Casual.Concoctions

Slow Cooked BBQ Ribs

2010-08-23T09:21:00.004-08:00

A few posts ago I stated the while visiting my Grandma I snagged some recipes from her vast collection. I also stated that I've been trying to make an effort to make recipes from paper (cookbooks, cards, magazines) vs. relying solely on the internet. I'm glad that I didn't pass this recipe up.

I'd never made ribs in the slow cooker and had always wanted to try. I love the juicy, meaty ribs that just fall off the bone. What better way to achieve ultimate soft chewy meat than in a slow cooker? There is none.

What I ended up doing is mixing the sauce and cutting the ribs in advance, letting them sit in the slow cooker dish overnight (refrigerated) and then in the morning just took them out, and cooked them! It was a terrific time saver for me, and by allowing the ribs to soak in the BBQ sauce all night, I feel it probably took in a lot of the flavor.

So, here is the recipe, I hope you enjoy! These were a little more sweet and not so smoky/spicy, for those who have a preference.

4 lbs bone in beef ribs

2 tsp salt

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup apple butter

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tbsp steak sauce

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Cut ribs to fit into slow cooker dish. Sprinkle ribs with salt.

Mix remaining ingredients. Pour 1/2 mixture in slow cooker pot, place ribs in pot, and pour remaining sauce over ribs. Cook on high for 5-6 hours.

Cinnamon Rolls

2010-08-23T07:21:00.002-08:00

I really, really thought this was going to be a flop, and that was such a disappointment. Peyton was coming home after a week in the field, and I knew that he would probably love nothing more than a chewy delicious cinnamon roll to come home to. So I got up early, I prepared the dough and timed it just right so that they'd be coming out of the oven when he walked in the door.

Well, after an hour of letting it rise, I went to check on the dough.

Nothing. No rise at all. The dough was the exact same shape as it had been an hour before. I was so bummed! I was sure that it was a flop and that I'd somehow killed the yeast. I set the dough aside to throw it away later, and instead when Peyton came home we went out for lunch.

Fast forward to coming home after lunch. Lo and behold, the dough had risen!! Okay, so it took about 4 hours, but it rose! I prepared the rest of the recipe, except for putting them in the oven. I put them in the fridge overnight to make for breakfast the next day.

Anyway, these made Peyton grunt all sorts of "nom nom nom" noises when he ate them the next morning. They are pretty dang good.

Original recipe here, mine is below.

Dough:

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees f)

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup butter, melted

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup white sugar

1 small pack quick rise yeast

Filling:

1 cup brown sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, melted

Icing:

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/12 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

In a stand mixer bowl, mix together milk, sugar and yeast, let the sugar dissolve and then let stand until slightly foamy on top. With the dough hook attached to stand mixer, add in the remaining ingredients and mix until dough forms a ball. Let process (knead) for about 5 minutes, then take dough ball out and knead by hand for about 5 minutes. Place dough ball back into stand mixer bowl, cover and let sit in a warm place for 1-4 hours (or until dough has doubled in size).

After dough has doubled in size, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Roll dough out to a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over one side of dough and then sprinkle with brown sugar/cinnamon. Roll dough (using the shorter end) and slice into 12 equal pieces. Place into 13x9 inch baking pan. At this point, either refrigerate overnight, or cover and let sit for an additional 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400. Bake rolls for 20 minutes. Take rolls from oven and immediately flip the rolls onto another pan, coating with brown sugar sauce.

Beat together icing ingredients and spread over rolls. Enjoy!

Peppermint Patty Brownies

2010-08-23T07:12:00.002-08:00

I don't know how it happened, but I started to crave peppermint patties and brownies the other day. At the same time. Really, really bad for me, right?? So of course I did the most efficient thing... And combined the two.

These were rich, chewy, sweet and so decadent. Really, it didn't take more than a few bites for me to be satisfied.

I don't have much to say about them, because I believe the thought of combining peppermint patties and brownies together says it all.

Ingredients:

Box of brownie mix (and all the ingredients the mix calls for on box)

Bag of small peppermint patties

Chocolate frosting (optional but recommended)

Preheat oven according to brownie mix box.

Mix together brownie mix as box states.

Pour 2/3'ds of the batter into prepared (greased) pan.

Place a single layer of peppermint patties on top of batter.

Cover with remaining batter and spread batter evenly over patties.

Bake as directed on box.

After brownies have cooled, frost with chocolate frosting.

Spicy Caramel Popcorn

2010-08-21T17:02:00.002-08:00

Fun fact: I love popcorn.

Not just any, out of the microwave bag, in the greasy movie tub popcorn, but real, homemade yumminess. There is a different flavor to the stuff that gets popped fresh, right in front of your eyes, and then magical things are added to it to make your mouth water.

There is a farmers market in Fairbanks, Alaska that I love. I love it for many different reasons, but one thing I always look forward to is going and getting a bag of fresh kettle corn. I could munch on that for days... weeks even!

Anyway, back to this good stuff. I saw this recipe, and it struck my fancy (for obvious reasons, stated above). Not only that, but the picture was so dang catchy. She has beautiful photography, if I do say. It didn't look that hard, and I remember my mom making caramel corn a few times when we were kids. I went out today and bought a bag of kernels and went my merry way.

Oh. Em. Gee. (with a squeal added on to the end of that)! This was spectacular. At first, you take a bite, and you get the satisfying crunch of real caramel corn, the kind that's coated perfectly and has the ultimate candy layer. Then you chew, and chew, and chew, and swallow....? Where's the spicy in that??

Oh wait. There it is. The spicy hit me after the chew and swallow. It set my mouth on a right on the line fire. In all honesty, I'm glad I didn't add more cayenne. This was perfect.

Try it. It won't last long.

Original recipe here.

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup popping kernels

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (use more or less depending upon spicy preference)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tblsp. unsalted butter

1/2 tblsp. salt

With nonstick cooking spray, lightly coat 2 spatulas, 2 baking sheets and one large bowl. Do this before anything else!

Stir/whisk together cayenne pepper and baking soda in small bowl. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat sugar, butter, salt and 1/2 cup water over high heat. Do not stir. Cook this until it becomes a golden-yellow (caramel) color.

While your sugar/butter/salt/water is cooking, do the following:

In a large saucepan/pot (that has a lid) heat up vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add popping kernels, place lid over top, and make sure to keep saucepan moving. The kernels will take about 5 minutes to pop. Transfer popcorn to bowl that had nonstick spray.

After your sugar (caramel) mixture is golden-yellow, remove from heat and immediately whisk in cayenne pepper mix. Do this carefully, as it will bubble. After everything is mixed together, pour over popcorn quickly and start tossing popcorn/carmel with spatulas, as though you were mixing a salad. Do this fast!

After popcorn is coated in bowl, transfer 1/2 of mixture to each baking sheet. Use your fingers or a spatula to break apart pieces of caramel corn. Let cool, and store in airtight container (or eat!).

Pizza Buns

2010-08-21T09:16:00.004-08:00

This is another recipe I found, made and froze for Peyton while I was out of town. He never got around to eating them (sigh. I worked so hard to make all this delicious food for him while I'm gone, and it was all to no avail), so while playing board games the other night and eating some (really healthy... HA!) key lime pie we decided we should also probably have a "real" dinner. I pulled these from the freezer, popped them in the oven and presto!! They were very good and fun to eat! It was like a cinnamon bun, except with a pizza middle.

The only thing I wish I hadn't done, was make the dough so THICK! I should have tried roll it out a bit thinner, because the dough to filling ratio was off a bit. My other advice, use a GOOD red sauce to dip in! I used the el cheapo kind, and it sorted tasted like, well, cheap pizza sauce. No bueno.

You really can use any of your favorite pizza toppings for the fillings, whether it's traditional pepperoni, canadian bacon and pineapple, or twist it up with some carmelized pear, onion and gorgonzola!

Original recipe found here.

Dough:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 package quick rising yeast

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1/2-2/3 cups hot water

2 tsp olive oil

Combine flour, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of stand mixer. Attach dough hook to mixer.

Combine hot water and oil in measuring cup. While the stand mixer is running, slowly add water/oil to bowl, until the dough forms a sticky ball. Make sure it is neither too dry and hard, nor TOO sticky. Continue mixing the ball for about 1 minute.

Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough sit for 20 minutes.

Filling (I won't measure this out for you, because to each their own on amounts)

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Mini pepperoni slices

Sliced black olives

Chopped onion

Garlic powder

Italian seasoning

1 egg, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rectangle (my advice, the longer and thinner, the better!)

Scatter cheese, pepperoni, olive, onion, garlic powder and italian seasoning over the dough to taste. Brush one long side of dough with the egg wash at the edge, and roll the opposite long side into a log, enclosing in the filling. Shape dough however you feel. Original recipe said in pretzel shape, I formed mine into a bun/roll shape.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Balsamic Garlic Chicken Breasts

2010-08-17T06:19:00.002-08:00

I saw this recipe in my July 2010 issue of Southern Living magazine. It looked like something Peyton and I would both enjoy, I'm a garlic fanatic, and he loves balsamic anything. So, how perfect was this?

We were thisclose to ordering pizza last night, it's just been one of those weeks. Between traveling, family issues, we currently have 5 dogs in our house, it's been hard to get back into the swing of eating at home and eating healthy. I whipped out this recipe hoping that it was truly as easy to prepare as it sounded. Luckily, I was right.

It was good, simple to prepare, and helped me to not order pizza. So, three bonus points for this recipe!

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tbsp. buttr

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp. lemon juice

3 chopped garlic cloves

1 1/2 tsp. honey

Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 6-7 minutes on each side until done. Remove chicken and keep warm.

Add chicken broth, and remaining ingredients to skillet, and cook 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. Serve chicken with sauce.

Spicy Chicken & Basil Stir Fry

2010-08-17T06:03:00.003-08:00

The first year that Peyton and I were married, he bought me a beautiful Williams Sonoma cookbook. I have to admit, he's made more out of it than I have.

Not that it all didn't look beyond appetizing, more so, it all looked so daunting. Flipping through the pages two years ago, I couldn't recognize techniques, ingredients, I didn't have the tools to complete the recipe. The cookbook has gone largely unnoticed, up until now.

I pulled out the cookbook the other day, because I have decided to try and start using my cookbooks and recipe cards as well as the internet for recipes. Flipping through this one again, I started realizing that 90% of the recipes in it I could make. It made me happy for a few different reasons. One, I could finally try and recreate the beautiful food in the pictures. Two, and more importantly, I believe it shows how I've evolved as a baker/cook. I found great delight in this!

Now, as for the recipe. I picked this because it kind of sounded like something that I always get at The Thai House in Fairbanks, Alaska. Since I am now no where near Alaska, and I crave this dish quite often, I was hoping this could be a sub-in.

I was right. This tasted almost EXACTLY like the Thai Basil Chicken dish I get at The Thai House. YAY for me!

Alright, getting on with it. The only thing I would have changed is to perhaps double the sauce.

Ingredients:

6 tbsp. chicken stock/broth

2 tbsp. fish sauce

2 tsp. light brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cornstarch

2 tbsp. canola oil

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

1 small zucchini, trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut into 8 pieces

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and cut into small pieces

2 cloves minced garlic

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces (thinly sliced)

3/4 cup chopped fresh basil (if you can find Thai basil, that's the best!)

3 green onions, chopped into 3 inch long pieces

In a small bowl, whisk together chicken stock/broth, fish sauce, and brown sugar. Add the corn starch and whisk until cornstarch and sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

In large frying pan (or a wok) heat the oil over high heat. Add the bell peppers and zucchini and stir fry for 1 minute. Add jalapeno to taste and the garlic and stir fry until fragrant, about 20-30 seconds. Add the chicken and stir fry until chicken is cooked through. Stir in basil and green onions and stir-fry until the green onions are barely wilted. Whisk the sauce mixture in bowl again and pour into pan. Cook until liquid comes to a boil. Serve.

I served this over brown rice, the easiest for me is to buy a bag of the 90 second microwave cook brown rice.

Tuxedo Chip Cookies

2010-08-17T05:54:00.003-08:00

I always seem to have a craving to bake. Correction... I always seem to have a craving to eat baked goods. Sure, you can go to the store and spend $4 on a pre-made pie, or a slice of cake, or a giant sugar cookie... But for whatever reason, homemade is always so much better, don't you agree?

I recently baked a whole ton of goodies to send off to friends, and the remaining leftovers of that day in the kitchen was a half bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and a half bag of white chocolate chips.

WHAT was a girl to do?

Make cookies, of course.

If you've never tried the most ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe ever you must. All you need to do is go and purchase a bag of Nestle chocolate morsels. It's on the back. I've been using this cookie recipe for as long as I can remember making cookies, and I have yet to find a recipe that beats it.

You can also find it online here. I changed it just a tiny bit to include the white chocolate chips as well.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup butter (softened)

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.

In small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In stand mixer (or in a bowl with hand mixer) beat butter, white & brown sugar and vanilla until creamy and well combined. Add eggs, one a time, mixing well after adding each. Slowly stir in flour mixture until combined. Hand stir in chocolate and white chocolate chips.

Drop onto cookie sheets by rounded tablespoon & bake for 9-11 minutes.

We froze our cookies, and I must say, that eating a frozen cookie is really, really delicious.

Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork

2010-08-14T06:15:00.002-08:00

So, I recently went to Kentucky to visit my Grandma and Dad. While I was there, my grandma made tons of really great food. She always was one of my favorite cooks. There is something about being at someone else's house, and seeing what they make, and getting new ideas to take home. I brought home quite a few recipe cards from her, and I'm so excited to make everything!

One of the things we had while I was there was this recipe. It was really, really yummy. In fact, I think I went back and picked at the pork the entire night. She had a great idea and served the cranberry gravy over mashed potatoes.

So, here is a big thank you to my Grandma for this recipe, and all the other food you made while I was there!!

For this recipe you will need:

1 boneless pork loin roll

1 (16oz) can jellied cranberry sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cranberry juice (you can substitute this with water)

1 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

salt to taste

Place pork roll in slow cooker. In small bowl, mash together cranberry jelly, sugar, cranberry juice (or water), dry mustard and ground cloves. Pour over pork roll. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

When cooking is complete, remove pork roll from slow cooker and keep warm. Skim fat from juice in slow cooker. Take 2 cups of juices and place into medium saucepan. If you do not have 2 cups of juices, add water. Bring to boil over medium heat. In small bowl, mix together cornstarch and water to make a paste. Pour into saucepan, and stir until thickened. Slice the pork and serve the cranberry gravy over the pork.

Lasagna

2010-08-14T06:01:00.003-08:00

I've made lasagna before, but in all honesty, the sauce always came from a jar (I know, I know!). I've been wanting to make a red sauce for a long time, but I always figured it was so time consuming and well, I never really found the time.

Luckily for me, Peyton was gone for the week, and when he returned I would be leaving. So, I prepared some meals for him that could freeze and then take out and bake. One of the meals I found to make for him was Lasagna. Funny enough, when talking to my Dad about this recipe, he said that he found the exact same one online and that it was the best sauce he had ever tasted. I have to agree with him. Really, look no further if you want to make an excellent red sauce.

In the end, Peyton ended up meeting up with me for a trip back home, so this lasagna sat in the freezer until we returned home. I'm secretly glad that I got to enjoy it too, because it was THAT good.

Original recipe can be found here, my version is below.

2 pounds ground turkey

1/2 cup minced onion

2 cloves crushed garlic

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

2 (12 oz) cans tomato paste

2 (6.5 oz) cans tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves

1 tsp italian seasoning

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

4 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

9 lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)

16 oz. low fat ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 pound low fat shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

In large saucepan cook ground turkey, onion, garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water. Add sugar, basil, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons dried parsley. Cover and simmer.

While sauce is simmering, bring to boil a large pot of water. Cook lasagna noodles as directed on package. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a small bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, egg and 1/2 tsp salt and remaining parsley.

Layer in 9x13 inch baking dish as follows:

1/3 amount of meat sauce

3 noodles, one next to the other

1/3 amount of ricotta cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Repeat this until baking dish is full. Top with parmesan cheese and remaining shredded mozzarella.

At this point, I covered the dish and froze until. You can either do that, or you can bake. If baking immediately, then preheat the oven to 375. Bake for 25 minutes covered with foil. Uncover, and bake for another 25 minutes at 375. If you freeze this, make sure you pull out the day/night ahead of baking and let thaw in refrigerator.

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

2010-08-14T05:54:00.003-08:00

This was a wing it and see what happens type of recipe. We had some leftover hamburgers buns from a party we had thrown, and I really had nothing on my mind in terms of what to make for dinner. I've never made any type of shredded chicken, but figured that the slow cooker would make it happen better than anything else in my kitchen.

These were easy, and crowd pleasing. Granted, that crowd was tiny and consisted of Peyton and myself, but we loved them! I ended up eating one as a sandwich, and the rest I just spooned onto a plate and ate without bread. Either way, delish.

You will need:

3 chicken breasts (thawed)

A bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce

Garlic Powder

Worcestershire sauce

Salt & Pepper to taste

Put the chicken breasts in a slow cooker with about 1/3 up of BBQ sauce. Cook on high for three hours, or until chicken is tender. Take chicken out of slow cooker and shred chicken.

Place shredded chicken back into slow cooker, along with enough BBQ sauce to coat the chicken and make a nice consistency (less sauce if you like less, more if you like them kind of "sloppy"). Add a dash of garlic powder, worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Cook on low for 5 hours.

Serve on buns, with shredded cheese if desired.

Short break!

2010-07-25T10:05:00.002-08:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am taking a bit of a cooking/blogging break for the next few weeks. If I happen to make something I'll post it, but for this next week Peyton will be out in the field, so I will be making myself cereal for dinner, and the week after that I am going to visit family.

Red Wine & Balsamic Marinade

2010-07-22T10:09:00.002-08:00

Okay, so at first this marinade was actually supposed to be a London Broil with Cherry-Balsamic sauce.

.... Then, two things happened. I went to pull out my London Broil and discovered I had purchased the wrong cut of meat.

Oops.

Secondly, I had no cherry preserves.

Double oops.

So, I improvised and used the cut of meat I did have, and then marinaded it in (most) of the sauce recipe. I changed it to a marinade and not a sauce because I didn't boil it down as the original recipe instructed.

So, here you are. A quick, delicious marinade!

1/3 cup red wine

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon minced garlic

salt/pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in small bowl, then pour over choice cut of meat. Let marinade for 7-8 hours, flipping once. Grill, broil, sautee or whatever you like with the meat.

Slow cooker Chicken a la King

2010-07-22T09:58:00.002-08:00

There are times when I have no regard for Peyton. Or really, what he likes and doesn't like. For example, this recipe. In reading it and seeing that there were a lot of peas in it, I didn't care that he didn't like peas. In fact, hates peas. Why? I don't know. Maybe I'm a crap wife. Or maybe I just know him better than he knows himself. I prefer to think I'm the latter.

Most people I know have come across Chicken a la King at some point or another. This dish is the reason that I know and love pimentos. Yum.

So, I made this, warned Peyton that there were peas in it, and threatened to starve him if he didn't it eat. Okay, not a threat per-say. But he knows how good my food is, so I know/hope he trusted me.

I didn't let the man down. Although he didn't actually chew any of the peas, he did go back for seconds.

Original recipe here, my version below.

1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

dash of salt, pepper and red hot pepper flakes (all to taste)

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces

1 celery rib, chopped

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 seeded green pepper, chopped

10 oz frozen peas

2 tablespoons pimentos, diced (I use a little extra)

Add everything except peas and pimentos to slow cooker, cook on low 7 hours.

Add frozen peas and pimentos and cook an additional 30 minutes.

Serve.

** I usually serve this over rice **

Fish Piccata on Angel Hair

2010-07-20T06:35:00.002-08:00

I've made a vow to myself to blog the good, the bad, and the ugly.

That was a big, ugly, fail.

Honestly, I don't know what went wrong. Well, maybe I do. The lemon with the rest of it made me spit it out. The fish was beautiful in it, I cut up and sauteed bite size pieces of white fish instead of scallops (as the original recipe calls for). It was smelling really delicious, looking even better... Then I took a bite.

We tossed the whole thing.

I'm not going to post my instructions, because I don't want to subject you to the yuckiness, but if you want to give it a go and see where I went wrong, visit the recipe here.

White Chocolate Strawberry Parfaits

2010-07-20T06:22:00.002-08:00

I saw this recipe awhile ago and stashed it on my blog as something that I want to make. I was really excited when I found sugar free white chocolate pudding at the store and actually remembered to buy it. I grabbed some fresh strawberries, and some sugar free strawberry preserves and put everything into my cart, planning to make it all that night.

Well, that night turned into the next... Which was okay. I pulled everything out the next day to make them, and turns out my strawberries were bad! In ONE day! I was pretty annoyed, but c'est la vie. Anyhoo, I decided to adapt the recipe to the ingredients on hand and it was a pretty nice, light, cold treat for desert. Not only that, but they looked super fun in the cups.

The only thing I wish I had done was taken the original bloggers recipe advice and bought vanilla wafers. It seemed to be a lot of the same textures and it would have been nice to have something crunchy to break it up.

So, original recipe here, mine below.

1 package sugar free instant white chocolate pudding

2 cups skim milk

1 jar sugar free strawberry preserves

Prepare white chocolate pudding (just add pudding mix and milk together). Put into fridge.

Scoop 1/2 jar of strawberry preserves into microwave safe bowl and microwave for 15 second intervals (stirring in between) until preserves are less "molded" and more jelly/jam like.

In a clear glass, layer white chocolate pudding and preserves. Get creative!

Chill for 4 hours before serving.

Dog Treats

2010-07-20T06:11:00.004-08:00

I know some of you have them, and they are quite possibly your other children. Or maybe your only child(ren). Either way, I have an affinity for my doggies. I'm leaning towards the fact that they like me a lot too.

Everytime we leave the house the dogs go into their kennels. When they go in on their own, they get a little treat for doing so. I was running low on treats, and thinking that really, it would probably be a lot more cost effective and healthier for them to just make some on my own. Plus, for the first time in my life I recently bought a rolling pin (I KNOW!) and I really wanted to use it.

I found this recipe, that looked simple enough. Next time I may add a little more in there, although I don't think my dogs minded these at all, they ate the first one while it was still warm!

My version is below.

2 cups 100% whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup peanut butter

1 1/4 cup skim milk

1 tsp honey

dash of salt

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix peanut butter, milk and honey into stand mixer. Mix together. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined.

On a flat surface, roll out dough and cut into whatever shapes you like. For the perfect sized circles, I flipped a shot glass over and made round cookies.

Put onto baking sheet, sprinkle tops with a tiny bit of salt if desired and bake for 20 minutes.

Simple Pot Roast

2010-07-19T05:45:00.003-08:00

I've been making this for years...

So why, WHY you ask, has it not been blogged?

Well, a slightly shameful confession, but an indiction as to it's occurring appearance in my house....

This roast has never been blogged, because it's always gone before I can get a picture.

Literally.

Imagine putting it in a slow cooker one morning, and having your house fill with tantalizing smells all. day. long. Would you want to stop and take a picture before digging in?

Uh, no.

So, I finally held myself back (a bit) and snapped one before we devoured this. Come to think of it, I bought a bit bigger roast this time so that Peyton would have leftovers for lunch. Lucky duck.

Here is the original version, mine is below.

3 lb rump roast (I do not trim as Peyton likes the fat, and I feel it adds more flavor to the gravy)

1 packet zesty italian seasoning dressing mix (the dry packet)

1 packet au jus gravy mix

2 cups water

4 carrots, sliced

4 celery stalks, sliced

Add carrots and celery to slow cooker. Add rump roast on top of vegetables. In a bowl, mix together 2 cups water, italian seasoning and au jus gravy. Pour over roast.

Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4.

**Sometimes I also add potatoes and other vegetables into this as well**

Key Lime Pie

2010-07-18T08:09:00.003-08:00

My... my... my.... my key lime pie!

Whenever I'm craving my new Florida favorite I start singing that Kenny Chensey song to Peyton, titled Key Lime Pie. Honestly, try singing that song without craving the sweetness it's based on. It's impossible.

Anyway, we were heading over to a friends who were so gracious to invite us over for a cookout. I wanted to bring a desert but was a little crunched on time. Anything needed cool down time, and not only that, but I wanted something that reminded me of a good hot summer day cookout desert.

In walks key lime pie. I found a review online that was simple and had lots of rave ratings, so I went for it.

I must say, no one was disappointed with this, and it was so beyond simple to prepare that I would have to say this is my new go-to for almost anything!

Original version found here, mine is below.

1 9 inch prepard graham cracker crust (I used the reduced fat kind)

3 (14 oz. each) cans of condensed sweetened milk (fat free)

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

3/4 cup key lime juice (I used Nellie & Joe's brand, found at Publix)

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

Preheat oven to 350.

In medium bowl, combine all ingredients minus the crust. Mix well, until there are no lumps from sour cream.

Pour into graham cracker crust.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Do not allow pie to brown on top! I baked mine for 12 and the consistency was perfect, but my oven also seems to be a little warmer than others.

Put into refrigerator to cool before serving.

Chopped Greek Salad

2010-07-16T10:16:00.003-08:00

I don't often make salads, and I really am not sure why.

They are good, they are good for me, they are easy, and something perfect for summer.

Peyton and I had a heavy lunch yesterday (for anyone who lives in the Navarre, FL/Gulf Breeze, FL area, go to Papa Nalu's, AMAZING food).. and I wanted to follow up my filling (but healthy) meal with something lighter, like a salad.

Now, the original recipe says that it makes enough for two. I either did something wrong, or these two people eat a LOT, but we now have enough for last night, lunch today, dinner tonight and then some. Luckily it's so good that I don't mind.

Here is the original version, mine is below.

2 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp dried dill

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1 bag of romaine lettuce (the pre chopped salad bag)

1 1/2 lb boiled chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces and cooled

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 medium cucumber, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

In large bowl, add first 7 ingredients and mix together.

Chop romaine lettuce from bag into smaller pieces (they just come far too big for me straight out of the bag). Add to bowl.

Add remaining ingredients into bowl, mix together until dressing coats everything.

I chilled for about 30 minutes before serving, but it's not really necessary if you are super hungry!

**I didn't add black olives simply because I didn't have them. Original version called for black olives and I'm sure they would be great in the salad!**

A Lazy Night

2010-07-14T11:26:00.003-08:00

Okay, so we all have them. Sue me.

I'm just okay enough with myself to admit it... Right? Right?

Either way, there are those nights when you don't feel like cooking, nothing sounds good and everything just looks way too hard to make.

I was having one of those nights.

So, I'm sharing my secret "fall back". It's so simple, and tastes great.

Grilled chicken.

Really, all you need are boneless, skinless chicken breasts (enough for one for each eater), some type of marinade, and in our house this is usually paired with a bag of frozen veggies.

Marinade chicken for about 4 hours in a baking dish, turning once and making sure to coat thoroughly. When you are ready, fire up the grill and grill chicken until done.

Yes, that's all it takes.

Here are some of my favorite marinades...

Newman's Own Sesame Ginger

Newman's Own Herb & Roasted Garlic

Jack Daniel's BBQ Sauce

Lemon Chicken Stir Fry

2010-07-13T05:24:00.002-08:00

I love when I make something and can't stop eating it.

Not only that, but after I'm finished I follow it up with a comment such as "I would order that in a restaurant!"

To me, that's the ultimate. It's one thing for other people to enjoy your food, and I really do love when people enjoy what I make. But it's a completely different thing when I enjoy my own food that I've made. The sauce and the snow peas were the kicker for me, the lemon in the sauce gave it just enough kick but wasn't overpowering, and the peas were still slightly crunchy, giving it a pop when you took a bite.

My two bits of advice for you are to make sure that the carrots are sliced thin, I sliced mine with a mandolin to ensure that. Also, make sure that your chicken is in smaller sized pieces. Any bigger and you wouldn't be able to chew the chicken and veggies all in one bite.

I found the recipe at a site I enjoy, Eating Well. My version is below.

1 Lemon (Don't use lemon juice from a bottle)

1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons soy (reduced sodium is better, although I was out)

2 tsp corn starch

1 tsp olive oil

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces

1 cup thinly sliced carrots

2 cups snow peas

1 bunch green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces, white and green parts separated

1 tablespoon minced garlic

In small bowl, grate 1 tsp lemon zest, juice the lemon into the bowl and add soy sauce, chicken broth and corn starch.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, cook until done. Set chicken aside.

In same skillet over medium heat, add carrots and stir in skillet until al dente. For me, the carrots were sticking to skillet so I added a few tablespoons of water as well.

Add the peas and white parts of the green onions, stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Whisk the broth mixture and add to skillet, stir until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Add green part of green onions and chicken to the skillet, stir until everything is coated in sauce.

Enjoy!

Almond Crusted Chicken w/ Balsamic Drizzle

2010-07-12T05:25:00.002-08:00

The name makes it sound fancy, huh?

I don't really know what fancy tastes like, but I do know that this was easy to prepare, and it made our mouths happy. So, seeing as how it met the "really good" requirements, I am going to highly recommend this one.

At first, in perusing this recipe I was going to pass it up. The flavors didn't seem (to me) as though they would mesh well for my palate, I'm not a huge almond fan, and I'm pretty sure what won me over was that I was going to make something that included a drizzle. That's just a fun word, and it makes it sound like something way more important that it actually is.

Peyton, on the other hand loves almonds, balsamic and chicken, so I knew this was going to be a win with him. I wasn't wrong!

Onto the recipe, which does get a huge thumbs up from me!

I found the recipe here, my version is below.

1/4 cup egg beaters egg substitute

1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped

1/4 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 tsp salt

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1.5 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 425. Coat baking sheet with baking spray.

Pour egg beaters into small bowl.

In a different medium sized bowl, combine almonds, bread crumbs and salt. Mix together.

Dip chicken breasts into egg, to coat chicken with egg. Then, transfer chicken breast into bowl with almonds and roll around until chicken is coated with almond/bread crumb mixture. Place onto baking sheet. Repeat for remaining chicken breasts.

Bake chicken for 8 minutes, pull chicken out and flip, coating chicken with cooking spray first. Bake for another 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

While chicken is baking, add orange juice, balsamic vinegar and honey into small saucepan over medium/high heat. Bring to boil and let boil for about ten minutes, or until sauce reduces by about half.

Serve sauce either over or under chicken.

Kings Ranch Chicken Casserole

2010-07-10T10:30:00.002-08:00

Okay, I know you have them... Everyone does. The few recipes/meals/taste that remind you of your childhood. For me, hands down it's Apple Pie, my mom's macaroni salad and this. Kings Ranch Chicken Casserole.

Perhaps you've heard of it, perhaps not. If it's the latter, I apologize. You are missing out. This to me, is the epitome of homecooked family food. I know that my mom cooked lots when we were little, and this is the one dish that still stands out. Although back then, and even now I refer to it as the "dorito casserole". You'll find out why below.

I must say, my mom still makes it better. I did a pretty good job, but there is no mistaking that she is the queen of knowing how to perfect this recipe. I don't have an original version, because this wasn't found online. I will tell you that it "originally" calls for 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper and a cup of milk instead of 3/4 cup.

There are some unhealthy elements, such as the doritos and the cheese, but all in all if you watch your portion this isn't in any way "unhealthy".

Enjoy!

1.5 to 2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, boiled until cooked and cut into bite size pieces

6-7 oz. tortilla chips (I always use Nacho Cheese Doritos, trust me on this one)

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 tsp chili powder

3/4 cup fat free milk

1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use the low/reduced fat)

1 can cream of chicken soup (I use the low/reduced fat)

1 small can green chiles

1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 pound cheddar cheese (I used the mexican 4 cheese blend)

Preheat oven to 350

Crush chips and spread into bottom of 9x13 inch baking/casserole dish

Top chips with boiled/chopped chicken.

Add next 7 ingredients into bowl and mix together. Pour over chicken.

Top with cheese.

Bake uncovered for 40 minutes, or until cheese is slightly browned/bubbly.

Stuffed Chicken Valentino

2010-07-08T09:48:00.004-08:00

Okay, so don't think that I'm not aware of the fact that I can be repetitive on here.

Everything is delicious, yummy, tasty, the best thing ever.... right?

I am so very wrong.

THIS is the best thing ever.

Funny enough, I almost passed over this recipe. It looked a bit like every other stuffed chicken recipe out there, and not to knock stuffed chicken because it is very good, but a lot of times it just seems a little boring to make, and boring + me = on to the next recipe.

But, due to the rave reviews it received here I decided to give it a go. I am so glad I did.

I took a bite, and all by my lonesome at home said out loud "This is so freaking GOOD!". It is, truly, on my top five best things I've ever made. After Peyton came home, I made sure that he knew how good it was before he sat down to eat, and he agreed. We both said it was something that belonged in a restaurant. Yes, THAT good.

So make it, I promise, you will not be disappointed. If you are disappointed, there is something wrong with you and your taste buds.

Original version here, my version is below.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 jar red roasted bell peppers

2 tablespoons freeze dried chives (I used this only because our store was out of fresh)

3 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese, part skim

salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika to taste

olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.

Slice each chicken breast in half lengthwise, so you open it up into a butterfly shape. Cover with plastic wrap and pound out chicken breast to about .5 inch thickness

In a small bowl, combine parmesan cheese, italian seasoning and chives. Sprinkle 1/3 of cheese mixture onto each chicken breast. At one end of each breast add 1-2 pepper strips (however many looks ample to you), and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of mozzarella cheese on top of pepper.

Roll chicken breast, starting with pepper/mozzarella end first. Secure with toothpicks. Repeat for the remaining chicken breasts.

Season top of chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika to taste. Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 15 minutes at 350, then turn on broil and broil for 5-10 minutes until they look done. I broiled mine for 10, and the tops got a tiny bit burned.

Here is a picture of what they looked like before baking, so you can get an idea.

Chicken Divan

2010-07-07T06:27:00.003-08:00

Okay, so I really tried to make this picture look appetizing.

It didn't work, and I apologize for that. But really, are casseroles ever THAT appetizing looking?

No.

But, they are pretty damn tasty. This one fits the bill for the not so pretty but really really fabulous tasting casserole. I've heard of chicken divan, but never tried it. Mostly because I know that casseroles are always full of fat, calories, and all the bad things in the food world.

Then, I found a healthier version of chicken divan here. I tried it, I liked it, and I believe you should do the same. In fact, Peyton (through mouthfuls of food) said "I think this is one of your best yet!"... That's sayin' somethin'.

Again, original recipe is found here, my version is below.

2 pounds bonless skinless chicken breast, boiled until cooked through and cut into bite size pieces

1 tblspn extra virgin olive oil

2 cups diced leek (use only white and light green parts)

1/2 tsp salt

5 tblspn salt

1 can (14 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth

1 cup fat free milk

2 tblspn cooking sherry

1/2 tsp dried thyme (I used a generous 1/2 tsp)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 lb bag frozen broccoli, thawed

1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided into 1/2 cups

1/4 cup low fat mayonnaise

2 tblspn dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 7x11 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add leek and salt, cook for about 4 minutes or until leek is soft, stir this constantly.

Add flour, stir to coat leek.

Add broth, milk, sherry, thyme, pepper to skillet, bring to simmer (keep stirring constantly)

Stir in broccoli, keeping at simmer.

Remove from heat, add 1/2 cup parmesan, mayo and dijon.

In baking sheet, spread 1/2 of broccoli mixture into bottom. Top with all of chicken, add remaining broccoli mixture to top of chicken. Add remaining parmesan cheese to top.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is slightly brown/bubbly.

I am an Omnivore

2010-07-06T15:43:00.003-08:00

Are you? If so, visit this site here for an interesting challenge! Directions are below as well.

Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food – but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

My Omnivore Hundred

1. Venison

2. Nettle tea

3. Huevos rancheros

4. Steak tartare

5. Crocodile

~~6. Black pudding~~

7. Cheese fondue

8. Carp

9. Borscht

10. Baba ghanoush

11. Calamari

12. Pho

13. PB&J sandwich

14. Aloo gobi

15. Hot dog from a street cart

16. Epoisses

17. Black truffle

18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. Steamed pork buns

20. Pistachio ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes

22. Fresh wild berries

23. Foie gras

24. Rice and beans

25. Brawn, or head cheese

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper

27. Dulce de leche

28. Oysters

29. Baklava

30. Bagna cauda

31. Wasabi peas

32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl

33. Salted lassi

34. Sauerkraut

35. Root beer float

36. Cognac with a fat cigar

37. Clotted cream tea

38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O

39. Gumbo

40. ~~Oxtail~~

~~41. Curried goat~~

~~42. Whole insects~~

43. Phaal

44. Goat’s milk

45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more

46. Fugu

47. Chicken tikka masala

48. Eel

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

50. Sea urchin

51. Prickly pear

52. Umeboshi

53. Abalone

54. Paneer

55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal

56. Spaetzle

57. Dirty gin martini

58. Beer above 8% ABV

59. Poutine

60. Carob chips

61. S’mores

62. Sweetbreads

63. ~~Kaolin~~

64. Currywurst

65. Durian

66. Frogs’ legs

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake

~~68. Haggis~~

69. Fried plantain

70. Chitterlings, or andouillette

71. Gazpacho

72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe

74. Gjetost, or brunost

~~75. Roadkill~~

76. Baijiu

77. Hostess Fruit Pie

78. Snail

79. Lapsang souchong

80. Bellini

81. Tom yum

82. Eggs Benedict

83. Pocky

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.

85. Kobe beef

86. Hare

87. Goulash

88. Flowers

~~89. Horse~~

90. Criollo chocolate

91. Spam

92. Soft shell crab

93. Rose harissa

94. Catfish

95. Mole poblano

96. Bagel and lox

97. Lobster Thermidor

98. Polenta

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

~~100. Snake~~

Sweet & Savory Burgers

2010-07-05T15:34:00.004-08:00

Normally I'm a traditional burger kind of a gal. I like some ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickles, all the good things squished between two sandwich buns that I wouldn't normally eat. But, after thinking not too long, and definitely not too hard on it, I decided to opt for a more "grown up" burger for the 4th. I am a huge fan of pineapples on burgers, there is something so unexpected about the sweet in what should be savory. This was love at first bite, truly. Make sure you put a little bit of the chili sauce on the side for dipping, I gobbled that stuff up.

My two pieces of advice for this would be, make sure pineapple is either cut a little thin or grilled long enough that it's not too "tough", and to make sure that you get a good consistency on the chili sauce, mine was too runny and it soaked right into the bun.

The original recipe is here.

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 green onions, thinly sliced/chopped

2 pounds ground beef (I used cubed steak)

1 medium-large sweet onion

6-8 pineapple rings

1/4 cup chili sauce

1/4 cup jalapeno jelly

Whole wheat hamburger buns

Sliced pepperjack cheese

Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow glass baking dish. Form hamburger patties with beef, let marinate in the glass baking dish for 4-6 hours, turning once to marinate both sides.

Mix together chili sauce and jalapeno jelly, this will be used as a topping.

Over medium grill heat, grill burgers to desired "wellness". Add cheese about 2 minutes before taking off grill to let cheese melt.

Grill onions and pineapples for approximately 5 minutes.

On whole wheat buns, add hamburger meat, grilled onions and pineapple and spread sweet chili sauce on bun. Enjoy!

Potato Salad

2010-07-04T12:43:00.005-08:00

Who doesn't love potato salad? There is no argument from me that homemade is the best. I can think of a few people who can make a mean potato salad, and I have to say that the store stuff will never compare (although some do come close). I had never made a potato salad before, and I've got to say, it was probably the most time consuming thing to make (well worth the time)! Waiting for the potatoes to cool down was like waiting for your coffee to brew in the morning, I sit and stare at every drop coming out of the pot... It was just as annoying staring at those hot potatoes knowing that the clock was ticking to get everything finished. But, the recipe was wonderful, it is more of a "mustard" based salad, for those who have a preference.

The original recipe can be found here. I mostly followed it exact...

2 pounds red potatoes

3 tablespoons white vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped red onion

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1 hard boiled egg, chopped

1 cup fat free mayonnaise

2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard

Place potatoes in saucepan, cover with water and bring to boil. After water has started boiling, reduce heat slightly and simmer for ten minutes. Drain water, allow potatoes to cool.

After potatoes have cooled, chop into 1/2 inch chunks (I leave the skin on because I prefer it, you may want to peel the potatoes first if you don't want skin).

Add potatoes into a large bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix together, careful not to pierce the potatoes. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Fruit Pizza

2010-07-04T12:35:00.004-08:00

Happy 4th of July!! This year, Peyton and I are going to a friends house to celebrate the holiday, a little food, a board game and fireworks. The deal for the 4th that we'd do food, if he supplied his house and some drinks. My menu was an all-American cookout type of spread and consisted of Sweet and Savory burgers, Potato Salad, baked beans, corn on the cob and this fruit pizza. Definitely the kind of meal that you binge on and then slightly regret the full stomach twenty minutes later.

I love this because it's so colorful and happy looking, it comes across as impressive and like something you will either have to throw away before you end up eating the entire thing in one sitting. I used 4th of July colors, red, white and blue for this one, but really you can use any fruit. I especially love kiwi on a fruit pizza.

The original recipe was found here, my version is below.

For "dough"

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick) softened

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup egg beaters egg substitute

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp of salt

For "sauce"

8 oz low fat cream cheese, softened

1 tub lite cool whip

For "toppings"

Fresh blueberries

Fresh strawberries

Maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350.

Add all "dough" ingredients into stand mixer and mix together until blended.

Press "dough" into round pizza pan, bake for 10 minutes or until slightly brown (like a sugar cookie).

Let dough cool completely.

In stand mixer, mix together cream cheese and cool whip until cream cheese is no longer lumpy. Spread onto dough.

Add and arrange fruit however your creative mind desires.

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

2010-07-03T14:01:00.005-08:00

I've seen this recipe floating around the internet for a few years now. I've always wanted to try it because of the rave reviews, but peeling 40 cloves of garlic sounded daunting. I decided to take the plunge and try this version, a slow cooker recipe.

In all honesty, Peyton and I were both surprised at the lack of flavor that this had. The potatoes were our favorite part, and we ended up adding some seasoning to the top of the chicken... You would think with garlic, onion and spices this would be bursting with flavor, but this is without. If anyone tries to make this, I would love to hear some reviews and/or modifications.

**I would like to add that since making this I have found a few different versions online that call for many more/different spices... I'm thinking that's where I went wrong with this one! Do a quick google search, or just add in your favorite spices to this recipe for more flavor.**

Original recipe can be found here.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 small onion- sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp salt

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp black pepper

20-40 garlic cloves peeled

1/4 cup chicken broth

5 red potatoes in chunks

Arrange slices of onion on bottom of crock pot stoneware dish. Toss chicken with olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic cloves in a medium size bowl, pour into crock pot stoneware. Add chicken broth and potatoes on top of chicken. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

Again, I would love to hear what others think!

Sloppy Joes

2010-07-03T13:53:00.003-08:00

Yes, this doesn't sound very healthy, but really, they aren't too bad. Keep in mind, PORTION CONTROL! Funny, when I made this I told Peyton that I had no idea that you could make sloppy joes from scratch. Sloppy joes to me, come from a Manwich can, there is no other way to make them. But now?? I vow to never make sloppy joes from a can again, these were ten million times better.

The original recipe can be found here. My version is below, I used the slow cooker for this and omitted the green pepper.

1 pound lean ground turkey, cooked

1 small onion, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp prepared yellow mustard

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup barbeque sauce

3 tsp brown sugar

salt & pepper to taste

I put all of the above ingredients in the slow cooker on low for 3-4 hours and served over whole wheat buns.

Turkey Loaf & Hello!

2010-06-15T12:17:00.007-08:00

Alright.. Well wow! I really thought I was done with this blog... I haven't updated in about 6 months. So, a short little re-cap of what's been going on the last 6 months, leading to my re-entrance into the blogging world.

I started a new job in February, and with that job means that I cooked less. A LOT less. I believe we ate grilled chicken and frozen veggies from a bag consistently the last few months. Not to knock grilled chicken or veggies, because it also helped me with something else. In April, I took it into my own hands to start living a healthier lifestyle.... We are generally fairly healthy, but had been eating out more than we'd like it. I have lost a pretty good amount of weight in the last year and a half, but still had more to shed. So, I have I've been working my butt off, and have lost 15 pounds since then. I am pretty proud of myself, and I have to attribute a lot of that to cleaning up how I eat. Now, just last week two big things happened. One, I quit my job, and two, we moved into a bigger house.

Now, let me just say that our new house has a beautiful kitchen. Granite, stainless steel, a huge island, dark cherry wood cabinets. It's my dream kitchen. So, what's a girl with no job to do?? Cook of course!

I think I've cooked daily since we moved in last week, I love it. I missed it. I've always said, cooking is a type of therapy for me. There is something so relaxing and so "mine" about being in the kitchen. It truly is a breath of fresh air.

So, while I'm scouring the internet looking for healthy dinner recipes, I am hoping and planning on sharing them here again. This also gives me a good excuse to put my lovely camera to use!

Onto my first "welcome back" recipe... Turkey loaf!

Alright, the name does NOT sound appetizing. Unless loaf is paired with something like banana bread, or pound cake, I have never thought of a meat loaf as anything that sounded good. But, this was good. Peyton and I both went back for seconds last night, and I had leftovers for lunch today which is always a good sign!!

The original recipe can be found here, but as usual I tweaked it and made it my own.

Loaf:

1 pound lean ground turkey

1/2 cup egg beaters (or 1-2 eggs, depending on how "mushy" you like it)

1/2 cup salsa

1 chopped red pepper

1 chopped yellow pepper

1 chopped onion

1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Glaze:

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tsp worcestershire

1 tsp brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375

Mix all ingredients for loaf together, either by hand or stand mixer.

Put into loaf pan, and bake at 375 for 50 minutes

Mix all glaze ingredients together, pour on top of loaf, and put loaf back into oven (which is turned off) and let sit for ten minutes.

Serve!

Super easy, super yummy and super healthy!

My Favorite Tools in the Kitchen

2010-02-01T08:40:00.000-09:00

I have a few items that I've acquired that I just don't feel like I can really live without anymore. Okay, so I can absolutely live without them, but I just don't want to. They are as follows:

My kitchenaid mixer.

Peyton was the most adorable husband ever. When we moved to FL, he had this ordered in advance and delivered to our property managers office. So, when we walked in to rent our house the first day we arrived, there was a big box for me. He even bought me the pink one! I use my mixer at LEAST once a week. It's a must have for me.

A mandolin.

I admit. I am the worst slicer in the world. It's always really thick on one end and thin at the other. I get scared to cut myself, so I don't make the most use of whatever I'm slicing. I'm a pretty bad slicer. Along comes my mandolin. It fixed all my slice failures and now can make any fruit or veggie as thin or thick as I like.

Silpats.

Another gift from Peyton. He insisted that I needed them, I kept complaining that I didn't have them. I was so surprised that on Christmas morning I unwrapped my silpats. He remembered, and I love him for that! This makes baking so easy, they are completely worth the money you'll spend on them.

Baskets.

I call them my "organizational tools". I am such a dork. But, I love having a place for everything. Literally, 90% of the time I walk into the dollar store I leave having bought plastic bins or baskets of some sort. I have my spices in them, my tupperware, my packets of sauces, baking supplies, cleaning supplies, and more. They will make your kitchen feel so put together and more enjoyable to be in, I promise!

My Pictures

2010-02-01T08:36:00.001-09:00

I am by no means a master photographer. For a moment I get jealous hoping that someday I can take great food pictures like the ones I see on other blogs. Then I remind myself that first I should perfect my food before I perfect my picture taking skills. Please, bear with this beginner!

Some of you have asked what I use to take pictures. I am flattered, as I feel like I greatly lack in the picture department. I have learned though that the number one thing you need is lots of natural light! I cringe anytime my pictures come out yellow-y, because that is more than likely me having taken a picture at night, with less than acceptable light sources.

For my camera, I have a Canon Rebel XS DSLR. I absolutely love it and recommend it to anyone who is in the market for a new camera. I love the lens that it came with, but have also invested in a 50mm lens. I use both for food pictures.

I am hoping to expand my food picture skills and am always looking for more hints and tips!

About Me

2010-02-01T08:21:00.001-09:00

Welcome to my blog! I'm so excited to share my culinary adventures with you.

Being in the kitchen relaxes me and helps me clear my mind, two things which I find very important at times. I started this blog for many different reasons, but lately I feel the most important reason is to see how I've evolved in the kitchen. A few years ago, dinner was probably a frozen burrito, or a grilled hot dog. Now, well, I hope you see that most dinners in our home are anything but that.

I love looking back and remembering things that I've created, even the flops. I invite you to take what I've made and run with it, adapt them to your personal taste, and encourage yourself to find new ways to make recipes your "own".

Enjoy!

-Kristan

Eggnog Cheesecake

2009-12-23T08:01:00.003-09:00

Okay, so, this is literally still baking as I write this. Hence, the OK picture. It's still in the oven :] BUT I knew I had to get this up before I forgot, and then it would disappear (into tummies)... I have no idea how this tastes yet, but if the batter and the smell of my house is any indication, it's going to be DELICIOUS. I'm making this to bring over to a friends house tomorrow for Christmas Eve dinner. I do believe it will be a hit!

**After completion, cooldown, and consumption it was a total success. I can't begin to describe the awesomeness that was this cheesecake**

The original recipe can be found here. Of course, I tweaked it, as I do to most recipes I come across.

Ingredients needed:

(Crust)

1 cup crushed graham crackers

3 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons sugar

A dash of: Ground cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon

(Filling)

3 (8oz) blocks cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup eggnog

1 tablespoon vanilla (okay, this is all I had!)

2 eggs

A dash of: Ground cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground ginger

Preheat oven to 325.

In a small bowl, mix together crust ingredients. Press into bottom of springform pan, and bake for 10 minutes. Pull from oven and let cool.

Crank up oven heat to 425.

I used my kitchen aid stand mixer, but you can also use a food processor or a hand mixer. Add cream cheese, sugar, flour, and eggnog and beat until smooth (this takes AWHILE). Add eggs, vanilla, and a dash of the spices.

Pour filling into crust, and if you like, sprinkle more spices on top. Bake for 10 minutes at 425. Reduce heat to 250, and cook for 45 more minutes.

During the duration of cooking the cheesecake, I added a "water bath"... All this was, was a cake pan full of water sitting on the bottom rack of the oven. The cheesecake sat on the middle rack. Also, there are many ways to take a cheesecake out of the oven. What I do is turn off the heat in the oven, crack it open, and let the cheesecake sit inside the oven to cool off for a few hours before taking it out.

Slow Cooked Cranberry Chicken

2009-12-23T07:56:00.003-09:00

I found the recipe awhile ago, and stacked it into my food bookmarks. It looked so easy, and the ingredients were a little weird, so I wanted to see if they would really work. I finally had a half bag of Craisans that weren't being used, and the rest of the ingredients were on hand as well, so decided to try this. It was so easy, which is always a plus. The chicken fell apart, no cutting required. I believe that if you shredded the chicken, and put it on a bun with the sauce you would have a really mouthwatering chicken sandwich.

Anyway, the original recipe is here. My version is below.

Ingredients needed:

3 Boneless chicken breasts

1/2 bag of Craisans

1 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 onion (chopped)

2 stalks celery (chopped)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 cup water

Put all ingredients into slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours. As a side note with slow cookers, I always prefer to cook things on low unless I'm in a time crunch.

Rainbow Cake

2009-12-23T07:49:00.003-09:00

Well, I haven't been here in awhile! Yikes!! I do want to share a few new recipes though...

My first is one that I came across from another food blog, La Petit Pierogi. She had a recipe for a Rainbow Cake, and how could you not want to make something that cool looking? It was easy, fun, and received rave reviews from the few I fed it to. The hardest part was finding a grocery store that had the gel food coloring in stock. Two out of three of the stores I went to were out of it, and I was just that dedicated to making this freaking cake.

More detailed instructions may be found here. Try it, I promise you'll like it. I won't go into detail on how to make it because I believe they are listed perfectly in the above link, but will list the ingredients I used.

Also, for the frosting of the cake, all I did was swirled store bought Strawberry and White icing in the middle of the cake, and for the top, I frosted the whole cake with white icing, then dropped food coloring randomly on the icing and swirled it in.

Ingredients needed:

2 Boxes White cake mix

24 oz clear soda (sprite or ginger ale)

Gel food coloring

2 containers WHITE frosting

1 container Strawberry frosting

Head over HERE for directions.

By the way, sorry those pictures are so crappy. I took them with my iPhone!

Baklava

2009-11-08T13:31:00.005-09:00

I've been wanting to make this for a LONG time. Baklava always reminds of me going to the Souvlaki cabin in Fairbanks, Alaska at Pioneer Park (It will ALWAYS be Alaskaland though). I love love love everything they create in that tiny, non air-conditioned cabin. Tonight I was making Gyros (find recipe under must make), and decided to make another Greek food to go along with Gyros. Baklava immediately came to mind. I found the recipe here and went to town. I was amazed at how easy it was. Peyton and I just finished up our first pieces, and almost melted.

You will need:

1 package phyllo dough

16 oz chopped nuts (I used finely diced walnuts)

1 cup butter, melted

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

Toss diced/chopped nuts with cinnamon in bowl. Set aside.

Place two sheets of phyllo dough on pan, spread butter on top. Repeat this until have 8 sheets of phyllo dough in pan. Sprinkle a thin layer of nuts on top of phyllo dough. Cover with 2 sheets of phyllo, butter, sprinkle with nuts. Repeat this until you have approximately 8 layers of phyllo/butter/nuts. Make sure the top layer is 8 sheets of phyllo dough with butter layering every two sheets. Cut into 9-12 pieces.

Bake for 50 minues, or until golden and crispy.

While it's baking, bring sugar and water to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Add honey and vanilla and simmer for 20 minutes.

When baklava is done, pour water/sugar mixture over top and let cool.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

2009-11-08T13:24:00.004-09:00

I know, I haven't updated in awhile. I don't know why, I just haven't been super motivated to blog. Shame on me!! I will say, that off the top of my head, in the last month or so I've also made pumpkin bread, chicken noodle soup, a few varieties of baked chicken, and some delicious crock pot recipes. Sadly, I have no pictures and they probably won't make it to the blog.

Luckily, I snapped pictures of these, they were delicious. The recipe didn't call for chocolate chips, but I figured I'd add a bag and see what happened. Oh. My. Goodness. AMAZING.

The original recipe can be found here. I omitted the icing and added the chocolate chips.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350.

In stand mixer, I combined butter and sugar and creamed. I then added pumpkin, egg and vanilla. I added the remaining ingredients, other than the chocolate chips. When everything when mixed together, I added the bag of chocolate chips and mixed together with a spatula.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet, bake for 15 minutes or until fluffy.

Crock-Pot Clam Chowder

2009-09-21T11:17:00.005-08:00

I've been wanting to make this forever... Well, clam chowder at least. Fall always reminds me of soups/stews and crock pot food. Even in Florida, where our "fall" weather right now hovers around 85. If anyone out there does ever make this, please let me know how it turns out. This wasn't very "thick" and so we referred it more like Clam Soup, rather than chowder. It was still really really good! My only advice, I cooked it on high for 4 hours and the potatoes were still a little "al dente" so you may want to increase the time. Enjoy!

2 cans whole baby clams (20 oz)

8 pieces pre-cooked bacon- chopped

1 large onion- chopped

6 large potates- peeled and cut into chunks

3 cups water

Salt & Pepper to taste

4 cups half and half

3 tablespoons cornstarch

Mix first 6 ingredients into crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for about 5. During last hour of cooking, combine half and half and cornstarch, then mix into crock pot.

Original recipe can be found here.

Shrimp Tacos

2009-08-20T08:01:00.002-08:00

WOW. These were amazing, easy, and... AMAZING. I loved them. Peyton and I ate a few, had some people come over, and the second they left we were back in the kitchen eating more of them. It took no time to throw together. My tip? Buy shrimp in a bag from the frozen section of your grocery store. These are usually precooked, with the tails already off, and they are already deveined.

Original recipe can be found here.

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (I used the juice of 2 limes)

2 tablespoons sour cream

salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

8 oz of shredded cabbage (about 1/4 cabbage)

1 cup corn kernels

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb shrimp

Small flour tortillas

Sour cream

In large bowl, mix together orange juice, lime juice, sour cream. Add cabbage, corn and jalapeno. Set aside, tossing every few minutes.

In a skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and heat through. Add shrimp to skillet. If shrimp is precooked, just heat shrimp and season with salt, pepper and garlic to taste. If shrimp is not pre-cooked, cook shrimp through.

Heat tortillas, spread a thin layer of sour cream on one side, add a bit of cabbage mixture and shrimp, and roll like a taco.

Spicy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken

2009-08-20T07:54:00.002-08:00

Word of advice with this one. Do not be afraid to use the red pepper! I was, so only added about half of what it asked for, and ended up adding more after I served it. I'm not usually a spicy fan, but the pepper in this was great. I think the spice with the cream was a great flavor combination! The original recipe didn't add chicken, but I threw some in there and it was great!

Original recipe can be found here.

4 thin sliced chicken breasts

2 tablespoon olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup whipping cream
1 small jar roasted red peppers, drained, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1/2 box penne pasta

Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Bring pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook per instruction on box.

Heat 1 tblsp olive oil over medium heat in skillet. Add chicken to pan and season both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Once chicken is cooked through, remove from pan and cut into strips.

Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for about one minute. Add tomatoes, cream, red peppers, and red peppers. Simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Add chicken.

Once pasta is boiled through and drained, add sauce to pot of pasta. Serve.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2009-08-20T07:47:00.002-08:00

This was so good. Oh my goodness! It was really fun to make, I enjoy making pizza. The flavors were awesome together! The original recipe called for gorgonzola cheese, but I used feta and don't think I could have liked it better.

1/4 cup olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
6 slices bacon
1 (10 ounce) container refrigerated pizza crust
3/4 cup barbeque sauce
1 cup pre-cooked chicken strips (found in lunchmeat section)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced, or to taste (optional)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened, continue cooking and stirring until the onion is very tender and dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes more.

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate; crumble when cool.

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees. Grease a baking sheet.

Press the refrigerated pizza crust onto the baking sheet to fit the size of the pan. Spread the barbeque sauce evenly over the dough, and sprinkle with the shredded chicken, caramelized onion, bacon, Gorgonzola cheese, and diced jalapeno pepper. Season with paprika and garlic powder. Top with the shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven, for about 15 to 17 minutes.

Shepherd's Pie

2009-08-20T07:36:00.004-08:00

I've never had this stuff before. Peyton absolutely loves it, and I think this might have been one of the first foods he ever asked me if I knew how to make. I came across this recipe while browsing the Food Network website, and decided to give it it a try. I didn't like it so much. I'm just not a fan of mashing a ton of food together... I'm not much of a casserole, one dish sort of girl. Peyton loved it though! I tweaked the recipe to use ground turkey instead of beef and it was great! My only advice? Spice up the potatoes on top a bit, they were a little bland.

Original recipe can be found here.

2 lbs potatoes (I used red), peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 large egg yolk

1/2 cup vegetable broth

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 tblsp EVOO

1 lb ground turkey

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 tblsp butter

2 tblsp flour

1 cup beef stock

2 tsp worcestershire

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 tsp paprika

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. In stand up mixer (or large bowl) mix together sour cream, egg yolk, and vegetable broth. When potatoes are boiled, add potatoes to mix and beat to make mashed potatoes.

While potatoes are boiling, add oil to skillet and heat over medium heat. Add ground turkey and cook through. Add chopped carrot and onion. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. In another small skillet, whisk together flour and butter and heat for 2 or so minutes. Add beef broth and worcestershire, whisk. Let heat until thickened.

Add peas and gravy mixture to ground turkey, mix together.

In a casserole dish, add ground turkey/veggie mixture. Top with potatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.

Broil dish in oven for 4-7 minutes, or until potatoes are browned.

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

2009-08-12T15:24:00.004-08:00

Example of chicken before cooked ^^

Easy, elegant, yummy and quick! I like all those elements when making dinner. Elegant doesn't matter so much, but it's always a nice added bonus. And seriously? How many times can someone make chicken breasts before they go nuts? I've been meaning to make this for awhile, and just haven't been motivated. I actually thought it was going to be a little more time consuming than it actually was. I believe I had everything prepped and the chicken in the oven in about 15 minutes.

As a sidenote, we recently purchased a mandolin. Everyone needs one of those. Google it. Go to target and pick one up. They make kitchen life SO much easier!

Original recipe can be found here. I added a few extra ingredients, and reduced the recipe to make it for two, not four.

Cooking spray
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/3 red onion, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Oregano

1 tsp minced garlic
2 handfuls of spinach (about 1-2 cups)
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-2 ounces Feta, crumbled

Preheat oven to 375.

Heat olive oil in skillet. Over low-medium heat, add red onions and garlic, cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until soft and slightly browned. Add spinach. Stirring pretty consistently, cook until spinach is wilted. This took me about 2-3 minutes.

Slice chicken breasts horizontally, opening them up. Half the spinach/onion mixture and spread on one half of cut chicken. Add crumbled feta to the top of this. Fold the top half of chicken over spinach/feta and secure with a toothpick (as shown in picture). Sprinkle top of chicken with salt, pepper and oregano to taste.

Spray cooking pan with cooking spray, and add chicken to pan. Cook for about 25-27 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Chicken Marsala

2009-08-05T15:16:00.005-08:00

Peyton has been talking about Chicken Marsala for a very very long time. He has been meaning to make it for me, but has been so incredibly busy that he hasn't had the time (which is fine!). We were at the Olive Garden the other night and he ordered it, and it was so delicious that I decided to make it for dinner this week. It was awesome. Much lighter than what he ordered at the recipe, and very delicious. If you like mushrooms, add more! There didn't seem to be enough.

Original recipe can be found here.

1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup cooking sherry

In a bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Dredge chicken through flour mixture to coat both sides.

Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Add flour coated chicken and cook until one side is brown (do not turn chicken at this time). When one side is browned, flip chicken and add mushrooms, marsala wine and cooking sherry. Cover, and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Make sure to flip chicken at least once during this time. Serve!

Grilled Flank Steak w/ Kimchi Style Coleslaw

2009-08-05T15:11:00.004-08:00

I didn't like this, but Peyton did. So, I suppose it was a clash of taste buds! Try it and let me know what you think!

Original recipe can be found here.

1 small head cabbage, about 1 1/2 pounds
Coarse salt
6 large scallions, trimmed and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced, or to taste
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 flank steak, about 1 1/2 pounds
Ground black pepper

Remove tough exterior leaves of cabbage; core it by cutting a cone-shape wedge out of the stem end. Shred cabbage into thin strips, and separate the strips by hand. Put in a colander, and toss with about 1 tablespoon salt and the scallions. Let sit for at least an hour, preferably two, tossing occasionally, until cabbage wilts.
Prepare a grill. Combine garlic, crushed red pepper, ginger, soy sauce and vinegar in a bowl. Grill steak for about 4 minutes to a side for medium rare, turning once. Sprinkle steak with salt and pepper as it cooks.
Remove steak from grill, and let it rest. Squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the cabbage, and toss it with dressing. To serve, carve steak. Place a portion of cabbage on a plate, and top with slices of steak. Spoon a little dressing over steak, and serve

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

2009-07-16T11:31:00.003-08:00

I never thought much about asparagus until recently. I didn't grow up on it, never made it much when I started learning to cook, and it was only when Peyton requested it once, did I realize how much potential asparagus brought to a dinner plate. There are so many different ways to prepare and cook asparagus, it's easy to prepare, heats fast, and is best of all, really really yummy! I found yet another asparagus recipe in a blog, made it, and will now add this to my list of asparagus recipes.

Original recipe can be found here. I did add the garlic, which was a great idea!

1 bunch fresh asparagus

2 cloves fresh, pressed/minced garlic.

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Chop ends of asparagus, add to glass baking dish. Drizzle olive oil over asparagus in dish. Use a good amount, I'd say about 3-4 tablespoons. Sprinkle fresh garlic over asparagus, add salt and pepper to taste.

Bake in oven for approximately 10 minutes. You do not want to over-do it, as the asparagus will become too soft.

Pan-Seared Chicken with Mushrooms and Sundried Tomatoes

2009-07-16T11:21:00.004-08:00

I am so excited to start cooking again! For those who don't know, the last month or so has been absolutely crazy. We had people here staying with us, we moved houses, I went home to Alaska for 10 days, and now here we are. I haven't mentioned it yet, but I hate hate hate our new kitchen. It's tiny. Correct me, it's COZY :] The one thing I do enjoy about it, is having gas stove. For those who have never been able to cook on one of those, find one, and try it out. Uh-maze-ing. After two months of eating out a ton with so many guests, vacations and movies, we are hoping to get back into eating healthy. Here was a kick-off recipe. It was so delicious and easy!

Original recipe can be found here.

4 medium size chicken breasts

5 tbsp olive oil

10 sundried tomato halves (about 1/2 cup), sliced thinly

6 large buttom mushrooms (about 1/2 cup), diced

2 shallots, diced

Garlic Powder

Salt

Pepper

In medium to large saute pan, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil. Add chicken, sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Cook chicken for 5-6 minutes, flip, sprinkle with salt pepper and garlic powder for another 5-6 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Meanwhile, while the chicken is cooking, add 2 tablespoons of water, mushrooms and shallots to another saute pan over medium heat. Heat for approximately 3-4 minutes or until mushrooms and shallots are a bit soft. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and sundried tomatoes. Cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Place cooked chicken on a plate, and cover with tomato/mushroom mixture.

Enjoy!

Banana Bread

2009-06-21T13:12:00.003-08:00

I love banana bread. I love it most when it's thick, dense and moist. Served best with a cold glass of milk, it makes a perfect breakfast. Oddly, I even like it cold after sitting overnight in the fridge. I have made many variations of banana bread, but this is by far the easiest and most delicious. It does not use nuts, which I don't like anyway. If so desired, add chopped walnuts!

Original recipe found here.

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

4-5 ripe bananas, mashed (if you are using a stand mixer, no need to mash)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease loaf pan.

In my stand mixer, I add butter and brown sugar and mix to cream. I then add salt, baking soda, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix just until moist. Add bananas and eggs, mix until blended and not any longer.

Transfer mixture to loaf pan and bake at 350 for 60 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Lasagna

2009-06-20T06:44:00.004-08:00

I haven't updated my blog in awhile, I know. To be perfectly honest, I haven't done much cooking lately. Shame! Between multiple guests, school, and everything else in life, cooking has been a low priority around our house. I'm hoping to get back into my food world now, and to kick it off, I made lasagna! I've had many lasagna dishes before, and have made it myself a few times. I can almost say without a doubt, this is one of the best lasagna dishes I've ever tried or made. The sauce was great, the whole thing was easy to make, and it looked beyond appetizing. I used ground turkey, but you can also use ground beef if so desired.

Original recipe can be found here.

1 lb ground turkey

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tbl brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans tomato paste

12 dry lasagna noodles

2 eggs

1 pint part skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown ground turkey, onion and garlic. Drain fat. Mix in oregano, brown sugar, salt, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Let simmer for about 25-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.

In the meantime, bring large pot of water to boil, add lasagna noodles and boil per time on package.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Add ricotta cheese, grated parmesan cheese and 1 tsp salt. Mix together.

Layer in 9x13 inch pan as follows from bottom up:

Lasagna noodles

Ricotta cheese mixture (1/3)

Mozzarella Cheese (1/2)

Sauce (1/3)

Lasagna Noodles

Ricotta Cheese Mixture

Mozzarella Cheese

Sauce

Lasagna Noodles

Ricotta Cheese Mixture

Sauce

If so desired, sprinkle any extra cheese on top.

Cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes at 375. Uncover and bake an additional 30-45 minutes.

Greek Gyros w/ Tzatziki Sauce

2009-05-14T05:15:00.005-08:00

I loooove Greek food. I don't know why or how it started, but whenever I see a Greek restaurant it is a must-try. I really love souvlaki, Gyros, and more importantly, Tzatziki sauce (better known as cucumber sauce). So, when I had a craving for Greek, I figured I should just try and make some myself! I had no idea what I missing out. I made better Greek than any restaurant I've ever been to. The best part, it was SO easy! I rarely make anything more than once, but I have the ingredients to make this again already in my kitchen.

This is a must make, for anyone. My tip, prep anything you can in advance, so it is easy to throw it together right around dinner time.

Ingredients:

For Gyros:

1 lb. ground pork

1/4 minced red onion

2 tsp. lemon juice

4-6 rounds of flat bread

shredded lettuce

1/4 cup diced tomatoes

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

For Tzatziki Sauce:

2 cups low fat plain yogurt

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 large cucumber- peeled, and grated (then place into strainer and strain liquid out)

**Things to preprare in advance**

In ziploc bag, add salt, dried oregano, onion powder, garlic salt, pepper, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg. Shake and set aside.

To get the right consistency you MUST strain the plain yogurt. You want as much liquid out as possible. I did this by taking a coffee filter, and adding 1 cup on yogurt. I then placed 2 shot glasses inside one drinking glass, and let the coffee filter perch on top of the shot glasses. I have included a picture so you get the idea. I let this sit inside my fridge for about 3 hours. Notice the liquid draining into the cup.

After you have mixed the seasonings and strained the yogurt, you should be good until dinner time.

When you are getting ready to eat, mince the red onion, and dice the tomatoes.

For Gyros:

In skillet over medium heat, add ground pork, ziploc bag of seasoning red onion and lemon juice. Cook under pork is cooked through.

For Tzatziki Sauce:

In small bowl, add strained yogurt, minced garlic, salt, black pepper, and grated cucumber.

To complete the meal:

Spread Tzatziki sauce over warm flat bread, top with gyro meat, shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes.

A Tip for Your Kitchen

2009-05-06T08:34:00.003-08:00

I know this is not a recipe, but I believe that a clean kitchen is essential to cooking. I never want to cook in my kitchen if it's dirty, messy, cluttered, etc. We have a TINY kitchen. There is not much counter or cabinet space. Moving in, my biggest challenge while unpacking was figuring out how to set up our kitchen. Every few weeks I do a deep clean in the kitchen, everything comes off the counters, gets a good scrub down, the walls get scrubbed, the appliances get wiped down, etc.

Here is my quick checklist that may help you when cleaning out your kitchen.

Take everything off counters, spray with cleaner (I use Mrs. Meyers counter spray), wipe down.

Scrub stains off walls

Put everything back on counters, wipe down excess "grime" from appliances.

Organize pots, pans, cookie sheets, etc. In cabinets/drawers by size (smallest pan/pot on top).

Organize cookbooks by size (shortest to tallest)

Organize anything on top of fridge (I use a large basket to hold everything on top of fridge, this looks more put together)

Organize cabinets that look cluttered (see picture)

Wipe down oven, including knobs.

Jalapeno Mayonnaise

2009-05-06T08:27:00.005-08:00

Because I am a little random sometimes, a few months ago I planted a jalapeno plant in the front yard planter with some flowers! I was so happy the other day when Peyton noticed that I had a jalapeno pepper that had sprouted! I wasn't sure what to make with it, I am not a huge fan of jalapenos. I decided to make burgers, and was going to make jalapeno burgers, but didn't want to hate my food :] So, I toned the jalapeno down a bit by looking up a jalapeno "sauce". I came up with Emeril's recipe from the Food Network website. Recipe can be found here. It called for lime juice, but I didn't have any, so omitted that.

**Sorry the picture is so unappetizing, I swear, this stuff was good!**

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeds removed and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed oregano

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, transfer into a tupperware for refrigeration.

Beef Back Ribs

2009-04-30T16:21:00.007-08:00

I don't have a great or elaborate story to go with these. All I have to say is that they were delicious. They made me never want to order ribs from a restaurant again, because it wouldn't even compare to how yummy these were! :] Try it. You'll like it.

4-5 lbs Beef Back Ribs

1 med onion, sliced

salt & pepper to taste

3/4 cup ketchup

3/4 cup water

2 tbsp white vinegar

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp chili powder

Place ribs in baking dish/roaster.

Top with sliced onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in small bowl, then pour evenly over ribs. Cover and marinate for 2-3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook, covered for 1.5 hours, basting often.

Remove cover and cook another 20 minutes.

Carrot Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

2009-04-30T08:41:00.006-08:00

Carrot cake always reminds me of weddings. My mom had carrot cake at her wedding a few years ago, and Peyton and I had carrot cake at our wedding. Homemade carrot cake absolutely cannot be beat. There is something about the spices, texture and the fact that it is incredibly moist that makes my mouth water everytime I think about it.

I brought this carrot cake into school, for one of my teachers. I think in a matter of a few hours, just a few of us managed to eat it right up. It was SO GOOD.

Tip: Make sure you FINELY grate/shred the carrots. If they are too heavy, they will sink to the bottom of the cake.

Ingredients:

4 beaten eggs

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 cups finely shredded carrots

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Pull eggs from fridge and allow to stand at room temperature while you are grating carrots, or for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 2 round cake pans.

Shred 3 cups carrots into small/medium bowl. Add beaten eggs and vegetable oil.

In medium/large bowl (I used my stand mixers bowl), stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and baking powder. Add carrot mixture and stir.

Pour batter evenly into 2 cake pants. Bake for 35 minutes, or until toothpick can be inserted and come out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then take out of pan and cool on wire racks completely.

Frost as desired. I first frosted one cake, then added the second cake to the top and frosted that. Colored the remaining frosting orange with food coloring, and decorated.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients-

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

5-6 cups powdered sugar.

Combine first 3 ingredients and beat until fluffy. Slowly add powdered sugar until it is a spreading/frosting consistency.

Apple Pie

2009-04-30T08:32:00.003-08:00

I LOVE apple pie. It is one of the top 3 pies ever. Although I can't stand apple pie when someone takes a can of filling, and bakes it. Are you kidding me?! The best part of apple pie is how homemade it tastes. My mom has been mastering apple pies at family functions for as long as I can remember. And then I made a few. And now, I know this recipe by heart. I gave the pie to Peyton to take into work, and he was impressed. He said that he wasn't expecting it to be THAT good, which always makes me happy to hear :]

The trick to my apple pie is this. Any TRUE apple pie lover/maker needs a peeler/corer/slicer. They are amazing, and cut the time in half in terms of making the pie.

Ingredients-

6 cups (about 8 small-medium)apples, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices
Pie crust pastry (okay, I admit it, I buy mine from the store)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375

Stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in large bowl. Add apples and toss to coat apples.

Line pastry/pie dish with crust. Add apple mixture into crust. Place butter slices on top of apple mixture. Top apple mixture with another pastry crust. Seal pie by pinching together top/bottom crust at the edges.

Cut slits in top of crust to let pie breathe and not bubble.

Cover edges of pie with foil, this is to prevent browning of the crust on the sides.

Bake for 40 minutes at 375. Remove foil and bake another 15-20 minutes.

Oreo Chocolate Cake

2009-04-16T12:58:00.007-08:00

I decided that I love baking cakes. There is something about decorating them, preparing them, mixing them, finding good flavors and inspiration. Plus, you have to admit, they are freaking delicious :]

SO. After making the Guinness cake (in my blog) Peyton and his friend decided I needed to make another one. I was so glad to! I love baking, but never want the end result hanging around the house for me to eat. I enjoyed creating this and then getting rid of it to all the guys at Peyton's work. It was perfect!

I followed the recipe exact, except in lieu of making my own chocolate icing, I just bought whipped chocolate icing (I know, I know.) Original recipe can be found here.

For the cake:
2 Cups Sugar
1 3/4 Cups all-purpose flour
3/4 Cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 Cup milk
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Cup boiling water

For the filling:
1 1/4 Cup heavy cream
1/8 Cup confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
10 chocolate sandwich cookies, chopped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9 inch round baking pans.

In a large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be very thin). Pour batter into round baking pans.

Bake 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Once removed place on baking racks until completely cooled.

To make the filling, combine cream, confectioners sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low until sugar is incorporated, then beat on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in chopped cookie pieces.

To assemble the cake, place one layer of cake on desired serving plate. Pipe a border of frosting along the rim of the cake. Spread a thick layer of cookies n’ cream filling inside the circle. Top with the other layer of cake. Frost the side of the cake with the frosting. Pipe a decorative border of chocolate frosting along the border of the cake. Fill the inside of the decorative border with a thick layer of cookies n’ cream filling. Garnish with cookies and frosting as desired.

Chicken Paprikash

2009-04-15T16:40:00.005-08:00

I am so tired of my diet. I can't tell you how many chicken breasts I've had to eat in the past month or so. Ughhh. So, I've been trying to find new interesting ways to make chicken. Because really, grilled chicken only takes me so far now before I really just don't even want to bother eating. I made this a long long time ago, and remember it being VERY fattening (and also very good). Here is the slimmed down, healthy version. My advice, either serve it over rice/noodles, or only use 1 cup of chicken stock. We served this in bowls because it was so "soupy". VERY good though!

South beach friendly for all phases, original recipe can be found here.

6 thin sliced chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch strips

3 Tablespoon paprika

2 tsp butter (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)

2 tsp olive oil

1 onion chopped (not too small)

1 can diced tomatoes- drained

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup red roasted pepper, drained, chopped into pieces same size as tomatoes

1/2 to 1 cup light/low fat sour cream

Heat 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp olive oil in large skillet. Season chicken with paprika and add to skillet until cooked through. Remove chicken pieces from skillet and place on plate to add back in later.

Add the rest of the butter and olive oil to skillet and melt butter. Then add onions. Saute for about 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add diced tomatoes and red roasted pepper to pan and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add chicken stock and turn up heat. Bring ingredients to a boil, for about 5 minutes. Turn heat to low, add chicken back in. Stir in sour cream until melted and blended.

Serve!

Chocolate guinness cake w/ peanut butter icing

2009-04-06T10:54:00.005-08:00

Peyton is now a crossfit certified instructor!! Yay! For any of you who don't know what Crossfit is, head to their website. I highly recommend it for a good kick your ass workout.

Anyway, so he spend a whole weekend to become certified. I'm so proud of him :] While he was gone doing this, I contemplated many congrats presents for him. A card, a banner, a good meal, and then thought of all his favorite "bad for him" foods. Because nothing says congrats on being a personal fitness trainer like bad food, right?

Chocolate. Peanut Butter. Guinness Beer.

I swear, if he could, he'd live off these three alone. I had come across a chocolate stout cake awhile ago and always wanted to try it, and this was my perfect excuse.

Long story short, when he got home (with a friend in tow) they gobbled almost half the cake in one sitting. I would say, total success :] Unfortunately, he also had the camera with him all day, so the only picture I got of the cake was after they had already dug in. Oh well!

Original recipe for cake here, original recipe for peanut butter frosting, here. I also used some whipped chocolate frosting from the jar for some decoration and accents.

Cake:

1 cup guinness beer

2 sticks unsalted butter, soft

3/4 cup cocoa baking powder

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoons of salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350.

Bring 1 cup guinness and 1 cup butter to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Let cool slightly.

In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 tsp salt. Using electric or stand up mixer, beat eggs and sour cream together. Add stout-cocoa mixture and beat until combined. Add flour mixture gradually until combined, then fold with spatula to completely combine.

Pour batter into greased cake pan(s). I used 2 round pans. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until inserted tester comes out clean. Cool cake in pan before removing.

Peanut butter frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups confectioners sugar

3 tablespoons milk, or as needed.

With electric or stand up mixer, beat together butter and peanut butter. Slowly add confectioners sugar, adding milk one tablespoon at a time as needed. (Only add milk if frosting is too thick!) Beat until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

*This made a LOT of frosting, I was able to frost and decorate my cake and still have over 1/3 of this left.*

White chip chocolate peanut butter cookies

2009-04-06T10:46:00.003-08:00

Seeing as how I've been doing this South Beach thing for about a month now, I'm SORT of getting rid of my sugar cravings. Mostly. Okay, not all the time, but I've been really really good. Minus the bag of white chocolate chips that have been calling my name ALMOST every time I opened the cabinet. Finally, I decided to stop torturing myself and do something with them. Many would say, "Just throw them away!" But me? I decided to do one better. Bake.

Now. For anyone who has ever attempted to bake while on a no refined sugar/carb diet, I don't recommend it. I did manage to get away with only a tiny taste of dough, to make sure the flavor was okay, and then a tiny bite of a cookie from the oven, because they were staring me down. I brought the rest to Peyton and his guys at work, who loved them.

Original recipe is here, I (like usual) made it my own by adding the peanut butter. They were GREAT, from what I hear that is :]

2 1/4 cups flour

2/3 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 package white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl (I used the stand up) until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add in flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Stir/fold in white chips.

Drop by teaspoon onto baking sheets.

Bake 9-11 minutes or until centers are set.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

2009-03-28T14:51:00.004-08:00

As always, this is healthy and South Beach friendly for all phases :]

I wasn't sure what to use my ground turkey for. I knew it was okay in my phase one of South Beach, and I was getting tired of chicken and steak for dinner. There are only so many grilled chickens you can eat. I did a quick search of "south beach ground turkey" recipes, and came up with this. It was SO good. I would make these even if I weren't doing South Beach. Peyton ate his in about three minutes, and wanted more. I did have some leftover "stuffing", so I'm sure that will be leftover lunch tomorrow! The recipe makes 4 peppers, I only made 2.

Original recipe can be found here.

2 bell peppers

EVOO

1 lb ground turkey

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

5-6 shakes of seasoned salt

2-3 shakes onion powder

4-5 shakes paprika

1 tomato, chopped

shredded cheese

Wash the peppers, cut the tops off (reserving tops) and place in oiled glass dish.

Chop up tops of peppers to add into stuffing mixture.

Cover peppers and microwave for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350

In skillet over medium heat, add about 1 tablespoon of EVOO, ground turkey, celery, garlic, green onions, tomato, chopped up tops of pepper, worcestershire sauce and all spices. Cook until turkey is no longer raw.

Stuff peppers, top with cheese.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and peppers are soft.

Lemon Lime Garlic Pepper Chicken

2009-03-25T04:28:00.005-08:00

I'm trying to be creative with how many ways I can make chicken. There are only so many spices I can use on chicken before it starts tasting the same, night after night. I came up with this recipe to get a little "sweet" into my diet, and it was very good! Marinating the chicken before hand is key to the dish, so make sure you prepare it morning/afternoon!

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thin sliced

1 whole lemon

Pepper to taste

Garlic salt to taste

Paprika for garnish

Cut lemon and lime into halves. In small/medium size glass pan, squeeze fruit juices. Season chicken lightly with black pepper and garlic salt. Lay into pan of juices. Cover, and let refrigerate for 2-3 hours. After that, flip chicken in pan, season other side of chicken, cover and let refrigerate for another 2-3 hours.

Remove chicken from fridge about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 375 and cook for 17 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle paprika on top of chicken for flavor and color. Serve!

Sauteed Fresh Green Beans

2009-03-25T04:22:00.004-08:00

I have never worked with fresh green beans before. I can't believe it! I've always had green beans from a can... Come to think of it, when I found these at the grocery store, I realized I had never seen a fresh green bean before in my life. So, I picked up about a 1/4 pound of them and decided that I was going to try it. At first I thought about grilling, and then I thought about steaming, and neither of which seemed like it would give them much "flavor". I didn't want to just stick them over heat, as I thought they would become too crunchy. I'm sure that many people have tried this, but for those who haven't, prepare your green beans like this, and the canned ones will always be put to shame :] And yes, this is South Beach Diet friendly, for all phases.

You will need

1/4-1/2 pound fresh green beans- snapped into halves

1-2 tsp minced garlic

1 tblspoon butter (I used I can't Believe it's not butter!)

Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Once boiled, add green beans and boil until a rich green color (about 4-5 minutes). Remove pot from heat and drain.

In a saute/skillet, over medium heat, melt butter and add garlic to pan. Once butter is melted, add green beans. Saute over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, or until beans are completely coated in butter and pan is sizzling.

Serve and enjoy!

Garlic Balsamic Chicken

2009-03-23T17:50:00.006-08:00

Yet another phase 1 South Beach Diet friendly recipe! This one was SO good. I can't rave enough. I want to make it again. The only bummed about it was that I ate it all! Mmmm :] I know it's not all that pretty looking, but it's so worth it.

Original recipe can be found here.

I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it my own!

2 thin sliced chicken breasts

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Salt

Onion Powder

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/4 cup white onion, chopped

2-3 tbl. EVOO

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tbl. water

Heat EVOO over medium heat in skillet. Season both sides of chicken with salt, pepper, garlic salt and onion powder. Cook chicken on oven in skillet. Once cooked through, place chicken aside on plate. Leave drippings in skillet.

Add chopped onion and minced garlic and cook until soft, about 2 minutes.

Add balsamic vinegar and water. Bring to boil. Boil until vinegar begins to reduce, and stirs "thick" (about 5 minutes).

Add chicken back into skillet and let simmer for a minute.

Serve.

YUM!

Seared Scallops with Cauliflower Puree and Grilled Asparagus

2009-03-22T05:53:00.005-08:00

About a week ago, I started the South Beach Diet. I've been doing pretty good on it, the first few days I dropped 5 pounds immediately, now I've been at a stand still for about 4 days, but DH also came home and I probably ate some things I THOUGHT were good on the diet and might not have been. Anyway, one thing I made for dinner this weekened while he was home was this. It is South Beach Diet Phase 1 friendly and was actually very good! I tweaked the recipe a little bit to fit the diet and what we had on hand, but it was still yummy.

Original recipe can be found here.

1/2 pound bay scallops, thawed.

1 small head cauliflower - chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 bunch asparagus

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 tbs butter (I used Can't Believe It's Not Butter)

Olive oil to drizzle

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Butter to taste

Seasoning salt

Bring large pot of water to boil. Add chopped cauliflower and garlic to boiling water. Simmer until cauliflower is fork-tender and drain. Add yogurt, cauliflower and garlic, butter to taste, salt and pepper to stand mixer and whip until pureed. You can also mash with fork.

Meanwhile, heat your grill over medium heat. Drizzle and brush asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill for a few minutes until tender (3-5 minutes).

In saute pan, heat butter until bubbly. Season scallops on both sides with seasoning salt. Place scallops in pan and cook until no long opaque.

To serve, mound 1 cup cauliflower puree in the center of the plate. Top with either asparagus or scallops, and then top with the food not yet used. Enjoy!

Summer cookout Macaroni Salad

2009-03-10T15:07:00.004-08:00

For as long as I can remember, my mom has made this. She brings it to pot lucks, to family get togethers, to BBQ's, school functions, work functions, ANYTHING. And it is always a hit. I love the stuff. It will forever remind me of my mom, and I've never tasted any pasta salad like it. Kids love it, adults love it, this is like a hit wonder :] We did a grill out at some new friends house this last weekend. On complete accident, I grabbed the "sponge bob" box of noodles, so the picture shows sponge bob pasta salad. Fortunately, it was a hit with their kids who love sponge bob.

You can also add ham, shrimp, celery, etc. Anything you like really. Here is the basic recipe.

I apologize for the dark picture, I didn't realize it looked like that until it was on my computer!

What you'll need:

2 boxes Kraft (or generic brand) macaroni and cheese (the original kind, no extra/fancy cheese)

1-2 carrots, sliced

1 small can sliced black olives

1 - 1 1/2 cups mayo

2 slices American Cheese, cut into 1x1 inch sqaures

1 tsp. Garlic powder

1/2 tsp Onion powder

Cook macaroni from both boxes as directed on box. (Do not add cheese, butter milk, etc. Just cook pasta)

Once al dente, drain macaroni and transfer into medium size bowl. Add ONE packet of cheese mix from box (throw away the second packet), and mayo. Mix together. Let the noodles cool down for a few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Let refridgerate for about 3-4 hours before serving.

*Onion and garlic powder are really added to taste, but I will say that the garlic taste really subsides with time, so it may taste overpowering when you first mix, but after a few hours it really mellows out.

Healthy Crock Pot Beef Stew

2009-02-25T15:00:00.005-09:00

So, I've decided that while Peyton is gone, my weakness is junk food. I went to the store earlier this week, and ended up walking out with frozen burritos, pizza rolls, cookie mix, etc. Um, YUCK! Okay, well, YUM.. But definitely not good for me! So, I also managed to look up a few crock pot recipes before I went to the store. These are always nice, simple, make my house smell good, and usually the leftovers are really yummy. It's not fun cooking for one, at least not to me. I'm not sure what I'd do differently with this next time. I would definitely add carrots into it. And more salt/pepper. It really was VERY basic. Good, but the flavors were a little muted almost. I'll definitely finish it off, but it needs a little kick.

Original recipe can be found here. Did I mention there are only 180 calories per serving? :]

1 lb beef stewing meat (in chunks)

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 onion, in wedges

3 stalks celery, in chunks

2 potatoes (I used red) cut into chunks

3 cups water

salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

Add all ingredients to crock pot. I cooked on low for about 8 hours, you could probably cook on high for about 4 hours. Unlike original recipe, I did not add more flour/water at the end.

Peanut Butter Pie w/ Chocolate Crust

2009-02-18T03:50:00.002-09:00

Holy yumm-o batman.

SO. Because I was horribly sick on Valentine's day, we didn't do anything for it. Which was a bit disappointing, seeing as how it was our first V-day as married folk, and while Peyton's not big into the whole commercialized love day, I am. Sue me, I like pink, frills and love. Anyway, so I surprised the pants off him (not literally) and made an amazing candlelight dinner last night. I didn't get ANY pictures, go figure, so I can't post those recipes, but did manage to snap a picture of the desert I made. The original recipe is here.

For the crust:

1 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

1 cup crushed graham crackers

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup shaved semisweet chocolate

For the filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 oz. semisweet chocolate, shaved

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all crust ingredients in bowl except chocolate and mix. Pat down into pie dish. Bake for 10 minutes, to toast slightly. As soon as it comes out of the oven, sprinkle with chocolate. Set aside.

For filling: Using mixer with paddle, cream together all the filling ingredients except shaved chocolate until light and peaks form, about 4-5 minutes. Pour into pie dish on top of crust. Freeze for 3-4 hours, put into fridge for about 2 hours before serving. Right before serving, sprinkle shaved chocolate on top.

I'm not much of a peanut butter fan, but this was GOOD.

Spicy Molasses Cookies

2009-02-01T07:30:00.005-09:00

I have been DYING to use my new stand up mixer. It keeps calling my name and enticing me with it's awesome-ness :] SO. This week I'm going to hopefully bake two things that will let me use it! The first on my list was these, spicy molasses cookies. I found the recipe here, although I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, so instead of sugar I used Splenda (which I do NOT recommend) and instead of Crisco I used unsalted butter (which I DO recommend). I also left out cardamom, which the original recipe called for. It tasted just fine without it!

Yum. Yum. Yum.

The dough almost didn't make it to the cookie sheets.

You will need:

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg (I used egg beaters it was fine, if you are using egg beaters, 1/4 cup)

2 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together sugar, butter, molasses and butter until combined.

Add in the rest of the ingredients.

Roll into cookie size balls (you know what I mean!) and then roll dough balls in sugar, if so desired.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are cracked on top and cooked through.

Enjoy!!

12 Layer Taco Dip

2009-02-01T07:17:00.004-09:00

My mom makes this from time to time and I always think it's SO good. She usually makes the 7 layer variety, also adding in refried beans. When I sent Peyton to the store to get the ingredients for this, I forgot to add beans to the list, SO this dip is beanless. We were having people over for Taco night, and I didn't want to JUST serve tacos, so I also served this! It's so yummy, I'm actually eating the leftovers for breakfast as I type :]

You will need:

1 Container Guacamole

1 Container Sour Cream

1 packet Taco seasoning

"Fiesta blend" shredded cheese

1 Small can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 small can sliced black olives

Mix taco seasoning packet and container of sour cream together.

In a glass dish (I used a round pie dish) layer as follows from bottom to top:

1/2 container guacamole

1/2 amount of sour cream/taco seasoning

Enough shredded cheese to cover sour cream

1/2 can diced tomatoes

1/8 cup green onions

1/2 can black olives

Repeat to make 12 layers. Serve with tostitos scoops chips so you can get a lot of it in one bite :]

Mexican Crock Pot Chicken

2009-01-29T03:37:00.004-09:00

If I get a chance, I'll snap a picture of the leftovers. This was just TOO good not to post and my camera has been charging!! Amazingly easy, made my house smell great and tasted even better!

Original recipe was found here.

2-3 Chicken breasts (mine were frozen and worked great)

1 can diced tomatoes (do not drain)

1 can black beans (do not drain)

1 can mexican chili beans (do not drain)

1 pkg. Taco Seasoning

1 small can black olives

1 small can chopped green chiles

Layer chicken at the bottom of crock pot. Add ingredients to top of chicken in the order listed about (diced tomatoes on top of chicken, ending with green chiles on top of everything). Do not stir. Cook on low in crock pot 7-8 hours. Take out chicken and shred and add back to crock pot. Stir ingredients together.

**It said to serve it in a flour tortilla, I did not as it was more of a "chili"

I can't tell you how good and easy this was!

Ricotta wrapped chicken

2009-01-21T12:26:00.006-09:00

We've been trying to eat healthier, which means a LOT of chicken. And to be perfectly honest, how many ways can you cook a chicken? I made this up after needing to use up some ingredients in my kitchen. It was really delicious, except I wouldn't put as much onion into it next time.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

1/3 cup ricotta cheese (I used part skim)

1/8 cup chopped onion

1/8 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

1/8 cup freshly sliced mozzarella

1 tblspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Paprika

Salt

Pepper

Heat oven to 375.

Butterfly open the chicken breasts and pound them out. In a bowl, mix together, ricotta cheese, onion, mushrooms, mozzarella, garlic salt and italian seasoning.

Spread thin layer of ricotta cheese mixture and roll chicken up. Secure chicken with toothpicks.

Sprinkle chicken with paprika, salt, and pepper.

Bake in oven at 375 for 35 minutes.

Pan Cooked Scallops

2009-01-21T12:22:00.006-09:00

I created this dish a few nights ago, actually as a side dish. But, it was so good and simple I figured I needed to blog about it. I'm putting in measurements, but I didn't use any measuring devices, so these are estimates. Use more of something if you like it more! :]

Approx.

25-30 Bay Scallops

1 tablespoon butter or margarine (we have switched to using Promise, and it worked fine)

1 tsp. EVOO

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Melt butter over medium heat in saucepan. Add EVOO and minced garlic, until brown. Add the remaining seasonings, mix together, then add scallops. Cook until scallops are an opaque color.

Feta-Topped Chicken

2009-01-18T17:18:00.007-09:00

I'm so excited to break into my new kitchen! Tonight I made a simple and healthy dinner. We're both trying to eat a little healthier so I've been scouring the internet for good chicken recipes. I have made this before and came across is again. It is SO easy, tastes really great and the presentation is pretty spiffy :] I steamed carrots and broccoli for a side dish.

The original recipe is here.

My variation:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette dressing

2 tsp. italian seasoning

4 tomato slices (I used a roma tomato)

1 small block feta cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 1/3 cup when all cubed)

Set oven to broil.

Place chicken in square baking dish. Brush each side of chicken with balsamic vinaigrette dressing and sprinkle italian seasoning on both sides as well.

Broil chicken for about 6 minutes, turn chicken and broil another 6 minutes, or until juices run clear.

Top chicken with tomato slices and feta cheese, broil another 3 minutes or until cheese is light brown on top.

If you have any leftover italian seasoning, sprinkle that on top of chicken and serve.

Almost ready!

2009-01-15T03:21:00.002-09:00

For christmas I received a Williams Sonoma cookbook, and for my birthday I was surprised with a kitchen-aid stand up mixer! So, as soon as our house is all moved in I'll be back to cooking! I can't wait!

A Little Break!

2008-12-07T15:03:00.001-09:00

So, we're right in the middle of moving across the country... This means my kitchen will be packed for now! I am hoping to pick back up with my fabulous food blogging when we arrive in the sunshine state!

Mexican Corn

2008-11-27T07:54:00.004-09:00

I came up for this idea after Peyton didn't want mexican rice, and didn't like refried beans. I wanted a vegetable, and after researching Mexican sides, came up with this. It was really good, although next time I might omit the butter completely.

2 cans drained whole kernel corn

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter

1 red roasted bell pepper, chopped

1/2 can diced green chiles

salt to taste

Add everything to small pot, mix until everything is heated and cream cheese/butter is melted and coats all the corn.

Chicken Enchiladas

2008-11-27T07:42:00.007-09:00

We had my Dad over for "mexican night" Which consisted of these enchiladas, Mexican corn, and Mexican beer! These were definitely a hit and fairly easy! The hardest part was waiting for the chicken to cook :] Original recipe can be found here.

** I know the picture looks like my beef and bean burritos, it's not! :]

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 tsp garlic powder

1 onion, chopped

1/2 pint sour cream (I used lite)

1 cup shredded mexican blend cheese

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 oz can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon diced green chiles

1 clove minced garlic

8 (burrito size) flour tortillas

10-12 oz. jar taco sauce

1/2 cup shredded mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 deep baking dish with cooking spray.

Sprinkle chicken breasts with garlic powder, evenly on both sides.

In a medium, non-stick skillet over medium heat, cook chicken until no longer pink and juices run clear.

While chicken is cooking, add the onion, sour cream, 1 cup shredded cheese, cumin, oregano and black pepper to bowl, stir together.

Cube the chicken and add to bowl. Stir everything together. Add all the ingredients from the bowl into skillet. Heat until cheese melts. Stir in salt, tomato sauce, chili powder, green chiles and garlic.

Roll even amounts of the mixture in the tortillas. Arrange in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with taco sauce and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Cheesecake

2008-11-27T07:36:00.003-09:00

Ok, so I didn't MAKE the cheesecake, but I thought I decorated them pretty and wanted to post :] I bought premade/preformed graham cracker crusts, a tub of Philadelphia cheesecake, some blueberries, strawberries and fruit glaze, and went to town. It was a lot of fun!

Kristan's Baked Chicken Kiev

2008-11-24T20:19:00.004-09:00

My grandma told me about making Chicken Kiev a few weeks ago and it stuck in my head since then. There are so many variations out there of it, baked, fried, cheese in the middle, no cheese, spices, no spices. SO. Here is what I came up with! Add/take away spices as you like. (Yes, I measured in shakes)

2 chicken breasts (pounded out to 1/4 inch thick)

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tsp fresh chives, chopped

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp black pepper

salt to taste

1 cup flour

1 egg

1-1/2 cup Italian Seasoned bread crumbs

2 tablespoons shredded parmasean cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat 8x8 inch cooking dish with spray.

In small bowl, mix together, butter, chives, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper and salt.

Add 1 cup flour to small bowl.

In another small bowl, beat egg.

In third bowl, pour in bread crumbs.

Put butter at one top of chicken breast and roll breast up tightly. Dredge rolled breast in flour, then in egg, then in bread crumbs. Press tightly in crumbs. Stick 2 toothpicks through chicken to keep it rolled tight. Repeat with other chicken breast.

Bake for 20 minutes, sprinkle parmasean cheese on top and bake another 5, or until cheese is melted.

This is easy, and tastes GREAT. Peyton said it was one of his new favorites!

Crispy Panko Breaded Chicken

2008-11-24T20:09:00.005-09:00

I usually like to make more "labor intensive" meals for dinner on Sundays. I have the whole day to de-thaw, prepare, I'm not running in the door at 5:30 starving... But for some reason, this past Sunday, the couch claimed all of my attenion. It wasn't easy to even get up to make this :] BUT it was very good, and very very easy. I found it on a fellow Nester's cooking blog, she has so many recipes I want to try! I tweaked it a little to work for me.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 eggs

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray

Combine flour, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika in a shallow dish. In a second shallow dish, beat 2 eggs together. In a third shallow dish, add the panko bread crumbs and Italian seasoning, and stir together. Dip the chicken first, in the flour mixture, then the eggs and finally in the panko bread crumbs. Make sure to press the crumbs into the chicken in order to ensure they adhere to the chicken.

Bake for 10 minutes, and then flip and bake for another 10.

Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

2008-11-23T06:47:00.004-09:00

I love to bake. I turn on some good music, pull all the ingredients and bake my little heart out. I always think for me personally baking is such a soothing hobby. Cooking is a little different, you are constantly moving and tasting and adding, with baking, it's completely different. Peyton was out of the house yesterday morning, he had gone to a friends to watch football. So, I scrolled through the nest What's Cooking board and found that someone had made these. They sounded great and really "fitting" for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. I gave them a whirl, and they are really really great. I followed the recipe almost completely, I just didn't add the pecans (I'm not a fan of nut cookies).

A big thank you to Nicole from the Cookies on Friday blog!

1-2/3 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup butter- softened

1 cup brown sugar

1-1/4 tsp lemon zest

1 egg

2-1/2 tsp vanilla

1-1/2 cups dried cranberries, sweetened

1-1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the butter in a large bowl and beat with mixer until lightened. Add the brown sugar and lemon zest, mix about 2 minutes until fluffly. Add the egg, vanilla and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture and then stir in cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Drop the dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until browned around the edges and set in the centers.

Cool for 2 minutes, and then transfer to wire rack.

Garlic Knots

2008-11-16T07:01:00.004-09:00

I had read about garlic knots on thenest.com What's cooking board and everyone seemed to love them. There were quite a few recipes out there, so I ended up loosely following this one, although I folded my knots differently and added different ingredients. Recipe can be found here.

2 packages breadstick dough (I found it in a pillsbury tube)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

Italian seasoning to taste

1/4 cup finely shredded parmesean cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

I unrolled the breadstick dough and used 2 premade breadstick shapes for each knot. I folded them as they fold theirs here.

Bake dough for about 13 minutes.

While dough is baked, mash minced garlic with salt to form a paste. Add the paste in a small bowl with olive oil.

When dough is finished, slightly brown on top, remove from oven. Immediately brush olive oil/garlic mixture on top of each knot. Sprinkle each knot with Italian Seasoning and parmesean cheese. Serve immediately.

Cranberry Spinach Salad

2008-11-16T06:53:00.005-09:00

I found this recipe a few months ago and created it after reading all the rave reviews. And it was good. The best part is that it was still really good the next day even after all the spinach had wilted. The dressing is just awesome, and the cranberries and toasted walnuts give it a really great flavor. Plus it's really easy to make :] Because I only need a few of the seeds and what not, I buy them from the bulk food section of my grocery store, so I only buy as much as I need. The original recipe can be found here.

1 tablespoon butter

3/4 cup slivered and blanched almonds

1 bag fresh spinach (usually by the bagged salad in your store).

1 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons fresh minced onion

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

In medium size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly brown and toasted. Remove from heat, let cool.

In a large bowl, add spinach, toasted almonds and cranberries, toss.

In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Toss this into the spinach bowl just before serving.

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta

2008-11-16T06:42:00.004-09:00

I'm not sure how I found this recipe, but I'm so glad that I did! I used this when making dinner this past weekend for my husband, mom, and step dad. It might not be the most healthy recipe in the world, but it tasted SO good. If you have a little time to put into your dinner, this looks so great and is so impressive.

Original recipe can be found here.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic

1 block frozen spinach (thawed and drained)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

15 oz ricotta cheese

2/3 cup grated parmesean cheese

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

8 slices thick sliced bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a slotted cooking tray (this is so you don't cook the chicken in the bacon grease, and instead let it drip through)

Heat olive oil in skillet, add garlic and cook until it begins to brown. Stir in spinach and cook for about 3-4 mintes, until oil and garlic is mixed in evenly. Transfer mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Slice through chicken breast horizontally, and open on a long edge. Pound meat until a 1/4-1/2 inch thickness.

Stir the ricotta cheese, parmesean cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic salt, and onion powder into the cooked spinach until blended. Spread 1/4 of the mixture onto on side of each chicken breast, then roll each breast as tightly as possible.

Wrap each breast with 2 slices of bacon, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Secure each bacon slice/breast with toothpicks.

Bake in oven until bacon is crispy and chicken is cooked through. I left mine in there almost an hour.

Remove toothpicks after 5 minutes of cooling and serve.

Cranberry Walnut Baked Brie

2008-11-16T06:33:00.004-09:00

I first had baked brie when we ordered it one night from our favorite restaurant in town, Lavelle's. It was so so yummy. We recreated this again a few nights later to see if we could do it on our own. It was good, although we had forgotten to spray the pan with cooking spray, so it had stuck to it :] We had my mom and step dad over for dinner last night and I made this as an appetizer, and it was perfect. You can use any sort of filling that you like really, or no filling at all.

1 container croissant dough (from the tube)

1 round brie cheese

3/4 cup cranberry jelly

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 loaf thin bread (french)

Spray cooking sheet with cooking spray, preheat oven to 350.

Open croissant dough and roll out into one big sheet.

Unwrap brie, and cut in half horizontally.

Place 1 half brie onto middle of dough.

Spread half of the cranberry jelly onto top of brie.

Place other half of brie on top of 1st half.

Spread the rest of the jelly on top of brie, and sprinkle top half with dried cranberries and chopped walnuts.

Fold dough over brie, so that there are no openings.

Sprinkle with brown sugar.

Bake for 20 or so minutes, until croissant dough is a light brown color.

Cut loaf into thin slices, and once brie is semi cooled, cut into slices and spread on bread.

This is an impressive appetizer that will leave everyone wanting more :]

Slow Cooker Thai Chicken

2008-11-16T06:23:00.004-09:00

I had been wanting to make this for awhile, and finally had the right ingredients in my house and enough chicken. The reviews were a mix of really great and really awful, so I was curious to see what category I fell into. It sounded really good, and looked pretty good although I didn't see many traditional thai ingredients in it. Well, as it turns out, we really didn't like this! I think if I hadn't put so much cumin in it, and no cornstarch it might have turned out better. Cumin reminds me of mexican food, and the cornstarch and peanut butter combined gave this a grainy texture. Anyway, the original recipe is here. I posted my tweaked version of it. This was served over linguine noodles.

4 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks

1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 large onion- coarsely chopped

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon ground cumin (I recommend half this amount when making it)

3 cloves minced garlic

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

salt & pepper to taste

2 tablespoons cornstarch (I added more later when sauce wasn't thickening, big mistake!)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup roasted peanuts

Add chicken, red bell pepper and onion into slow cooker. Then add chicken brother, 1/4 cup soy sauce, cumin, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Stir together, then cover and cook on low for 5 hours.

Remove 1 cup liquid from slow cooker and mix this with the cornstarch, peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and lime juice. Stir back into slow cooker and cover.

Cook on high for 30 minutes, garnish with peanuts.

Lemon Garlic Butter Noodles

2008-11-11T18:47:00.001-09:00

I don't have the recipe for this as Peyton made it, but it was so so yummy I had to post a picture! I believe it was a lemon butter garlic sauce with garlic chicken. He's so great!

Beef and Bean Burritos

2008-11-09T09:09:00.008-09:00

Burritos for breakfast! I had planned to make these for dinner last week, and I never got around to it, and the meat was getting a little old in the fridge. So, after realizing this morning we had NO coffee creamer, barely any eggs and that I was tired of pancakes, I decided to make beef and bean burritos for breakfast. After making these, and seeing how easy and filling they were, I never want to order burritos again from a restaurant :]

The original recipe can be found here, I followed it for the most part, I just prepared it differently.

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 can refried beans

12 oz taco sauce

6 flour tortillas (8 inches)

1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used mixed)

Garnished with

Sliced black olives

Sour Cream

Salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cook ground beef in skillet over medium heat. Drain & add back into skillet.

Add onion and garlic to skillet, mix with ground beef.

Add chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper into skillet and mix.

Add whole can of refried beans and 6oz taco sauce. Stir and keep warm.

Take 13x9 inch casserole pan and coat bottom of pan with 3oz taco sauce.

Microwave all tortillas for 30-45 seconds.

Add about 1/2 cup burrito mixture onto middle of tortilla and roll tortilla tightly, then place it in pan seam side down.

Repeat this until all tortilla have been used and all burrito mix is gone. Burritos should be snug side by side in pan.

Cover tortillas with remaining taco sauce, and evenly sprinkle shredded cheese over top.

Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve!

Braised Balsamic Chicken

2008-11-06T19:03:00.005-09:00

If you haven't heard of National Men Make Dinner day, go and google it. It happens the first thursday of every November and I think I love it. We are currently in the process of completing a list of 101 in 1001. http://knippel1001.blogspot.com for details. Anyway, so Peyton needed to make his monthly dinner for me, and what better day to do it than today? He always has a way of making food look so good, and it was so nice to be able to sit back and relax. The recipe comes from here. He served it over bowtie pasta and with a side of steamed carrots and broccoli. He omitted some spices.

6 boneless chicken breasts

ground black pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 thinly sliced onion

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Season chicken with black pepper to taste and the garlic salt. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add onions and chicken and brown the onions.

Add the rest of the ingredients to skillet and heat about 15 minutes, or chicken is ready to serve.

Serve over pasta or rice.

Baked Corn

2008-11-02T18:16:00.005-09:00

I made this a year or so ago and thought it was so good. Much better than regular cornbread, with an added texture and a great "sweet" taste. I made this to go with my slow cooker chili, and it was a great side dish. One note- when I made it last year I drained the whole kernel corn and this time I did not. I recommend draining it, it was a little too "soft" for my taste this time.

Original recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Corn/Detail.aspx

1 16 oz can whole kernel corn (drained)

1 16 oz can cream style corn (undrained)

1 cup butter- melted

1/2 cup sour cream

1 package corn muffin mix

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350- spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Add all ingredients to large bowl and stir together.

Add batter to pan, bake for 35-40 minutes (I left mine in for 50 minutes, but I believe this is because I didn't drain the corn.)

Slow Cooker Chili

2008-11-02T18:04:00.005-09:00

For months, Peyton bugged me to make chili. I kept blowing him off, I'm not too much of a chili fan... It just seems to me like the ultimate "man" food. It reminds me of a cold day, of hot dogs, of lots of things, but definitely not something I wanted to make. And I finally gave in. And it was easy, and delicious, and made my house smell so good. And while I'm still not a huge fan of it, this is definitely one of my new favorite go-to's. I served it with baked corn that I will be posting the recipe for.

Original recipe can be found here.

I tweaked it a little and I thought it was great!**

2 pounds ground beef- browned

2 cans kidney beans, drained

2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 medium onion- chopped

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Shredded cheddar cheese

Add first 9 ingredients to slow cooker, cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8-10 hours. When ready to serve, sprinkle cheddar cheese over portion in bowl.

**As a healthier alternative, you can also used 2 lb ground turkey, and 2 cans of black beans in lieu of kidney beans**