SusieQTpies Cafe: 2/1/13

Thursday

{Recipe} Savory Pork Roast with Apple Stuffing

Pork is considered the other white meat and we love pork recipes. Most pork recipes that we use are healthy recipes. Enjoy this recipe from my friend Diane which is a perfect fall apple recipe.

Savory Pork Roast with Apple Stuffing
by Guest Chef Diane

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves

1 1/2 tsp. dried and crushed rosemary (or 4 1/2 tsp. fresh, chopped rosemary)

1 tsp. rubbed sage

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

2 medium RED apples, chopped with skin to equal about 2 cups

1/2 cup chopped celery (optional...I like it better without!)

1/3 cup chopped onion

6 cups herbed and seasoned stuffing mix (do not use cornbread stuffing!!)

1 can of cream of mushroom soup with 1 can of water

1/4 cup melted margarine or butter

1 boneless rolled pork loin roast (2 1/2 to 3 lbs.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Press garlic into small bow. Add rosemary, sage and pepper; mix well.
3. Remove 1/2 tsp. of mixture for stuffing.

4. Core and slice apples, chop celery and onion and put in large mixing bowl.
5. Add apple, stuffing mix, soup, butter and reserved seasonings.
6. Mix well and spoon into deep dish baker or 9X9.

7. Rub the seasoning mix evenly over pork loin.
8. Place roast, fat side up, over stuffing.
9. Cover with Stoneware Baking Bowl or Aluminum Foil.

10. Bake for 1 1/3 hrs.

11. Remove Baking Bowl or Aluminum and bake 15-30 minutes more or until meat registers between 130 and 145 degrees.

12. Let stand 10 minutes before carving. Serve with steamed veggies of your choice!

(Modified from Doris Christopher's Stoneware Sensations, pg. 50)

Diane has the most beautiful Rosemary plant and is blessed to live where she can have it growing all year. I love these pictures where she shows the sprigs, how to remove the rosemary and then chop with her hand choper.

Find more FALL Recipes here!

Tuesday

St. Patrick's Day Food & Fun

Are you getting ready for St. Patrick's Day? We are only a wee bit Irish so we celebrate that day with fun & tasty seasonal recipes. Here are some of our favorite recipes and crafts.

Lucky St. Patrick's Day Brownies
Healthy St. Patrick's Day Smoothies- 5 recipes
St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef & Cabbage
Green Cornbread
60 Lucky St. Patrick's Day projects on Pinterest

Monday

Menu Monday Plan with Recipes and Menu Plan link up

Welcome back to Menu Planning Monday! Thanks to all for stopping in and even linking up your tasty recipes and menu plans!

(Recipe below from Heavenly Savings)

Monday-Crockpot Rockin' Ribs, Canellini Bean Salad and Coffee & Chocolate Brownies

Tuesday-Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and leftover salad and veggies from fridge.

Wednesday-Tomato Ravioli Soup and Focaccia

Thursday- Definitely having leftovers. In case there aren't enough, I will plan my Beer Chicken (easy crock pot recipe) because it can be frozen and saved for later and I cant wait to try Featured Recipe from last week's menu plan Salad in a Jar from Heavenly Savings

Friday- Nachos using the leftover chicken from yesterday.

Featured Menu Plan of the Week- Graceful Abandon has a great menu plan. I love how she plans out breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Featured Cookbook of the Week-101 Soups, Salads & Sandwiches Gooseberry Patch Cookbook

I've linked up at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday link up and always check out 3 Boys and a Dog menus.

Sunday

Hungry Healthy Happy Healthier Lifestyle

Welcome back to my 52 weeks of Inspiration series. I'm on a healthier lifestyle journey and I want to share what inspires me day in and day out. If you have something that inspires you, leave a comment and share!

This week I a featuring one of my favorite, inspiring blogs since I have been on my healthier lifestyle journey. That blog is Hungry Healthy Happy written by Dannii. Her blog and life motto is Hungry Healthy Happy - It's all about balance. Here is her interview. I hope you get inspired too!

What inspired you to get healthy?

At the end of 2008 I was having a lot of health problems. I had no energy and I hated the way I felt and looked and I knew it was all to do with my weight. I started slowly by making all my meals myself, stopped order pizza, had healthy snacks and cut out anything processed and full of chemicals. I did some gentle yoga and then moved onto swimming and finally the gym when I felt more fit.

Are you a Fitness and/or Health Coach?

No, I am just a regular person who got healthy, lost 98lbs and now shares that journey with other people.

How long have you being on a healthier journey?

It started in 2008 and took me around 18 months to lose the weight and I have kept the weight off ever since. I will always be on this journey as there is always something to learn and always a new challenge.

Why do you do it?

Why do I stay healthy? Because I want to be around to enjoy life for as long as possible. I also don't want to struggle with every day things like walking up the stairs.

If you mean why do I blog and share my journey, then that is because I think it is good for people to read about a journey from someone relatable. I don't have a personal chef and trainer. I have the same struggles and commitments as everyone else, but I am showing that it can be done.

How do you encourage others to take on a healthier lifestyle?

I share with them my ups and downs and show them that it will never be easy, but it will always be worth it.
I share my recipes to show that healthy eating can be enjoyable and I share my workouts to show that exercise can be fun.
I share lots of inspirational and motivational quotes to help people change the way they see themselves and the world around them.

Can you share a few tips?

My biggest tip would be to take it one day at a time, one meal and one workout at a time.
Set yourself small goals and be realistic.
Stay positive and if you fall down, just get straight back up again.

How can others get involved?

You can get involved with Hungry Healthy Happy (HHH) by joining the little community that has formed. I say little, but it has grown so much over the past year and the blog, Facebook page and Twitter account is full of people supporting and motivating each other with their goals.

What advise would you share with someone who wants to begin eating or exercising?

As I said before, take it slow and set small goals.
Start making more meals at home.
Try some new workouts and find what works for you. There is no one rule for everyone. There are many routes to the same destination.

What do you like to do for FUN?

Apart from the odd bottle of wine? ;) I love travelling - that is one of my biggest passions. I love playing guitar and it might seem odd to some, but I find cooking really fun. Creating new recipes that are both healthy and delicious is a great feeling for me.

Do you have a favorite recipe? My favourite recipe is my chocolate fudge brownies. They are incredible and you would never know they were healthy. That is what the recipes on HHH is all about. Click here for the Chocolate Fudge Brownies.

Hungry Healthy Happy - It's all about balance

Follow Hungry Healthy Happy:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram: hungryhealthyhappy

Thanks for stopping in this week for my 52 weeks of Inspiration! Feel free to click over for more inspiration from the previous weeks-Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3 and Week 4.

Need a blender to make healthier recipes? Enter my $400 Blendtec Giveaway!

Please subscribe to our mailing list

Saturday

Stonyfield Blends and Blendtec Recipes Giveaway

My healthier lifestyle journey includes using my Blendtec blender to make my own smoothies, sauces, dips and more! I have had fun creating new recipes using the Blendtec with Stonyfield Blends Yogurts.

Homemade "refried" pinto beans

Ingredients

6 cups of dry pinto beans
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1/2-1 jalapeño, sliced in half
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup cumin
water or low sodium chicken stock
1 jar Herdez Salsa Verde (Don't add into the crockpot with the beans. This gets added to the end after you blend the beans)

Directions

1. Soak beans overnight in a crockpot full of water. (8-12 hours)
2. In morning, drain any extra water and refill with water or chicken stock to cover the beans.
3. Add in rest of ingredients.
4. Cook on high for 6-8 hours in the crockpot.
5. Check after 6 hours and if beans or done, turn off. If they aren't quiet done, let cook last 2 hours.
6. When beans are done, take lid off and let cool for a few hours. If you don't have time to let cool, add some beans to a bowl to cool for 15 minutes or so before blending.
7. Add 1-2 cups of partially cooled beans to the Blendtec Blender. Be careful and keep the lid slightly open if the beans are warm to allow the heat to escape.
8. If the beans are dry, add a little bit of the water from the crockpot.
9. Blend the beans and use the water to keep the beans smooth. Once the beans are all blended, add in 1 jar of salsa verde (green salsa

Kitchen Notes

*These are better than any can beans. They are very low sodium and no added fat for the "refried" step.
*We eat this on our Easy Chicken Tostada Salad, Texas Straw Hat, bean nachos, bean dip, bean quesadillas and more! We freeze the beans in 2 cup portions, too.
*When I first did these I added too many beans to the blender. I have since learned that you only want to blend 1-2 cups at a time.

Besides using our Blendtec for these yummy beans, we also use it to make smoothies with the Stonyfield Blends Yogurt. We have a collection of fun, green and healthy St. Patrick's Day smoothies which we have tried with these yogurts. We like to play around with the recipes and use different yogurt flavors. My friend over at Little Island Studios has a recipe for a Chocolate Strawberry Banana smoothie which is on my recipe to do list!

Are you ready to enter to win your own stash of Stonyfield Blends and a Blendtec blender? The blender motor is factory reconditioned and comes with a 7 year warranty, delish cookbook and value of $400!
Giveaway ends 3/9

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm a member of the Stonyfield Clean Plate Club. Product was provided for review purposes and my own tasty recipe & opinions are expressed here.

60 LUCKY St. Patrick's Day Projects

St. Patrick's Day is just around the rainbow and I have a pot of gold with over 60 lucky St. Patrick's Day projects, recipes, crafts & other goodies for you to check out.

Do you have any St. Patrick's Day projects on your blog? I would especially love for you to share your favorites, favorite Pinterest board and/or Pinterest ID so that I can follow you back! My featured board is all about St. Patrick's Day so stop in and visit.

Want to join in the FUN today? Just share your projects in the comments below and I will come over and visit and add to my St Patrick's Day Board.

Here are more St. Patrick's Day ideas:

Healthy St. Patrick's Day Smoothie Recipes

Lucky Brownies
Lucky Leprechaun Bites

Thursday

How to Meal Plan eBook on sale with great recipes

Meal Planning tips and tricks can be found all over the internet these day. My blog has a weekly menu plan linky you can follow and share your recipes & ideas. Today and Friday Click here to visit How to Meal Plan eBook to get it on sale!

Check out my review of How to Meal Plan for more information and then Click here to visit How to Meal Plan eBook page to get it on sale. You can also enter to win $50 on Amazon from Crystal & Co during this promotion.

Oh and I'm really proud of Crystal. Check below at the photo to see where her book is ranked on Amazon.

NEW PHOTO

Wednesday

Baby Photography Tips by SanDisk

Do you need tips on Baby photography? Photographer Erin Manning has 3 tips on capturing better baby photos to make each memory last.

My girls are now 14 and 18. I look back and most of the photos of when there were a baby are awful! They pictures are out of focus, distracting and fading fast! Check out the below video on baby photography tips by SanDisk.

SanDisk How to take better baby photosgreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Photographer, author and educator Erin Manning provides her Top 3 Tips for capturing better baby photos. Erin gives you advice on setting the scene and getting close to the baby for those perfect images, as well as using a SanDisk Ultra SDHC card to make sure she never misses a shot.

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for SanDisk. I received a product sample to thank me for participating”

Monday

Menu Plan Weekly Menu Planning Blog Party

Welcome back to Menu Planning Monday! Thanks to all for stopping in and even linking up your tasty recipes and menu plans!

(Winnie's recipe below)

Monday-Creole-Style Red Bean Soup with Shrimp and Winnie's Fish-shaped Challahs and Rolls (Featured from last week's menu plan)

Tuesday -Thai Peanut Noodles and Fire and Ice Cream

Miz Helen's picture and link below

Wednesday- Leftovers from Monday & Tuesday. Check out featured Menu Plan Meal Planning Part Three: The Meals by Miz Helen's Country Cottage for her tips in meal planning. She likes to remember her three K's of Keep It Balanced, Keep It Interesting & Keep It Pretty.