egg nog

5 cups skim milk
1 small pack vanilla sugar-free pudding mix
1 teaspoon rum extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Blend in a blender then chill for a few hours. Then enjoy, Yum yum yum!

Ginger snaps & Pumpkin dip

Ginger Snaps:

Preheat oven 350 degrees

2cups flour
1 Tablespoon ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Sift together in a bowl. Set aside.

3/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

mix butter til creamy gradually beat in sugar, egg and molasses. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into butter mixture at a time.

I used a cookie scoop, halved the dough from that and rolled it in sugar (with a little cinnamon)
Place 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and cook for about 7 min. til tops are rounded and slightly cracked. Cool and dip (and by dip I mean SCOOP) in pumpkin dip....SOOOOOOOOOO YUMMY!


Pumpkin dip:

8oz cream cheese softened
2 cups powdered sugar
15oz canned pumpkin
1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Blend together cream cheese and powdered sugar til smooth. Add remaining ingredients chill 30 min or til ready to serve.

yummy chicken tamale casserole

I made this the other night and it took me 25 min to make!!! Starting with frozen meat!


1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cumin
1/8 ground red pepper
1 (14 3/4 ounce) can cream style corn
1 (8.5 ounce) box of corn muffin mix
1 (4 ounce) can green chilies
1 (10 ounce) can of greed enchilada sauce*
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven 400 degrees.
Combine 1/4 cup cheese, and next 7 ingredient's (through the green chilies) in a large bowl, stirring til moist. Pour mixture in a 9x13 greased pan Bake for 15 min
(While that was cooking I boiled and shredded 2 large chicken breasts.)
Pierce bread mixture when baked, pour enchilada sauce over, top with chicken and cheese cook 15 more min or til cheese is melted (mine was done in 10 min)
Top with sour cream Serves 8


*the original recipe used red enchilada sauce but I thought the green would be better and I LOVED it :)

Waffles (gluten-free)

2 eggs
1/4 cup Ricotta cheese
1 Tablespoon Splenda (or sugar)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg

Blend well (I use my magic bullet) spray waffle maker with Pam, and cook. They may take a little longer to cook than your regular waffles.

Banana pancakes (gluten-free)

I have a few people close to me that can't have gluten so I thought I would post a couple gluten-free recipes.

2 eggs
1 banana
splash of vanilla
dash of cinnamon
walnuts (optional)
coconut(optional)

I put everything except the walnuts and coconut in my magic bullet and blend well. The magic bullet is good at blending the banana really well.
Pour silver dollar size batter onto a greased skillet. (I have my stove on med heat) while the first side is cooking break up the walnuts and them and some coconut on the pancake. When you flip the pancake it will toast the walnuts and coconut! mmmmmmmmm so yummy and flour free!

Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is also from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook......

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread, chilled
1/2 cup banana puree
1/2 cup zucchini puree
1 large egg white
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts(optional)

Preheat oven 350 f. coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.

In bowl combine flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. stir to mix.

In a Separate large bowl beat sugar, margarine, with wooden spoon until just combine; do not over mix. Add banana and zucchini purees and the egg white, stir to blend. Add the flour mixture, raisins and walnuts.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets, leaving 1 inch in between. bake until golden brown 12-15 min. let cool on baking sheets 5 min then transfer to a rack to cool.

I love that I don't feel bad packing these cookies to feed Zack when we are out doing things, because they have so many good things in them.
Benefits of zucchini: lots of vitamin C

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Sounds pretty gross I know. Well it's not! I crave this all the time now and can't go back to regular pudding. This is from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld. I used this book as my primary resource when I was making baby food for my little guy (I just feed him the purees), and I use it even more now to sneak more veggies into his diet. All of the recipes are really yummy with some type of vegetable or fruit puree in it. They are also lower in fat and made with whole grains.

Chocolate Pudding

1/4 Cup trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
1 Cup avocado puree (just mashed up avocado)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cornstarch (I have never used this)


In med. saucepan, melt margarine over low heat. Stir in avocado puree, sugar, coca, and vanilla. Cook mashing well with a silicone spatulas to smooth out any avocado lumps, until the mixture thickens 3-4 min. remove from heat and gradually add cornstarch, serve warm.

Avocado Benefits: only veggie packed with monounsaturated fat, which helps lower cholesterol levels. Good source of fiber which helps regulate blood sugar levels. Contains a bunch of vitamin E, which helps with healing.

Yay, another food blog. This is to inspire me to cook more...............we'll see.