Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and were able to enjoy some quality time with your loved ones.  If you're like most Americans, you probably also overdid it with the Thanksgiving goodies.  Did you know that to burn off the calories from the average Thanksgiving dinner you have to walk, jog, or run a full-length marathon?  That's 26.2 miles. Scary, huh?  Even scarier . . . the left-overs!  Many of you will eat that same meal again tomorrow and the next day.  Unless you're one of those wild and crazy ultra-marathoners (and I know a few of my followers are), I hope you will try to find some balance this weekend . . . a few less left-over Thanksgiving calories and a little more exercise.

The Infographic below breaks Thanksgiving dinner down by calories and by the miles of walking, running or jogging required to burn it off.

Source: newmango.com via Shannon on Pinterest

If you can't read the print, you can click the image for a larger view of the graphic or press Ctrl and + at the same time on your keyboard to enlarge everything on your screen. (Pressing Ctrl and - at the same time will decrease the size when you are done.)

A Thanksgiving Milestone for Me

Since this is Counting on Me, I thought I'd also share a little milestone that I celebrated today.  Today was the 22nd anniversary of the day I became a vegetarian.  That's 21 years meat free . . . no red-meat, no poultry, no pork, no seafood.  I chose Thanksgiving to officially go vegetarian because there are so many great meat-less side-dishes on Thanksgiving, I figured I would never miss the turkey.  I didn't miss it way back then and I never have since.

Source: meatlessmonday.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Meatless Monday Recipe Roundup

Welcome to the first Meatless Monday Recipe Roundup. This is my first Meatless Monday Recipe Link Party, but I am hoping if it is successful to host it regularly.  Whether you are a life-long vegetarian like me or just looking for some meatless recipes to try, this party is for you!

Grab a Meatless Monday Recipe Button. 

Here's the code:

<a href="http://counting-on-me.blogspot.com/2011/10/meatless-monday-recipe-roundup.html " target="_blank"><img src="http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s299/ShannonOBrennan/meatlessmondaybasket-1-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Meatless Monday Recipe Round Up"></a>

Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

The Count whipped these up for us last week and they were so delicious!  I could eat them every week! They  tasted great reheated over the next couple days for lunches too. They are without a doubt the best vegetarian stuffed peppers I have ever had!

  

Vegetarian Stuffed Pepper Recipe
Makes 8 Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
4 Large Green Bell Peppers
15 MorningStar Farms Veggie Sausage Patties
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp Crushed Red Peppers (Optional)
1 tsp of Salt
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Cloves of fresh Garlic (Minced)
2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
¼ C of Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 C Marinara Sauce

Directions:
Wash the peppers and remove their stems. Cut them in half from top to bottom and remove their seeds and veins. Boil the peppers in a large pot for 7-10 minutes, until slightly tender. Remove from the pot and drain. Microwave the sausage patties for 1 minute on each side. Then run the patties through a food processor to form a consistency similar to ground beef. In a large skillet, add 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil and sauté the garlic. Add the crumbled sausage patties and toss. After a couple of minutes, add the Italian Seasoning, Red Pepper, and Salt. Continue to sauté for a few minutes. Add the Parmesan Cheese and toss for a minute. Add 1 Cup of the Mozzarella Cheese and toss until the cheese has melted. Add the Marinara sauce and cook for another minute, then remove the skillet from heat.

Preheat the oven to 350. On a baking sheet, greased with Olive Oil, arrange the Peppers with the open side up, creating small bowls. Stuff the sausage mixture into each of the peppers. Top each evenly with the remaining 1 Cup of Mozzarella. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Muffin Tin Monday

Have you tried Muffin Tin Meals for your little ones yet?  I've seen lots of posts about them all around Blog Land, but hadn't tried them until recently.  I only had full-size muffin tins (with 12 cups), so I purchase four 6-cups muffin tins at The Dollar Tree especially for muffin tin meals.  The cups in the tins are regular size, but the tins themselves are small (just six cups).  At first it was a little bit of a challenge for me to come up with six healthy, balanced servings of kid-friendly foods, but it gets easier and my girls really love them!

Here are a few of the combinations we've tried so far:

1. Morning Star Farms Chik'n Nuggets

2. Carrots

3. Raisins

4.Watermelon

5.Keebler Club Minis Multi-Grain Crackers

6. Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1. Annie's Bunny Grahams Friends
2. Blackberries
3. Chobani Blueberry 0% Greek Yogurt
4. Nature's Promise Organic Unsweetened Applesauce
5. Strawberries
6. Plain Quaker Oatmeal w/Raisins Added

1. Mashed Potatoes

2. Snaps Peas

3. Watermelon

4. Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

5. Baby Carrots

6. Mozzarella String Cheese

1. Chobani Blueberry 0% Greek Yogurt

2. Post Banana Nut Crunch Cereal and Milk

3. Grapes

4. Banana

5. Raspberry

6. Craisins

And here's Zazu cheesing like a crazy baby in anticipation of her muffin tin breakfast:

Can you tell she loves them?

Meatless Monday: Mashed Potato Wreath

My blog has been completely neglected lately while I've been off enjoying the summer, but I'm back now with a super yummy Meatless Monday Recipe.  The Count and I collaborated on this recipe and we both loved the result!  This recipe was inspired by the Pizza Skins (without bacon) at Uno's Chicago Grill.  Sadly, they closed the Uno's near us, so the creation of this recipe was an attempt (a delicious attempt) to satisfy my Pizza Skin craving.

This is some serious comfort food.

Ingredients:

3lbs of Red Skinned Potatoes (Peeled)

3/4 Stick of butter or margarine

2 Cups of Sour Cream plus extra for garnish

Garlic Salt to taste

2 Cans Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls

8 oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Mashed Potatoes 

This is a two for one recipe, because these may possibly be the best mashed potatoes ever! Peel the Potatoes and cut the bigger ones in half. Place the Potatoes in a large pot and completely submerge them in warm water. Bring the water to a boil and boil the potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes. It is important not to overcook the potatoes as they will become gluey. You can tell they are done when a small fork will pass through with almost no resistance. Remove the Potatoes and place them in a strainer.

While the Potatoes are still hot, place them in the stand mixer with the butter. Use the wire whisk attachment and beat the potatoes until the butter is mixed in completely. (This could also be done with a hand mixer, but mine is broken and I love my stand mixer.) Then add the sour cream in intervals until the potatoes reach the right consistency. Add garlic salt to taste and set them aside. 

The Wreath

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the crescent roll triangles on a pizza stone in a sunshine sort of shape like this:

Use a Baker's Roller or your fingers to press the center of the circle together.  It doesn't have to be perfect.

Scoop the mashed potatoes onto your wreath like this:

Cover the top on the potatoes with the shredded cheese.

Fold all of the points of your sun into the center of your wreath and use your fingers to press the points into the bottom layer of dough in along the edge of your center circle.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Serve with a side of sour cream and a nice salad!

If your pizza stone is well-used and "ugly" like mine, you can transfer your wreath to a nice serving platter if you want or you can just dig in!

I'm linking to:

Meatless Monday -- Black Bean Lasagna

Years ago, my good friend Michelle made this hearty Mexican-flavored lasagna for me, and it's been a favorite of mine ever since. Even your most dedicated carnivores will love it! It reheats well, and in my opinion tastes even better then next day!

         Black Bean Lasagna

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 c. chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans black beans, rinsed
1 can chopped green chilies
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 c. chopped fresh tomatoes
1 Tbsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander
Salt and pepper to taste
1 c. fat-free sour cream
8 oz. Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
Large bottle thick and chunky salsa
12 Oven-Ready, No Boil Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles
Non-stick cooking spray


Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Sautee the onion and garlic for a couple minutes, then add the beans, green chilies, red pepper, tomatoes, cumin, and coriander, and simmer for ~15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set bean mixture aside.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray lasagna pan with cooking spray. Spread 2 to 4 Tbsp salsa in bottom of pan. Layer four lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping. Spread 1/2 bean mixture over noodles, and top with enough salsa to spread an even layer and 1/2 of the sour cream. Top sour cream with 1/3 of the shredded cheese. Repeat noodle layer, bean mixture, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Finish with one more layer of noodles, salsa, and remaining cheese. Bake covered for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese is browned on top (~7 to 10 minutes). Let stand 10 minutes before serving (If you don't it will be OK, just liquidy). Enjoy!

Tweet