I'm Back!!!

Phew...a little over 5 years ago I started this blog.  Right after life changed drastically for me and I moved back home to sunny San Diego, CA.

This past Christmas I was faced with having emergency surgery that morning.  I've been on disability since then so I've had a lot of time on my hands.  I found my love for cooking again (also due in part to an amazing man I met who enjoys all of my cooking)!

My plan is to get back on her and add more recipes to spread the love if you will.  I like to find recipes and make them my own.  I don't normally stick to anything I find because I like the thought of being creative and "spicing up" a recipe I've found.

Cheers to a new year!

Coming Soon

Recipes I've made, still needing to be posted:

• Baked Pancakes
• Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken
• Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Brownie Cake Cupcakes
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares
• Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
• White Chicken Enchiladas
• Shrimp Scampi with Veggies over Pasta
• Sauteed Veggies
• Peanut Butter Blossoms
• Cake Batter Blondies
• ...and many more to come!!  :)

Mama's Bean Dip

Ingredients:


2 cans (16 oz each) or 1 can (32 oz), refried beans
1 pkg (8 oz), block of cream cheese, softened
1/2 of a 16 oz jar, Chunky Salsa, Medium Flavor
Hot Sauce, to taste (this way it can be as mild or as hot as you want it)
Season Salt, to taste
4 cups, Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
1 bag, tortilla chips

Preparation:


1.  Preheat oven at 350.  Add cooking spray to the bottom of a 13 x 9 baking dish.

2.  Combine refried beans, cream cheese, salsa, hot sauce, seasoned salt and a handful of shredded cheese in a medium sized mixing bowl.

3.  Add mixture to the baking dish and top with the rest of the shredded cheese.

4.  Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.  Serve with tortilla chips.

The Skinny on "Mama's Bean Dip":


Whenever there is a party, get-together or Super Bowl, I'm always asked to make this.  The combination of the beans, the salsa, cream cheese, etc is the perfect combination!  I discovered this recipe over 20 years ago, but of course I made it my own and this is not the original recipe.

I highly recommend this if you are going to some sort of party or get-together....it's too easy not to make it!!


Buon Appetito,

Skinny Gurl, Big Appetite

Kicked Up "Nana" Pudding

Ingredients:

4

cups,

cold milk

2

pkgs.

(6oz.), JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1 Box,

NILLA Wafers (use as many as you would like)

5 bananas, sliced (the more the better)

1

tub

(8 oz.), COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

Preparation:

1.  Pour milk into large bowl.  Add dry pudding mixes to milk with wire whisk until well blended.  Add approximately 1/2 of the tub of whipped topping.  Let stand 5 min.

2.  Place a spoon full of the pudding mixture in your serving bowl and spread evenly to arrange wafers on the bottom and up the sides of a 2-qt. serving bowl.


3.  Layer pudding mixture and sliced bananas on top of wafers.  Repeat layers , adding more wafers in between (should be two layers).  Add remaining whipped topping on top to complete.

4.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.  Store leftover dessert in refrigerator after eating.




The Skinny on "Kicked Up 'Nana' Pudding":


Once it was time to dig in (and taste what I had been craving for over a week), the first thing that came to my mind was...."This was SOOOOO worth the wait!"


When I saw Nabisco's recipe on their site I thought two things: 1) Wow, there's not many ingredients to this recipe and 2)because there are so few recipes what can I do to make it my own and kick it up a notch?


As I was stirring the pudding and milk mixture it clicked....add some of the whipped cream to the pudding.  I figured it would make it a little lighter and boy did it.


I also decided that I wasn't going to count wafers, I was just going to make sure when I made another layer that I added more in the middle even though the original recipe didn't call for it.


Of course, if you're a fan of banana pudding then you must be a fan of the wafers in it, so I encourage you to just go for it and add them....the more the merrier, right?




Buon Appetito,


"Skinny Gurl, Big Appetite"

Here goes nothing...

...lately after discovering Pinterest and browsing it for hours upon hours, upon hours it helped me to realize one thing....I LOVE COOKING!!  

I've always known that I loved it, but didn't really have as much of an appreciation for it as I thought I did.  Then looking at the plethora of fashion designs, craft ideas,  photography (one of my loves), and care package ideas (my boyfriend is currently deployed) I discovered all the amazing recipes that looked so good I wanted to make them to see if they were as good as they looked.

Today as I was preparing our snacks for the Super Bowl I thought, "There hasn't been one recipe I've made that I didn't improvise and make it my own".  I posted pics on Facebook as I made the snacks and comment after comment, like after like just kept coming in.  

I was talking to my friend Amber and threw the idea out there to her about starting a food/recipe blog. I asked her to help me come up with a name as well as my 2 boys...and so the thought train began, trying to figure out a name for my blog. 

Next thing I know Amber said, "Skinny Girl, Big Appetite"....BINGO!!  Amber knows that about 18 months ago I had the gastric sleeve done and to date I've lost 100lbs, so when she came up with the title it had not only my success, but the appreciation I have for food in it as well.

Thus the name, "Skinny Gurl, Big Appetite" was born and here I am starting this journey.  Take this journey with me....I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!!  :)


Buon Appetito,

Skinny Gurl, Big Appetite