cherry Vanilla Oatmeal ~ page 36

I have a chipped tooth that prevents me from eating anything hard, chewy or crunchy until I get it fixed. So, as soon as I saw this recipe I thought...there is something I can eat! (I sure miss my bagels!) I have been making several of Ellie's smoothies for the same reason. I'll get those posted soon.

Anyway, this was really yummy, the cherries add a very sophisticated taste that I didn't expect, a little tartness. By the time I splurged on the dried cherries I didn't feel like buying special jam, so I went with what was in the fridge using plum jam.
I usually think most sweets are too sweet, but this wasn't the case here, I actually had to sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on top. Overall, it was very good, and made enough for me to keep in the fridge and eat on for breakfast the next couple mornings as I continue to baby this cracked tooth! --Carissa

Sloppy Joes ~ page 91

These were a hit at my house! I didn't have pinto or red beans like she called for in the recipe, so I used black beans. I made it a couple hours before dinner and just left the sauce on low on the stove till dinner time...made getting dinner on the table super fast when Adam got home.

I toasted the buns on a griddle with a touch of butter...I would recommend that, it helps keep the bun from getting soggy while you eat it. The only change I did to the recipe was to add a tablespoon or so of ketchup to the sauce so it had a more tomato-y taste. It made enough for me to freeze the leftovers for dinner another night. My husband said it tasted healthy, but that it was really good. My kiddos gave it 2 thumbs up also. Give it a try! --Carissa

Linguine with Shrimp and Vegetables (p. 161)

Another yummy dish! Very simple to make with lots of fresh ingredients. I used whole wheat and regular pasta together - find my kids will eat the whole wheat if I sneak it in with the regular otherwise it seems to taste like cardboard! As I was preparing this I thought it might be tasteless as so many healthy recipes can be but it was really good with lots of flavor. Leftovers were good the next day!!

White Bean and Roasted Garlic Dip (p. 73)

So I jumped right in and started cooking when I got my new cookbook. Lots of yummy, healthy recipes!

I like hummus so much I thought I'd try this similar but different variation. Very easy and roasted garlic has such a sweet savory flavor. I used 3 smaller pods of garlic and the dip had a nice garlicky flavor but not too strong. I did not have white pepper so skipped that and thought it needed a little punch - maybe Tabasco. Next time would definitely add the white pepper and Tabasco! Served with pita chips and carrots, celery and snap peas. Flavor was even better the second day! Yum!

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I just ordered my cookbook yesterday, and I am so excited. My mom made these cupcakes recently and they were very tasty.

Let's get cooking!

Just thought I'd remind everyone to be getting your new cookbook...for those of you who haven't heard it is by Ellie Krieger..."The Food You Crave" (The one where she is wearing an orange sweater on the front cover!)

I just got mine in the mail a couple days ago used from Amazon for $10 plus shipping, so it wasn't too bad. I have been reading through it and my mouth is watering! There are some mighty yummy looking recipes in there! I can't wait to dive in. Let's do the official switch over to the new book around the middle of July, how does that sound. That gives everyone 2 more weeks to get it. If you want to start posting sooner, that is fine, I just thought we needed a date to shoot for so we are all starting about the same time.

In my flipping through the book I noticed that.... as a group we will get to test yet another meatloaf, more mashed potatoes, and even mac and cheese. It will be interesting to see how these healthy versions compare to the fat loaded versions of Ina and PW! So, let's get cooking. --Carissa