Blog Posts by ShiningLight

Trying to to make healthier and cheaper food choices is a realistic goal. Nothing really drastic here, just the next time you go grocery shopping, try these ideas instead. Who knows you might like them better.

Make healthier choices with these easy food swaps - Instead of one food, try another. See if you can taste the difference.

Tomato French Onion Soup - Who says dinner has to be a full plateful? This is a quick recipe, try the low sodium versions, for a tummy warming soup. Serve with a salad, green vege, or cut up fruit or pour it in a thermos on your way out the door.

Seasoned Red Potatoes - Make the potato the shining star of your dinner. Serve with a salad or soup for a great healthy dinner.

Cooking with Pomegranates - Lots of recipes for using this super power food.

Vegan or Vegetarian - What's the difference between the two names?

Mayo Clinic's top 10 great health foods for eating well.

Homemade Salad Dressing - You control the fat and calories

Ravioli Casserole

You will need the following ingredients:

• 1 jar approx. 28 ounces of spaghetti sauce
• 1 package - 25 ounces of frozen ravioli
• 2 cups - 16 ounces cottage cheese
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Cook ravioli according to package directions.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce into bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.
4. Layer half the ravioli with approx. half of sauce, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese.
5. Repeat.
6. Sprinkle parmesan on top.
7. Bake for 40 minutes.

Serve with a green salad made with homemade dressing and homemade croutons .

You might also like:

• Slow Cooker Tips & Tricks
• Easy Slow Cooker Pork Chops
• Baked Macaroni & Cheese - easiest ever!
• Basic Salad Dressing
• Cherry Pie Squares
• Peanut Butter Fudge
• Homemade

Everyone is a bit Irish on Saint Patrick's Day! Enjoy!

This is a delicious frozen concoction called Bourbon Slush - just use Whiskey instead. Instant Irish!

Magic Milk Mixers will turn any glass of ordinary milk into a Lime Green Delight.

Pistachio Bundt Cake is a really pretty light green cake that will please any palate.

At the very least add green food coloring to your cereal bowl of milk and eat Lucky Charms.


How to Catch a Leprechaun - Really Cute Stuff

Easy Slow Cooker Pork Chops - Wouldn't you like to have dinner ready when you come home from work? The slow cooker or crockpot is a working woman's best friend. This is a great recipe that takes 15 minutes in the morning, and slowly simmers all day to a wonderful pork chop and light gravy meal. Serve over noodles or rice, steam a green vege and you have a nice comforting dinner.

1-2-3 Baked Macaroni & Cheese - This is a warm comfort food that happens to be a foolproof recipe. Any type of pasta shape is good. You can add veges, ham or cooked chicken to it. It is so easy that this could be your child's first dinner that they make all by themselves

Beef & Tortillas - This is a quick and easy dinner idea. If you cook the ground beef ahead of time and put it in the freezer, you can thaw it in under 5 minutes in the microwave. Get your kids to help with tearing up the tortillas. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Beef Stroganoff - This is one of my husband's favorite dinners. I am

As a parent, you try to stay on top of the latest things kids are doing. When you find out about something that is going on that you never heard of, you wonder how stupid you are. It all started...

Photo: amazon.com

I was at a local Target store in the checkout line. The lady in front of me was purchasing a few clothing items, pens, snacks, and a bottle of Robitussin. She had her cash in hand to pay. The cashier asked to see her Driver's License. The lady forked it over. Target scanned it. Transaction completed.

My turn. I was purchasing a pillow and shampoo. I too had cash in hand ready to go. The cashier did not ask for my Driver's License. I asked the cashier, why did the lady in front of me need to show her Driver's License? Because she purchased cough medicine, replied the barely 18 year old cashier. Being the uniformed parent, I asked why she needed to show her Driver's License for cough medicine? The cashier's reply was simple, "Because of drugs". Okay.

A few days later,

My daughter made this recipe and it did not turn out. I won't tell what it looked like - just, well, not so good. Use your culinary prowess to let me know what is going on here. Please.

What's wrong here????

No-Roll Sugar Cookies

(The recipe comes from a huge brand name little recipe book from the grocery store checkout lane.)

2 cups sugar
2 cups margarine or butter, softened
1 cup flaked coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 deg. Mix sugar, margarine, coconut, vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls.
Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten cookies with greased bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake until edges are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Store loosely covered.


PS: I don't think it's missing an egg. After the directions in the book, there is an alternate recipe for Soft Sugar Cookies that takes this recipe and adapts it. It

There is nothing better than a warm scone from the oven on a cold morning, or any morning for that matter. This is so simple to make that you can enjoy this on a weekday morning.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Scones

1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/4 cups oats - old fashioned or quick
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt ( you can leave this out if you want )

Place ingredients above in a bowl and mix together.

1/3 cup softened margarine
1-1/3 cups chocolate chips ( the mini ones are cuter in this - but it doesn't matter )

Add this to dry ingredients and mix until you get small pea-like globs.

1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Mix these together first, then add to the rest of the ingredients. Stir it up. Then, using floured hands, knead it in the bowl about 6 times.Form into a big ball.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheet. Place scone ball mixture in center of cookie sheet. Now using a flour-dipped flat spatula and

According to Wikipedia , "The name "pomegranate" derives from Latin pomum ("apple") and granatus ("seeded")." The seeded apple! You should try at least one dish with this sweet-tart fruit.

Pomegranate juice has been in the news lately. This fruit has many health benefits . It is an antioxidant. It contains about 40% of the daily vitamin C requirement. Some health claims are that it combats hardening of the arteries, it fights osteoarthritis, helps lower bad cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, and much more.

Only the pomegranate seeds, or arils (seed casings) are edible. The white membrane should be discarded. The seeds can be eaten right away, or put in the refrigerator or freezer for use at a later date. Grenadine syrup, often used in mixed drinks, is made from sweetened pomegranate juice.

Try this recipe: Pomegranate Ginger Muffins.

How to make pomegranate jelly

POM wonderful pomegranate granita

Pomegranate Cheesecake

Pomegranate Punch

Be careful