Making Life Better

Trying to be creative, and getting ideas for supper isn't really a strength of mine. Sometimes I am inspired with a new concoction, but I usually look online or in a recipe book. My family loves new meals, and I was thankful to check out MakingLifeBetter.com.
Unilever, the consumer package goods company, has spent a great deal of time thinking about how to make everyday life better and help us find ways to create great meals and do more with less. The company's Web site, www.MakingLifeBetter.com, features delicious recipes, affordable meal ideas and tips that stretch your budget and save you time. I have always been one to try and "stock" the shelves with the pantry staples so I can be prepared. I know I will be checking out Making Life Better to get new ideas for our meals. Here are a few great ideas from the site:
· Wish-Bone Italian Dressing can do double-duty either as a delicious salad dressing or a great-tasting marinade for chicken, pork, beef and fish. For fast indoor cooking when an outdoor grill isn't available, try a grill pan to create an inside grill - a great solution for those with cold and snowy winter days like we experience in Minnesota.
· Need a budget-friendly meal? Try Baked Pasta Primavera with Ragu Pasta Sauce, which costs less than $2 a serving. Ragu Pasta Sauce has a full serving of veggies in every half-cup of sauce, so this recipe is a great way to sneak veggies into your kids' diets.
· I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! has new Cooking & Baking sticks that bake and taste just like butter! Even better is that they have 50% less saturated fat than butter, 0g trans fat per serving, and provide an excellent source of Omega 3. More importantly, this is a simple change that we can make to help our families live a healthier lifestyle.
· Your family can also enjoy a perfectly seasoned Pizza Meatloaf that you can prepare in no time with go-to ingredients like Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup Mix and Ragu Pasta Sauce. With two Lipton recipe mix envelopes in each box, your family can enjoy pizza meat loaf one night, and onion burgers the next!
· And definitely look for Bertolli Oven Bake Meals, such as Stuffed Shells, in your grocery store's freezer. These restaurant-quality Italian classics can be prepared by simply opening the package, pouring the ingredients in your own oven dish and baking. What a great way to skip the Italian restaurant and enjoy a night in - especially if the kids are gone for the evening.
· Polish off dinner with a glass of great-tasting and refreshing Caribbean Tea Splash, made from Lipton Green Tea Bags, pineapple juice and cream of coconut (for less than a $0.25 a serving!)

Here is the recipe of the week: Creamy Asparagus Tart
Pastry for single-crust pie
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 small sweet onion or leek, thinly sliced (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 lb. fresh asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (about 4 oz.)
1/2 cup Hellmann’s or Best Foods Canola Cholesterol Free Mayonnaise
2 eggs
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 375°. In 9-inch pie plate, arrange crust. With fork, pierce bottom of crust. Bake on heated cookie sheet 15 minutes or until golden; set aside.
Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat and cook onion, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until tender. Add asparagus and cook 3 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Turn into pie plate, then evenly top with cheese.
In small bowl, with wire whisk, blend Hellmann’s or Best Foods Canola Cholesterol Free Mayonnaise, eggs, mustard and pepper. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth; pour into pie plate. Bake, on heated cookie sheet, on lower rack in oven, 25 minutes or until set and lightly browned.
~~YUMMY~~
I loved the recipes, and will be trying them out for sure! I think my family willenjoy a new variety. Thanks to MomCentral, I was able to be introduced to this great site, and share this information with my readers! MakingLifeBetter.com is a great website for every busy mom to get ideas from! There are other great ideas on their site covering information on beauty and style, home and family, vitality and wellness, tips, news and offers! What a great site to cover so much helpful information!

Ultimate Party Meatball recipe: in time for the holidays~

Making meals for all the family gatherings around the holidays can be stressful and overwhelming! I was so excited to try out the new Ultimate Party Meatball recipe with Mom Central! I just tried the recipe last night, and I can say it was very tasty! Not only was it tasty, it was super easy, too! I was sent a can of Cranberry sauce and a bottle of the HeinzChili sauce. I just mixed the two together in a pan on medium heat. Then, I added frozen, pre-cooked meatballs, and we had a great coarse of our meal done. I am sure I will use this recipe for any upcoming events, because it is so easy! Being a mom of almost 4 kids, I need a little more simplicity to my life! The Ultimate Party Meatball website offers several recipes, entertaining tips, party enhancements and is offering a sweepstakes right now! With this pregnancy, I have craved French Dip like crazy, and I saw that the Ultimate Party Meatball website has a great sounding recipe for Saucy French Dip Sandwiches with Barbecued au Jus, and I may need to try that. Thanks Mom Central for guiding me to a new recipe and website!

Favorite Party foods

Well, it's that time of year again with family and friend gatherings. With these gatherings we always incorporate food....so here are a few of my favorite "snacky" foods:

Puppy Chow for the sweet tooth! It must have some nutrition, too, because there is peanut butter in there for protein.

Mexican Dip: Veggies...now this is nutritious!
Mix together :8 oz. softened cream cheese, 8 oz. sour cream, 3/4 taco seasoning and place on bottom of pan. Top with lettuce, black olives, onions, tomatoes, and cheese. Serve with tortilla chips or scoops.

Peanut Bloosom cookies...more peanut butter! :)

Snack Mix:
10 Cups Cheerios, 10 Cups Crispix, 4 Cups of Peanuts, 2- 10 oz. bags of Pretzel Twists, 2 lbs. of M&M's, 4 bags of White Chocolate Chips, and 6 TBSP. of oil

Mix together cereal, nuts, pretzels, and candy in a large container. Melt Chocolate chips and oil in the microwave. Pour over mix and stir until it is coated. Pour onto wax paper and let it dry. Store in air tight container.

Old Dutch Caramel Corn

These are just a few of my favorites. What are yours? You can post them on your blog and enter yourself in a contest! Just leave a comment here on this post, before Saturday evening, telling her what your favorite party foods are.
Link to this giveaway, anytime before Saturday evening. To make it fun, you can even post pictures, or a recipe! On Saturday, she will randomly choose the winner of a special gift.
Have fun reading everyone's entries, and make sure you visit From dates to diapers every day this week to find out how to win a great giveaway each day! Tell her Happy birthday, too! :)