In the kitchen with Elise

Looking for something simple and cost efficient to make? Try this. All you need is a few ingredients, thrown together and tossed in the oven for a few minutes. Your quick and easy hot meal awaits. Great for those days that you are in a rush. Kids love this, and mom can get back to doing whatever she has to do without being in the kitchen for long making lunch or dinner. Ingredients 1 bag egg noodles 4 cans tuna 1/2 onion diced 1 can cream of mushroom soup Your choice of green vegetable ( I used peas. Other options are spinach, broccoli, zucchini etc) shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese Optional: Crushed Ritz Crackers Boil your egg noodles for the amount of time required on the packet. Drain the water and set it aside. Preheat oven to 350F. In a big bowl mix together with a wooden spoon the tuna, onion, pasta, vegetable and cream of mushroom soup. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Lay it out on a pyrex and sprinkle cheese on top. Optional - What I like to do, to add ...

Such a useful item to have in every kitchen. This aids in helping you to dry lettuce when making salads. Making them come out dry and still crisp and not that mushy wet feel. I love it. Since discovering this, nothing else is the same. The old fashioned using paper towels to pat dry or shaking it in a big strainer doesn't compare to how using this makes it come out. Look for it next time you go to your local stores kitchen department. Very helpful. From my kitchen to yours God Bless

Today for snack, I tried this amazing banana nut bread recipe to make my muffins from scratch and they were absolutely amazing and easier than I thought it would be. Taste better than the store bought version and eating only one is a hard mind game. Very delicious. Try it. This recipe makes 12 huge muffins or 24 regular sized muffins. Banana Nut Muffin Servings: 12 Servings Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Source: Elise Jackson Ingredients 1 cup butter 2 cup sugar 4 eggs 3 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 3 bananas (smashed) 1/2 cup crushed nuts (macadamia or almond) Directions Preheat oven to 325F, Mix together in a large bowl your butter and sugar until well blended, add in eggs and beat again. Set aside. In another container mix together your flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Then add this to your liquid mixture and mix well until all incorporated. With a wooden spoon now add in your bananas and nu...

Here is an option for those who want to minimize their carbohydrate  intake, for those who are vegetarian and for those who just want to try something new. Even if your filling is ground beef or something else altogether. Just the fact of making the shepherds pie with cauliflower rather than potatoes is already a plus. With less than half the calories of the original. This almost starch free shepherds pie is enjoyable both to the mouth and to your conscious. In this Cauliflower based shepherds pie, I chose to make it vegetarian. I've made it more than once and on a few occasions I made the filling with ground beef and a red sauce which was amazing. In this version however I simply used various vegetables such as mushrooms, onions, peppers, tofu and a red sauce. Ingredients 1 whole cauliflower 1 tbsp butter pinch salt and pepper Boil your cauliflower in a big pot with just a little water, allow to cook on high for about 15 - 20 minutes or until your cauliflower is so sof...

Tofu is an excellent source of amino acids, iron, calcium and other great nutrients. A great alternative to meat for vegetarians and those who want to eat light. Depending on how its cooked it can taste a lot like chicken.Take a look at this site for more info on all the health benefits of this soya product. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/ingredient-focus-tofu You can eat it just as it is on a salad. One way I like to make it is fried in a little bit of olive oil and seasoned with a touch of sea salt, crushed red peppers and parsley. Tastes really good on salads, as a sandwich with a slice of cheese or just to eat on its own. Here, I fried it and served with a bit of sweet and sour sauce as a healthy and quick finger food. Try something new, next time you are in the grocery store, pass by the fresh produce isle and buy tofu, give it a try. Its actually better than you would think it to be. From my kitchen to yours God Bless

Today I made whipped mashed potatoes with a zucchini gravy and pan fried chicken breast cooked in lemon juice with caramelized onion slices on top. It was delicious, healthy and had your well balanced plate put in order. Every plate should have 1 serving of starch, 1 serving of your green veggie and 1 serving of your meat. Here on my husbands health and fitness blog you can learn more about creating the perfect balanced plate. Creating your vegetable into a sauce is an excellent way of getting more vegetables in fewer bites. For instance. My husband is a enthusiast, but one of the few vegetables he dislikes is zucchini. So what I did here was I made the zucchini into a gravy to eat along with the mashed potatoes. He ate it and didn't even notice that it was zucchini. I told him afterwards but he didn't mind because it didn't have that texture and taste of a zucchini that he dislikes. This is perfect for eliminating those unnecessary extra calories associated with gra...

There are cupcakes and then there are CUPCAKES...Without exaggeration, these are some of the best cupcakes I have ever tasted.  I had to ask them for permission to post their cupcakes on my blog. They are that good. Cant stop thinking about it. Each cupcake carefully hand made by Seansay and her husband Alan; with so many fun flavors to choose  from with names like 'peanut butter perfection' or '24 carrot gold'.  I have yet to try every flavor but My favorites are of course their famous 'Red Velvet' and their 'Salted Caramel Chocolate Almond Velvet'. If you are in the California area, you definitely need to try these cupcakes. Here is the website: You can order online. Check it out. Make sure you view their cupcake menu on the left hand side of the page to see all the flavors and their yummy looking pictures If you are far from California like me, try giving them a call and see if you can get it delivered to where you are. I think depending on ...

When it comes to making a hearty soup. The greener the better. A great soup, is excellent for those cold rainy days. A day when you don't feel like cooking at all or for the day that you want to eat light and healthy. Here is a soup that I make often in my house. I've made it before with just veggies, with chicken and here I've made it with meatloaf. A good source of all your vegetables in one big bowl. Great for the heart indeed. To make it, all you do is throw all of your favorite things in a big pot, add water and your good to go   : - ) It is really that simple. Choose to have it chunky style (just as is) or smooth style (blended and creamed) Ingredients 1 pack of Collard greens or Kale 1/2 bag  lentils or mixed beans for soups 2 sweet potatoes (cut into big cubes) 4 regular potatoes (cut into big cubes) vegetables of your choice: broccoli, zucchini, peas, cauliflower, corn, cassava cabbage etc. Seasonings: Salt, Pepper, Lawrys Meat of your choice: (Above ...