Whole Wheat Oat Blueberry Muffins

Whole Wheat Oat Blueberry Muffins Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/4 cups oats 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 cup unsweetened applesauce 3/4 cup milk 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 Tbsp oil 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1 pint blueberries (fresh or frozen) Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cases or spray with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl combine applesauce, milk, brown sugar, oil and egg. Make a well in dry ingredients and add applesauce mixture. Stir until just moist. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 16-18 minutes. WW Points - 4

Chicken Fajitas

Chicken Fajitas Ingredients: 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 red or green bell pepper, sliced (I used a combo of all colored peppers) 2 teaspoons chili powder 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (I used lemon juice) 8 warm flour tortillas (I used low carb, high fiber tortillas) 1 cup Cheddar cheese (I used 2% mexican blend) Sour cream Guacamole Lettuce Tomato Salsa Directions: Cut onions, peppers, and chicken into strips. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, salt, and broth. Pour mixture over chicken and marinate. Grill chicken, onions, and peppers. Spoon several slices of chicken mixture with sauce into center of each warm tortilla. Fold over. Top with sour cream, guacamole, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and salsa.

Soy Lemon Tilapia

Soy Lemon Tilapia Ingredients: 1 lb tilapia Lemon juice Soy sauce Olive oil Directions: Marinate tilapia in a bunch of soy sauce and lemon juice. Cook in olive oil (let marinade cook the tilapia - it will sort of boil). Pour off marinade and cook a little more. WW POINTS PLUS - 1/3 of recipe = 3

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (with real apples)

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (with real apples) Ingredients: 1/4 cup oats 1/2 cup water 1/2 apple, peeled and diced Cinnamon Splenda Directions: Put oats, water, and diced apples in bowl. Microwave for 1 minute and 45 seconds. Add cinnamon and Splenda. WW POINTS PLUS - 2

Healthier Parmesan Chicken

Healthier Parmesan Chicken Ingredients: 1 lb chicken 4 egg whites 1/2 cup bread crumbs 4 Tbsp parmesan cheese 2 tsp olive oil 1 can tomato sauce Directions: Mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese on a plate. Mix egg whites in a bowl. Dip chicken in egg whites and bread crumb mixture and set aside. Heat pan with olive oil. Brown chicken on both sides. Put in pan and cover with tomato sauce. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. While chicken is baking, cook 8oz pasta per box instructions. Serve 1 cup pasta with 1/4 of the chicken. WW POINTS PLUS - 8

Pig Pickin' Cake

Pig Pickin' Cake Ingredients: Cake: 1 box yellow cake mix 1 small can mandarin oranges (with juice) 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 1 egg white Frosting: 1 container (8 oz) low-fat or fat-free cool whip 1 small can crushed pineapple (with juice) 1 pkg (4 servings) sugar-free fat-free vanilla pudding mix Directions: Cake: Mix cake mix, oranges, applesauce, and egg white. Bake in pan for 30 minutes at 350. Frosting: Mix cool whip, pineapple, and pudding mix. Frost cake when cool. Refrigerate. WW POINTS PLUS - 5 per serving (16 servings)

Grilled Buffalo Chicken

Grilled Buffalo Chicken Ingredients: 2 lb chicken 4 Tbsp butter 3/4 cup Frank's red hot sauce Directions: Melt butter. Add Frank's. Marinate. Grill. WW POINTS PLUS - Makes 8 servings = 4 per serving

Mandarin Orange Pineapple Smoothie

Mandarin Orange Pineapple Smoothie Ingredients: 1 pkg WW vanilla smoothie mix 1 cup fat-free or low-fat milk 1/2 cup mandarin oranges 1/2 cup pineapple 1 tsp olive oil (if you need to meet the requirement) Ice cubes Directions: Blend. Enjoy. WW POINTS PLUS - 4-6 (depending on milk and if you do oil)

WW Friendly Key Lime Pie

WW Friendly Key Lime Pie Ingredients: 1 lower fat graham cracker crust 1/4 cup boiling water 1 pkg (4 serving) fat-free sugar-free lime jello 2 containers (6 oz each) fat-free key lime yogurt 1 container (8 oz) fat-free cool whip Directions: Boil water. Add jello pkg and mix well. Add yogurt and whisk. Add cool whip and stir until well mixed. Pour into pie crust. Put in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. WW POINTS PLUS - 1/8 of pie = 4

My Favorite Healthy Omelet

My Favorite Healthy Omelet Ingredients: 1 tsp olive oil 1 egg 3 egg whites 1 slice lowfat provolone cheese 1oz lean deli ham Onions Peppers Directions: Chop up onions, peppers, and ham. Cook in small pan with 1/2 the olive oil. Stir eggs and cook in pan with 1/2 the olive oil. Once the eggs are cooked a little, add the cheese. Once the onions, peppers, and ham are cooked add to the omelet. Cook omelet and fold. Cook a little more. WW POINTS PLUS - 6

Healthy Brownies

Healthy Brownies Ingredients: 1 box brownie mix 2 egg whites, lightly beaten 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Mix brownie mix, egg whites, water, and applesauce for roughly 50 strokes. Put in Pam-sprayed pan. Bake roughly 25-30 minutes. WW POINTS PLUS - I divided it into 24 pieces for 2 POINTS each (5 POINTS for 2).

Grilled Chicken and Veggie Pasta

Grilled Chicken and Veggie Pasta Ingredients: 1 lb chicken Tons of veggies (zucchini, peppers, onions) 4 tsp olive oil Italian seasoning 4 cups cooked (8oz uncooked) whole wheat pasta 2 cans tomato sauce (roughly 4 cups) Directions: Cut chicken and veggies into strips. Toss in olive oil and Italian seasoning. Grill (I used the George Forman). Cook pasta per directions on box and heat up tomato sauce while veggies and chicken are grilling. Toss pasta, chicken, and veggies together and put sauce on top. WW POINTS PLUS - 1 cup pasta, 3oz cooked chicken, veggies, and roughly 1 cup sauce = 8 POINTS PLUS.

Ginger Soy Fried Couscous

Ginger Soy Fried Couscous Ingredients: 2 cups cooked whole wheat couscous 3 eggs, beaten 4 tsp olive oil (or sesame oil) Fresh or ground ginger 2 cloves garlic, minced A few baby carrots, chopped Some onion, chopped 1 Tbsp brown sugar 4 Tbsp soy sauce Directions: Heat pan with some of the oil. Cook eggs until scrambled and cooked throughout. Set aside. Clear out pan. Add some more oil. Cook garlic, ginger, onions, and carrots a few minutes until sauteed. Add the couscous and stir to combine. Cook a few minutes. Mix soy sauce and brown sugar. Add to couscous and stir to combine. Add eggs and stir to combine. (I used a chopper to make the eggs really diced up). YUMMY! If you are on WW, the POINTS are 3 for 1/2 cup and 6 for whole cup.

Weight Watchers

Hey everyone! I know this is a blog devoted to tips about homemaking, but I like to share other facets of my life. A big one is my health and wellness. I have always been one that has struggled with food and weight, and I am hoping to finally get this under control. I have rejoined Weight Watchers. I did WW after Luke was born and in 22 months managed to lose 95 pounds. After the twins were born, I was at the highest I have ever been, 245. In two weeks I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight (thanks to nursing and dropping 11ish pounds of babies and water weight and everything that goes along with pregnancy). I stayed there until May when I had surgery. Thanks to losing a couple of organs and not eating and puking my guts out, I lost more weight and managed to keep 11 of it off. I am back to Weight Watchers and loving it. It is definitely a lifestyle and not a diet. It works. The first week I lost 5 pounds. I was super happy because that put me halfway to my goal of 155. I am trucking along. My goal is to lose the weight by Disney next May. So, I figured I would share some recipes. Here they come...

Vacations and Projects

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. This summer has been so crazy. With the surgery and a couple of awesome vacations, I feel like I haven't been in my "normal" routine. We are working on projects left and right as well. What's in the hopper: Since I am a very forward thinking person (sometimes my downfall, sometimes a plus), Lee and I decided to combine the office (currently on the 2nd floor) and the homeschool room (currently on the 3rd floor) into one room (using the homeschool room). We are doing this because, God-willing, we will have 1-2 more kids and I would rather do it now than when I am pregnant again. Luke is going to take over the current office because it is painted red (GO WOLFPACK!) and he loves red and wants a Spiderman room. We pulled everything out of the homeschool room and taped it off tonight. I am painting this week while Luke is at my mom's. Then we will put both of the desks and homeschool stuff in there. Then we will move Luke into the new room. We have also decided to take the kids to Disney World next year so I am in crazy researching and planning mode. I am also getting everything ready since we are starting Kindergarten in 4 weeks. Yep, I'm busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

1st Couponing Workshop ;)

Tonight my lovely friend, Holly, hosted a couponing workshop in her home and had me come in to teach it. Background: I went to a couponing class a couple of years ago and got hooked. I couponed so much and got so into it that I would put some pictures and my savings on my Facebook. After I miscarried Thanksgiving of 2009, I decided to start a blog - Organized Homemaking - about homemaking to serve others. I also toyed with the idea of teaching classes myself. (People tend to do something new and/or productive when something big happens). It didn't work out at the time, so I placed it on the back burner figuring I would just keep going with the blog and see what happened in the future. My life has been consumed with pregnancy, delivery, loss, and newborn for about a year and some change, so I haven't done much other than try my best to keep up with the blog. Holly approached me about teaching and it felt right. The class went great. There were 7 participants (plus a daughter and husband hearing snippets). :) It was a lot of fun - we cut up a lot (no pun intended) and everyone seemed to enjoy learning the tips and tricks of couponing. Holly's husband wants me to come teach at his firehouse. I am really excited. We will see how things go.