Pineapple Casserole

20-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
2/3 c. sugar
3 T. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. margarine, melted
1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
2 c. Ritz crackers, finely crushed

Combine all ingredients except cracker crumbs; place in a lightly greased 8"X8" baking pan. Top with cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, until hceese is melted. Serve warm. Makes 4 servings.

Recipe from Ashley Hartley 

:)

I am making this and green bean casserole tonight! YUM!

New Guidelines

In class yesterday one of my professors brought up that there have been new Dietary Guidelines show that now, no more than 7% of total calories should come from saturated fat each day. 7%! One of my Lean Cuisine meals, Lean Pockets, or one of my Smart One meals has near that. Heck, even if I ate a turkey dog with a wheat bun and add my usual ketchup, mustard, and sweet relish that would add to the fat for the day. This means that if I ate two to three frozen meals each day to make keeping up with my calories or keeping up with Weight Watchers points easier would not be the best idea when it comes down to the fact that I need to keep my saturated fat less than 7% daily. Not to mention the saturated fat in these meals, the sodium content is outrageous! I love my Smart Ones meals, especially the Vodka Rigatoni and the Canadian Ham & Egg English Muffin but when it comes down to the Dietary Guidelines and trying to follow them - is eating these meals worth it? As a college student, already working three jobs, I prefer cheap meals in moderation such as the $2.33 Smart Ones meals or when Harvey's grocery store has Lean Pockets priced at 3 (2 per box) for $5 when you use your Harvey's key. Now as nutrition major, I would tell one who wants to lose weight to cut their calories by 500 calories each day for one week to lose one pound per week. This would mean that one should simply count their calories and they will lose weight. Well, me, a nutrition major eating Lean Pockets and Smart Ones and other frozen prepackaged and processed meals makes it extremely easy to count calories and to help me or anyone else to lose weight on a budget. But when it comes down to it, preventing things such as coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes is a lot more important than simply dropping weight just by counting calories. Therefore, others and myself need to watch fat and sodium in my food before consuming it. So if I crave pizza tomorrow, I can grab a Lean Pocket and have those 290 calories and the saturated fat and sodium that is in them, but as long as I don't eat a Lean Pocket every day and as long as I don't eat 3 at a time, a Lean Pocket can be an excellent choice when it comes to teaching one to eat in moderation. It is a solution to implementing change into ones diet, including mine!

Recipe

I decided that I would post one of my favorite recipes that I have mastered at making over time, hope you enjoy!

No Name Soup

1 large can of cream of chicken soup

2 cans of water (use the cream of chicken soup can for this)

8 ounces of sour cream

Mix these 3 together until they are well blended

1 box of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice

Mix this rice with the above mixture

Add a can of drained turkey or chicken

Cook for 25 minutes until the rice is done in a skillet or a pot over a stovetop

*You can also saute and add mushrooms, green peppers, and onions if you choose!

Advanced Food Science

This morning I went to my Advanced Food Science lab and we were given ingredients and told to cook things with it. I took some Italian Dressing and some Kraft Hickory Barbeque Sauce and Seasoned Meat Tenderizer, mixed some in a bowl and poured it over 4 huge boneless skinless chicken breasts and baked for one hour at 375. Can you say delicious??? It was!

I am heading home for the weekend today and the Falcons game comes on tonight and I am looking forward to visiting some of my finances family's house to grill and eat chips and dip and play with their little babies! I love kids! AHH!

I have a pineapple casserole recipe that I love but I am looking for a new one... I will update when I find a new one that I am going to try :)

1 1/2 Weeks

In less than 2 weeks (1 1/2 exactly) Thanksgiving Break will be here! Food and Family is right around the corner. My Fiancé’s family has delicious Thanksgiving lunch filled with fried turkey, dressing, and other "fixins" and I always have to eat it for supper and pray that my fiancé has saved me some skin from the dark meat of the turkey!

Whereas my mother's side of the family for Thanksgiving lunch will be going out to eat since our family has shrunk due to family members getting married, moving away, passing away, and so on...

As for my father's side of the family we will be going to the nursing home to eat with my Grandmother this upcoming Saturday for Thanksgiving and I must tell you - I enjoy going to the Nursing home and visiting - I enjoy the whole geriatric setting!

And then, my Daddy's sister, Sherry will cook and we will do Thanksgiving with them and let me just say, my Aunt Sherry is an AMAZING cook! Such a sweet woman too!

With Thanksgiving and these meals right around the corner, I definitely need to pick up my exercise routine to more than running a mile and a half and lifting five pound hand weights. Also, as much as I love fried turkey, I am so glad that I do not eat it every week - I would be huge!

Christmas will be here before I know it and usually by now I am done Christmas shopping and as of right now, I am not even halfway done!!

I have no idea what to get my parents, my papa, my brother, my fiancé’s mother, my fiancé, or my cousin and his new wife. I keep telling myself that I am ready for finals to be here and for this semester to be over since it is so tough, but with Christmas so close to the week of finals - I simply am wishing there were more payday Friday's between now and then! I am substitute teaching on Friday's to make some extra money and I absolutely love it! I sometimes wish that I could just be a nutrition teacher for elementary schools! Can't a new science "Nutrition Science" be incorporated into our schools curriculum??

So this morning I woke up fully refreshed - this new time change has had me in such a great mood in the mornings. This morning I listened to the new Jason Aldean CD ("My Kind of Party") while getting ready and it was worth every penny spent!

I grabbed a Boost on the way out the door this morning because I did not have time to make breakfast before heading to work plus, the Boost really does not taste that bad to me and it keeps me full for hours! I am a fan! When I got to work one of my bosses had made homemade bread with wheat flour - it was delicious! I am also a fan of wheat flour, I recommend using it in everything!

I was experimenting the other day while cooking and I was craving Pasta! So I decided to make:

Rigatoni with Parmesan Crusted Chicken

1) I boiled the whole wheat Rigatoni noodles

2) I opened a jar of Ragu Spaghetti Sauce with garlic & oregano

3) I added a can of diced tomatoes (Great Value, no salt added)

4) I heated the Ragu and Tomatoes and added a pinch of garlic salt and dried diced onions

5) I added 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon (not too overpowering, added sweetness, and added antioxidants)

6) I drained the rigatoni and mixed in the sauce

7) I coated a frozen (didn't have time to thaw) boneless skinless chicken breast, which must I say was HUGE, with Parmesan Cheese!

So overall, the finished product was a little salty, and the parmesan didn't coat evenly. But It was good and the added cinnamon added a sweet taste that I LOVED!

For next time: I definitely will thaw the chicken and dip it in an egg wash before coating it in parmesan cheese. Lesson Learned!

Last weekend I went home and made Taco Soup for my family:

Morgan Erika's Taco Soup Recipe

• 2 Cans of Diced Tomatoes
• 2 Cans of Whole Kernel Corn
• 1 Can of Light Kidney Beans
• 1 Can of Dark Kidney Beans
• 1 Package of Dry Ranch Dressing
• 1 Package of Dry Chili Mix
• 1 pound of lean ground beef or ground turkey

Cook the meat and heat the rest in a large pot (do not drain the cans), stir in the meat...Serve with Tortilla Chips, Sour Cream, and Shredded Cheddar Cheese!

A Family Favorite!