Back to Blogging

Happy Saturday to all of you! I am going through a rough patch in my life right now and decided to go back to blogging, crafting, and finding enjoyment out of life. Starting tomorrow, this blog will be undergoing a few changes.

You will see:

• product recommendations (food, health & beauty, crafting, etc)
• book recommendations
• blogs to check out (to try and network with other bloggers)
• recipes
• completed scrapbook and cards, challenges, other crafts
• items for sale (links to Etsy, ebay, etc)

I hope that you will continue to be a follower of this blog and invite friends to check things out.

Taking a break

Sorry blogger friends, but I don't have the time in my busy schedule to make posts faithfully. I have decided to take a break from blogging until I have the time again. If I do get opportunities, I will make posts but don't be surprised if you only see something once a month.

Thank you for understanding and being such faithful blogger followers.

Southwestern Turkey Burgers With Sweet Potato Fries

Over the past few weeks I have been DVRing Cook Yourself Thin and watching it while walking my treadmill. They have some really great recipes posted on their LifeTime TV website along with 2 cookbooks available at Amazon.com.

Southwestern Turkey Burgers With Sweet Potato Fries

Serves 4

Calories per serving, turkey burger: 342

Calories per serving, sweet potato fries: 89

For the sweet potato fries:

2 sweet potatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for sprinkling

Juice of 1/2 lime

For the turkey burger:

1 1/3 pounds lean ground turkey

1 4-ounce can diced green chiles, drained

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2–3 spritzes canola oil in a mister

3 ounces 50%-reduced-fat pepper-jack cheese, cut into thin slices

4 whole-wheat Kaiser rolls

Romaine lettuce leaves

Tomato, sliced

Red onion, sliced

1/2 avocado, sliced

1. For the sweet potato fries, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Wash and dry the potatoes and, with the skin on, slice into 1/2-inch-thick rounds; cut the rounds into 1/2-inch-thick finger-shaped pieces. Toss the potatoes in a bowl with the oil, chili powder, garlic powder and salt.

3. On a baking sheet, spread the sweet potato fries in a single layer and roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until brown and tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a platter or bowl and sprinkle with a little more salt.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the lean ground turkey with the diced chiles and season with salt and pepper. Shape into patties and refrigerate until ready to cook.

5. Heat a large grill pan or nonstick skillet on medium heat and spritz with canola oil. Add the turkey patties to the grill pan and cook until browned on one side, about 4 minutes. Flip, reduce the heat to low, cover (if using a skillet) and cook until the juices run pale pink, about 4 more minutes. Top with the reduced-fat pepper-jack cheese during the last minute.

6. Toast the rolls in the oven or in a toaster oven. Alternatively, grill them 1 minute on each side.

7. To assemble: On a platter, place the fries and a burger on a bun and top with lettuce, tomato, onion and avocado slices. Squeeze lime juice over the fries and serve.

Spicy Chili Bean Burgers

Spicy Chili Bean Burgers



Prep Time: 25 min
Total Time: 25 min
Makes: 5 sandwiches

1 cup Fiber One® original bran cereal
1 can (15 or 16 oz) spicy chili beans in sauce, undrained
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup chopped green onions (4 medium) (I used ½ small white onion)
1 egg, slightly beaten (or ¼ cup Egg Beater)
1 1/4 cups washed fresh baby spinach leaves
5 slices tomato
5 whole wheat burger buns, split

1. Place cereal in resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag and crush with rolling pin or meat mallet (or crush in food processor).
2. In medium bowl, mash beans with fork until no whole beans remain. Add crushed cereal, oats, onions and egg; mix well. Shape mixture into 5 patties, each about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
3. Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray. Add patties; cook over medium heat about 10 minutes, turning once, until brown.
4. For each sandwich, place 1/4 cup spinach leaves and 1 tomato slice on bottom half of bun; top with bean burger and top half of bun.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Cook patties over medium-high heat about 10 minutes.

Nutrition Information:
1 Sandwich: Calories 280 (Calories from Fat 40); Total Fat 4 1/2g (Saturated Fat 1g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 40mg; Sodium 800mg; Total Carbohydrate 48g (Dietary Fiber 12g, Sugars 6g); Protein 11g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 25%; Vitamin C 8%; Calcium 15%; Iron 30% Exchanges: 2 1/2 Starch; 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat

Sue’s notes:
· I made 8 patties from this mixture and they ended up being 95 calories without the bun.
· I added minced garlic and some Southwestern seasoning to the mixture before cooking.
· My burger was put on an OrrowWheat 100 calorie bun with lettuce and Heintz chili sauce. My mom tried it with lettuce, pepper Jack cheese, and salsa.
· Even though you are using spicy chili beans, the burger can be bland due to the cereal and oats. I highly recommend seasoning with additional items such as chili powder, taco seasoning, chili seasoning, or Southwest seasoning. I am cutting down on sodium, but you could add some salt & pepper.
· You can mash the beans with a potato masher or pulse them in a food processor. Just be careful not to mash them to the consistancy of bean dip. My mom said that she would have preferred it with some of the beans being left either whole or only slightly mashed.

Happy Birthday

I just wanted to send a special Happy Birthday wish to my awesome 7 year old niece Catie. She is my world and I love to craft with her. She is my favorite scrapbook subject, who puts up with everyone taking tons of pictures of her.

I am so proud of Catie and her adventurous spirit to try anything.

Scrap Time

Sorry for being MIA as of late. The last few weeks I have been getting my scrapping spaces organized and I started a new weightloss program. That means I have been spending my evenings exercising instead of sitting and stamping/scrapping. I do have a few new recipes to share, which I will post later this weekend. They are yummy and will fit perfectly in any weighloss or weight maintenance program.

I am all packed up and ready to head to Lake Geneva for a 3 day scrapping retreat. So that means you will start to see some completed pages posted when I return on Sunday evening. I am really looking forward to spending time with my BFF scrapping, chatting, and just relaxing together.

Also, I got a small package in the mail from Crop Chocolate to create a few pages and/or cards. I will post a picture of what came in the box and what I completed as soon as I get the okay from Crop Chocolate.

March Scrapbooking Retreat

Do you live near Lake Geneva, WI? Then come join me and my friends at the Lay It Out Loud crop retreat. Here is all the details:

The Cove Resort (Lake Geneva)
March 5-7, 2010

Escape with Lay It Out Loud to a crop weekend that you can customize to your schedule and budget. Why pay more for a crop with catered meals when there are so many restaurants within walking distance, including Houlihans which is on-site. If you are staying at the cove you may want to bring in your own food- all suites include a full kitchen (no oven in some suites).

What's Included?

• Virtually unlimited cropping 6PM (You can start at 3:00!) Friday-2 am Saturday
  8 am Saturday-2 am Sunday
• 8 am Sunday-3 pm Sunday
• A Welcome bag full of wonderful scrappin' goodies EACH DAY.
• Generous reserved cropping space (at least 1/2 of a 6' table) in the crop room that stays open until 2am. Leave your stuff out all weekend!
• FREE LIOL make n' take workshop and vendor make n' take
• EACH DAY Everyone will choose the prize of their choice from the fabulous prize table.
• Convenient shopping on-site - Lorraines Memories scrapbooking store will be joining us!
• Challenges on Friday & Saturday to inspire you to try something new, use your old supplies in a new way and earn chances to win even more prizes!
• Each Saturday attendee will receive at least $5 of Scrappy Cash to spend at on-site vendors one attendee will receive a $50 Shopping Spree!
• All snacks and drinks.
• A chance to win the Grand Prize a LIOL custom scrappy cabinet loaded with wonderful scrapbooking supplies!
• Free use of Creation stations. Whether you want to try your hand at the latest techniques or just leave your messy stuff at home, the creation stations are the best around! Inks, stamps, distressing supplies, paints, foam stamps, computer and printer for journaling, cutting tools, diecut machines and dies, embossing inks and powders, staz-on ink, and more.

The Cove of Lake Geneva's deluxe guest suites pamper guests with all the comforts of home. From the fireplace and whirlpool, to fully equipped kitchen and balcony, the suites were designed to offer everything you need. There is also a fitness room, indoor pool and a Houlihans restaurant & bar. One bedroom suites include 1 queen or king bed & a queen sofa sleeper only $135 per night. Loft suites sleep up to 6 people and include 2 bathrooms and an extra loft bedroom for only $185 per night. Please contact the Cove for room reservations after Jan 19th- at (262)249-9460 or toll free at (800)770-7107 make sure to tell them you are with Lay it Out Loud! and reserve your room by Feb. 5th to receive the discounted rate.