Leftovers? Let's make SOUP

Well, I bought some Porkribs on sale the other day and cooked them allllllllll day in the crock pot w/ just water and a package of onion soup mix. OH YEAH they were great!  I also made my fennel hot veggie dish to go with it. Perfect.  However, I had a lot of left over pork...so, today I made soup! Of course I knew when I bought the porkribs that there would be leftovers, so I planned ahead and purchased some cabbage, carrots, and celery too while I was at the store.

Oh my it turned out sooooo good!  I filled my huge pot 1/4 of the way w/ water, and chopped the carrots and started them into the boil first. (they take longer to cook through)

In large pot:
fill 1/4 (or more) way w/ water - turn on high heat and bring to boil
While waiting for water to boil add in:
chopped carrots, celery, onion, garlic, cabbage (whole head)
Add in:  2 tbsp Ham Soup Starter (or if you have chicken stock you can add that instead but you may need to add more salt)
Let simmer until cooked
Add in left over meats and juices if you have them (I just left all in the crock pot and dumped it into the pot)

Pepper, basil, sprinkle of celery seed or dill weed adds flavor too! I added all. :)

AWESOME flavor!! EASY to make.  Took maybe 20 min. to chop everything up and get it boiling.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers...make it yummy

Ok, Hookers, this is a recipe I tried out...and sort of tweeked to add in some things I wanted!
here is the link to EggFaces recipe:
 http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2010/09/philly-cheesesteak-stuffed-peppers.html

I have to give Michelle all the credit...she's amazing when it comes to creating awesome food!!!

Here is the pic of mine:

Totally the best I've made I swear!  It is SO easy!!!  Time to create? About 20 min. Time to bake? about 30 min! FAB dinner in less than an hour.

4 Large Green Peppers (wash and cut off tops, remove seeds/innards) Set aside in baking dish

Saute in large skillet:
Onions, garlic, mushrooms, chopped deli Roast Beef (or you can use hamburger!), celery, garlic salt, pepper.  If you want a  little heat you can throw in some Hot Pepper Flake!
Soften one pkg of Cream Cheese, and mix into ingredients after sauteed.
2 tbsp of Whorchestershire sauce (or I just splash it in there 'til I think there's enough! ha)

Place ingredients into Peppers, Top w/ jar of Ragu (or no name brand sauce like me)
Bake for 30 min at 400
At the last 5 min, add any cheese topping you like! I had Chedder this time!  Moz would be great too!

ENJOY! Mr. Eye Candy did! Melt in your mouth goodness!!!

Some people do rice and mix in before baking - but I don't eat rice anymore and this is just as good w/o it!

Fennel yumminess

Ok...this is the chopped version before it started cooking.  I add all kinds of stuff. Make up your own with the veggies you like!!! and here is the after:

1 large Fennel (chop stalks and all! even the fern fronds at top...good too)

chop mushrooms (or I buy a small package already chopped)

Green Beans can be added! I love this w/ Green Beans!

1 large onion -chopped

Garlic cloves minced. (I add a lot b/c I love garlic)

2  Oranges - Zest over all items - or use orange juice if you don't have any oranges or tangelos available (set oranges aside for vinaigrette)

Saute all items in olive oil

Vinaigrette:

in small bowl squeeze oranges (or use orange juice)

Hot sauce (I add quite a bit as I like it spicy these days. hee hee)

1 tbsp sugar (or 1 packet of sweetener)

salt

olive oil.

Mix.  

After items are cooked, pour vinaigrette over and let set....YUMMY.

This is a great dish for pork chops (zest the orange over them too!), or chicken breasts.  You can add some heat to either of them w/ Hot Pepper Flake.

Enjoy peeps! I know we sure did! Mr. Eye Candy could not believe how good this was!!! He grew up a straight meat and potatoes kind of guy...and now...well let's just say his tastes are changing! 

Fashion Fun & a Frugal Awesome Idea!!!

I was inspired by my friends daughter to try some new twists on my outfits.  This is the latest. Snagged some boots at Kohl's a couple weeks ago for like $10!!! I was so excited.  Also, the scarf is probably the most expensive thing I'm wearing.  I paid $20 for it, and won't regret it because it's from Coldwater Creek!  I never splurge like that on myself...so no regrets.  The jeans are Goodwill, and the jacket is a smokey suede from Kohl's for $17.  I'm flip flopping back and forth from 153 lbs and 156 lbs.  Have been doing that for over a month now. Not sure why.  Oh well. 

Yes, I do wear my hair back all the time now.  After losing so much of it..it feels so THIN to me.  So I just pull it back into a twist.  Also, it's static season here in MI where as soon as you walk outside...STATIC. Not fun.  My second outfit is also inspired by Sierra...it was the BOOTS! Lol  I want to get a cute pair of those socks she has, but not sure where....hmmmm.

Once again, this is a Goodwill outfit except for the Scarf and boots.  Jeans, tank, and jacket probably cost about $16 altogether.  I do love a good bargain!  Especially when it's a size 10! :)  I'm not much into blazers, but this one is pretty comfy...I have another one similar and it's a bit more snug and I wear it buttoned.  Cute.  I'm branching out a bit. More fitted things!  No more MOO MOO's.     

I am also going to post another entry w/ a recipe or two today.  I have been meaning to do this for awhile now, but my darn computer crashed and I just didn't have the heart for awhile after losing all that stuff on there. Sad sad.     

Ok, so here is a frugal Pot Rack for ya that Mr. Eye Candy made me a couple years ago...and I LOVE it.  He used an OLD WINDOW.  There is a pane missing too...lol.  So rustic!  He just added hooks and chains for hanging.  Perfect! EASY!  It's best to sand it down before hanging though...don't want those old paint chips falling onto your counter or food. 

Hope you all are having a great Valentines Day!!! Life is good!