Lazy Wife's Beef Stroganoff

Sorry, no pictures.

This is the Lazy Wife's Beef Stroganoff recipe that I made for Jason and myself the other night. It's delicious, super easy, not incredibly messy, and a fabulous comfort food! It's not that great for you, but if you're craving beef strog it's a much healthier alternative.

1 lb lean ground beef (mine wasn't incredibly lean... 85/15)
1 can cream of mushroom
1 packet lipton's onion soup mix
1 bag egg noodles
6 oz. water + extra, seperated
6 oz. 1% or skim milk
S & P to taste

Barely cover the bottom of a skillet with water, brown and break up ground beef into crumbles. When ground beef is completely browned, remove from pan and rinse.

Meanwhile, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a pasta pot. Cook egg noodles according to directions.

Using the same skillet as before, pour in cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, 6 oz. of water, and 6 oz. of milk over medium heat. Whisk until all of the chunks from the cream of mushroom soup are gone. Cover until simmering.

Once the sauce is simmering, put meat back into sauce. Cover and allow to continue to simmer, stirring occasionally. Season with S & P to taste.

When egg noodles are done, drain and cover with meat sauce. Serve!


Nutrition Facts
Lazy Wife's Beef Stroganoff
6 Servings

Amount Per Serving
Calories 390.9
Total Fat 18.6 g

Saturated Fat 7.2 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.6 g

Monounsaturated Fat 7.5 g
Cholesterol 94.7 mg
Sodium 698.4 mg
Potassium 449.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 34.6 g

Dietary Fiber 1.9 g

Sugars 1.5 g
Protein 19.4 g

Dude. this blog is making me fat.

Ok, for one, I know I haven't been on in a while. Marriage is crazy, and we're still getting settled in! My parents and IL's have been guardian angels for my husband and myself, and we have yet to have to go grocery shopping since we got back from our honeymoon. So, I've been coming up with concoctions with whatever we already have so we don't have to spend any extra money. I have a great digital camera, and I really should have been taking pictures (especially when I made lazy wife's beef strog and low fat oven fried chicken) but I really just wanted to spend time with my dh instead. So shoot me. =P

Anyway, all of the stuff I've been creating since I started this blog in April has been delicious, but soooo fattening! I don't have a lot of weight to lose, but I want to get a grip on it before it snowballs and I end up as big as the side of a house.

So... Full Hearts, Full Tummies is now a low fat/low cal food blog! I refuse to make watered down, bland versions of the things I love in full fat form, so you can bet that anything I post on here are going to be the successful low fat interpretations of the things I already know and love.

I'm definately going to try to post more... As if anybody reads these anyway =P

Once again, BlakeMakes' timing is impecable - You Bar

Well, I'm married! This is my first blog back from the festivities. Don't worry about Jason, I've been cooking up a storm for him, and I actually have a few things to blog about, but generally it's stuff I've already blogged about or I'm to hungry/lazy to take pictures before I dig in.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to blog about some food I won from Blakemakes! I don't really know if "won" is the operative word because I didn't exactly do much to get it (unless you count posting a comment on his blog!), but anyway....

So, to make a long story short, I gained around 8-10 lbs on my honeymoon eating the most fabulous and delicious foods and drinking the most amazing, refrseshing cocktails EVAR (seriously, Couples Swept Away in Negril is freaking AWESOME www.couples.com). I really want to get it off before it keeps packing on and I end up huge! I didn't really think about it, until I came to the realization that the only time is now at the start of this week when my work clothes aren't fitting as well as they could...

Then I met You Bar! With the same perfect timing as the fabulous Amano chocolate I won previously, You Bar showed up on my doorstep when I needed it most. I know a lot of people might use them for protein bars before they work out or climb mountains (or whatever athletically inclined people do...), but I found that they can also be wonderful meal replacement bars. As a matter of fact, I had one for breakfast every day since it came in the mail! I'm seriously going to have to order a box! Averaging at around $3 a bar, that's a pretty inexpensive meal, too. It was delicious, interesting, and filling, and I really enjoyed it!

There were four bars in the box, two of them are standard You Bar flavors, and two others were custom bars. Blake created one of them (I'm assuming? correct me if I'm wrong!), and I'm not sure if maybe the other one is a combination someone else created... But nevertheless, they're all great!

I'm with Blake, I didn't care for the one called "A Date With Chocolate" as much, I just generally don't care for chocolate flavored protein bars. They're usually too bitter, and chewy chocolate stuff freaks me out. I'm so used to dark chocolate bars and how wonderfully non-chewy they are, that the chewiness was kind of a turnoff. (btw, note to Amano chocolatiers: you have created a monster in me, I am completely obsessed with dark chocolate now and refuse to even touch the milk or white varieties. I kid you not!)

I absolutely loved the honey and cashew one! Cashew butter makes my heart sing as it is, and throw honey in as a natural sweetener and I was hooked! There was crunchy rice cereal in it to give it a little kick, and all in all it was fabulous.

Also fabulous were the custom bars! I really enjoyed the one titled "your name here" that had dried cherries, shredded coconut, and some kind of nut (almond?) with a cashew butter base. FABULOUS. By far, my favorite. I was dissapointed when I finished it, it was so good!

I thought Blake's concoction was just ok (Sorry, Blake!). It's nothing personal, I just don't like cinnamon or dates. It was good, don't get me wrong, it just wasn't my favorite.

The best part about it is, if you're doing WW (I'm about to start back) and you use them as a meal replacement bar, you can create versions that are only around 3-4 points. The BlakeMakes bar was 5, well within a reasonable amount for a meal replacement bar!

All in all, they were great, and I think that You Bar is a fabulous idea, their webpage is rediculously easy to navigate, and most importantly the bars are delicious!

http://www.youbars.com/

Orchard Cobbler + A New Camera!

I finally got a new camera! It wasn't the Nikon D40 I've been lusting after for months, but I couldn't afford one and I really wanted to get something before I head for my honeymoon on monday. I got an Olympus advanced digital camera. It's not quite a digital SLR, but you have a lot more options and presets than a regular point and shoot. One of my favorite things... a culinary preset! You can all be jealous now.

Orchard Cobbler

This is a recipe that I tweaked from what was originally Paula Deen's peach cobbler recipe. (View Paula's recipe here.) The only thing I did differently is instead of using self rising flour, I used bisquick instead because that was all I had! The breading ended up being amazingly cakey and fluffy and soaked up the juices from the peaches and berries beautifully.

For the filling (where this recipe differs), follow Paula's directions for preparing the peaches. When I made this recently, I threw my berries in with the peaches and they really didn't hold up as well as I had hoped they would and lost some of their color and flavor. It still tasted AMAZING, but I found on PW's blog where she just tossed them in sugar and lemon juice and threw them into the baking dish without cooking them down beforehand, so next time I'm going to try that.

I used a mixture of raspberries and blueberries for mine (about half of a bag from Walmart of each) but you could use whatever you fancy! Also, I used frozen berries because the fresh ones weren't looking so hot at the grocery store, but no doubt some nice fresh berries would be even better.

Heed my advice: if you do decide to use frozen, be sure to bake them frozen without thawing them out. They hold up better in the long run that way! Don't ask me why =)

Also, this is DELICIOUS fresh (note the caramelization on top of the cakey stuff- it provides a nice little crunch on top!), but can be successfully reheated in the microwave and the filling tastes better the next day, IMO.

Moved in!

Yay! We're moved in and I figured the easiest way to grocery shop would be to schedule a week in advance. That way I could watch the papers for coupons and save some money...

Monday:
Angel Hair Pasta with Herbed Chicken (Celeste @ Sugar & Spice's recipe)

Tuesday:
Leftovers :)

Wednesday:
Black Bean & Rice Enchiladas (Cheryl @ Adventures of a Food Slut)

Thursday:
Leftovers :)

Friday:
Oven Fried Tilapia with Crash Hot Potatoes and salad (Oven Fried Tilapia - BHG cookbook, Crash Hot Potatoes - PW @ Pioneer Woman Cooks!)

Saturday:
Date night!

Sunday:
Breakfast- french toast waffles (The Nest)
Leftovers

MEME! :)

Celeste at Sugar & Spice (link on the right!) tagged me for a meme! Hers is the first foodie blog I ever fell in love with, and I still look up to her for her mad chef skillz! So here goes...

What was I doing ten years ago?
10 years ago I was 12. I was in the 6th grade and had just begun to really embrace my inner artist. That year I really explored my creativity and came to think of myself as an artist, rather than someone who liked to draw or paint occasionally.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
1. Go pick up the couches for me and Jason's apartment that are currently being stored at my parent's house
2. Hopefully pack up some of my clothes and personal items
3. Hang out with Jason
4. Put together our new vacuum!
5. ?

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Diet Coke with EVERYTHING
2. Cupcakes
3. A big fresh hunk of french bread with some butter
4. Cake
5. Biscuits and jam

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Quit working and start my own business
2. Travel all over the world
3. Have a big, beautiful, sunny studio where I can draw and paint and create all day
4. Have a weddingmoon instead of this 3 ring circus known as my wedding.
5. have a gourmet kitchen full of amazing pots and pans, 5 different kinds of ovens, and a fridge full of fresh produce to make wonderful meals for my family

Places I've lived:
1. Leeds, AL
2. Birmingham, AL
3. Savannah, GA
4. Jacksonville, AL

Jobs I've had:
1. Part Time ASSistant Manager - Janie and Jack
2. Sales ASSociate - Pottery Barn Kids
3. Sales ASSociate - Everything But Water
4. Desk Clerk - YMCA (where I met my future hubby dubby!)
5. Desk Clerk - Barber Vintage Motorcycle Museum

Now I have to tag 5 people!
1) Jill @ Baby Rabies
http://www.babyrabies.com
2) Cheryl @ Adventures of a Food Slut
http://adventuresofafoodslut.blogspot.com/
3) Fellow nestie Rebekah @ Easy Meals for the Working Wife
http://workingwifedinners.blogspot.com/
4) Katie @ Good Things Catered
http://goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/
5) Ashley @ Delish
http://delishfood.wordpress.com/

Amano Artisan Chocolate, by way of Blake Makes!

I feel that, in order to fully explain the magic I experienced yesterday of opening a fedex box with chocolate inside, I need to share about my day yesterday first.

It all started out just like every other day of my life. I woke up at 5 til 7am, got dressed for work, talked to my mom for a minute, and out the door I went. I worked all morning and took lunch when I normally do... until a phone call changed my whole day. I got a call that my mom was rushed to the emergency room via ambulance because she was having intense vertigo and fainting spells. When I got over there, I will never forget as long as I live the sight of my mom hooked up to tubes and IV's and everything else, looking nothing like the strong, tough, healthy woman I normally know as my mother. It honestly took every cell in my being to not burst into tears, because I knew it would agitate her and she needed to be calm and relaxed. Blood work and CAT scans were run and thankfully everything came back normal, but they were still worried that she might have had a small stroke. They admitted her and got her into a room, where she was quizzed by the hospital's neurologist and internist about her health. They performed an MRI late last night, and as of right now we still don't know what's wrong.

Finally, by the end of the day yesterday, I was utterly exhausted and I felt emotionally defeated. Jason took me to Whole Foods after we left the hospital to try to cheer me up, and not even that cheered me up! I got home, climbed into bed, pulled the sheets up to my chin, and began to feel sorry for myself, when I heard a knock at my bedroom door. It was my sister, letting me know that I got a box in the mail. I had my bridal tea on Sunday, so I thought it was a gift... But why did it say "chocolate" on the box? Who would be intelligent and creative enough to send Jason and I chocolate for a wedding gift?

Alas, it was not a chocolate relief of Elvis, but what I recieved was so much better. I remembered when I looked at the beautiful packaging of the chocolate bars that I entered a contest on http://www.blakemakes.com/ where we had to creatively tell Bridget (Blake's wife) why we wanted organic, artisan chocolate. I wrote a Haiku. I didn't actually win the contest, but Amano was kind enough to send chocolate to everyone who even entered!

This morning before I left for work, I decided that I would need some chocolate therapy before I left the house. I openned the box of Madagascar chocolate and broke off a small peice.

Let me just tell you about the symphony it created in my mouth! It was the most rich, beautiful, full bodied taste I have ever experienced. Chocolate was meant to taste like this. It is 60% cacao, blended with pure cane sugar and tahiti vanilla pods. When you first bite into the chocolate, you taste the nutty warmth you usually expect from dark chocolate. Just a tad bitter, subtly sweet, but mostly cocoa bean. As you continue eating it, by the second or third bite, you begin to notice all of the subtleties... A soft, fruity, fresh tasting twang and a creamy sweetness. The texture of the chocolate is amazing as well. When I snapped a small peice off of the bar, I noticed that it was slightly brittle (as it should be)... But as I bit into it, I noticed that there is a very slight creaminess to its texture as well, which I liked.

Two little squares of that chocolate was all I needed to give me the oomph to get out of the house and into the office.

Thank you, Amano, for your perfect timing and equally perfect chocolate. Photo above courtesy of Amano Chocolate.

http://www.amanochocolate.com/

http://www.blakemakes.com/