Big Mac Attack Done Right

Hungry Girl Official Recipe Picture

I was very excited to try this Hungry Girl Big Mac swap.  Since we are moving away from a bad fast food habit this obviously was very attractive to us.  Aldi's happened to have 2-3 packs of portabella mushrooms for $1.99 so I bought them up and got ready to take the plunge.

The only thing we changed is we didn't add the extra chopped onions.  We aren't huge onions fans so we saw no reason to add them.

If we were to make any changes we might try grilling the mushrooms instead of cooking over the stove.  We wondered if that might add to the culinary experience.  lol

SO what did we think?  Are you dying to know?  A burger with mushrooms?  It's a kind of unheard of, right?  Wellll.....We LOVED it!  The first bite was a perfect surprise.  The sauce was spot on and the lettuce and cheese were nice compliments to the mushroom.  It only got weird toward the end when I had ran out of sauce and lettuce and my mushroom/sauce/lettuce/cheese ratio was messed up.  By then my bun was a little saturated from the mushroom.  This is why we would try grilling and possibly eliminate extra moisture.  

My only caution is, if you hate mushrooms this is not for you.  But if you like fried mushrooms or mushrooms on pizza I think  you should definitely give this a try.  

Hope you enjoy!  Let us know if you give this one a try.  :)

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Pita Pizza Please

Hungry Girl official recipe pic

Pizza is a kid favorite, and culinarily nonthreatening so I thought I would give this Hungry Girl recipe a try.

I could not find "high fiber" pitas at Kroger, so I found what looked like the healthiest option available.

I've said it before but it is worth saying again, soy crumbles are worth trying.  They are not scarey.  When adding seasoning to it we have thought it works out quite well.  

 I used diced tomatoes instead of crushed and passed on the 2nd round of tomatoes on the top.  In the future I would pop the diced tomatoes in the food processor just to help cover the pita a little better, but it still worked just fine.  (diced tomatoes is a staple at my house, crushed....not so much)

The cilantro didn't do a whole lot for me.  It paired nicely with the sour cream mixture, but I'm not sure I would buy it solely for this recipe (in the name of saving money).  

I LOVED the concept of using string cheese that had been food processed as the cheese.  We used the Weight Watchers 1 point string cheese that Kroger carries, but Aldi's also has a Fit and Active version that tends to be lower in price and comparable. 

I made individual dishes of the sour cream mixture for everyone.  1. It seemed easier since the recipe is written for one serving.  2. This allowed everyone to dip their pizza which I thought 

worked nicely.

Hope you enjoy!  Let me know if you give this one a try.  :)

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Crock Pot Chicken Soup

Hungry Girl Official Recipe Pic

Sundays are super hectic for us.  Mr. Daddy Hill runs the media at church and plays in the band.  Then I join him with the kids a little later.  After church is family lunch in fast forward, so I can make it to work.  This past Sunday I decided if I put something in the crock pot before I went to church I could have a nice, healthy dinner waiting when I got home for work.  :)  We tried this crock pot chicken soup.

Prep was not too bad to do before church.  Just a little chopping (onion and carrot).  I like buying chicken tenderloins, because they are cheaper, easier to deal with, and cook nicely in the crock pot. (I'm not very knowledgeable on healthy choices yet, so this might not be the BEST choice)  I just threw them in whole.  They fell about nicely while cooking and stirring.

  My other adjustments were minor and hardly worth mentioning.  I used diced tomatoes, because that is my preference.  (Stewed tomatoes creep me out....no idea why)  I also used a carrot/pea frozen vege combo, since that is what we had on had.  I added a little extra for good measure.  I didn't bother with the one bay leaf, because I didn't want to buy a bunch just for one leaf.  That may have a greater effect than I realize.  If you try it with the bay leaf, let me know.  

I liked this recipe other than the thyme was overwhelming.  It is not a seasoning I ever use, so I think about half would be plenty for us.  I also would add about double the carrots because it was the kids favorite part.  Beyond that, it was easy, convenient, tasty, and filling.
Of the recipes we have tried this is probably our least favorite, but that is only because of the seasoning.  Easy fix.  :) Don't let that stop you from giving it a try though. We have been SUPER happy with these recipes, they taste great, are filling, and have easy prep. 

 If I had any complaint about switching to finally cooking healthy instead of hitting the drive thru is that we are spending a lot more time and money at the grocery store.  But then the amount we were spending at the drive thrus is now next to nothing. (Sometimes you just have to grab a drink bigger than your head on the way to work. lol)  I think the amount we are spending will decrease as we stock up on spices and learn what new items to watch the sales for.  Since this is all new to me, I am excited just to find the items I'm looking for, let alone a good price.  That will come with practice.  :)

Let me know if try this one.  Hope you enjoy!

Becca

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Low Cal Calzone

This Hungry Girl  Olive Garden Swap was our next adventure.  We are starting to get more adventurous and willing to try "healthy options" with this dinner that features 4 cups of spinach.  My short and sweet review on this one is that is is slightly harder to prep, has a fancier feel to it, and has a good, but slightly rich flavor.  (from the creamy filling)

I substituted a 10 oz can of chicken which made prep a little easier.  I also accidently bought "thin crust" instead of "classic crust".  I think in the long run the thin crust was actually easier to work with.  There is not an exact measurement of how much filling to put in each pouch.  This made bundling the pouches a little harder than it needed to be.  Unfortunately, we didn't figure out how much went in each to help you out.....Sorry.  :)  

It makes  5 pouches.  We found 1.5 good for the adults and half for the kids.  (3 years old and 6 years old) The kids were a little slow to warm up the the green interior, but found they really enjoyed it after they gave it a try.  We served it to them as a full half (is that an oxymormon?), so they could see how pretty it looked.  Then we offered to cut it in small manageable pieces for them.  Presentation is 90% of the food battle with kids, so we like to let them see it whole before handing it to them looking pre-chewed.  ;)

We will do this one again with the same changes mentioned above.  I don't think there is any additional changes needed.  :)  

Let me know if you give this one a try!  Enjoy!  :)

Becca

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Mac and Cheese with a Twist

The next recipe we tried was Hungry Girl's Version of mac and cheese, a kid favorite, with the added nutrition of cauliflower.  I Loved the concept as soon as a read about it.  Guilt free, yummy, comfort food...can you go wrong?  :)

Because we are phasing out some of our "not so good choice" food, I used your standard elbow noodles this time.  Thus, meaning my version was not quite as healthy.  For the same reason, I also used a standard bread crumb, but used less than half of what it called for.  I was okay with these swaps because 1. I want to get rid of the food that is already paid for.  2. Even with those swaps all the cauliflower  made this dish WAY healthier (and filling) than a fast food run.

I prepped this in the morning, covered with foil, and put it in the frig for my husband to toss in the evening when I was at class.  I would imagine you could prep it the night before and have it ready to to go in the oven after a long day at work too.  I thought the prep was pretty easy and low maintenance.   I did have my husband plan on using the full 30 minutes of baking time since it would be cold when it went into the over.

So how did the cauliflower go over?  It blended in quite nicely into the noodles.  The texture and size (after chopping) was right on the money.  If anything it added an extra taste dimension to this dish without sticking out at all.  I'm sure the kids had no idea it was even in there.

Hope you enjoy!  Let me know if it give it a try.  :)

Becca

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Blogging our way to a NEW Healthier Lifestlye

Somewhere between kid 1, kid 2, and going back to college our sensible eating went out the window and we went right to survival mode.  We got to the point where, I was so sick of all the local fast food places that I just rather not eat than have to eat that junk again.  But what else were we suppose to do?!  How could we possibly eat healthy and continue our excessively busy lifestyle????  I reached out to a co-worker who is known for her healthy eating style who reminded me of Hungry Girl.  She is an AMAZING chef that focusses on LARGE HEALTHY portions.  

So here we go on our new healthier lifestyle.  No turning back now, because.....let's be honest.....our live's depend on it.  ;)  

Our first culinary adventure was not a stretch from our norm, a healthier mexican pizza.  Here is the official recipe and how it compares to our former fav, the Taco Bell version.

My Review:
First and foremost, WE LOVED IT! Bonus, so did the kids!  :)

 Don't be afraid of the "meatless meat crumbles".  They aren't bad at all and super easy to work with.  I found them at Kroger in their healthy living/vegetarian freezer section.  (but I've bought them from Target in the past.

I was super excited to discover an EVEN lower calorie white corn tortilla at Kroger in the Mexican section.  

We ended up substituting the taco sauce/diced tomato/taco seasoning blend with mild rotel, because in our craziness my never ending dice tomato stock....dun Dun DUN....ENDED.  lol  It actually worked out great and was probably even easier.

When baking, I suggest cooking a couple minutes less on the 2nd side and add that minute or so to the final baking time.  We found our tortillas got a little dark during the 2nd side baking (possible since we were using white corn tortillas) but our toppings didn't get super hot on the final baking stage.  

Hope you enjoy!  Let me know if you give it a try.  :)

Becca


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Dollar Tree Now Accepts Coupons!!!!

Just in case you couldn't tell I'm BEYOND excited that Dollar Tree is now accepting manufacturer coupons. I mean really, does it get any better than that?!  You know the price is always a dollar and you don't have to wait for sales.  There is only two tricks to this game.  What do they carry and does the product size fit what the coupon requires. I made a list of items that the N Dixie Dollar Tree in Dayton, OH carries that POTENTIALLY could have coupons available for them.  Use this as a reference as you go through your coupons to give you an idea what kind of deals you might be able to get.

TIP:  When checking out give the cashier the coupon with each item.  It appears the register system is not set up for scanning and accepting coupons (as far as determining if the item was purchased), so the cashier will review your item and your coupon as you go.  This also means you need to pay VERY close attention to the size and product description listed on the coupon, because the cashier likely will. 

You can use the coupon database at MyFrugalAdventures to help you find coupons. http://myfrugaladventures.com/database/

Food
Lance Snack Cracker 5oz-5.5oz
Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade single cup
Michelina Frozen meals

Luigi's Italian Ice 4ct
Tony's personal pizza
PictSweet frozen veges 10oz
Hormel pepperoni 3oz
Icee freeze cups 4ct
Banquet chicken pot pie
Banquet personal apple pie
Malt o Meal cereal (small bags and boxes)
Sunny D 48 fl oz
Libby canned veggies $.79
Hunt's ketchup 24oz
Nature Valley granola bars 2ct
Sun Maid Raisins 4.5oz
Swiss Miss hot chocolate 6ct
Welch's fruit snack 4ct
Nescafe Taster's Choice singles 6ct
ActII popcorn 3 bags
Jolly Rancher candy 3.8oz
Twizzlers  5oz
Werther's Orginal 2.65

Household

Spic and Span (wipes, liquid cleaner, and spray cleaner)
Pine Glo 48oz
Ajax dish soap 14oz
Palmolive dish soap 16oz
Scooties tissues 75ct
Kleenex 100ct (I think?)
Bounty basics single roll 52 sheets
Chinet casual napkins 25ct
GE 75wat bulbs 4ct
Scotch Brite scrub sponge 1ct
Scotch Brite scour pad 1ct
Hefty slider sandwich bags 13ct
Hefty slider quart bags 8ct
Colgate toothpaste 4oz
Speed Stick

Office Supplies
Roseart 3ct glue sticks
Scotch tape 2ct (300" each)
Bic 2ct Mark it permanent markers
Bic White out
Bic 10ct pens (they were on an end a special environmentally friendly kind)
Shaprie 1ct



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