Funeral Potatoes

Standard "Mormon" Recipe...well not quite

32 oz bag of frozen shredded hash browns (I used shredded leftover baked potatoes)
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans of cream of chicken soup (I have made homemade before but it can be tricky to get that thick, gooey consistency. Sometimes they turn out with too much liquid...still experimenting!)
2 cups of sour cream
1/2 c melted butter (OMITTED...enough fat as is!)
1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 c chopped onion (I used 1 whole onion grated or finely minced)
2 cups finely crushed corn flakes (I don't do the topping anymore...would buy cornflakes and they would go stale before we used them all!)
2 T butter melted (no need if not using the corn flakes)

I "wowed" it with:
1-2 cans white beans drained, rinsed and pureed (start out 1/4 or 1/2 if this scares you!)
1/2- 1 head of cauliflower steamed and chopped

Combine ingredients together and pour mixture into pan. Can reserve some of the cheese for top. Bake on 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly. This feeds a lot of people! With the added ingredients I used two pans and froze one for later. They were not "full to the brim" pans but it feed our family of 7 easily.

WOW Spaghetti Sauce

1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
½ pound ground meat (optional)
1-2 cups cooked grain (red quinoa, millet, wheat)
¼ cup raw teff
1 chopped green pepper (optional)
1 cup chopped mushrooms (optional)
1 zucchini finely shredded (optional)
1 can white beans (drained)
1 jar favorite sauce
1 can dice tomatoes (optional)
More water as needed to thin.


Cook meat, if using, seasoning with salt and pepper onion and garlic. Drain excess fat. Add other vegetables and grains. Cook until soft. Add sauce and simmer for 10-20 minutes. If your family hates chunks just puree it!

WOW Bean Burritos

WOW Bean Burritos (8-10 servings)

Adding the salsa and the grains to the beans insures more nutrition in each burrito. The whole grains also complete the protein and the additional fiber helps you feel and stay full.

Ingredients

3 cups water
1 cup salsa (or just one more cup of water)

*4 cups refried bean flakes
1-2 cups cooked pearl barley (or another large grain)

1-2 cups cheese (1/8- ¼ cup per burrito)
8 T. sour cream
Extra salsa (optional)
Cilantro (optional)

8-10 Tortillas

Bring the 3 cups of water and 1 cup of salsa to a boil. Add the 4 cups of bean flakes and 1-2 cups of cooked pearl barley. Warm tortillas and place ½ cup of mixture inside adding cilantro, salsa and sour cream if desired. Roll and enjoy!

*I have used bean flakes that I bought from the LDS Cannery http://providentliving.org/location/map/0,12566,2026-1-4,00.html

Year Supply

10 gallons of water
3 ¼ gallons, 13 quarts or 26 pints of salsa

17 #10 cans of refried bean flakes
26 cups dried pearl barley (about 13 pounds)

13-26 pounds of cheese (4 cups = 1 lb)
13 pints of sour cream
13 pints of salsa (eight 1 T. serving)
Cilantro (if you love it a great thing to learn how to grow…one of my goals this year)


35-43 dozen tortillas

WOW Raspberry Chipolte Dip

8 oz. cream cheese softened
1 cup Ficher and Wiser Raspberry Chipolte Sauce (Costco usually carries this)
1/2 cup cooked red quinoa
2 T. flax meal
Assorted crackers

Place cream cheese on a serving dish. Mix sauce, quinoa and flax together and pour over cream cheese. Serve with crackers.

What's for dinner?

The third step of how to WOW is BE PREPARED! Menu planning really is the key. Truly the hardest question to answer at 5:00 p.m. everyday is "What's for dinner?". If I don't have a plan my mind goes blank and if we are lucky enough to eat that night it definitely will not be WOWED, nutritious and often times edible! That is until I changed the question.

Years ago I attended a Dental Convention with my husband Mike. They offered classes for the wives and I went to a class taught by Vivian Cline. She taught about her Executive Home Management Systems and one of the many jewels I gained from her was the idea that women think categorically and if we plan around the way our brain works we will be more successful. When I was creating the WOW 101 Cooking Class Series I wanted to teach a Menu Planning Class to wrap things up and send people out the door ready to WOW.

I had a bit of a problem though...I was really bad about making out a weekly menu. It seemed that any attempt I had would leave me sitting at the kitchen table, pen and paper in hand, but just like the five 'o-clock scramble, I was drawing a blank. Nothing sounded good and nothing came to mind.

However the empty head and notebook is no longer because finally one day the light bulb appeared above my numb noggin...CATEGORIES! Don't ask what's for dinner, ask what can I make Mexican, Italian, Asian, Soup or Salad. Under these headings I could list several options and not experience the mind numbing, neuron munching menu planning of the past.

Many women of a greater caliber (and masters of the home CEO job I should have been fired from years ago) have figured this out a long time ago. But just like my favorite organizing technique from Julie Mortensen's Organizing from the Inside Out I had found my list to follow, my 123's and ABC's to menu planning. And you can too! Just make a list of types of foods your family likes to eat. It could be a varitey of ethnic dishes, family favorites, vegetarian etc. When I start thinking categorically my mind is wide open and so are the dinner possiblilites.

Look for for future posts with this specific menu planning concept in mind...and recipes too!

I am excited to begin this WOW Nutrition Blog to continue what I love best- teaching, sharing, learning and hopefully inspiring others. I am researching how to best use the blog to connect you to resources you will need to WOW your recipes and continue to add the wonderful nutrition WOW cooking offers. I have loved sharing the WOW concept and feel the three simple steps can be applied to cooking and nutrition but also many other areas of life.

Remember to stay motivated! Educate yourselves (I hope the blog will be a tool for you.) and surround yourselves with friends who will help support you and energize you to do JUST A LITTLE BETTER! I look forward to continued association with you via this great tool of technology. I hope to share new recipes and tips plus the resources to help you be ready and prepared. Make a plan, take the steps necessary to help you make it workable, and acquire the tools and skills to put your plan in full force.