About Toni

Family meals are important. Iʼll show you easy ways to spend less time and money at the grocery store, less time in the kitchen and more time with your family.

Author Archive | Toni

Losing The Blogging Weight with Mangodrin

By on May 7, 2013 in Busy Mom Living The Dream, Sponsored, Survival Guide for Busy Moms

You’ve probably heard of women trying to lose the “baby weight”, and may have fought the battle yourself to shed extra pounds that stick around way too long after the birth of your youngest child.

Not me.

Losing the baby weight was easier for me than losing the blogging weight.  After giving birth to three babies in two years, the only time I ever sat still was to nurse or rock them to sleep.  I was regimented in my nighttime routine of bathing and getting the babies off to sleep by 7:00PM  before collapsing into bed myself by 9.  So even if I woke up for feedings at midnight, I still had a good three hours of sleep under my eyes.

When my baby girl turned four I began blogging, and that’s when the weight came on. Routine bedtime became a thing of the past for me while I stayed up writing until 2 in the morning with potato chips beckoning me from the pantry.

My constant state of motion turned sedentary and food companies began sending me samples of the latest products to review for my blog.

Although I may not be considered “obese”, at 127 pounds I’m well over my target weight of 115.  Fortunately, the ladies of RECESS are giving me a jump start on my plan to get lean for bikini season with their #MangoChallenge 30-Day Challenge to “lose the blogging weight”.  At a recent Blogger Event at our local GNC Store, I discovered that I’m not the only blogger with this problem.

African Mango

RECESS Blogger Event for Mangodrin at GNC

I heard about the African Mango first on the Dr. Oz Show and thought about trying it out.  Mangrodrin is an all-natural patented formula made by a local nutraceutical company truDERMA and promises that I’ll lose “up to 28 pounds in 10 weeks”.

I’m in.

Follow me during the month as I work towards 115 pounds with Mangodrin’s #MangoChallenge.  I’m one of about twelve bloggers participating in the weight loss challenge, so if you want to check in on their progress or read about their individual struggles, head over to RECESS.

Join The #MangoChallenge

I love it when businesses want to share discounts and coupons with my readers.  During my #MangoChallenge I’m passing on a special discount for 30% off your entire order of Mangodrin.  This is a great opportunity if you would like to join me and share your results along the way.  This promotion is for online sales only by using THANKYOU in the coupon code section during checkout.

African Mango Mangodrin

use coupon code THANKYOU during checkout for 30% off your entire purchase

 

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Leftover Corned Beef and Cabbage Pie

By on March 10, 2013 in Entrees Recipe, Holiday Recipes, Recipes

Corned Beef & Cabbage Pie Recipe

Corned beef and cabbage is the perfect example of a meal that is better than it’s original version when it’s reincarnated into something new.

Most suggestions I receive for leftover corned beef and cabbage is to make it into hash.  This year, I decided to make a pie, or reincarnate it into a pie.

Corned Beef & Cabbage Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

  1. Frozen puff pastry- 2 sheets
  2. cooked corned beef
  3. prepared mashed potatoes- 1 lb
  4. sauerkraut- 15 oz.
  5. shredded cheddar cheese- 8 oz.
  6. egg- 1

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Line casserole dish with pastry sheet
  3. layer mashed potatoes, corned beef, then sauerkraut, topped with a layer of cheese
  4. Place second pastry sheet over the top and press the sides to the dish
  5. Brush top with an egg wash (one egg white mixed with a tablespoon of water)
  6. Bake until cooked thoroughly, approximately 35 minutes

 

 

For more festive corned beef recipes for your St. Patrick’s Day dinner, check out our “no-carb” dinner of Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard!

Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 

 

 

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Shamrock Eggs

By on March 7, 2013 in Breakfast Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Recipes

St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast

 

St Patricks Breakfast recipe

Shamrock Eggs

 

Bring Green (not green) To Your St. Patty’s Day Breakfast Table

You don’t have to dye your eggs green with food coloring to bring some St. Patty’s Day fun to your breakfast table with this simple recipe.

Shamrock Eggs Ingredients

 

Print
Shamrock Eggs

Ingredients

  • large green bell pepper- sliced
  • eggs, small
  • butter or oil
  • Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. slice bell pepper into 1/2-inch whole slices lengthwise
  2. place in heated skillet with melted butter or oil
  3. crack egg in the center of bell pepper slice and cook until set, approximately 1 minute
  4. flip and cook on other side until achieved desired consistency
  5. garnish with shredded Parmesan cheese
  6. serve with fruit like green apples and grapes, and toast
http://tonispilsbury.com/st-patricks-breakfast-recipe/

 

slice bell pepper into whole slices

 

crack and fry egg in the center of each bell pepper slice

 

serve with toast and green apples or grapes

 

For more St. Patrick’s Day recipes, check out Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard

Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard

Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard

 

 

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Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard

By on March 4, 2013 in Entrees Recipe, Holiday Recipes, Recipes

Roast Corned Beef Recipe

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner Traditions

St. Patrick’s Day…. aaah, the “boiled meal”.  Every year I make the traditional Corned Beef, Cabbage & Potatoes.  And not knowing any other way to cook corned beef, we’ve enjoyed our festive St. Patty’s Day boiled dinner while looking forward to Reuben Sandwiches made with leftover roasted Corned Beef.

This year I wanted something different than boiled corned beef and cabbage, and with a little experimentation, here’s what my family and friends will be eating this year at my house for St. Patrick’s Day.  This was my first time roasting Swiss chard and I’m now a fan- it compliments the salty corned beef beautifully!

Bye-bye boiled dinner!

Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard

Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard

Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard Recipe:

Ingredients:

  1. corned beef brisket- 2-3 lbs

    Swiss chard and sweet potatoes

    chopped Swiss chard and sweet potatoes

  2. sweet potatoes- 1-2, peeled and diced into cubes
  3. Swiss chard- 1 bundle, rinsed and patted dry
  4. olive oil- 1/2 cup
  5. spicy brown mustard- 1/4-1/2 cup

Directions:

  1. boil corned beef brisket in sufficient amount of water to cover beef, using seasoning packet if provided 2 1/2- 3 hours
  2. (about 15 minutes from corned beef being done) Heat oven to 400 degrees
  3. toss diced sweet potatoes in about three tablespoons of olive oil

    Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard

    cooked corned beef

  4. roast sweet potatoes until slightly tender, approximately 8 minutes; remove from oven
  5. trim stems of Swiss chard, then chop remaining stem and leaves
  6. remove cooked corned beef from water and transfer to cutting board
  7. scrape and discard fat from corned beef
  8. chop corned beef then add to chopped Swiss chard in mixing bowl
  9. add cooked sweet potatoes to mixing bowl
  10. pour olive oil and mustard over the top; toss and transfer to baking sheet
  11. roast until Swiss chard is crunchy and sweet potatoes are cooked thoroughly, approximately 12 minutes

 

Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes & Swiss Chard

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 

Served with some toasted Rye bread and green libations, this is going to be our most delicious St. Patrick’s yet!

St. Patricks’ Day Appetizer

And for a simple and festive appetizer:

Crackers with Cucumber Dill

Crackers with Cucumber Dill

 

Irish King Dinner

Here are some scenes from last year’s St. Patrick’s Day and the Spilsbury’s annual Corned Beef, Cabbage & Potatoes dinner.

St Patricks Day dinner table decor

The Irish King Dinner

 

I used a mismatch selection of various shades of green tableware.  Some of the green dishes, napkins and serving dishes came from my pantry while others I selected from various stores like Pier1, Target and HomeGoods- how marvelous it was to not have to decide on one set!  Instead, I was able to select pieces from many collections.

St Patricks Day dinner table decor

These regal chairs sit in our Living Room and were hand-selected by my husband (who is both Irish and a Leo).  I thought they made a perfect addition to our al fresco dinner table.

 

It’s difficult to get the boiled version of corned beef & cabbage to photograph well- it’s not the most photogenic meal out there, that’s for sure.  This year’s dinner of Roasted Corned Beef, Sweet Potatoes and Swiss Chard was a supermodel compared the traditional recipe.

St Patricks Day Corned Beef Cabbage and Potatoes

Corned Beef, Cabbage & Potatoes

 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all my friends and “organized cooks”!

Reincarnate Your St. Patty’s Day Leftovers!

Don’t throw out leftover corned beef & cabbage!  Reincarnate it into Corned Beef Pie.

corned beef pie

leftover corned beef pie recipe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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