Italian Eggplant Bake Revised

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I’m thrilled that so many of my lovely readers are still here :).  Every time I get a comment from you it makes me smile and want to blog again.  I’ll have to admit that I enjoyed my break from the blog, even though sometimes I felt guilty about neglecting it.  I was enjoying my family so much that most of the time I didn’t even think about it.  I think I’m ready to start writing again, even if it’s just a few times a week.

Someone brought a huge box of eggplant to church last week.  We waited by the box until the crowd thinned so we could take 2 of them without feeling greedy :).  I looked up my recipe created this summer for Eggplant bake and cut the cheese in half and added a half cup of parmesan for flavor.  It was delicious and only had 300 calories a serving, which is a generous 1/8th of a 9 x 13 pan. 

2 eggplant (1 or 1.5 lbs each)

1 jar spaghetti sauce (26 oz)

2 lbs ground beef

2 cups mozarella cheese

1/2 cup parmesean cheese

1 tsp garlic salt

Place ground beef in a large skillet and sprinkle with garlic salt.  Cook meat until no longer pink, drain and rinse of excess fat.  Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Cook for a few minutes on each side in a hot skillet until lightly browned.  Grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish.  Place 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the dish.  Cover the sauce completely with eggplant slices.  Sprinkle with half the ground beef, half of the cheeses and half the remaining sauce.  Repeat the layers once more.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  Let stand a few minutes before serving. 

We served ours with a huge spinach and romaine tossed salad, green beens, and peaches. If you aren’t watching you carbs, garlic bread would be perfect :).

I’m off to put the children in the tub.  It’s Saturday night, whether you need it or not…..

P.S.  I did not peel my eggplant.  I try not to peel anything if I can help it, because usually there are lots of vitamins in the peeling.  When I served the leftovers to my mother for lunch she looked shocked.  “You didn’t peel it!?”

“Oops, Was I supposed to?”

Mother:  “What did your recipe say?”

Me:  “Ooh, recipe, that would have been a good idea…”

Office Inspiration

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I’m so thankful to have the space above the garage for my office.  It’s a large room with a triangle ceiling and very little wall space.  This is a recipe for creativity when it comes to finding places to put things.

Here’s another triangle shaped room.  I love the way they built shelves around the windows with a seat across the front.  If I were to do this, I would open the bench along the front for baskets filled with supplies. (I’m not sure on the original source for this image, I got it from pinterest which got it from photobucket.)

This next room from Sew Many Ways is chock full of ideas.  Take her black bookcases filled with supplies for example. They are just plain cheap bookcases with crown molding added and repainted.  I encourage you to click the picture to read the whole post.  I espeically love her motto:  “The Happiest people don’t have the best of everything…they just make the best of everything they have.”  She’s a kindrid spirit (as Anne would say.)

Next is another inspiring sewing room with tips for displaying a fabric stash.

She even has a lower cost solution that I’m adding to my to do list.

Baked Spaghetti Squash

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Slowly things are turning into a routine.  I’m still in a huge mess (I’ll show you my office after the squash.)  This house is ginormous, no disputing that, but I’m lacking shelves, cabinets, organizing stuff etc.  So things are just sitting on the floors and hanging out in places.  The blessing is there’s still plenty of room to walk around, lol.  But I’m haunting pinterest and ikea.com for ideas of how to put everything away in an organized manner.   I can’t wait until IKEA decides Kansas City is a worthy market to bring a store.  I think they are losing millions each year by NOT having an IKEA here.  Can you hear me, IKEA?  Please come to Kansas City.

So I’m serious about my next round of Fit Yummy Mummy. Above is a delicious lunch that I had this week.  It’s 1 cup of baked spaghetti squash, with 3 oz of ground beef–seasoned like Italian sausage and sauteed peppers and onions.  It was even better the next day when I added steamed lamb’s quarter to the mix and topped with a touch of parmesan.  Can you imagine how pretty it was with that pop of green? And so tasty too.

I’ve got some serious sugar cravings to overcome.  I had beat that horse once and then indulged over Christmas.  The sugar came at me like a snowball rolling down a moutain.  At first I just took a “taste” then before long was stuffing my face with handfuls of cookies and chocolates.  I ended up gaining 4 lbs between New Years and the start of FYM’s new contest, sigh. 

But I can pick up and start over.  I know what I need to do to feel fantastic about myself, have energy, and overcome my sugar addiction.  And Holly’s workouts are so short yet so effective I can fit them in.

I’ll be sharing some more of my recipes like an update on Italian Eggplant Bake;  chocolate chip cookie dough protein balls; and a green smoothie that’s tasty enough to actually drink.  (I’ve had some doozies, lol.)

Here’s a scary picture of my office (Have to have a before so there’s motivation to work on the after.) And now you know why my blog is so quiet.  I’ve been busy making a mess of my life, lol.

I can imagine the paneling painted white (except that there is water damage ripples on the roof that the brown hides very well); and darling Amy Butler or Heather Bailey print curtains at the window.  A pottery barn work table in the middle and Ikea shelves stacked with gorgeous fabric all around.  I’ve counted the cost though and it will have to wait until my children and hubby have their rooms done.

In another post, I’ll show you my inspiration rooms.

So, did I lose all my dear readers by being quiet so long?  If you are still there will you write a comment and let me know?  If you have an organizing link or tip that you could share I’d be so thankful.

I Have Internet Again!!!!

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Whew, I didn’t realize how much I used the internet until it was gone. I have so much catching up to do including putting in the photos that my app dropped from my two previous posts. I’m determined to get that to work properly–it would save so much time.

I wanted to give you a quick heads up that the Fit Yummy Mummy transformation challenge starts on Monday. It lasts 12 weeks and is the perfect motivation and plan to reach fitness goals! Registration opened today and ends Monday at noon, so don’t think about it too long. If you buy your ebook set (link on the left) today and activated your free month of Club FYM, you can try out the challenge for free :). If you do join up come find me, my username is AngelaC. I’ve been without internet for 2 weeks so my FYM journal has been quiet–that’s about to change!

One of the benefits of a challenge with Club FYM is the extra coaching from Holly. She sends out daily homework assignments that don’t take very long to do but keep us on track. I learn so much from doing these challenges and it helps me stick to my goals. Prizes make it even more fun. I hope to see you there.

Lunch back to Fit Yummy Mummy

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I’m trying to blog a photo again from my phone. Here’s my lunch to prove that the holidays are over and I’m no longer using moving as an excuse to not take good care of myself. I’m back on the program with Holly and the other Fit Yummy Mummies and already feeling better.

It’s all from Costco: Turkey burger cooked on a Foreman grill, steamed snap peas, baby peppers, fresh broccoli, and baby carrots, with a honey mustard dipping sauce.

Happy New Year

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Happy New Year! We spent our first night in our new home last night, and it felt like home. Darren and I made the living room with green carpet our temporary bedroom.

4 of the kids are sharing the striped bedroom until we can paint and carpet 2 of the other rooms. Even with 4 beds in there it feels huge.

Tomorrow I will get a few more things from the old house. Since it hasn’t sold yet I’m only bringing over what I can put away immediately. I’m not in the mood to live in a mess again, lol.  We had a lot of help yesterday to move the furniture and appliances. It’s just odds and ends now./p
pSpeaking of messes did you see that Netflix has added 4 more seasons of Clean House?  I’m so excited!

I’m trying out blogging with a new app on my phone since we don’t have internet service yet. If this works out it should let blogging be less of a time commitment. This year I’m turning my heart towards home while making Grocery Shrink more business than hobby.  That means I need to make better use of my time.

I’m off to plan my year and make my January menus. With the move we are trying out some new money saving strategies to reduce our phone and internet bills. I’ll let you know how it goes.

House Tour

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Here’s a video tour of our new house.  I got a little spooked part way through when the front door blew open by itself!  And I wasn’t about to go down to the basement again alone–silly, I know.  But it’s creepy down there. There is a rat or two living in the house since it was vacant for over a year. And Yikes!!! I just won’t be comfortable there until I’m sure they are “taken care of.” Oops it looks like I shouldn’t turn the camera sideways :p

We are Moving!

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We closed on our new house Tuesday and I’ve been over there yesterday and today cleaning.  I’m so thankful for good friends and family who are helping us.  There’s so much to be done before it’s move in ready. 

I hope to have pictures for you soon, but for now it’s all I can do to get the basics done.  I’m so glad my in-laws are coming down tomorrow to help and bring fried chicken :).  And my mom is watching the kiddoes who aren’t in school.  Whew! 

If you see a slow spot in the blog, you’ll know that I’m up to my elbows in soapy water or holding a paint roller :).

And if you know of anyone who would love a cute 4 bedroom house completely updated inside with granite countertops, new cabinets, hardwood floors, and a wrap around porch, let me know.  I have one for sale :).

Sprouted Wheat Flour Via Greek Yogurt Update

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OOh, I made Greek Yogurt Saturday per my instructions here.  It worked better than ever!  I tried a faster method but still used the slow cooker for finishing.  To speed things up I poured the gallon of milk into a large stock pot and heated it on medium until it was 115 degrees. I used a candy thermometer to keep tabs on it.  Then I removed it from the heat and wisked in about 1/2 cup of plain yogurt until it was smooth.  Meanwhile I had my slow cooker plugged in on high to preheat.  I turned off the slow cooker and poured the warm milk mixture in.  I wrapped the lidded slow cooker in towels to insulate and left it all day.  Oops, then I forgot about it and left it all night. 

The next morning, I lined a colander with one layer of flour sack tea towel and placed it over a large bowl. I poured the yogurt in to drain and went to church.  When I got back, I had 1 1/2 quarts of creamy lovely Greek Yogurt and the rest of the gallon was clear, thick whey.   We are usin the whey for baking, and I’m trying to slow down on the yogurt….but drizzled with a tiny bit of agave, it’s like heaven.  How fast is too fast to eat an entire batch of Greek yogurt?

But I digress.  The real reason I am writing is to show you how easy it is to make sprouted wheat flour.  Fit Yummy Mummy recommends only eating wheat in sprouted forms.  That is a little expensive around here so I tried doing it myself.  It’s not an instant process, but not hard and takes very little hands on time.

First, I soaked my grains in a large bowl of water for 8 hours.  I recommend starting with a bowl that will hold your wheat plus twice as much water. 

Once the wheat was soaked, I lined a colander with a tea towel and poured the soaked wheat in and rinsed.  Then I placed everything over a bowl to drip throughout the day without making a mess.

Twice a day for 3 days I rinsed through the towel and let it drip in the bowl.  After the 3rd day I could see a little activity on the business end of the seed. That meant it was ready.

There won’t actually be green shoots or anything, just a little sign of activity.  after that, I spread the wheat thinly onto cookies sheets and set it on the counter to dry.  The wheat that was only 1 layer thick dried after 24 hours.  The wheat that was too thickly layered took forever to dry!  I dried some of it in the oven at 170.  But I recommended only sprouting what will fit in the number of cookie sheets you have.

I was really worried about getting the wheat dry enough to grind to not mess up my machine. I found it was fairly easy to “feel” how dry the wheat was.  Dry wheat is light and clink clanks when sprinkled on the tray.  Damp wheat feels cold and heavy. 

I’m hoping to find time to make some sprouted wheat pitas and tortillas this evening.

Just so you know, too.  It took me a week to sprout the flour and I still haven’t baked with it.  So I’m not super-mom by any stretch.  Just taking small baby steps and fitting in the work when I can.  And yes, still feeling completely overwhelmed with life in general.

By the way, We are moving!  We close on our new house tomorrow!!!!  I’ll take some photos to post when we get possession.

Come with me for a visit!

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I’m guest posting over at Fit Yummy Mummy today.  Darren said, “Now you are officially famous.”  We both think Holly is awesome.  She gave me my groove back and Darren says I’m his Hottie on my way to Super Hottie :).  The topic today is how to eat healthy on a budget.  Yes, it is possible to eat the Fit Yummy Mummy way on a Grocery Shrink budget.  Pop over to find out how.

See you there :).