"Church" Salad Recipe (THM)

I have been following the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating since November and I am happy with how it is going.  There are some things I always enjoyed eating, but haven't thought of how they would work on this "diet".  I am slowly converting my old recipes over to Trim Healthy Mama approved recipes.  "Church" Salad is one of them.  My Mother in Law makes this jello salad with cherry jell-o and canned fruit. It is so good!  Oh! By the way, I call it "Church" Salad  because of what my friend, Colleen, said at Thanksgiving at our house years ago. She made a comment that she only sees jello salads at church pot lucks and she called it church salad. That's what we've called it since.

I can eat this salad now thanks to sugar free jello.

Church Salad

 

2 c cottage cheese

1 box sugar free Jell-o

2 cups whipped cream (I sweetened it with stevia)

1 c raspberries or berries

 

Mix the Jell-o with the cottage cheese for a few minutes to help dissolve crystals. Fold in the whipped cream. Fold in the berries. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.  Enjoy!

 

 

I would like to try this with sugar free cherry Jell-o, but our grocery store doesn't carry it. Also, I think I would like it with strawberries too.

 

 

 

 

Another AMAZING Birthday!

This past weekend I had a hard birthday for me to come to terms with.  I don't know why I have such trouble with the number 40, but I do.  Almost all my friends are over that age and I think they're  young and vibrant, but for me, I just feel old.  Now that it's over, I don't really think about it anymore though and life goes on as usual.

Even though I had a hard time getting a little older, I still had a totally awesome birthday.  The night before my birthday, I was laying on the couch, checking out Trim Healthy Mama recipes on Pinterest, when I heard weird breathing behind me. I turned around to see the most glorious sight, my mom, brother and nephew!  They drove 14 hours to come and celebrate my BIG  birthday with me.  I just screamed when I saw them, which really hurt my throat, because of all the cheering I had been doing for the Olympics the past 2 weeks.

They only were able to stay 2 nights, leaving the 2nd morning, but we had a wonderful visit.  My family had planned on going to a family restaurant that Larry and I used to eat at before we had kids and I haven't been there since for my birthday supper, so we all went.  A lot changes in 15 years. The whole chicken breast on my salad was now only 4 skinny strips and the banana cream pie didn't come with tons of real whipped cream anymore and the prices basically doubled!  You can tell we don't eat at a lot of restaurants. We had a blast though and I really did enjoy the food.

It was sad to see them go, but we had a really nice visit while they were here and my little nephew and boys got to get to know each other better.  He and Jacob are only 2 weeks apart.

Here are some pictures;

The boys having fun outside.  It was COLD!

The night before my birthday Rebekah made me a hazelnut chocolate Trim Healthy Mama cake.  I am making a wish.

Me, before we left for supper.

Larry and I at the restaurant.

All of us at the restaurant.

My 3 kids. I love how it looks like Ben's head is growing out of Jacob's shoulder.

My brother, mom and me.

Jacob and my mom.

A Field Trip to the Alamo

We are so blessed with my husband's job.  He really enjoys it and he travels over a lot of the States.  He delivers new vacuum trucks to where they need to go and then he gets flown home.  And another bonus is, he can take someone with him.
It worked out last November that he was going to San Antonio and we knew our daughter, Rebekah, would LOVE to go. She really enjoys American history and knows about the Alamo and has wanted to go there for some time.
They stopped at the Custer Battlefield Museum in Montana along the way and saw some other neat historical sites in San Antonio.
She has finally wrote a post about it on her blog. Please head over there to read about her awesome trip.

Part One
Part Two


This post is linked up to;  Hope in Every Season, Growing Home

Chicken Quinoa Soup

I had to share this recipe for Chicken Quinoa Soup.  I made turkey noodle soup for my family a couple of days ago and because I am trying to cut back (out) white flour, I didn't want to eat any homemade noodles.  I had just bought 2 lbs of quinoa "pilaf" from a health food store. I have never eaten quinoa before and didn't know if I would like it, but thought I would substitute the noodles with it.

It turned out SO good. I actually liked it better than with noodles, but I think that's because there are herbs and spices (large chunks of peppercorns, dried onion, parsley and garlic) in the quinoa that I bought, which added great flavour to the soup.  It is called "Western Medley" by the company, Dan-D-Pak.


Recipe;

Cook

1/2 onion chopped
1 stalk of celery chopped
1 carrot sliced (I used 1/4 c dehydrated carrots.
10 sliced mushrooms (optional)

in 2 tsp coconut oil.

Once cooked, add

1/4 c quinoa, 1 tsp chicken soup base and 1/4c + 2 Tbsp water.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 mins.  When time is done, take off heat and let sit for 5 mins.  This was the directions for the quinoa I bought, but I think they might be different for regular quinoa. Just cook according to your package.

Then add 2 tsp dried parsley, salt & pepper, 1 c chopped, cooked chicken and 1 1/2 litres of chicken stock.  Cook until hot.

Makes 4 pints (about 8 cups) of soup.  I froze the jars, so when I make soup for the fam, I can take out one of these and enjoy!


By the way, did you notice I stored the soup in canning jars?  I have started doing this because;

1.  Glass is not as toxic as used sour cream containers (which is what I tend to use).
2.  I can see what is in the jars and totally not forget what I have in the fridge.  This is HUGE for me. We waste so much food because I forget about it.
3. Glass jars are safe for the freezer, as long as you leave 1 - 2 inches of head space.
4. You can warm up the contents right in the jar.
5.  I have so many jars, why not use them.
6.  And ... I love the the way they look!
 

This post is linked up to; Sunny Simple Life

Answers in Genesis Debate

I wanted to let you know of a very interesting debate coming up via live streaming at Answers in Genesis. Ken Ham will be discussing creation vs. evolution with Bill Nye the Science guy right at the Creation Museum.

It will be taking place on February 4th at 5pm Mountain Standard Time. You can go here to sign up for the live streaming and updates.  You can also check out the Answers in Genesis website for more information about this debate and their ministry.

Bacon and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

I have been watching what I eat for the last 3 months now and belive it or not, this recipe is "on plan" for me. I made it using the "Friendliest Squash" that you can read about here.          

Bacon and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Ingredients for crust;

1 spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded.  I poke holes in my squash, place in a pan and bake at 350 for an hour.

1 egg

1/2 c parmesan cheese

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

Mix together and press into a buttered pie plate or cake pan.  Out of a 2 lb squash, I made an 8" and 6" crust.

Bake at 400 for 15 mins.

In the meantime fry in 1 Tbsp butter;

3 slices of bacon, chopped

1 chicken breast, chopped (I used a cooked chicken breast and I only added it because I had it on hand, but I wasn't planning on adding chicken)

1/2 chopped onion

10 sliced mushrooms

salt and pepper

When crust is done, spread fried mixture over and cover with about 1 cup of store bought or home made Alfredo sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over and bake at 350 for 15 mins.

This was really so, so , so good!  I couldn't even tell it was made out of spaghetti squash.  It tasted like pasta.  I only have 3 squashes left and I think I will only make this recipe with them all.


This post is linked up to;  Hope in Every Season



Friendliest Squash Around

I was so fortunate to receive a lot of spaghetti squash from people at church this past summer.  I didn't really appreciate them until I started watching what I eat.  They are not my favorite, but I have learned to like them and I am so happy to have them. I went to cook one up for supper tonight and I have to say, we have the friendliest squash you'll ever find right here in Central Alberta. Just look for yourself.

Our squash say, "Hi!".  How sweet!  Can you believe this is just natural scaring?

Come back tomorrow to see what I cooked with this friendly, little guy, "Bacon and Mushroom Spaghetti Squash Alfredo".