d's delights- cooking and crafts

Weight a minute… Today I wore a pair of size 20 pants.   Yep, I’m just gonna say it.   I’m going right out there with what size I wear.   There are some things that you feel ashamed of and that you should hide, or not be transparent with, but I am going to go with this one little part of my life that I COULD have some amount of control over.   I can’t control how much money my husband makes, I can’t control how many voice students I get (I can influence , but not control totally)and I definitely cannot control how many diapers Will poops in or how much he needs to eat.   I CAN control what I put in my mouth.   I really can.   I don’t like to, but I can.   So, yes, a size 20 is awesome considering that before I got pregnant, I was wearing a tight 22… and during pregnancy wore a 24+. I would like to wear a size 16.   I think I could feel relatively good about that.   It’s not the 10-14 that I wore in my swinging single days (bef...

My Smooooothies… I came up with this basic concoction for fruit smoothies after seeing or trying some other recipes that just didn’t work for me.   You can change it up however you like- but the basics are:   Juice, Yogurt and FROZEN Fruit. In a Blender: (In this order) 6-8 Oz Orange Juice 1 6 Oz can of Pineapple Juice 8 Oz Plain Non-Fat Yogurt (You could use vanilla or a flavor, but I try to stick to the plain) 2 Bananas (frozen or not) A couple of handfuls…cups of FROZEN Fruit… Take your pick-berries, mangos, peaches, pears… NOTE: I find that pineapple do NOT do well in the blender, that’s why I use juice. A squirt of lemon or lime juice (to use as a preservative) Blend it all up in pulses. You could also add a dash of vanilla extract and or cinnamon.   Cinnamon is nice when you use peaches. The key, I think is in using the frozen fruits.   It gives it a good consistency and makes it instantly COLD! You can keep this in the fridge for a day or ...

Snack Time! I would say that one of the hardest things to do when you are trying to watch your eating habits is to try to figure out what kind of snacks to have.   We know by now, that instead of leaving outsnacks altogether, that it is wise to just choose some healthier choices inyour snacking instead.   It keeps your blood sugar levels in balance and you don’t go into that crazy OHMYGOSH IMSOFREAKINHUNGRY I COULD EATEVERYTHING RIGHTNOW mode.   Eating healthier snacks more often also causes you to avoid making that easy trip into McDonalds for that side of fries and big ol’ Coke.   You also want to feel like you’ve been satisfied after a snack, and that you may have even been a little naughty!   So here are a coupleof quick snacks that I’ve been eating a lot of to quell my temptation to eatcrap. Apples and Peanut Butter Cut up anapple… any kind, but I’ve been using Granny Smith because the tartness goes wellwith the peanut butter.   Spread some ...

Soup for the week... I decided that I will make my Black Bean Soup for this week’s soup.   I find making a soup once a week to have for quick lunches is great, and I can also freeze some for a wider variety later.   So far, I have the Turkey Chili and the 8 Can Taco Soup frozen for those days when it just ain’t gonna happen!.   I have been making this recipe since about 2003.   It is a favorite of mine.   I normally use dried beans that I soak overnight, but I decided that this time I will use canned beans for time’s sake.   I’ve never done that before, so it will be a bit of an experiment.   It is not difficult to make, but time consuming, in that you have to think ahead of time to soak the beans, and it takes a good hour and a half to two hours to cook.   But, it’s great to make for those Fall/Winter weekends when you are stuck inside. Here’s the OriginalRecipe: (From South Beach Diet Book) 1 ½ C DriedBlack Beans 6 Cups Water ...

Today’s recipe comes from Friend, and D’s Delights Blog Follower, Mandy Valentine.   I was going to make chicken tonight, so I decided to try her recipe! Here is what she wrote: “I use a marinade of 1/2 c balsamic, 1/4 c Dijon mustard,1/4 c olive oil, 1/2 t garlic powder & the juice of one lemon, salt 7pepper. Put it all in a bi gbaggie with the chicken breasts. Let breasts marinade at least 3 hrs. Dump thewhole thing in a baking dish - reduce leftover marinade and use it as a sauce on the chicken. Yum. ” She said toheat the oven to 350 and cook for 30-40 minutes. It was pretty easy to put together, and I do like baking meat because it’s the kind of thing you can put in and go do something else for a while.   I wound up cooking it for about 40minutes.   Husband says it’s “Excellent!”   He took the last piece, which is always agood sign! I have to confess, my taste buds are a little weak lately from allergies and being all stuffy and runny… From what I ca...

Foolproof Balsamic Chicken Here is another basic recipe that if you like chicken, youshould be able to do!   I don’t even use any sort of recipe or measurements with this.   The balsamic vinegar makes it very tender and gives it a rich caramel color. Take your chicken breasts… butterfly them.   (cut them in half so they are not as thick) Put a little salt and pepper on them. Sprinkle some balsamic vinegar on them. Put a little olive oil in the pan (“twice around the pan” in  Rachael Ray Speak ) Put them in the pan (cut side down) medium high Brown on each side for a few minutes (3-4) Add a little water to the pan (maybe ¼ C –ish) Cover, lower temp and let it cook down.   Add a little more water if you don’t think it’sdone… you can check by cutting into it to see if it’s still pink or use a meatthermometer. When the water cooks down,    start to rub the chicken around the pan.   It will pick up the glaze from the pan.   This...

Appetizers Garbanzo and Rosemary Dip My hearty rosemary, despite me not actually taking care of it this summer! 1 Can Chick Peas, drained (Garbanzo Beans) 3 Oz Canned Roasted Red Pepper (half of a 6 Oz jar) Juice of ½ Lemon (a couple of Tablespoons) 2 Cloves Garlic 4 Stems of Rosemary Salt and Pepper to taste Olive Oil Put all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor, drizzle in the olive oil as you process. Serve with crackers, pita crisps, celery, carrots, zucchini slices, etc… I always like to have an herb garden, but this year, with a baby, I just didn’t work at it.   However, with the mild winter we had, and the hot summer, my Rosemary thrived despite the thistles trying to grow up around it!   Incidentally, Rosemary is the name of my grandmother, and what Will would have been named if he had been a girl! Pita Crisps Preheat oven to 400 Cut pita with a pizza cutter to make the wedges.   Open up the wedges and pull apart gently, to ma...