Becoming Betty Crocker: Cheeseburger Pot Pie

So I had 2 more pie crusts to use by the 30th.  When I went looking for the Easter Pie recipe, I stopped at Pillsbury.com to check out recipes for using their pie crusts.  Enter Cheeseburger Pot Pie!  This recipe was SUPER easy peasy!

My change to the recipe - crust on the bottom.

Pie filled (yes, I almost forgot to take a picture!) - minus the pickles.

Pre-baked - I think I'm getting the crust folding down!

All ready!

Doesn't look quite like the picture.

This was GOOD!  Hubby really liked it (he's a pot pie person).  You could definitely taste the ketchup, but if you like cheeseburgers with ketchup, you are all set! 

You could defnitely add to this recipe:

• Instead of putting shredded cheese on top, put cheese chunks mixed in with the meat. 
• Add bacon to the meat mixture
• Like tomatoes on your burgers?  How about peppers? Cut them up & add them to the meat mixture. 

Becoming Betty Crocker: Italian Easter Pie

Yes, I know it's not Easter, but I have been wanting to make this pie for awhile now.  Plus, I had 2 boxes of pre-made pie crust in the refrigerator that are going to expire. 

I don't have my Aunt Helen's recipe, but figured I could find a recipe.  I remember how it looked and what she had in it.  I looked at several and this one seemed close.

Dan never had Aunt Helen's Easter Pie.  Maybe that was a good thing, because I had no idea what I was doing!  Anyway, I knew the recipe I had was for a large pie and I just wanted to make a 9 inch pie.  So, I halfed the ingredients (ricotta & eggs).  I also added ham and salami.  I know Aunt Helen used to put ham in hers.

BTW - this is the first time I have ever used my pie tins.  My mom bought me a bunch of baking tins when I was in my late teens (for when I got married - another story), so this tin is like 25 years old.

First ever use of the pie tin

The mix - cheeses & meats

Into the pie crust the mix goes

Pre-cooked pie - BTW, how do you "fold" the crust?

Cooked pie

A slice of pie

Let me just say, this was really good! Not as good as I remember Aunt Helen's tasting (and I don't think she used a top crust), but close.  Dan really liked it.  And it was REALLY, REALLY easy to make. 

 

Who says it has to be Easter to make Easter Pie?!

Adventures: Juice It Up - 3 Day Juicing Detox

So a couple of weeks ago, a friend decided to do the 10 day Spring Renewal with Whole Health Designs.  I wasn't sure about doing the 10 day, but shortly after that the 3 Day Juice It Up Detox was offered for free.    I figured, I could do this!  It's only 3 days!

Monday morning, I went to the grocery store and purchased everything that I could/didn't need (thought I had at home).  This was tough because I had already walked over 1.5 miles and hadn't had anything juice yet.  Just water.  I was surprised that the water really filled me up.

When I got home, I started the juicing!  Now, I haven't had my juicer out in a trillion years (ok, maybe sometime before 2006).  I'll admit it, I kind of forgot how to used it.  I didn't put the juice catcher on the right side.  LOL!

Anyway, JUICE TIME!

My Juice area

Here's my Monday review and pictures of the juices I had to do:
Beauty remedy - tastes greeny but good! Maybe because I like cukes.

Grapefruit & Mint- no mint for me. Thought I had some but nope. That's ok because I like grapefruit!

Go Green - YUCK.  Too greeny for me.  I made it through it though.  I couldn't find Swiss Chard at the store - maybe that would have made a difference in the taste?

Coconut Water - I hope Coconut Milk is the same, because that's what I got.  I LIKE IT!
Immune Booster - YUCK - another one too greeny for me, but was a trooper and made it through.

Almond Milk - I LIKE IT!  I'll admit it, I made a boo-boo & picked up Vanilla favored.  Hubby was just getting home when I was drinking it and tried it.  He liked it too!  Was wondering what it would taste like in cereal.

I did make the vegetable broth that was suggested.  It was ok.

Oh - I didn't have Bay Leaf, so I put in some Basil Seasoning (hence the floating things in the broth).


Now, I finished everything by like 7:30 pm.  That's when the obsessions started.  I really wanted a diet coke....and goldfish crackers.  The craving for the diet coke started about 4 pm.  I just wanted that carbination and something with "taste".  The headache started some time after that.  Not bad for not having caffeine all day.  The pain wasn't too bad.  By 10 pm, I was headed to bed.  I was tired, had a headache and knew that I needed to go to bed so that I would stop wanting the diet coke or carbs.

Tuesday
It's about 2:30 pm and I'm typing all of this up.  I'll be updating this entry as I go.  Just to keep my mind off of it and get me to focus on something.  That seems to be an issue, I can't focus.  Usually I have a game plan for the day, and I feel like I can't focus on what I need to do/want to do.

I've been drinking a bunch of water and have had a small headache all day.  I walked about 1 mile with the pups this morning and gave up because Esa was just not doing well on the walk.  When I came back, I laid down with an ice pack on my head and fell asleep for a little while.  The headache is still there, but not too bad.  I'm so surprised I'm not in worst shape.  I read some of the posts on the Facebook Group for the people who are doing this and they have had it rough.  Either my body isn't in too bad a shape or isn't missing it (??? - now that sounds crazy).

Juice Reviews for Tuesday:
Beauty Remedy (9 am)- This morning, I tried to do a double dose of Beauty Remedy.  Couldn't do it.  I got about one serving down.  I wanted to do a double serving because I had a feeling I wouldn't do well on the other juices.
Grapefruit & Mint (11 am)- once again, without mint, but no problems drinking this.  I like grapefruit!  BTW - I don't know when the last time I had a grapefruit.
Go Green (1 pm)- Couldn't do it - I drank maybe a third of the drink.  I get to a point where I rather not eat/juice than to stomach something.
Love juice (6pm) - More like hate juice - I took about 3 sips and couldn't do it. It tasted like dirt.  Hubby actually took a sip too & didn't like it either.

8:30 feeling pretty good. A little hungry & want a diet coke - more for the taste. 

Wednesday
It's 7 am and I've been up for about 15 minutes.  Wide awake, no issues.  I did go to bed at 10 pm last night, and hardly made it to 10 pm  I started falling asleep watching tv at like 9:15 pm.

Beauty Remedy (8:30 am) - I got about 1/2 of this down then couldn't do it and that was with sips of water inbetween.  I tell you, if the taste buds don't like it, forget it.  I rather go without.  And this was the one drink I liked.

As of right now, I feel more conscious of my body and the fat (tummy (especially the tummy), butt & arms areas).  It sucks.  I wish the fat would just disappear.  I have lost a couple of pounds during the detox, but nothing major.  Something I think I could do if I ate properly.

I'll probably end up going through the motions today, but I can't wait to eat some real food - or should I say CHEW some food.  Juicing is just really messy and time consuming.  I have a hard enough time making dinner because it is time consuming.  Ok, also because I'm not a cook (but I'm trying to become one).

I am feeling good and the water is helping me in the morning.  Even if I could at least keep the water going, that is a BIG deal for me.  I will probably look into other forms of getting juice in my body (V8 anyone?).  This experience has helped me & I'm proud of myself for sticking to it.

Grapefruit & Mint (11 am) - drinking it straight again.  No issues - I down this no problem.

12:15 pm - I AM HUNGRY!!! I WANT TO EAT/CHEW FOOD! I feel good though.

Go Green (1 pm) - YUCK.  I put 1 1/2 lemons in it and I think it helped some.  Plus sips of water inbetween sips of it.

2 pm - boy am I peeing a lot today!  Just FYI....

4:20 - I feel asleep for about an hour.  So I'm having my Coconut milk, which is supposed to be water, now.  I think I'm going to skip the Immune Booster.  I can't wait to eat.

Vegetable Broth - I had some about 6 pm and that's it.  I'm done - I had a Luigi's italian ice at 8 pm. 

Juicing is messy and I would rather eat my food than juice.  However, I do want to add fruits and veggies to my diet and if drinking them is an option, I need to do that.

I have a bunch of left overs from this detox.  Some I will have in a salad (smothered with dressing), some will probably be thrown out.  Hopefully, I'll eat them.

Thursday
OK, I'll admit it, I "cheated" last night.  I had goldfish crackers last night about 9 pm.

Today, I am down 3 lbs from Monday.  Not back but not unexpected since I haven't been eating!  I have been good today.  Whole wheat bagel with margarine for breakfast. A salad (spinach, cheese, cukes, dressing, & manadrin oranges) for lunch and ONE DIET COKE.  That's right - ONE!  AND IT TASTED GREAT!  This is still a big deal for me.  If I can at least limit my diet cokes and up my water, that a success. 

Becoming Betty Crocker: Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Vegetables

I know, "You've done pot roast before".  Yes, but never with vegetables.  We have had this before, but usually Dan has made it.

Luckily, we still have the instructions that came with the crockpot (we got it for our wedding from Dan's grandma).

And it has some recipes in it.  This one was exactly what I needed because I didn't want to have to go to the store AND EASY, PEASY!

Here's the before:

 Vegetables on the bottom, all mixed up.

Roast on top with beef broth poured over it. 

I still had that almost full can from the last recipe I did.

The finished product on my plate.

 

It came out great!  I LOVE THE CROCKPOT!

 

BONUS:  So, I don't care for cooked carrots so I gave one to Esa, which I figured she would eat and she did.  Zed, on the other hand, is a meat & potatoes kind of dog.  I have yet find a vegetable that he like.  Guess what?  He likes cooked carrots!

 

The pups got special additions to their dinner tonight - cooked carrots & the rest of the beef broth.  They both licked their dishes (ok, they always lick their dishes).

 



Wordless Wednesday - May 8, 2013




Wordless Wednesday - May 8, 2013


 

First day home

May 5, 2007

Becoming Betty Crocker: Bull's Eye Guinness BBQ Sauce

So last year when we were at the (Dan's) family cottage in Ontario, Canada, I found a GREAT bbq sauce - Bull's Eye Guinness BBQ Sauce.  Dan was all over that when I pointed it out.  I'm always up for trying new things (ok, certain food things and certain things in general).

We LOVED it!  So much that we went back to the store before we left and bought more to bring back home.  Why?  Because you can't get it here in the States (as they call the US up in Canada).  Yep - cannot find it. 

After we ran out of it, I was able to order it on soap.com, but I just went on there today and it is no longer available through their website.  Shame since it was a good price (like $3-4 per bottle).  Now, it is available at Amazon - but only sold in a 6 pack AND at over $8 per bottle! WHAT?!

Since hubby was up in Canada this last weekend, you know what was on the shopping trip list!  Here's the twist with cooking today - I'm making 2 chicken breasts in the slow cooker with the Guinness bbq sauce.  First time trying a small serving in the cooker, but it came out GREAT!  The chicken was falling apart.

Yummy, yummy, yummy!

Savings Summary Saturday - May 4, 2013

Items sent for:

• n/a

Grocery Shopping (and other savings) this week (and previous week):

• no big savings this week worth noting.

Gas Savings:

• Hubby used the Exxon card which gives us cash back via Upromise.com
• Save 50 cents/gallon at Shell by using my Giant Card.  Plus saved a couple extra pennies by using my Shell SuperSaver card.

Income (Starting to post again to Ebay & Listia. My goal is to post at least one item a day.):

• I've "sold" several items on Listia this week.  Things that I'm pretty sure will not sell at the upcoming yardsale on the 18th.
• Made $19 with Buymytronics.com

Items received in the mail:

• Every Day with Rachel Ray (Pebbles)
• People Magazine (Peebles)
• $5 gift card for McDonald's from Klout.

Rewards programs:
MyPoints - 15685  points (personal account) - 15595 points -last week
MyPoints -  5506 points (coupon account) - 5486 points-last week
Swagbucks -  888  points (874 points-last week)
Listia - 47146 credits (62394 credits last week)*
Postpoints - 3400  points (3,380 points last week)
mycokerewards - 7162  points (7120 points-last week)
Bondrewards - $27.81 ($27.81 - last week)
Upromise - $22.48 ($22.48 last week) available for transfer
Capital One Rewards -   miles (2571 miles-last week)
Thanks Again - 1075 points (1075 points last week)
Viggle - 23778  points (19896 points - last week)
NCP -  49220 points (48975 points last week)
Daily Feats - 2467 points (2467 points last week)
ExpoTV - 220 points (220 points last week)
IBotta -$3.50 ($3.50 last week)
Jingit - $0.30 ($0.30 last week)

2012 New Year, New Goals - to continue in 2013!

• Use rewards programs to get gifts and daily stuff -
• Turned in 25,000 credits on Listia for a $25 Petco gift card.
• Use Restaurant.com coupons -
• Set up an Estate -
• Monthly Review/Net Worth
• I created a new budget with only one income and used Quicken so that I am able to run reports to see how well we are staying on track.
• See From D.I.N.K to O.I.N.K.- April summary

The Housewife Tour 2013 - The Week in Review (with some Adventures)

Projects:
So, not too many projects completed this week, but putting a BIG dent into organzing and pricing for the yard sale on the 18th!

We have so much CRAP!  I still need to spend time on basement storage- where everything ends up that we don't use.  Up until the yard sale, I'm posting things on Listia and on Ebay to see if I can sell them that way.  Especially the items that I know will not sell at the yard sale or I won't get offered what I want to get out of it.  People are looking to spend pennies at a yard sale and I price my stuff low to begin with.  I rather get some money (or credits in the case of Listia) out of it than donate.  Donating is the last resort.

I still have a lot of old/antique stuff that I need to look up for pricing.  That's a process!  Anyway, if I can at least get rid of some stuff sooner rather than later, that works!

I did add a wreath to the front door this week.  AC Moore had new large flowers that they didn't have when I was there a couple of weeks ago for a wreath project.  I thought it would look good in the meantime until I get the project done.  It pretty much matches the real flowers that are on the porch.

Adventures this week (minus the pups):

Just some fun adventures I wanted to mention that happened this week.

This was the 2nd week of the digital scrapbooking class at Orange Leaf.  We went over Memory Manager 4.0.  I tell you, having a class every week is keeping focused on getting at least something done with my digital stuff!

I had lunch with my long-time friend, +Nancy Williams.  It's about the company and not the food as we had lunch at Wendy's!  I'm not saying that Wendy's isn't good, but I bet you thought we would be at some sit down restaurant.  We both mentioned how we don't get to Wendy's that often.  I only get there if I'm traveling and don't stop at McDonald's.

Since Thursday, I have been a single (dog) parent.  Hubby is up at the family cottage in Canada with is uncle & cousins for a summer-prep/opening the cottage weekend.  If it was longer than 2 full days, our whole family would have gone, but it's just too long of a drive (12 hours) for Esa all at once.  It wouldn't be a problem for Z.  He would just curl up and sleep.  Esa doesn't relax in the car like Z.

Wordless Wednesday - May 1, 2013




Wordless Wednesday, May 1


 

Me & my buddy, Zed

Happy (Adoption) Birthday (May 2)!