Mom on the Run says “Ohm”

Mom on the Run having fun with her beautiful daughters Daijia and Tajiah

Stonyfield Farms has an exciting sweepstakes for bloggers. They are inviting bloggers to take a deep breath and say “Ohm” for the Na-Moo-Ste Giveaway. If your post wins, you and a friend will relax and revitalize during a weekend yoga retreat at the beautiful Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. You will enjoy two days and two nights of rest and renewal for your body, mind and spirit. There are multiple ways to enter but I decided to share with my readers why I need to stop and say “Ohm”.

Four years ago my husband and I made a life changing decision and become parents of two of the most beautiful girls ever. We say on an everyday basis that we are lucky how these two girls could change our lives for the better.

The short of a very long and dramatic filled story is that Daijia was a student at the former elementary school that I worked at. I became attached very quickly by her big her smile and love for animals. Daijia and Tajiah had a very turbulent beginning to life. From what we know they lived a life of poverty that included poor nutrition and living conditions. Their biological mother than left the girls at a shelter (January 2005) and has not been seen since. As you can imagine this has been very hardest on our oldest Daijia, as she was very close to her mom and still does not understand why someone she loved so much left her without saying goodbye. When it became known to the Department of Children and Family that mom was probably not coming back and their biological fathers were not fit to care for the girls, they set out to find a stable home for them to be place in. My husband and I knew instantly that we were the girls forever home.  Daijia and Tajiah were than placed with us after we reached out to the Department that we were interested in becoming adoptive parents. The rest as they say is history. We have been official family as June 28th, 2005.

As you can imagine becoming an “instant” mom at the age of 26 was quite a shock to my life. It has changed me in so many positive ways. I think the hardest adjustment is taking time out for “Mom on the Run” time. I will do anything for my two girls and that means making personal sacrifices that any mom would make. When I saw the contest was about taking a moment to say “Ohm”, I immediately thought “That is what I need to do even if it is for a moment a day”. I am only a tip top shape mom if I am healthy inside and out. There are so many distractions that interrupt my inner discussions with myself. I would love a weekend to re-connect with my inner self and evaluate what is important to me.

So there you have my “Ohm” moment story. I hope you have learned more about who “Mom on the Run” truly is.

Please become a fan of  Stonyfield Oikos Greek Yogurt by clicking: http://www.facebook.com/oikos .  Also enter yourself if you think you could use an “Ohm” moment.

Happy Sunday Everybody! I am off to the race! Pictures of my beautiful daughters to come

Technical Difficulty and Comfort Food Friday

It is a rainy yucky day here in Connecticut. It is all in a fall New England day. We are crossing our fingers that tomorrows weather is a bit better for a race that my husband and daughters are competing in in Boston (http://www.bostonmarathon.org/MayorsCup/Registration.asp). I will be sure to post lots of pictures and results. I will be competing as head cheerleader for my family.

I also have been having blogging technical difficulties. I started pressing buttons to make some minor improvements and things went downhill from there. Long story short- Emily, The Blog Fairy, worked her magic and Mom on the Run is back on line. If you have not worked with Emily and need blogging layout help, stop by her site. She does amazing and FAST work to make your blog your very own.  There maybe another Blog Fairy Giveaway coming very soon!!!!

Onto the food……………….

What goes perfect with a rainy day….More Mom on the Run Comfort food. I am actually re-doing a recipe I blogged about on March 8th, BBQ Cheesy Cups. I am actually using different fillings to make Cheesy Cup Extravaganza. This was a true crowd pleaser, especially with my girls. 

Cheesy Cups 2.0

Ingredients:

For BBQ Cheesy Cups:

2 small onions

2 green frying peppers

1 Lb. of Extra Lean Ground Beef

4 Garlic Cloves, minced

1/2 Cup BBQ Sauce (Tonight’s featured item)

Pillsbury Country Biscuits

1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

For Chicken Parm Cheesy Cups:

1 Package of Pre-Cooked Breaded Chicken Cutlets

Mozzarella Cheesy

Spicy Spaghetti Sauce

Pillsbury Country Biscuits

(Yes, there are 5 cans here. I was feeding a hungry crowd)

The fillings (BBQ Beef, Buffalo Chicken Bites, Baked Chicken Cutlets)

The Cheese

The muffin tins

The finished products

The Verdict:

Holy YUM! I already have ideas swirling for the next time my family has a cheesy cup urge. 

Exciting times coming to Mom on the Run including a giveaway!!!!!!!!!!! Off to do some laundry

Clean Eating Wednesday: Turkey Tetrazzini

I am very proud of myself for blogging everyday this week. I have decided to take a little time for myself everyday to catch up with my favorite blogs and do what I do best: blog about the cooking in my kitchen. I think back about my original reasons that I started Mom on the Run and it refocuses my thoughts. I wanted to share with other busy people that you can cook great tasty meals in a short amount of time. I also wanted to document my culinary journey in my home kitchen, while experimenting with new food products. Lastly, I wanted to commit to cook the healthiest and family friendly meals as possible. So a question to my readers:

Why did you start to blog? What were some of your inspirations?

Now back to a great recipe from one of my favorite food magazines, Clean Eating.  If you have been reading my blog for a while now, you know that I have 3/4 food magazines that I find recipes to blog about. Clean Eating just recently came out with its latest issue, so of course I needed to try the new recipes right away.  The Turkey Tetrazzini recipe immediately caught my eye because it looked so family friendly. I know what your thinking: Turkey Tetrazzini and you need to be dairy free—-How is this going to work? Well my bloggy friends I have found a way!

Turkey Tetrazzini

Ingredients:

2 cups Skim Milk (I substituted with Mimic Cream- Dairy Free Alternative)

1 cup of low-sodium chicken broth

3 Sprigs fresh thyme

1/4 tsp whole peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1 slice of yellow onion

12 oz whole-wheat pasta, preferably spaghetti

Olive Oil cooking spray

1 lb boneless, skinless turkey breast, cubed

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1 medium yellow onion. diced

1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed

1 4 oz can no-salt-added sliced mushrooms(I omitted due to my dislike of mushrooms)

2 tbsp fresh thyme, minced

1 tsp olive oil

3 tbsp whole wheat flour

2 tbsp of low fat parmesan cheese, shredded (I used Almond Cheese)

1/2 tsp paprika

Fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup of panko

Instructions:

In a medium-sized stockpot, add milk, broth, thyme sprigs, peppercorns, bay leaf, and slice of onion.

My secret ingredient: MimicCreme (more about this product at a later date)

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn heat off, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. Strain and set milk-stock mixture aside.

Cook Pasta accordingly to package directions. Strain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Mist with cooking spray. Sauté turkey until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Add carrot and diced onion, and sauté until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add peas and mushrooms, and sauté for 2 more minutes. Add minced thyme and remove from heat.

Heat a medium- size stockpot over medium-high heat. Add and stir together oil and flour to create a thick paste.

Whisk in milk-stock mixture, adding a 1/4 cup at a time so it thickens slowly.

Stir in turkey-vegetable mixture. Remove from heat and toss with cooked pasta and cheese. Seas
on with paprika and pepper.

 

My new favorite food find/ingredient:

 

Pour pasta mixture into an 8 cup casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs and bake 30 minutes or until bread crumbs are lightly browned.

The cooked product:

This was a very good casserole dish. I paired this with a simple green bean. It was a very filling meal. My family had no idea that I used my dairy free alternatives in this dish. SUCCESS!!!

Plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I am tired and must get to bed. See you tomorrow night

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »