Revisited

One of the drawbacks of having posted over 100 recipes is that I've shared with you most of the stuff I make on a regular basis. Last week I made nothing new. Not one thing. So I thought I would share what I made and maybe you will find a recipe you never read about before or one that you forgot about. I remembered to take new pictures of some of them.

Every two weeks I make my granola bars. They are healthy, delicious, and great treats in my kids' (and hubby's) lunch sacks. Sometimes the girls will even have a second one as an after school snack. I love that I know every ingredient that does into these bars.




One of my all-time favorite dinners is Lemon Chicken. I love it so much that we ate it all before I could take a picture. If you haven't tried it yet, give it a shot!

For dinner one night we had Meatloaf and Roasted Green Beans. Both sooooo good. Sometimes I like to change it up and use orange, yellow, or red peppers instead of green in the meatloaf. I didn't put any of it into muffin cups this time, though.



Friday night I made Whole Wheat Pizza. Except this time I used all white whole wheat and I think it's even better than my original recipe! We decorated the pizzas with pepperoni, red peppers, and lots of mozzarella. Bubba added banana peppers to his. The posted recipe makes four individual pizza crusts. Try it this weekend!

I also made my Healthier Banana Bread and Zucchini Muffins. Again I used all white whole wheat. I almost never use even the smallest amount of white flour anymore. The girls have state-wide standardized testing this week. Banana bread and zucchini muffins made with whole wheat, low fat, healthy ingredients are the perfect breakfast food to keep them full until lunch. Have you ever tried to take a test while your stomach is rumbling? It's so hard to concentrate! I load them up with bread and a glass of sugar-free Carnation Instant Breakfast for the protein.



March is strawberry season in Florida and last Saturday we made our annual trek to the Plant City Strawberry Festival.





From 11am to 5pm on Sunday Tink and I washed, hulled, sliced, and mashed three full flats of strawberries!



Yep, three of those. We made enough low-sugar jam to last until next year.




We also put away in the freezer a few containers of strawberries ready for shortcake. And we ate A LOT of strawberries. Tink was such a huge help!! But the best thing about making jam with her was the talking. She talked about school, politics, religion, boys *shudder*, her friends, you name it we talked about it. It was, in every sense of the word, awesome.

Of course for dessert that night we had to have Strawberry Shortcake with real whipped cream. No chemical whip will ever sully my shortcake! It was also awesome. :) (Oh, and I used all white whole wheat in the shortcakes.)



But first, for dinner Sunday we had Sunday Roast.

Give one of these recipes a try!

Enjoy!!

Roasted Green Beans

When I was growing up my Southern grandmother did a lot of the cooking in our house. She lived with us and made biscuits so perfect they could bring tears to your eyes. She used to sit on the front porch every day, smoking, and sometimes, snapping beans for supper. Using a spoon she would snap off the ends of green beans, sometimes 6 or more at a time, snap the bean in half and toss it in her bean bowl. My brother and I and a bunch of the neighborhood kids would be playing baseball in our front yard (making a mess of the lawn my dad took such meticulous care of--he never could keep grass at the "bases") and she would watch us while snapping her beans. So, I thought about her this afternoon while I was snapping beans for dinner and watching "my program," as she would call our afternoon soap opera. I miss her terribly, but it's nice to know that little moments can bring me right back to my childhood--listening to the crack of the baseball on the bat while she snapped beans on the front porch.

You will need:

1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed
olive (or canola) oil
kosher salt (or sea salt)
pepper (optional)
foil-lined cookie sheet with sides



Aren't those beautiful green beans? They deserve another look...



Preheat your oven to 425.

I use a two-bowl system. One bowl for the cast-off ends and one bowl for the beans. Use a spoon to snap off the ends.



If you have long beans, snap them in half so they are all about the same size and will cook evenly.



My grandmother always boiled her green beans with bacon, Southern style. But I think she would love them prepared this way, too. Put the beans on the cookie sheet and drizzle them with oil. Use your hands to toss them around until they are completely coated.



Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if you like. I use Kosher salt, but if you are concerned about your sodium intake switch to sea salt. They will be perfectly seasoned with a lot less sodium.



Bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Then remove from oven and toss.



Bake for another 8 minutes and they are done. Easy as that. They will be slightly browned. If you want to fancy them up, toss in some toasted almonds or even some bacon bits. But I like them plain.



They are so good! I eat them like candy and we never, never have leftovers.



Emjoy!