Morton Macaroni and Tomato Soup

Get This:
- 2 28 oz cans of peeled tomatoes
- 1/3 cup oil
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp Salt
- 16 oz Pasta

Do This:
- Combine all ingredients in a pot
- Fill the cans with water and add to the pot
- Cook until pasta is tender and enjoy!

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

I found this recipe in a free cookbook for my Nook Color, and have made it three times now. Josh LOVES it and it's super simple to make. We like to use the chicken for sandwiches, roll it into a burrito, eat it with chips, or just dig in with a fork. Mmmmmm...

Get This:
- 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup hot sauce (I use Cholula and add a little more than this because I love spice)
- 2 Tbsp Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
- Paprika to taste (optional)

Do This:
- Place chicken in slow cooker.
- Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.
- Sprinkle with Paprika (optional)
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Cajun Chicken

Get This:

- 2 Cups Vegetable Oil... I didn't have any, so I used EVOO instead
- 2 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning
- 2 Tbsp Italian-style seasoning... again, I didn't exactly have this so I used Italian dressing mix.
- Garlic powder to taste
- 2 Tbsp lemon pepper... I didn't have this either, so I just used some pepper and lemon juice.
- 10 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves pounded to 1/2 inch thickness... I didn't pound it or cut it in half, and it didn't make a difference to me!


Do This:

- In a large shallow dish, mix the oil, Cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and lemon pepper. Place the chicken in the dish, and turn to coat with the mixture. Cover, and refrigerate for 1/2 hour. (Since I didn't pound the chicken, I poked with a fork a couple of times so that the marinade could soak through the chicken.
- Preheat the grill for high heat.
- Lightly oil the grill grate. Drain chicken, and discard marinade. Place chicken on hot grill and cook for 6-8 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear.


After tasting this dish... I think Cajun seasoning is now my favorite seasoning! It was fantastic and super juicy. I only have a small camping grill, so tonight I am trying this again, but I'm baking the chicken at 375 F for 25-30 minutes. I hope that it turns out, because it's a lot more simple with my current situation!

What A Life.

To say the least, I have had a rough couple of years. It all started last May when I began having flank pain. My doctor thought it was a kidney infection and kept treating me with antibiotics until I finally went to a Urologist in August. After some tests and an ultrasound, they discovered a giant gallstone. Yay. I couldn't afford the surgery right then, so I changed my diet and dealt with the discomfort. The beginning of January the pain once again became unbearable.

On February 9th, 2012 I had my gallbladder removed. The surgery went seemingly well, even though the morphine they gave me did not work. So moving from the gurney to my hospital bed was excruciatingly painful. I cried. A lot. I made them give me a different kind of pain medication after that so the pain was significantly reduced. I was able to go home around 6:30pm. Over the next couple of days I was still really doped up on pain meds so I felt pretty dang good for just having surgery. But after I stopped taking so many meds, I discovered something wasn't right. I'm not sure what they did to my back, it could have been how I was laying on the operating table, or they could have wrenched my back funny when moving me onto or off of the table... I don't know. But for the next month I was unable to sit up for more than an hour, and I couldn't walk very well because of the pain.

I had weekly doctor visits and tried to go back to work... with no luck. After nearly two months I was finally released to work no more than 4 hours per day. But... Since I had missed so much work, my place of employment gave me two options. Either have no missed days, days off, or any sort of attendance issues for the rest of the year... Or resign and take a severance package. I feel like I was backed into a corner, because despite doctors notes I was being penalized for missing work. Way to rub salt into a wound.

After that my back slowly healed, but I was experiencing other health issues and we were concerned that I had a form of diabetes. Off I went to have more tests run, and they all came back negative. All except a test that we weren't even originally considering. The results lead to a full abdominal ultrasound where they discovered that I have fatty liver disease. Now that I have no job, I also have no insurance. Which means, despite my new diagnosis... I can't go to a specialist because I can't afford it. I just hope that the research I have done, and the changes I have made will be enough to make a difference until I can meet with a professional.

I am writing this blog post as a reminder to myself of what I have gone through, and what I am facing in the future. Liver disease is a serious thing, and it could lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. The good news is that the condition is reversible. And I hope that I am able to stay strong and make the changes necessary to stay healthy and stay alive.

I am planning to blog new recipes that I have found with healthy changes, as well as updates as to how my diet and exercise regimen are going.

I welcome any comments or recipe suggestions.

Pineapple Glaze

Pineapple Glaze

Get This:

• 1.5 cups Brown Sugar (packed)
• 1 Tbsp. Corn Starch (Be careful, mix it with a little of the pineapple juice before putting it in or else it will clump.
• 1/4 tsp. Salt 
• 1 - 8oz. can of Pineapple with Syrup 
• 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 3 Tbsp. Prepared Mustard

Do This:

• Mix Brown Sugar, Corn Starch, and salt in small sauce pan. Stir in pineapple with syrup, lemon juice, and prepared mustard. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir one minute.
• Serve over ham. 

Hot Artichoke Dip

Get This:

- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

- 1/4 cup mayonnaise

- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt salt and pepper to taste

- 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

- 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

- 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Do This:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Lightly grease a small baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper.
- Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

*** If you don't like a lot of spinach, you can chop it as finely as you would like to and it's much less noticeable. 

Gina's Chicken Enchiladas

Get This:

- 1 Whole Chicken

- Olive Oil: about 1.5 Tbsp

- One Onion chopped

- .5 Tbsp Minced Garlic

- 1 Can Mexican Stewed Tomatoes

- 1 28oz. Can Tomato Sauce

- 2 or 3 Large Cans of Mild Enchilada Sauce

- 1 - 16oz. Container Sour Cream

- Large bag of Mexican Cheese

- Flour Tortillas

Do This:

- Clean and boil chicken

- Pull all chicken off bones and place in a bowl.

- Put a little olive oil in pan with minced garlic and onion and saute for a little while.

- Add Mexican stewed tomatoes to onion mixture and saute a bit more.

- Add tomato sauce and enchilada sauce, bring to a boil and simmer for a while (about 20 minutes)

- Take bowl of chicken and add Mexican cheese and sour cream and mix. Set aside until sauce is ready.

- Add a little sauce to the chicken mixture and stir.

- Get flour tortillas and spoon mixture in a roll them up.

- Place them in a greased pan.

- Pour sauce on top and top off with Mexican cheese.

- Bake on 350 for about 45 minutes or until cheese is slightly toasted.