The first thing you need to know is that I am going to be an Aunt again! My brother Jeremy and my sister in law Amy are expecting! It’s so exciting because this is their first child and I get to be an aunt again. If you didn’t know, I have been an aunt since I was one-so this isn’t new to me but it’s still exciting. This will be my 11^th time being an aunt-well, technically 12^th time. I know, how can it technically be the 12^th time? Well, I am glad you asked-my brother Joe is getting married in June to his fiancée Stephanie. Stephanie has a daughter named Audrina. Joe and Steph will be getting married on June 29^th and Jeremy and Amy are expecting in July so technically I will be getting a niece in June and then another niece/nephew in July. Let me tell ya-I love that this is all happening because I am such a family person. I grew up with my parents, 5 brothers and 1 sister so I absolutely LOVE family and couldn’t be happier for everyone!

The next thing you probably don’t know is that I recently quit my job. This was something that I needed to do. Without getting into it too much, let’s just say the job wasn’t for me and I needed something more challenging. So, I took a job offer with a WONDERFUL company that encourages their employees to learn and grown with the company. They have this awesome thing in place called a Succession Plan-who knew!

Besides welcoming a few more people into our family and the job change-there is something that I have been hiding from you all….part of the reason I haven’t been blogging. Are you ready? I have gained weight…not a ton, but enough. So, I have rejoined weightwatchers for good. I just signed up for it this week. Let me tell you, it is so different than the original plan….I am kind of nervous. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. But I will succeed just like I did last time!

One more thing you have missed….not only am I going to get back on track with my weight, I am also getting back on track with my activity. My brother Jeremy and I have signed up for the San Diego Half Marathon in June; so I have been training for that. Also, Gregg and I have signed up for a warrior dash in August and tough mudder in September. It’s going to be crazy, but you will be kept in the loop the whole way. I know I haven’t been the best at blogging, but my new years resolution was to get back into blogging and to come up with a plan-so I have decided to divide my blog into 7, yes 7 different sections. These sections will be life updates, giveaways, recipe make-over, weekly grocery lists, weekly meal plans, workout updates and Q&A. I think this will be a good way to keep you all in the loop as to what exactly is going on with me. You will get the opportunity to follow my weight loss and exercise efforts. I will also be tracking my progress too!

I hope you all like the new and improved Health Living! See you soon

Cranberry-Pecan Stuffing

I know this seems like I should have posted this one before Thanksgiving, but in my family we have Stuffing on Christmas too! Where theres a bird, there’s stuffing. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 tbsp. butter
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 1/2 cups Chicken Broth

1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 pkg. (14 ounces) Herb Seasoned Stuffing

Directions

Heat the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until they’re tender, stirring occasionally.  Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Stir the broth, cranberries and pecans in the saucepan.  Add the stuffing and mix lightly.  Spoon the stuffing mixture into a greased 3-quart casserole.  Cover the casserole.

Bake at 350°F. for 30 minutes or until the stuffing mixture is hot.

This pastry-wrapped main dish is a creative way to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers.  It combines turkey, stuffing, gravy, vegetables and cranberry sauce in individual pot pies. ENJOY!!!

Ingredients

1 pkg. (17.3 ounces) Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed
1 1/2 cups of Turkey Gravy
2 cups coarsely chopped cooked turkey

1/2 cup cooked vegetables (peas, corn, green beans or carrots)
2 cups prepared Stuffing, any variety
1/2 cup cranberry sauce

Directions

Heat the oven to 400°F.  Stir 1/2 cup gravy, the turkey and vegetables in a medium bowl.

Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square.  Cut into 4 (7-inch) squares.  Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet, making 8 in all.

Place 1/4 cup stuffing in the center of each square.  Top with about 1/3 cup turkey mixture and 1 tablespoon cranberry sauce.  Brush the edges of the squares with water.  Fold the corners to the center over the filling and pinch the edges to seal.  Flute the edges, if desired.  Place the filled pastries onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Remove the pastries from the baking sheet and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.

Heat the remaining gravy in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat until hot and bubbling.  Serve the gravy with the pastries.

Goat Cheese, Cranberry Chutney & Toasted Walnut Envelopes

Ingredients

1/2 of a 17.3-ounce Puff Pastry Sheets
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup cranberry chutney
1/4 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
Chopped fresh thyme leaves

Directions

Heat the oven to 400°F.  Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.  Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 12-inch square.  Cut into 25 (2 1/4-inch) squares.

Spoon about 2 teaspoons cheese in the center of each pastry square.  Top each with about 1/2 teaspoon chutney and about 1/2 teaspoon walnuts.  Brush 2 opposite pastry corners with the egg mixture.  Fold the pastry corners up over the filling and press firmly to seal, then fold over to one side, forming an open-ended “envelope”.  Brush the filled pastries with the egg mixture.  Place the pastries onto 2 baking sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Sprinkle the pastries with the thyme before serving, if desired.

This is such a great starter to an evening and very easy to  make. Feel free to add spinach or other items to make it a little more hearty-enjoy!

Shrimp & Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

1 packet (1 ounce) Ranch Dip Mix
1 container (16 ounces) sour cream
1 pkg. (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 can (4 ounces) peeled, deveined shrimp, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke heart, rinsed, drained and chopped
1/2 cup diced red pepper
Crackers

Directions

Stir the dip mix and sour cream in a large bowl.  Add the cream cheese and stir until the mixture is smooth.  Add the shrimp, artichoke hearts and red pepper and mix lightly.  Serve with the crackers.

This is a great spin off on the other Croute that I posted-again I got this from pepperidge farms. It may not be the first place you think of to get recipes, but they sure do have a ton of great ones! In fact I have 5 or 6 more recipes that I will be posting just from their site alone. Enjoy!

Dried Cherries, Pecans & Rosemary Brie en Croute

Ingredients

1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
1/3 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1/4 tsp. dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1 (13.2 ounces) Brie cheese round
1 pkg. (26 ounces) Crackers

Directions

Thaw the pastry sheet at room temperature for 40 minutes or until it’s easy to handle. Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.

Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. Stir the cherries, pecans, honey and rosemary in a small bowl. Spread the cherry mixture into the center of the pastry square. Top with the cheese round. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg mixture. Fold two opposite sides of the pastry over the cheese. Trim the remaining two sides of the pastry square to 2-inches from the edge of the cheese. Fold the sides up onto the cheese and press the edges to seal. Place the pastry-wrapped cheese seam-side down onto a baking sheet.  Brush the pastry with the egg mixture

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pastry is deep golden brown. Let stand for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve with the crackers.

This is something I love to serve as an appitizer when we have friends and family over. I suppose you could use this whenever-but the holidays are nice to bring out something different. Enjoy! (original recipe from pepperidge farm)

Brie en Croute

Ingredients

1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
1/4 cup toasted sliced almond
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 (about 1 pound) Brie cheese round
1 box (13 ounces) Crackers

Directions

Heat the oven to 400°F.  Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.

Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. Cut off the corners to make a circle.  Sprinkle the almonds and parsley in the center of the circle.  Top with the cheese.  Brush the edge of the circle with the egg mixture. Fold the pastry up over the cheese to cover.  Trim the excess pastry and press to seal.  Brush the seam with the egg mixture.  Place seam-side down onto the baking sheet.  Brush with the egg mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.  Let stand for 45 minutes.  Serve with the crackers.

Cranberry Sauce 

Ingredients

• 1 pound of fresh cranberries (4 cups)
• 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 1 orange, unpeeled, chopped fine
• 3/4 cups of crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/8 tsp of ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of walnuts (optional)

First, place a deep skillet on medium-high heat. Add water and sugar. Bring water and sugar to a boil. Make sure to stir often!

Once boiling, add the cranberries, orange, pineapple, cinnamon and cloves to skillet. Keep the heat up to a simmer and heat until berries pop, about 10 minutes or so. Make sure you stir this often so the mixture doesn’t stick to the pan. You will notice the mixture getting thicker and that is okay! It is supposed to get thicker.

Once most of the berries are popped and the mixture is thick (after about 10 minutes), remove from heat and pour into serving container. Allow the sauce to cool. I made mine on Tuesday and gave it 2 days to cool. When cool add walnuts ontop for a little bit of crunch, serve and enjoy!

Frozen Pumpkin Mouse Pie

Ingredients

Crust:

• 30 small gingersnap cookies (about 7 1/2 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons raisins
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Filling:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 pints (4 cups) frozen low-fat vanilla ice cream, softened (see Tip)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray.

To prepare crust: Combine gingersnaps and raisins in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add oil and pulse until blended. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan.

Bake the crust until set, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To prepare filling: Combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon , ginger and nutmeg in a large bowl and mix well. Add ice cream and stir until blended. Spoon the mixture into the cooled pie crust. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours. Let the pie soften slightly in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

To soften ice cream quickly, microwave on Medium-Low for 30 to 60 seconds.

Green-Bean Casserole

Ingredients  

Onion topping:

• 1/2 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Sauce & green beans:

• 2 cups skim milk
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• Pinch grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, trimmed and sliced (3 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 9-ounce package frozen green beans (2 cups)

Directions

To make onion topping: Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat. Add sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender and golden, about 30 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread breadcrumbs on a baking sheet and toast, stirring once, until lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

To make sauce: Combine milk, peppercorns, bay leaf and nutmeg in a medium saucepan and heat over low until steaming. Remove from heat, let stand for 5 minutes and strain into a measuring cup. (Discard peppercorns and bay leaf.)

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook, stirring often, until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Whisk in sour cream, salt and pepper.

To assemble and bake casserole: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spread green beans evenly over the bottom of a shallow 2-quart baking dish and pour the sauce over the top. Toss together the reserved onions and breadcrumbs in a small bowl and spread over the beans. Bake until bubbling, 15 to 25 minutes.