Kitchen Capades

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

2010-06-16T19:44:00.003-04:00

To walk into the house from a long day at work and smell dinner ready (or in this case almost ready) and not actually have to do anything is awesome. And for that dinner to taste good as well is even better!!

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup (I used 1 can chicken and 1 can mushroom...both 98% fat free)
1 onion, finely diced
2 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces (I used Pillsbury grands reduced fat)
1 can fat free chicken broth

Directions

Place the chicken, butter, soup, and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water (This is where I used the chicken broth...in place of the water) to cover.
Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.These biscuits took a lot longer than 30 minutes. It was probably closer to 1.5 hours for them to get to a consistency that wasn't doughy/gummy.

This recipe comes from allrecipes.com

Red Velvet Cake Balls

2010-06-16T09:05:00.002-04:00

Photo is from Bakerellas blog!

These things are simply amazing. They get devoured every time I make them! They are easy, yet extremely time consuming. I made 2 batches the last time and it took me a combined 6-8 hours to complete.

Ingredients:

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate) I used chocolate Almond Bark
wax paper

Directions:

After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

If you need some times on how to do these, leave a comment and I'll get back to you!

Courtesy: http://www.bakerella.com

Salmon with Avocado Dip

2010-06-15T21:57:00.002-04:00

This was sooooo good. I could eat this forever! The only thing I did wrong (because I love garlic too much) is I put too much garlic into the dip...so really only use what the recipe calls for this time!

Ingredients

2 avocados - peeled, pitted and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons Greek-style yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds salmon steaks
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
salt to taste

Directions

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil grate. I baked mine in the oven
In a medium bowl, mash together avocados, garlic, yogurt, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
Rub salmon with dill, lemon pepper, and salt. Place on the prepared grill or in my case, on a cookie sheet with tin foil sprayed with cooking spray, and cook 15 minutes, turning once, until easily flaked with a fork. Serve with the avocado mixture.

Chicken and Shrimp Jambalya

2010-06-15T21:55:00.001-04:00

This is a recipe from Stephanie Cooks- its a weight watchers blog (stephaniecooks.blogspot.com). I liked this dish, its a little bland, but overall it was good.

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
8 ounces uncooked boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes with garlic, undrained
12 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp hot pepper sauce I used Franks
4 cups cooked brown rice
Salt & pepper

Directions:
1- Add the oil to a large non-stick skillet. Add the onions and peppers, heat for about 5 minutes.
2- Add the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink.
3- Add the shrimp, cook about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir. Cook the mixture for 5 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through.
4- Stir in the rice. Continue cooking until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 2 minutes.

Chicken and Bok Choy Stir Fry

2010-06-15T21:48:00.002-04:00

This recipe was given to me by a friend (Hi Cartz!)...and I was really unsure about it because I had never had bok choy before...but I REALLY liked it and it was sooo easy. I made it with rice and just kinda mixed it all together. YUM!

Ingredients

1 cup long-grain white rice (you can use whatever rice you want)
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 heads baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise (my store didnt have baby bok choy so I just got "adult" bok choy and chopped it up)
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup store-bought barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)
4 scallions, thinly sliced (omitted)

Directions

Cook the rice according to the package directions.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Add the bok choy and ¼ cup water to the skillet. Cover and cook until the bok choy is just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, barbecue sauce, and scallions. Add to the skillet and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook, tossing, just until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with the rice.

Recipe from realsimple.com

Mediterranean Chicken and Eggplant

2010-06-15T21:35:00.003-04:00

This one was pretty good. It took a while to get everything together, and I've never cooked with eggplant before so that was a task and a half to figure out how to peel the thing easily....

Ingredients

3 eggplants, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices I didnt use all 3. I probably only used 1 whole eggplant
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - diced
1 onion, diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Place eggplant strips in a big pot of lightly salted water and soak for 30 minutes (this will improve the taste; they will leave a brown color in the pot).Instead of this, I layered the slices of eggplant in a colander and salted each piece then put another layer, salt, layer, salt, etc. Let that sit while I cooked the chicken and then rinsed it off.
Remove eggplant from pot and brush lightly with olive oil. Saute or grill until lightly browned and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Set aside.
Saute diced chicken and onion in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in tomato paste and water, cover skillet, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Pour chicken/tomato mixture over eggplant. Season with oregano, salt and pepper and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi

2010-06-15T21:29:00.004-04:00

I did NOT like this glaze, like at all. I don't know what it was but I didnt like it...so I'm not even sure why Im posting this...maybe someone else will like it. No photos...sorry!

Ingredients

3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, crushed or to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

In a shallow glass dish, stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic and olive oil. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, and place them into the dish. If the fillets have skin on them, place them skin side down. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinate. Instead of doing this...I followed other reviewers and just made the glaze seperate and did not marinate the fish. I baked the fish in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove fish from the dish, and reserve marinade. Fry fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fillets to a serving platter and keep warm.
Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistently. Spoon glaze over fish, and serve immediately.

(Items in italics I changed or removed, items in pink are the changes I made)

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Raspberry pie

2008-11-26T22:18:00.002-05:00

Jake and I usually make a fruit pie for Thanksgiving (either blueberry or raspberry). This year I did it all on my own :) He usually does the lattice weaving, but I think I did a pretty darn good job for my first time!

Crust:
Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups shortening
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
1/2 cup water

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, shortening, sugar, and salt. Blend together with a pastry cutter until crumbly.
In a small bowl, mix egg with water. Blend into flour mixture. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.

Filling:
Ingredients:

1 quart fresh raspberries
1 1/4 cups white sugar
8 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
6 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons butter
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

Directions:

Mix together raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, minute tapioca and water. Mix and let sit while you make your pie crust.
Put berries in bottom crust.
Put on top crust and crimp edges. Make slits in the crust to allow the steam to escape. (Or lattice weave as pictured above)
Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 45 minutes. (Mine only cooked for 35 more minutes instead of 45)

Broccoli Cheese soup

2008-11-26T22:14:00.004-05:00

Yum yum! This is from cookinglight.com. Pretty simple, and quite delicious!

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets (used frozen florets)
2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk (used fat free)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light) (I couldnt find "light" so I used regular)

Directions:

Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.
Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender.
Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended.
Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly.
Stir in pepper.
Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed soup mixture to pan.

Apple Crisp

2008-11-26T22:12:00.003-05:00

This was my first attempt at an apple crisp, and let me tell you...it was EXCELLENT. I couldn't stop eating it!

Ingredients:
Main:

10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water

For the crisp:

1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan.
Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

Cowboy spaghetti

2008-11-26T22:03:00.005-05:00

This is actually a Rachel Ray recipe. As much as I usually don't like her food, this was REALLY good!

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti
Salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
3 slices smoky bacon, chopped (you can omit this, its just to crumble over the top...)
1 pound ground sirloin
1 medium onion, chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
Ground black pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce, eyeball it
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1/2 cup beer (I dont think I used a whole 1/2 cup...I just poured some, its to deglaze the pan)
1 (14-ounce) can, chopped or crushed fire roasted tomatoes (I couldnt find fire roasted, so I got diced tomatoes with green chilis...gave the dish a great flavor!)
1 (8-ounces) can, tomato sauce
8 ounces sharp Cheddar
4 scallions, chopped (omitted)

Directions:

Heat a pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and salt the water. Cook to al dente or with a bite to it.

Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and bacon.
Brown and crisp bacon, 5 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon. Drain off a little excess fat if necessary. Leave just enough to coat the bottom of the skillet.
Add beef and crumble it as it browns, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add onions, garlic and stir into meat.
Season the meat with salt and pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire.
Add 1/2 cup beer and deglaze the pan. Cook 5 to 6 minutes more then stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce.
Add hot spaghetti to meat and sauce and combine. Adjust seasonings and serve up pasta in shallow bowls. Grate some cheese over the pasta and sprinkle with scallions. Garnish with crisp bacon

Rigatoni Oreganata with Tomato Sauce and Bread Crumbs

2008-11-02T21:44:00.004-05:00

This was super easy to make, and fast as well. A great recipe for a weeknight. It came out really good too. I got it from Foodtv.com. Its an Emeril recipe.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons
1 pound rigatoni
1 cup small diced onion
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh oregano leaves (I used dried)
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh basil leaves (I used dried)
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup reserved pasta cooking water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves
3/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:

Preheat the oven to broil.
Set a large, 4 to 6-quart stockpot filled with water over high heat and bring to a boil.
Season the water with the kosher salt, 2 tablespoons olive oil and add the rigatoni.
While the pasta cooks, set a 14-inch saute pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil
Once the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and slightly caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the oregano and basil.
Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir well to combine.
Continue to cook the sauce until it is slightly reduced, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the heavy cream to the pan.
By this time the pasta should be almost al dente.
Drain the pasta and reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
Add the pasta and the 1 cup of reserved cooking water to the sauce in the pan and season with the salt and pepper.
Continue to cook, tossing the pasta, until it is well coated with the sauce and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Sprinkle the parsley over the pasta and toss. Spread the bread crumbs over the pasta and place the pan in the oven to broil until the bread crumbs are caramelized, about, 3 minutes, being sure to rotate the pan after 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the pasta from the oven, allow it to cool for 5 minutes, and serve with Parmesan sprinkled on top.

**I cooked everything on the stove top but then put it all into a baking dish b/c my pan has a plastic-like handle...and well I didn't think that would go over well in the broiler ;)

Beef Noodle Bake

2008-09-19T20:06:00.002-04:00

A friend at work, Rhonda, gave me this recipe the other day so I figured I'd give it a whirl. It got approval from both Jake and Josh (brother-in-law). woohoo! The only thing is that next time I might add some italian seasonings or something for a bit more flavor. Overall it was delish!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cans (8oz each) tomato sauce (I used 3 per Rhondas suggestion)
1 c. sour cream
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, cubed and softened
1 t. sugar
1/2-1 t garlic salt (I just used some garlic powder and salt b/c i didnt have this)
7 cups uncooked wide egg noodles, cooked and drained
1 c. (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese (again, per Rhonda I used more...almost a whole bag)
ADDED:
mushrooms
fresh garlic

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion (garlic and mushroom if you add) until the meat is no longer pink; drain
Remove from heat; stir in the tomato sauce, sour cream, cream cheese, sugar and garlic salt
Place 1/2 the noodles in a greased 13x9x2 baking dish, top with 1/2 the beef mixture. Repeat layers.
Cover and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until heated through
Sprinkle with cheese
Bake 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted

Lemon Garlic Tilapia

2008-08-10T16:41:00.003-04:00

No picture, sorry! This was good and again very easy to make.

Ingredients:

4 tilapia fillets
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Rinse tilapia fillets under cool water, and pat dry with paper towels.
Place fillets in baking dish. Pour lemon juice over fillets, then drizzle butter on top. Sprinkle with garlic, parsley, and pepper.
Bake in preheated oven until the fish is white and flakes when pulled apart with a fork, about 30 minutes.

***NOTE: Instead of just pouring the lemon/butter/garlic over the fillets, I sauteed it a bit first. I think it would have been too much of a raw garlic taste w/o doing that first. Once it was sauteed, i then poured it over the fillets and cooked.

Chicken and Mushrooms in Garlic White Wine Sauce

2008-08-10T16:34:00.002-04:00

This dish has a great flavor. Its not dry at all, has a nice sauce to keep it moist. Delish!

Ingredients:

4 ounces uncooked medium egg noodles
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon (im not a fan of tarragon so i used a teeny bit of dill. you can use parsely or basil instead too)
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.
Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place chicken breast halves in a shallow dish.
Combine 1 tablespoon flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, stirring well with a whisk. Sprinkle flour mixture over chicken; toss to coat.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add chicken to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until browned.
Remove chicken from pan.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan.
Add garlic, tarragon, and mushrooms to pan; sauté for 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms darken.
Add white wine to pan; cook 1 minute.
Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Stir in broth, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper; cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring frequently.
Return chicken to the pan.
Cover and simmer 2 minutes.
Uncover; cook 1 minute or until chicken is done.
Stir in noodles; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.
Place about 1 1/2 cups chicken mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.

I didnt stir the noodles into the chicken. I just plated the noodles then put the chicken over it.

Dijon Chicken with Panko Crust

2008-08-10T16:30:00.003-04:00

This chicken was very tasty. Its extremely easy to make too. Great for a work night when you don't have a lot off time to cook. I made with it garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus (for the asparagus i marinated it in EVOO, minced garlic, salt and pepper then roasted for about 10-15 minutes).

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) butter, melted
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced or pressed (as usual I used more)
1/2 cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs; see notes)
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (I had fresh grated romano on hand so I used that)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced parsley (used dried parsely)
8 boned, skinned chicken breast halves (6 to 7 oz. each)

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, mustard, and garlic. In another bowl, mix panko, parmesan, and parsley.

One at a time, turn chicken breast halves in butter mixture to coat completely. Dip rounded side of each breast in panko mixture. Place breasts crumb side up in a 10- by 15-inch baking pan.

Bake chicken in a 500° oven until crumbs are golden and breasts are no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), about 15 minutes.

Cornish Hens with Garlic and Rosemary

2008-08-10T16:25:00.002-04:00

These hens were very juicy and tender. The rosemary and garlic gave them a nice flavor too. I made sugar snap peas with this...and if you can't tell from the picture I overcooked them a bit. oops.

Ingredients:

4 Cornish game hens (I only made 2)
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, quartered
4 sprigs fresh rosemary (Only used 2 since I only made 2 hens)
3 tablespoons olive oil
24 cloves garlic
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.

Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and serve.

I found that using the amount of wine/broth for the recipe of 4 hens wasn't even really enough for 2 hens. I would probably double the sauce next time.

Yummy chocolate trifle

2008-08-10T16:21:00.003-04:00

Jakes coworkers wife (Katherine) made this a few weeks back. My cousin Sam and her husband were coming over to visit so I decided to give it a shot. It is SO good and really easy to make.

Ingredients:

2 packages chocolate pudding (I used fat free)
milk (for the pudding)
2 8oz containers of cool whip (again, I used fat free)
1 package oreos (I used reduced fat)

Directions:

Mix the pudding according to the directions on the package
Layer the pudding, cool whip, then crumbled oreos. Repeat until you get near the top.

And voila! You're done! I dont think it gets much easier than that!

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

2008-08-10T16:13:00.002-04:00

For something that is for the most part 'healthy', these were really good. The recipe says it makes 8, but I only fit 6 in my dish and really there wasnt enough filling to make 8. I might have used a bigger size tortilla though.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (7-ounce) bottle salsa verde
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled queso fresco (I couldnt find this so I used shredded cheddar)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder 4 lime wedges
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth.
Combine chicken and cream cheese in a large bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup salsa mixture. Reserve remaining salsa mixture.
Bring broth to a simmer in a medium skillet. Working with one tortilla at a time, add tortilla to pan; cook 20 seconds or until moist, turning once. Remove tortilla; drain on paper towels.
Spoon about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of tortilla; roll up.
Place tortilla, seam-side down, in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, broth, and chicken mixture.
Pour remaining salsa mixture over enchiladas; sprinkle evenly with queso fresco and chili powder.
Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with lime wedges. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Bacon and cheese stuffed burgers with Avocado Tomato salad

2008-05-22T20:09:00.002-04:00

With a new grill comes lots of grilling time! I wanted to try to make some yummy burgers so this is what I came up with...I also wanted a nice cold salad and really wanted avocado, so I made this salad YUM!

Burgers
Ingredients:

1.5 lb chop meat
1/4 chopped onion
4-5 cloves of garlic- chopped
about 1T worchetershire sauce
any blend of reduced fat shredded cheese
4-5 strips turkey bacon- cut into pieces
salt
pepper

Directions:

Mix together everything but the cheese and bacon.
form about 4 pattiesmix the cheese and bacon together
place about 1T cheese/bacon mixture into each patty and close the patty up around the mixture.
Grill to taste

Avocado Tomato Salad:

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados
2 ripe tomatoes
1/2 red onion
balsamic vinegar
EVOO

Directions:

Cut the avocados and tomatoes to bite sized pieces
chop onion
mix together in a bowl and pour balsamic vinegar and EVOO over this to taste.

Our first steak on the new grill!

2008-05-18T19:36:00.005-04:00

Jake and I have never had a grill...so we've never made any steaks! For his birthday, his parents got him a grill. We went and picked it up yesterday...and then I put it together all by myself (yes, I know...I'm awesome). I marinated the steaks for about 24 hours. They came out pretty darn good. I also made 2 other new side items; garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli with garlic butter and cashews. The potatoes were beyond good. I couldnt get enough of them! The broccoli was also pretty tasty...and Jake surprisingly liked it!

Steak marinade (I used rib eyes for the beef):

Ingredients:

1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Dijon-style prepared mustard
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used a lot more than 2)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, ground black pepper, mustard, onion, and garlic. Mix together well, and use to marinate your favorite meat.
I first stab the meat on both sides a few times with a fork so the marinade can get in. Then I put the steaks in a ziploc bag and pour the marinade in. I left them in the bag in the fridge for about 24 hours...I'm sure anything more then 2 hours is fine..I just like to leave it a long time.

Garlic mashed potatoes (SOOOO good!)

Ingredients (this is scaled down from a 100 serving recipe)

2 pounds unpeeled red potatoes, quartered
5 ounces butter, room temperature
2 ounces Romano cheese, grated
1 tablespoon and 2-3/4 teaspoons chopped garlic (I used roasted garlic- 1 whole head)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 45 minutes; drain.
Stir in butter, cheese, garlic, salt and oregano. Mash with a potato masher or with an electric mixer. (I used my kitchenaid mixer....just put a few potatoes in at a time, mush them up...repeat until all potatoes are mushed...then add everything else)

Broccoli with garlic butter and cashews:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 cup butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped salted cashews

Directions:

Place the broccoli into a large pot with about 1 inch of water in the bottom. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 minutes, or until tender but still crisp. Drain, and arrange broccoli on a serving platter.
While the broccoli is cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. Mix in the cashews, and pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.

Sauteed Tilapia with lemon-peppercorn pan sauce

2008-04-20T19:56:00.004-04:00

I was looking for something quick and easy for dinner tonight, well this one caught my eye. I dont know if green peppercorns and capers are the same thing...if not, I used capers instead (which I'm sure I'd prefer if they are different!) This is a very light meal. It was quite tasty!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (i used 1/2 c. broth and 1/4 c white wine)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons drained brine-packed green peppercorns, lightly crushed
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 (6-ounce) tilapia or sole fillets
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons butter
Lemon wedges (optional)

Directions:

Combine first 3 ingredients.
Melt 1 teaspoon of butter with oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat.
While butter melts, sprinkle fish fillets with salt and black pepper. Place the flour in a shallow dish. Dredge fillets in flour; shake off excess flour.
Increase heat to medium-high; heat 2 minutes or until butter turns golden brown.
Add fillets to pan; sauté 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
Remove fillets from pan. Add broth mixture to pan, scraping to loosen browned bits.
Bring to a boil; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes).
Remove from heat.
Stir in two teaspoons of butter with a whisk. Serve sauce over fillets.
Garnish with lemon wedges, if desired.

Sweet potato fries with avocado dip

2008-04-14T20:44:00.004-04:00

I needed something to go with the buffalo chicken strips, so I decided to try these fries since they also had a "kick" to them. The avocado dip also intrigued me. I found this on foodnetwork.com. The fries did not, unfortunately, come out crunchy but I thought they still had a nice flavor, especially with the dip!

Ingredients (fries):

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, cut into 4-inch long and 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick fries
2 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (omitted since I did not have it)
Coarse ground rock salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
Place the sweet potatoes in a large bowl and toss with olive oil until the sweet potatoes are coated. Add the paprika, chili powder, coriander, salt, and pepper; toss to distribute evenly.
Arrange the coated fries in a single layer on the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes on the lower rack until the sweet potatoes soften. Transfer the pan to the upper rack of the oven and bake 10 minutes longer, until fries are crispy. Serve with Avocado Dip.

Avocado Dip

Ingredients:

1 avocado
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup cream cheese
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped.
2 scallions, white and light green part only, chopped (omitted b/c Jake doesn't like them)
1 lime, juiced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Place the avocado, mayonnaise, cream cheese, jalapeno, scallions, and lime juice into a blender or small food processor. (I just hand blended them w/ a potato masher)
Blend for 1 minute or until you have a smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Buffalo chicken fingers

2008-04-14T20:18:00.003-04:00

This recipe came from another blog "Ambers Delectable Delights". I believe she got the recipe from cooking light. These are so yummy. Jake loved them!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (used black since I don't have red)
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed cornflakes
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
Cooking spray
1/3 cup hot sauce (Franks Red Hot)
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup fat-free ranch dressing (We used blue cheese)
4 celery stalks, cut into 1/4 x 3-inch sticks (omitted...by accident....I bought them and forgot)
4 carrots, cut into 1/4 x 3-inch sticks (omitted, on purpose :-P)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk.
Place egg whites in a shallow dish.
Place cornflakes in a shallow dish.
Working with 1 chicken strip at a time, dredge in flour mixture. Dip in egg whites; dredge in cornflakes. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken strips, flour mixture, egg whites, and cornflakes.
Lightly coat chicken strips with cooking spray.
Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until done, turning once.
Combine hot sauce, pepper sauce, and Worcestershire in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter. Drizzle hot sauce mixture over chicken. Serve with ranch dressing, celery, and carrots.

Rosemary pork chops

2008-04-14T20:13:00.004-04:00

I really had high hopes for these. They were soo sooo easy to make, but I bombed with them. I put too much rosemary on them and it was just so overwhelming. I might try them again sometime with less rosemary.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat broiler.
Combine first 4 ingredients.
Rub the mixture over both sides of pork chops.
Place the pork chops on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Chicken Stroganoff

2008-04-14T20:00:00.004-04:00

I am on a healthy kick right now...well, I'm trying to be. So my new favorite recipe site is cookinglight.com. That is where I found this recipe. I was a little weary of it, but it came out pretty good! You can even make this into beef stroganoff if you just exchange the chicken broth for beef broth, and the chicken for beef!

Ingredients:

4 turkey-bacon slices (I used 8, and it didnt make any drippings, so I just used some cooking spray)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch strips (I cut them into chunks, not strips
1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 garlic cloves, minced (used 4)
1 (8-ounce) container reduced-fat sour cream (used fat free)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles
added mushrooms

Directions:

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp.
Remove bacon from pan; crumble.
Add onion and chicken to drippings in pan; sauté 6 minutes.
Add bacon, broth, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic; bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
Combine the sour cream and flour, stirring until smooth.
Add sour cream mixture to pan, and bring to a boil. (I added the broth to the sour cream so the sour cream would not be chunky...just stir in the broth a little at a time to the sour cream mixture then put it back into the pan)
Reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Serve over egg noodles.

Salsa, ole!

2008-03-30T17:50:00.002-04:00

One of the girls at work had her husband make salsa to bring in to a party. I couldn't stop eating it, it was so good. I asked her how they made it and she gave me the basic ingredients. While mine did not come out the same, it's still pretty darn good! I dont really have measurements because I had to keep adding stuff as I went along.

Ingredients:

4 roma tomatos
1 small onion
2 dried hot peppers
cilantro-chopped
Adobo
about 1T Red wine vinegar
1 can diced tomatoes
juice of 1 lime
2 drops of Daves Insanity hot sauce

Directions:

Roast the tomatoes at 350 for about 20-30 minutes. I put a little olive oil on them.
take the hot peppers and place them in a bowl, cover with water and microwave about 30 seconds. Set aside.
Put the roasted tomatoes, diced tomatoes, cilantro, vinegar, lime juice, and adobo into a food processor. Mix it all up in there.
Chop up the onion and mix in with the rest.
Add the hot sauce if desired.

Avocado Feta Salsa

2008-03-30T17:43:00.003-04:00

I was making Easter dinner this year and wanted to try a new appetizer. Well I saw this recipe randomly and decided to try it. It's really good, but next time I might put a little less feta.

Ingredients:

2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 ripe avocado - peeled, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 clove garlic, minced (I put like 4-5)
1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley (omitted)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (omitted)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
chopped cilantro- a bunch of it....

Directions:

In a bowl, gently stir together tomatoes, avocados, onion, and garlic. Mix in parsley and oregano (Cilantro). Gently stir in olive oil and vinegar. Then stir in feta. Cover, and chill for 2 to 6 hours.

Parmesean crusted Tilapia

2008-03-29T18:50:00.005-04:00

Jake and I went to BJ's today and bought some tilapia. I have never had tilapia before but heard it was a more mild fish. Well, Jake is out tonight with his friends so I decided to try and make this for myself. WOW! This is really good, he is missing out. I am definitely going to have to make this again. Now, I didnt really follow all the ingredients and measurements...so bear with me.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened (I used I can't believe its not butter spray)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise (used reduced fat mayo)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried basil (I used Dill instead)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon celery salt (I used regular salt)
2 pounds tilapia fillets (I used 2 filets...)
Panko flakes
a dash of Cayanne pepper
a dash of paprika
2 cloves minced garlic

Directions:

Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil(dill), pepper, onion powder and celery salt(regular salt), also add in the panko, cayenne, garlic and paprika. Mix well and set aside.
Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Golden Pork Chops

2008-03-29T18:42:00.003-04:00

I had pork chops I needed to use and wanted to do something different with them. I got this recipe from my favorite place, allrecipes.com. While the pork was "ok"...I dont think I'd make this again.

Ingredients:

6 pork chops
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed golden mushroom soup (I used 1 can golden and one can cream of mushroom)
a little bit of white wine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Rinse pork chops, pat dry and place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a separate small bowl, combine the onion, mushrooms and soup (and wine). Mix together well and sponn over the chops.
Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15 more minutes. (Note: Time could be less or more depending on the thickness of the chops.) Pork chops are done when their internal temperature has reached 160 degrees.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

2008-03-09T21:11:00.003-04:00

My mom had been asking me to try this recipe for a while. Yesterday she asked if Jake and I wanted to come over because she was having my cousin and her husband over. I said I would and that I'd make the cookies finally. YUM!! These are really good...but make sure you have a nice tall glass of milk to go with them. They are chocolatey!

Ingredients:

4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

In the microwave or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and the butter stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, whip eggs and sugar until thick and pale, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the vanilla and the chocolate mixture until well mixed.
Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually stir into the chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips.
Cover dough and chill for at least an hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Roll chilled dough into 1 inch balls. (the dough is very sticky. I used 2 spoons to pull it out an plop it on the pan) Place on ungreased cookie sheets so they are 2 inches apart.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes in the preheated oven. (mine cooked about 12-14 minutes) Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

**Note: When baking cookies, I like to place a cookie sheet on the lower oven rack under the rack where the cookies will go. This helps prevent burning the bottoms of your cookies.

Cornish Hens

2008-03-06T21:17:00.004-05:00

Well, I was going to try a new recipe but didn't have all the ingredients or the time, so I went with my tried and true whole chicken recipe. The hens have a very slight different taste than a chicken. I don't really have measurements on this one b/c I just throw stuff on it.

Ingredients:

2 cornish hens
dried dill
lemon pepper
salt
pepper
3 garlic cloves, sliced
garlic powder
onion powder
dried rosemary
3-4 medium sized red potatoes
butter spray or EVOO
1 small onion
water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
Place hens in a glass baking dish (I used a 13x9 pyrex)
spray with spray butter or sprinkle with EVOO
sprinkle on all herbs/spices. I use a lot of dill because it's my favorite
put garlic slices on hens
cut up potatoes into small pieces and place around the hens
slice onion and put around hens, also add slices of garlic
pour water into the dish, so as to almost cover the potatoes
sprinkle more dill/rosemary/salt/pepper onto potatoes
cook for about 1-2 hours, baste the hens a few times

French Dip Sandwiches

2008-03-02T20:17:00.007-05:00

This sandwich is fantabulous!!! Its a crock pot recipe and extremely easy. I got it from another recipe blog. Hope you enjoy as much as Jake and I did!

Ingredients:

1 3-lb chuck roast
1 can beef broth (I use fat free)
1 can water
1 package onion soup mix
rolls
I added baby bellas

Directions:

Trim excess fat from meat
In medium bowl, mix together the broth, water and soup mix
Place meat in crock pot
Pour soup mixture over meat
Put crockpot on low heat for 6-8 hours
I sliced up baby bellas and put them in after 6 hours and let them cook for about an hour
Once meat is done, take it out and place on a dish where you can pull the meat apart.
I toasted our rolls and also added a nice horseradish sauce

***This is sooo good. The horseradish sauce gives it a nice "zing". We also added a little salt and pepper on our own sandwiches per our taste.

chili

2008-03-02T20:09:00.003-05:00

I got this recipe from a friend who got it from allrecipes.com. I have tinkered with the recipe a bit (as usual). I love making this. Its so good and so easy.

Ingredients:

2 pounds lean ground beef (I used ground turkey usually)
1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I omit)
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (I omit)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin (I probably use a little more than what's called for)
1/4 cup chili powder
I add about 6-10 cloves of garlic (minced in chopper)

Directions:

Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.
I sautée the onion and garlic in some EVOO prior to doing the next step
In a large pot over high heat combine the ground beef, tomato juice, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, onions, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (Note: If using a slow cooker, set on low, add ingredients, and cook for 8 to 10 hours.)

***I top my own bowl with fat free shredded cheddar cheese. I also eat it with crumbled fat free saltines.

****The chili is somewhat liquidy, however it is much thicker the following day if you have leftovers....or if you cook it the day before to eat the next day.

Super easy chicken marsala

2008-02-10T19:27:00.000-05:00

I half followed a recipe on allrecipies.com to make this. I'm going to write it out how I did it (or to the best I can b/c I didnt measure)

Ingredients:

5 thin boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 t. oregano
2 T butter
2 T EVOO
1 pkg mushrooms; sliced
1 c. marsala wine

Directions:

In a ziploc bag, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and oregano.
place the chicken breasts in the bag and shake until they are coated.
In a large skillet, melt the butter and oil on medium heat
Place the chicken in the skillet and brown on each side
Add mushrooms and wine; cover and lower heat. Simmer until chicken is done.

Burgundy Pork Tenderloin

2008-02-08T20:49:00.000-05:00

This is one of the best pork dishes I've made. Another very simple recipe that is wonderful! I got this one from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 pounds pork tenderloin (mine was like 1 1/2 lbs)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped (I omitted this)
2 cups red wine
1 (.75 ounce) package dry brown gravy mix
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin (something i added to the recipe)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place pork in a 9x13 inch baking dish, and sprinkle meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Make slits in the meat, and slide the slices of garlic into them. Top with onion and celery, and pour wine over all.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
When done baking, remove meat from baking dish, and place on a serving platter. Pour gravy mix into baking dish with wine and cooking juices, and stir until thickened. Slice meat, and cover with the gravy.

The garlic I added inside the meat gave it a wonderful flavor. I made this with mashed potatoes. Excellent. The pork was very tender.

Sweet Mustard Chicken Bake

2008-02-08T20:45:00.001-05:00

I got this recipe from one of the women on "thenest". It's super easy and really good! I will definitely make this one again.

Ingredients:

boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 6)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup butter melted
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

preheat oven to 375
stir honey, mustard, and butter together and pour over seasoned chicken.
cover and bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is done

Maple Dijon Pork Chops

2008-02-08T20:36:00.001-05:00

Yum-O! I got this recipe from my friend Graces blog. I loved it. Jake thought it had too much of a "syrup" flavor. If I had real maple syrup instead of this crappy kind, I think it would have been better.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon butter
4 (4-ounce) boneless pork loin chops, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (I used some sugar free crappy syrup...)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage (I used dried sage)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (I used dried thyme)
2 teaspoons heavy cream (I used light cream)

Directions:

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Sprinkle pork chops evenly with salt and pepper; add pork to pan.
Cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
Remove from pan; keep warm.
Add broth and next 4 ingredients (through thyme) to pan.
Bring to a boil, and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Stir in cream, and reduce heat to medium.
Return pork to pan; simmer 3 minutes or until pork is done, turning once.

**I made this with brown rice. I also doubled the measurements for the gravy so we would have some for the rice.

Pepperoni Bread

2008-01-10T20:09:00.000-05:00

Sorry, no picture :(
A co-worker gave me this recipe on 12/31/07 so I figured, why not make it for new years eve!

Ingredients:

1/4 lb pepperoni
1/4 lb genoa salami
1/4 lb swiss cheese
1/4 lb provolone cheese
2 pkg crescent rolls
1 12 oz jar roasted peppers; drain and slice into thin strips (i didnt use this)
4 eggs
parmesean cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
grease a 9x13 pyrex dish
place 1 pkg rolls on bottom of dish, spread out into rectangle shape
layer cold cuts and top with peppers.
beat egg and cheese, pour over the cold cuts (reserve some to put on top layer)
place remaining package of rolls over the meat
brush with egg
cook about 40 minutes covered; then 20 minutes uncovered
let rest, then cut and serve

Chicken Parm

2008-01-10T19:28:00.001-05:00

I got this recipe from The Foodie Fashionistas blog. It is pretty tasty!

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
1-2 eggs
1/4 c breadcrumbs
1/4 c panko
fat free mozzerella
sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat egg in a large flat bowl. Mix breadcrumbs and panko together in second large flat bowl. Dip one chicken breast in the egg and then dredge through the breadcrumb mixture. Repeat for each chicken breast.
Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Spray each side of chicken cutlets lightly with cooking spray. "Fry" each cutlet on each side just until the breading starts to brown and crisp up slightly.
Place cutlets on a baking sheet and lightly spray with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through. Spray reverse side when you flip the cutlets. After 25 minutes, spread about 2 tablespoons sauce over each cutlet and sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over each. Bake until cheese is melted.

chocolate trifle

2008-01-09T21:00:00.000-05:00

I made this for dessert on Christmas. I didn't have my trifle bowl, so it went in that big bowl! This is extremely sweet, I really only had like 2-3 bites. I brought it to work the next day and people housed it...so I guess it was good!

Ingredients:

1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup water
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (1.5 ounce) bar chocolate candy (I skipped this)

Directions:

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and cool completely. Cut into 1 inch squares.
In a large bowl, combine pudding mix, water and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until smooth, then fold in 8 ounces whipped topping until no streaks remain.
In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish, place half of the brownies, half of the pudding mixture and half of the 12 ounce container of whipped topping. Repeat layers. Shave chocolate onto top layer for garnish. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

Annettes pork chops

2008-01-09T20:44:00.001-05:00

Annette, my mother in law, made these pork chops while we were out in Vegas visiting one year. They seemed really weird, but I gave them a shot...and boy are they good! I made them tonight for me Jake and Josh. We each had 2, they were so good!

Ingredients:

6 pork chops
1 1/2 jars salsa
around 4 t cumin (add more per your taste)
1 small can green chiles
1 1/2 bricks of fat free Philly cream cheese (or more/less depending on how much you like)
some shredded cheddar cheese (i used colby jack)

Directions

brown the pork chops on each side
while chops are browning, mix together the salsa, cumin and chiles.
once the chops are browned, pour salsa mixture over them, lower heat and cover
cook about 10 minutes, or until done
slice the cream cheese and lay on top of each chop
cover for another minute or two
sprinkle with cheddar cheese

Monas Meringues

2008-01-09T20:37:00.001-05:00

My friend Mona made these once for a little gathering at her house. They are so good, and so lite that you can eat like 5 of them!

Ingredients

4 egg whites (room temperature)
8 T Sugar
1 T Corn Starch
1 t Baking Powder
1 pint Whipping Cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 (yes, 250)
Beat egg whites really well until fluffy. Add two tablespoons of sugar per egg white. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of corn starch (strain it in) and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
Scoop about a tablespoon and a half onto the parchment paper and bake in the oven for 1.5-2 hours. For the last 30 minutes, reduce heat to 2:00 degrees. Cool down and test for gooey center..if too gooey, put back in the oven. Don't let them brown...they can be a tan-ish color...but you don't want them to brown
Whip whipping cream and add a little sugar to taste (a teaspoon or two). Top with fresh strawberries, blueberries or in-season fruit.

Christmas Appetizers

2008-01-09T20:17:00.001-05:00

Pita Trees

Ingredients:

4 flavored or plain pita folds or pita (pocket) breads (about 6” diameter)
16 thin pretzel sticks, halved
½ c. fat-free sour cream
½ c. guacamole (i made my own)
2 T finely chopped parsley
¼ t. garlic-pepper blend
¼ c. very finely chipped red bell pepper

Directions:

Cut each pita fold into 8 wedges. Insert pretzel stick half into center of bottom of each wedge to form “tree trunk”.
In a small bowl, mix sour cream, guacamole, parsley and garlic-pepper blend. Spread about 1 teaspoon of mixture on each pita wedge
Blot bell pepper with paper towel to remove excess moisture. Sprinkle about ½ teaspoon on each wedge or arrange to form a garland. If desired, cover a refrigerate up to 8 hours before serving.

*These were good, but I would leave the red pepper off (personal taste), they just made them look cute!

**For variety, use cilantro instead of parsley

Smoked Salmon Cheese cups

Ingredients:

1 package frozen mini fillo shells (15 shells)
3 oz. Chevre (goat) cheese, crumbled
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 oz smoked salmon, flaked
2 T shredded fresh parmesan cheese
1 T chopped fresh basil leaves
1 T whipping cream
¼ t. salt
1/8 t. fresh ground black pepper
2 T chopped pecans, toasted** (I did not use the pecans at all)

Directions:

Thaw fillo shells as directed on package. In medium bowl, mix all remaining ingredients except pecans until well mixed. Spoon into 1 quart resealable food storage plastic bag. Seal bag; cut ½ inch off 1 corner of bag.
To serve, pipe or spoon cheese salmon mixture into each cup. Sprinkle each with pecans.

*My personal opinion on these is that I did not like the shell...it was a weird texture. Next time, I would make this more as a spread for crackers. The filling was delicious

**To toast pecans, heat oven to 350. Spread pecans in ungreasesd shallow pan. Bake uncovered 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until light brown.

Chile-Lime Shrimp with Creamy Chipotle Dip

Ingredients:

2 limes
24 uncooked extra large deveined peeled shrimp with tail shells left on
2 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (I used 5-6 cloves)
½ t. crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 c. mayo
2 T honey mustard
1 large chipotle chile in adobo sauce (from 7 oz can) finely chopped
1 t. adobo sauce
1 T chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Reserve 1 lime for garnish. Grate 1 teaspoon peel from other lime. Cut lime in half; squeeze enough juice to measure 2 T. Set peel and juice aside.
Butterfly each shrimp by cutting along the outside curve through the fleshiest part for about 1 ½ inches, cutting almost to the inside curve. (I didnt do this because of time restraints, i left the shrimp regular) The shrimp should spread open.
In 1 gallon resealable food storage plastic bag, mix oil, garlic, pepper flakes, lime juice and grated lime peel. Shake lightly to mix. Add shrimp. Seal bag; rotate to coat all shrimp. Refrigerate 30-60 minutes to marinate. (I think mine marinated like 2 hours b/c I was working on other stuff)
Meanwhile, in small bowl mix mayo, honey mustard, chipotle chile and adobo sauce. cover; refrigerate until serving.
Heat oven to 400. Remove shrimp from marinade, place in 15x10x1inch baking pan. Open each shrimp, arranging in pan so that cut portion is on pan with tail tucked in. Discard marinade.
Bake 5-7 minutes, rearranging shrimp halfway through baking time, until they are pink. Place on serving platter; sprinkle with cilantro. Spoon dip into bowl. Cut reserved lime into wedges. Garnish dip with wedges. Serve shrimp with dip.

*These are soooo good. The chipolte dip is amazing. I highly recommend these shrimp!

Beef Stew and Mexican Cornbread

2007-11-24T17:42:00.000-05:00

Sorry, no pictures at the moment. I am having technical difficulties....

Beef Stew

I got this recipe off my friend Grace's blog . I finally brought my slow cooker home yesterday and got a chance to make this. SOOO good! The beef just falls apart, it's so tender!

Ingredients:

3 pounds cubed beef stew meat
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup baby carrots (I used 2 regular carrots and cut them up)
4 large potatoes, cubed (I used 3)
1 tablespoon dried parsley (didn't use this)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups boiling water
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
3 tablespoons butter
3 onions, sliced (I used 1 big onion, I think 3 onions may have been too much for our taste)
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions:

Place meat in a large plastic bag. (I didn't do all the meat at once, it was easier to cook that way)
Combine 1/4 cup flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt; pour into the bag with the meat, and shake to coat.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add stew meat, and cook until evenly browned on the outside.
Transfer to a slow cooker along with the carrots, potatoes, parsley, and pepper.
In a small bowl, stir together 2 cups of boiling water and dry soup mix; pour into the slow cooker.
In the same skillet, melt butter and saute onions until softened; remove to the slow cooker.
Pour red wine into the skillet, and stir to loosen browned bits of food on the bottom.
Remove from heat, and pour into the slow cooker.
Cover, and cook on High for 30 minutes.
Reduce heat to Low, and cook for 6 hours or until meat is fork tender.
In a small bowl or cup, mix together 2 tablespoons flour with 1/4 cup warm water.
Stir into stew, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until thickened.

Mexican Cornbread

This I got off my fav recipe site, allrecipes.com. I really wanted cornbread with the stew, and thought mexican cornbread might be good with it. While it came out really good, I think next time I'd just make regular cornbread with the stew (or just leave out the chilis)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, melted (I used 6 T.)
1 cup white sugar (I used 1/3 c.)
4 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn
1/2 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (didnt use this)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (used 1c of cheddar since i had a whole block of it)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar.
Beat in eggs one at a time.
Blend in cream corn, chiles, Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese.
In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.
Add flour mixture to corn mixture; stir until smooth.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into center of the pan comes out clean.

Buffalo chicken dip

2007-11-21T21:33:00.000-05:00

Jake and I love this dip. It can be found on the Frank's Red Hot website . We've made it a few times to bring to different events and it's always a crowd pleaser, that is if you like buffalo chicken!

Ingredients:

2 c. shredded chicken (I use the can of chicken, like a can of tuna...but its chicken)
1/2 c. blue cheese dressing
1/2 c. franks red hot
1/2 c. blue cheese crumbles
1 8oz package cream cheese (I use fat free)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
Place cream cheese in oven safe dish (the dish you will use for the dip). Place it in the microwave for 1 minute to soften.
Mix together the chicken, dressing, red hot, and blue cheese crumbles.
Mix this into the dish with the cream cheese
Bake 20 minutes or until everything is melted

I like to eat this with crackers (Sociables are my favorite)

Banana pudding (GF)

2007-11-21T21:28:00.001-05:00

This is the best picture I could get for some reason, sorry!

I believe this is the "Southern way" of making banana pudding. This is how my mom makes it and I love it.

Ingredients:

1 box (the small regular size) instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 c. milk
1 container cool whip, thawed
bananas (personal taste as to how many, I used four)
vanilla wafers (I used the gluten free ones I made, see post below) (Personal taste as to how many)

Directions:

Whisk together the pudding and milk
Stir in the cool whip
cut bananas into little slices into pudding
mix in vanilla wafers. Note: If using regular boxed vanilla wafers, leave as is. If using the GF recipe below, I broke them into smaller pieces.

Gluten Free vanilla wafers

2007-11-21T21:20:00.001-05:00

My brother has Celiac Disease, which means he cannot eat anything containing gluten. He loves banana pudding (which has vanilla wafers in it), so I made these instead of the boxed kind. They are pretty good...just kind of difficult to get off the baking sheet (hence the crumbling in the picture above)

Ingredients:

1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. shortening (I used I can't believe its not butter spray...just poured it in)
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1/8 t. salt
1 1/2 c. gluten free baking flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 T. water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325
Mix together first 6 ingredients
Sift in flour and baking poweder
Add the 1 T. water and mix
The batter is somewhat liquidy, so I just kind of pour spoonfuls on the baking sheet. I tried to do them in about 1 inch circles. The cookies spread out instead of up when baking.
Bake about 10-15 minutes or until the edges start browning.

A metal spatula might work better to get the cookies off the sheet.

Meatloaf

2007-11-21T18:53:00.001-05:00

Meatloaf...it's an interesting thing. Smush a bunch of beef together and put it in a loaf pan and cook. Whatever. Its good. I had a terrible craving for meatloaf with brown gravy...so I made some. It's not the best meatloaf, and I will probably try to make it different next time, but it was edible!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (or whatever meat you want to use)
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 egg (I used egg beaters)
3/4 c. italian bread crumbs
1/4 c. worchestershire sauce
1/4 c. ketchup
salt
pepper
garlic powder

Gravy:

1 c. mushrooms, cut
about 2 Tbl onion, chopped
1 c beef broth
butter
water
corn starch

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
mix together all the ingredients for the loaf.
Put it into a loaf pan
place loaf in oven on top of a cookie sheet (so the bottom doesn't burn)
Cook until the juices don't run red

Gravy:

heat butter in saucepan
mix in mushrooms and onions
cook until tender
add beef broth and let simmer for 5 minutes
mix together water and cornstarch
add this to the beef broth mixture to thicken gravy.

Stuffed mushrooms

2007-11-18T21:56:00.000-05:00

I love mushrooms, as long as they're cooked. This is my parents recipe, kind of altered.

Ingredients:

mushrooms
breadcrumbs
shredded cheese (this time I used asiago...sometimes I use parmegian)
minced garlic or garlic powder
italian seasonings
butter or olive oil

Directions:

wash the mushrooms
pop the stem out and scrape some of the insides out (put aside in bowl)
take the stems and chop them up (i use my mini chopper)
put them in a bowl and add breadcrumbs, garlic, seasonings and cheese.
in a skillet, put a little butter or olive oil. Do this over medium heat.
put the breadcrumb mixture in skillet and cook until it becomes a little gummy.
Place the mushroom caps upside down on a cookie sheet and fill with the stuffing.
Cook at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Chocolate Mexican Wedding Cookies

2007-11-18T21:42:00.001-05:00

These were not my choice to make. I asked someone at work what kind of cookie they wanted and this is what they came up with. These cookies have pecans in them, and i hate any kind of nut in my baked cookies....but I complied and made them anyway :) They are a little dry, and kind of sweet at the same time. Because of my not liking nuts in food, I don't like them much....but if you're a fan of nuts, you might enjoy them!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup ground pecans (I bought chopped pecans and smushed them up with my rolling pin)
1/2 cup German sweet chocolate, grated (I used semi-sweet chocolate)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup German sweet chocolate, grated (again, semi sweet)

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream the butter and 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, ground pecans, 1/2 cup ground chocolate, cinnamon and salt; mix well.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill 1 to 2 hours, or until firm.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies are firm to the touch. Cool 1 minute on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack.

For the coating, sift 1/2 cup of the confectioner's sugar and 1/4 cup of the ground cocoa into a shallow bowl. While cookies are still warm, roll them in the coating.

Easy Lemon Cookies

2007-11-18T21:27:00.000-05:00

I was looking for a certain lemon cookie that I like but have no idea what the name of it is. I couldn't figure it out and I came across these and decided to try them. They are similar to the chocolate crinkle cookies I have posted below, but with lemon instead. You can actually use any flavor cake mix to make these. They are very easy and very yummy.

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon extract (I used lemon juice)
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, and lemon extract until well blended. I wrapped my dough in wax paper and put it in the freezer for about an hour, it makes it much easier to handle...not as sticky). Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into a bowl of confectioners' sugar. Roll them around until they're lightly covered. Once sugared, put them on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 6 to 9 minutes in the preheated oven. The bottoms will be light brown, and the insides chewy. (9 minutes really is all you need. I couldn't tell mine were done and i burned the bottoms pretty bad. 9 minutes is DEFINITELY enough)

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

2007-11-17T20:24:00.000-05:00

A fellow knottie (Becky) posted this recipe the other day and it sounded so good. I decided to try it today, and I was correct! It is yummy!!

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil (or butter)
4 cloves garlic, minced (I used about 6-7)
3/4 c. dry Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Various Italian seasonings to taste
8 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, pounded thin (I used 6)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Heat olive oil in saucepan over low heat and cook garlic until tender (I sauteed it in the EVOO, but then added about 1/2 cup of I can't believe its not butter spray (just pour it in) to make a garlic butter)
In a shallow bowl, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan and cheddar cheese, and seasonings
Dip each chicken breast in garlic butter to coat then press into breadcrumb mixture
Put thin layer of breadcrumb mixture on the bottom of 9" x 13" baking dish, then arrange chicken breasts in dish
Drizzle with remaining oil and top with any remaining breadcrumb mixture
Bake 30 mins. or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear
For the last couple minutes, I sprinkle cheddar and parmesan cheese on to the top of the chicken and then turn on the broiler to make the top of the dish crispy/browned (I didn't broil, I just put it back in to melt the cheese)

Porcini, Caramelized Onion and Sage Risotto

2007-11-17T20:17:00.001-05:00

I really wanted to try making risotto since I had never made it before. I came across this recipe on the William Sonoma website. It's pretty good! It's kind of a pain to make, but worth it! WARNING: This recipe makes way more than enough for 2 people....It makes like 6-8 servings....so if it's just 1 or 2 of you, cut it down in size.

Ingredients:

3/4 oz. dried porcini mushrooms (i only had 1/2 oz and i think it was fine)
1 cup hot water
5 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (i used chicken)
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 yellow onions, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise
2 cups Arborio or medium-grain rice
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh sage or 1 tsp. dried
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (I used asiago since thats what i had)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Fresh sage leaves for garnish (didnt use this)

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the mushrooms and hot water.
Soak for 30 minutes to soften.
Drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid, and chop the mushrooms.

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the stock to a simmer.
Reduce the heat to low and keep the liquid hot.

In another heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the olive oil.
Add the onions and sauté, stirring frequently, until brown, about 10 minutes.
Add the rice and mushrooms and stir until a white dot appears in the center of the grains, about 1 minute.
Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed, about 2 minutes.

Add the chopped sage, reserved mushroom soaking liquid (discarding any sediment at the bottom) and 3/4 cup of the stock.
Adjust the heat under the rice to a simmer, if needed, so that the liquid bubbles and is absorbed slowly.
Stir until the liquid is absorbed.
Continue cooking, adding the liquid 3/4 cup at a time and stirring almost constantly, until the rice starts to soften, about 10 minutes.
Continue cooking, adding the liquid 1/2 cup at a time and stirring almost constantly, until the rice is just tender to the bite but slightly firm in the center and looks creamy, about 10 minutes more.

Add the cheese and season with salt and pepper. Stir to mix well.

To serve, spoon the risotto into a shallow serving bowl. Garnish with the sage leaves. Serves 6.

4 layer dip

2007-11-15T19:33:00.000-05:00

No picture, sorry!
A co-worker made this dip lastweek and I couldn't stop eating it...so I asked him how it was made. It can't get much easier than this:

Layer 1: mix together sour cream and a packet of taco seasoning (i used almost 2 large sized reduced fat sour cream containers)
Layer 2: sliced olives. I used to tiny cans....obviously drain them first!
Layer 3: Medium salsa
Layer 4: cheese. I used mexican cheese (the shredded bag of taco type cheese)

And VOILA! you're done! So easy, and soooo addicting....seriously...I'm warning you!

Mac and Cheese Lorraine

2007-11-14T19:27:00.000-05:00

This came from the new Rachael Ray cookbook "Just in Time". I really liked it! Of course I changed some things up and will make note.

Ingredients:

salt
1 lb gemelli pasta (or whatever pasta you want)
1/2 lb bacon, chopped
1 TBL EVOO
2 onions, quartered and thinly sliced (I only used 1 onion and chopped it into tiny pieces)
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 TBL butter
2 TBL all purpose flour
1 c. chicken stock
1 c. whole milk (I used skim milk)
black pepper
2 cups shredded Gruyere (I used 1 c. Gruyere and 1 c. cheddar)
nutmeg, to taste (i skipped the nutmeg)
1 rounded TBL dijon mustard

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water, add pasta and cook al dente. Drain
Cook the bacon in the EVOO in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. When crisp remove to a paper-towel-lined plate. Drain out all but 2-3 TBL of the fat. Add the onions and cook about 10 minutes, or until they begin to caramelize. Add the wine and cook for another minute.
While the onions cook, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour (when i did this it just kind of lumped together...) Cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the stock and milk and bring to a bubble. Cook for a few minutes to thicken, then season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese, then add the nutmeg, mustard, and salt and pepper.
Toss the pasta with the onions, then stir in the cheese sauce. Top each serving with some of the crispy bacon.

Sausage mushroom ragu and rigatoni

2007-11-13T19:58:00.001-05:00

This came from the Rachael Ray magazine. Overall I'm not that thrilled with it and will probably not make it again. It was too watery for my liking. My regular sauce is better than this, in my opinion. Anyways, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

salt
1 lb rigatoni pasta
2 Tbl EVOO
1 1/2 lbs bulk italian sausage
4 portobello mushroom caps, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
pepper
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cups beef broth
5 sprigs sage, leaves stripped and thinly sliced
1 cup grated pecorino-romano cheese, plus more to pass around the table

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain
While the pasta is working, in a large, deep skillet, heat 1 Tbl EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat until rippling. Add the sausage, crumbling with a wooden spoon and cook until browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.
Wipe out the skillet and add the remaining 1 Tbl EVOO, 1 turn of the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook over medium heat until softened. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened. Season with pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, beef broth, and sage. Stir in the sausage. Lower the heat and gently simmer the sauce for 10 minutes.
To serve, toss the pasta with 2 cups ragu and 1 cup cheese.

Chocolate Crunch Strawberries

2007-11-12T18:07:00.001-05:00

Chocolate covered strawberries are one of my favorite things to make. They are a real crowd pleaser too! On occasions such as birthdays at work, I like to bring these in. They are simple and yummy! My friend Kevin brought them in to work one day and he had made them with Crunch bar. WOW! The crunch just makes them that much better. I'm usually a dark chocolate girl, but these are great. Here are the very easy instructions on how to make them:

I usually buy 2 things of strawberries (I think they are 1 lb each). If using the crunch bar, you need 2 of the giant ones, and possibly a 3rd.

I use a sort of "double boiler". I put about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom pot, place the pot of chocolate on top of that one, and put it over medium to medium high heat. Try not to let the steam out. Put the chocolate in the top pot and stir around until its all melted. Once melted, you can turn the heat down.

Wash your strawberries. Make sure they are dry before dipping. Smear the strawberry around in the chocolate and then place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Once the cookie sheet is full (or you've run out of strawberries), I place them in the freezer for about 5 minutes to harden, then move them to the fridge.

That's it! It's as simple as that. Enjoy your delicious treat!

Apple Dumplings

2007-11-11T21:32:00.001-05:00

I got this recipe from Rachel Rays magazine. It is a recipe from Angela Kinsey (from The Office). It is her grandmas recipe. They came out really good!

Ingredients:

flour, for dusting
1 can crescent rolls
1 granny smith apple- peeled, cored, and cut into 8 wedges.
1 stick butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup mountain dew

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Ona surface dusted with flour, unfold the rolls. Place an apple wedge on the wide edge of each piece of dough and roll up; place the dumplings in an 8-inch square baking dish
In a saucepan, melt the butter with the sugar and cinnamon over medium heat; stir in the mountain dew. Pour the mixture on the dumplings. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes; remove the foil and bake 15 minutes longer.

I served mine with low fat vanilla frozen yogurt. These are so easy and so yummy!!

Cheeseburger pie

2007-11-11T21:11:00.000-05:00

A friend at work gave me this recipe. Jake was very excited to hear about it. I decided to make it tonight and glad I did. It's very tasty! I will write out the recipe as written and note the differences next to the things I changed.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 4oz can chopped mushrooms, drained (I used fresh mushrooms)
1/2 cup snipped parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 packages crescent rolls (8 rolls each)
3 eggs
6 slices American cheese (I used cheddar)
1 tablespoon water

Directions

cook ground beef and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender; drain off fat
stir in tomato sauce, mushrooms, parsley, salt, oregano, and pepper
unroll one package of crescent rolls and place them in a lightly greased 9 inch pie plate; pressing edges together to form a pie shell
Separate one of the eggs; set yolk aside
Beat egg white with the remaining 2 eggs
Pour 1/2 the beaten egg over the pie shell
Spoon meat mixture into shell
Arrange the cheese on top of meat; spread with remaining beaten egg
Mix reserved egg yolk with water; lightly brush some over edge of pastry. Reserve remaining yolk mixture.
Unroll second package of crescent rolls, form a top on the pie.
Seal edges, cut slits in the top for steam to escape. Brush top with remaining yolk.
Loosely cover the edge w/ tin foil.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Cover center of pie loosely with foil.
Bake for 20 minutes longer.
Let stand for 10 minutes. (Make sure you let it stand, otherwise its too watery)

Chicken Ala Beth....

2007-10-28T22:16:00.001-04:00

I don't really know what to call this, as I just kind of made it up as I went along. It wasn't the greatest thing I've made...but it wasn't bad either. I got the thumbs up from Jake. I'm not really sure on measurements, so I'll write what I put in it and guesstimate as I go along.

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in half (to make 2 thinner pieces)
dill
flour
lemon pepper
2 lemons
mushrooms
onion
white wine
egg
garlic
butter (i use i cant believe its not butter spray--0 calories)
vegetable oil

Ok, so I had to defrost the chicken, so while that was going on I chopped the mushrooms, onions and garlic then set them aside.

Once the chicken was defrosted, I cut them in half to make 6 thin pieces of chicken.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, dill, and lemon pepper. Scramble 1-2 eggs in a separate bowl. Take each piece of chicken and put it in the egg, then the flour mixture, then back in egg and back in flour mixture.

In a deep skillet, melt the butter on medium heat. After dipping the chicken in the egg/flour, brown each side it in the skillet. You may want to add some vegetable oil. I did this b/c my butter kept drying up fast. I ended up cooking the chicken all the way and then taking it out of the skillet and setting it aside.

In the same skillet, add the wine. After all was said and done, I probably had about 2 cups in there. Then I added the juice of 2 lemons. I let this simmer for a while

In a separate skillet, I sauteed the mushrooms, onions and garlic in some butter. Once they were sauteed to my liking, I added them to the wine mixture.

Once everything was added together, I put the chicken back in the skillet. I let it simmer for about 1/2 hour.

My problem was that every time I tasted it, it was either too lemony or too winey. I settled with a tad bit too winey. I made brown rice with it and drizzled some of the wine sauce over the rice. All in all it wasn't bad....but like I said, not one of my best.

Dijon-Tarragon Chicken

2007-10-25T20:13:00.001-04:00

I needed help coming up with what to make for dinner tonight, so I asked my "email clan". Grace sent me this recipe and said she was making it tonight...so I sent it to Jake and he approved. I have never used tarragon before so I wasn't sure what to expect. (ok, I used it once, but it wasn't fresh and I didn't use a lot). Upon opening the package of fresh tarragon, I wasn't sure that I was really going to like this. It had kind of a funky smell. I continued on with it anyway. This dish is really good, however, I don't think I'm a huge fan of tarragon, so maybe I will use dill next time. I am listing the recipe how I did it. I tripled the stuff in the "gravy" because Jake and I like extra to put on our rice or potatoes....or whatever we're having with dinner. So, here ya go!

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup light cream
3 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
3 cloves garlic minced
flour (to coat chicken)

DIRECTIONS

Melt the butter and heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Mix together flour, salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, and place in the skillet. Brown on both sides. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and continue cooking 15 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. Set aside and keep warm.
Put minced garlic in the pan and sautee a bit. Stir cream into the pan, scraping up brown bits. Mix in mustard and tarragon. Cook and stir 5 minutes, or until thickened. Return chicken to skillet to coat with sauce. Drizzle chicken with remaining sauce to serve.

Tonight I made fresh string beans and brown rice to go with the chicken. The extra sauce went great on the rice.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

2007-10-24T18:11:00.001-04:00

So I had made these once before to bring to a family function. My cousins husband goes on to tell me how these are his favorite cookies...so I'm like, oh man, I hope I didn't ruin them! Well....I did. I don't know what I did because I had followed the recipe to the T. Anyways, I've tried again with a different recipe and they came out awesome! Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. I like to use a number 50 size scoop. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Cheesy garlicy chicken

2007-10-17T21:14:00.001-04:00

Tonights concoction came from allrecipes.com (surprise, surprise). As usual, I changed the recipe around a little. Jake really liked this dish. I was slightly disappointed with it. The cheeses seemed to seep out of it (as you can see in the picture), instead of staying inside the chicken. At any rate, I will make this again. And here is what I did:

oil, for greasing pan
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 tub of garlic and herb cream cheese spread
1 block of cheddar cheese; cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put a little oil (i used olive oil) on the bottom of the baking pan you will be using.
Butterfly each breast, cutting almost but not completely through. Smear in a layer of the cream cheese and place a slice of the cheddar in, the close the chicken up.
Pour milk into a bowl. In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs and Romano cheese. Dip each piece of chicken in the milk, then coat in the breadcrumb mixture. Place in a single layer in the pre-oiled baking pan.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in lemon juice and garlic, and drizzle evenly over chicken.
Bake until chicken is done.

In error, I cooked the chicken and THEN put the butter mixture on afterwards....I thought it was fine that way. I also made mashed potatoes and put the butter mixture on those. mmm.

Shrimp Scampi

2007-10-15T22:05:00.001-04:00

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. I did, however, tweak it a little and will post to how I made it.

What you need:
1/2 cup butter
1 lb cooked shrimp (de-veined/de-shelled)
8 cloves garlic- minced (more or less depending on your taste)
3/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup chicken broth
pinch of red pepper flakes
Whatever pasta you enjoy (I used linguine)

Melt the butter in a pan on medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add in the shrimp and the garlic. Heat this for about 5 minutes, then add the wine and chicken broth. Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes while stirring occasionally. Add in a dash of red pepper flakes and you're done! I put it over pasta as I liked. I don't mix the whole batch into pasta because some people may like more or less sauce.

Enjoy!