Graceful Goodness

Smorgasboard Chili

2009-10-08T20:46:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted in....far too long. I'm sorry. I'd like to say I've been busy, but the truth is I got sucked into reading the Twilight saga. Sad, but true.

Tonight I had planned to make stuffed peppers, but had a change of heart when I got home and made chili instead. It wasn't traditional chili, it was "make it work with what you have" chili. So here's what I put in it- and I have to say it was quite good! Kinda Tex-mex and quite spicy, so if you don't like spicy stuff take out the chiles and the chile powder :-)

Happy fall...and enjoy!

Mindy's Smorgasboard Chili

1lb lean ground beef
1 white onion, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
6 Roma tomatoes, seeded & diced
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded & diced
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1c frozen corn
1/2c to 1c tomato sauce (depending on how juicy you like it)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 packet taco seasoning
cumin (a few good shakes)
chile powder (a few good shakes)
black pepper (a few good shakes)

Directions
Using a large pot, brown ground beef and onion, draining grease when finished. Add the rest off the ingredients, stirring to mix well. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Turn off burner and rest the chili for 5 minutes or so. I ate it with tortilla chips, hubs used regular crackers and while we didn't use it, topping it with cheddar cheese & sour cream would have been nice additions. This makes 4 good-sized bowls. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese & Bacon Jalapenos

2009-09-12T12:10:00.005-05:00

It all started when I came home from work to find a pint- yes, a PINT- of jalapenos sitting on my front porch, courtesy of neighbor Jane and her mega garden. Typically I only use two-three jalapenos to make salsa, so I had no idea what to do with an entire pint. Naturally I went to saved recipe stash on my laptop and found this from The Pioneer Woman. Warning though- these- in no way, shape or form, qualify as a "healthy" appetizer, but hubs enjoyed them anyway (oh, and wear a glove or something on the hand that holds the pepper while slicing/seeding/stuffing or it will sting for hours after the food has been consumed though. Just a tip, not like this happened to me or anything....)

And without further ado:

Cream Cheese & Bacon Jalapenos
From: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

Jalapenos
Cream Cheese, softened
Bacon
Pam

What to do:
Wash, slice lengthwise and seed the jalapenos. Fill with cream cheese. Wrap with bacon ( I used 1/3 of a strip of bacon per jalapeno slice). Bake @ 400 for 15 minutes or so until bacon is crisp.

I'm not giving specific measurements, as this can be made in any quantity and the amount of cream cheese/bacon you use depends entirely on preference. I would imagine you could experiment with different flavored cream cheeses, use Neuchatel cheese instead of traditional cream cheese and turkey bacon instead of regular bacon if you are calorie-conscious, but really- these got no complaints as is. :-)

Enjoy!

Zucchini Parmesean

2009-08-12T19:27:00.004-05:00

My friend/colleague Marci suggested this zucchini idea to me at work and I have to say, I will be making this again! It never dawned on me to make it this way, but I'm glad I did. Even if when making it, hubs stood over me and defiantly stated "I don't like zucchini, but whatever."

He ate it. And after the first bite, it was "mmm. This is actually pretty good.". And by the end, it was "wow, that was really good." Gosh I love it when I'm right.

Anyway, I didn't have an exact recipe- I was working off of her description of what went in it...and of course you can modify the quantities to "make it work" for your family. So without further ado, here's my take on it!

Ingredients

Zucchini, cut into rounds (I had a very big zucchini - see pics from a previous post. You could also cut a smaller zucchini into strips. I cut 6 3" rounds that were less than a centimeter thick).
1 egg, beaten
3/4 c Italian breadcrumbs
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
a few really good shakes of Onion and Garlic powder
Marinara sauce
Pam
1 lowfat mozzarella cheese stick (cut into 6 pieces. Yes, I realize this is strange but I was out of shredded mozz and had to make it work)
Grated Parmesean (to taste)

Dip rounds into egg, then into breadcrumb/onion/garlic powder mixture. Spray tops with Pam. Put into the oven for about 10 minutes, then remove, add a generous spoonful of sauce and a portion of the mozzarella cheese. Put back in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove, sprinkle with Parm and enjoy!

I realize this is not the most scientific of recipes, but you can wing it. These are simple ingredients. If you had ricotta cheese, you could easily mix it with some parm and use that instead of the mozz...however I didn't have that either, hence the cheese stick. I would advise that this is not an overly filling main dish, so you might want to add pasta, mashed potatoes or maybe roasted garlic/parmesean cauliflower as a side dish :-)

Happy feasting! Oh, and if you want to see a picture, it looked kind of like this (although it's not my picture!).

2009-08-06T21:28:00.005-05:00

I made found this on AllRecipes.com in an effort to use up the aforementioned zucchini from our garden. I had some leftover blueberries and some frozen blueberries and thought...perfect! And perfect it was. I did make a few substitutions, however the original recipe is below for your reference. I used 1/2c oil, 1/2c applesauce instead of 1c oil, 1 1/2c oat bran flour and 1 1/2 c AP flour instead of 3c AP flour and only used 1 3/4 cups sugar. I probably could have tossed in more cinnamon, but overall this is great. I love the combination of cinnamon and blueberry and the moistness the zucchini brings. Hubs even went "mmm" on the first bite! Just a warning- this makes a lot. I didn't have mini-loaf pans so I used one quick-bread pan and busted out the heart-shaped pan I bought last Valentine's day and never used just for kicks. Enjoy!

Blueberry Zucchini Bread Submitted By: LAUJRA

Ingredients:

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup vegetable oil

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups white sugar

2 cups shredded zucchini

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 pint fresh blueberries

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans.
2.	In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.
3.	Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

How does your garden grow?

2009-08-06T21:12:00.004-05:00

This summer, hubs and I decided to buy veggie plants rather than starting from seeds in hopes we would get more out of our garden than we did last year. Finally, our plants are huge and producing fresh veggies....however our cool Milwaukee summer hasn't helped our gardening much.

Nonetheless, today I found these two enormous zucchinis in our garden. I've never seen zucchini so big in my life. I also plucked three tiny tomatoes off the vine...last week we got one normal sized zucchini and a huge cucumber. Let's hope the yellow and red peppers and Romas start producing soon!

And just to brag, here's a image or two of the zucchinis...they're bigger than my size 8 shoes. And because I now have to figure out how to use up this much zucchini, I made zucchini-blueberry bread. Recipe to follow!

Rub a dub dub...

2009-07-26T21:42:00.003-05:00

(shh don't tell- it's easier than it looks!)

A dear friend of mine at work and his wife are expecting their first baby in September. Tomorrow our entire team is going out to lunch in their honor, and to keep the celebration as masculine as possible.... he's getting a duck cake.

I saw this idea on Cake Central so I can't take credit for the concept. I used three layers of the almond wedding cake (recipe below), Wilton's traditional buttercream icing, wafer cookies and three cute duckies. I made two batches of the recipe below and two batches of buttercream icing to get everything done- the end result was three layers of cake and 15 regular sized cupcakes.

Verdict is still out a) what Kev and his wife will think of the cake tomorrow and b) how the thing will travel, but overall, I'm very happy with the way this came out and hope it tastes a good as it looks! Enjoy :-)

(oh , and shoppers tip: Wafer cookies can get expensive. Aldi's sells them in tins of 30 cookies for about $2.50/each. I used almost 2 tins)

White Almond “wedding” cake

INGREDIENTS

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups water
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon almond extract (original recipe called for 1 tsp)
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (original recipe called for 1 tsp)
4 egg whites

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour an 11x13 inch cake pan.
Stir together the white cake mix, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until well mixed. Pour in the water, sour cream, vegetable oil, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg whites, and beat with an electric mix on low until all the ingredients are mixed and moistened but some lumps still remain, 4 minutes.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake in the preheated oven until the top is a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.

Notes: Because I made two batches, I made three d 9" round single layer cakes and 15 regular sized cupcakes. My two batches of buttercream icing was enough for the two layers inside the cake, a light layer around the outside to stick the wafers, a thicker top layer and icing for 15 cupcakes.

Lime Shrimp with Jicama, Corn & Black Bean salad

2009-06-14T18:36:00.004-05:00

Ever since I tasted a jicama/corn/black bean/red pepper salad with lime chicken at a conference in California, I've wanted to duplicate it....yet have always been afraid of jicama. This month's issue of Redbook- oh joy!- is filled with jicama recipes....including one for a cilantro-lime shrimp with corn/black bean/etc. salad! Score!

I didn't have any cilantro (forgot to put it on the list), but it tasted fine without it. It did have some kick to it- my guess is the cilantro would have had a cooling effect, but, oh well! Just a warning- the salad recipe makes a lot, so if you're eating for two, you'll have a lot of leftovers.

Instead of reposting the same recipe, here's the original recipe from Redbook. The only modifications I made were the lack of cilantro, I used only half of the jicama that I purchased and I omitted the avocado. :-)

Garlic Aioli Potatoes

2009-06-14T17:13:00.002-05:00

Our friend John came over last night after the Brewers got whomped for a cookout. Sirloin, mushroom, onion, yellow and pepper kabobs and garlic aioli potatoes. I had planned strawberry shortcake for dessert, but we busted out our firepit and had s'mores instead. I don't think anyone minded.

Anyway, I stumbled across this recipe on several blogs and thought I'd give it a whirl. It was really easy and really good! Enjoy.

Garlic Aioli Potatoes

2-3 cups cubed, peeled potato
1 tbsp minced garlic (or to taste)
1/4 cup mayo (use real mayo, not salad dressing/Miracle Whip)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine ingredients in bowl, making sure everything is coated
3. Bake potatoes on a foil-lined, spray-Pamed cookie sheet for 40-50 minutes (or to desired doneness...we like ours crispy on the oustide and soft inside).

How's that for easy?

Long time, no post.

2009-06-14T17:07:00.003-05:00

Forgive the lack of posting- hubs and I went on a whirlwind vacay to Niagara Falls, Toronto, Montreal, through the Adirondack mountains, to a friend's wedding and finally back home. With 1200+ miles of driving and 9 days of being gone, we were certainly happy to be home....even though we had a fabulous time on our adventure. Our cat was (and still is) happy to see us- we've had a non-stop purr fest for the last week :-).

During the time leading up to- and since we've been home- I've had the opportunity to do a "pantry purge". That is, making all of the random stuff that never makes it to the"craving" level. While some meals were more random than others , we were fed and now I have a completely restocked pantry, fridge and freezer courtesy of a two hour shopping trip yesterday.

Anywho, I'm home, fully stocked with recipes and groceries...I'm ready to cook. :-) So stay tuned.

Semi-Homemade Saturday

2009-05-18T12:05:00.005-05:00

While I'm not a big fan of Sandra Lee, I'm a huge fan of the semi-homemade concept. I really enjoy making food from start to finish, however if there is less-time consuming option (e.g. boxed cake mixes, brownie mixes, etc.) I take advantage of it more often than not. I do admire those who have the time for these complex meals during the week (Pioneer Woman, Annie's Eats, this means you) however.... I don't have the time to do this all the time, and therefore semi-homemade is the way to be for me.

This weekend was very busy but very fun. Saturday hubs & I saw Angels and Demons with a friend of ours, then we all trooped back to our house for an afternoon of baseball and horse race watching and....Wii. Yes, we played Wii until about 10pm. While at the time I thought I was kicking booty at boxing, the Wii has ultimately won because- two days later- I still cannot lift my arms above my head without cringing. Swim practice this morning was torture. Anyway, I digress...

Having friends over gives me a chance to make a larger meal and not have many leftovers, so I did just that.
- Baked herb chicken & rice
- Green beans with Old Cedarburg seasoning from The Spice House
- French bread & butter
- Peanut Butter Pie

Sounds fancy, doesn't it?

Overall, the effort looked (and hopefully tasted) better than what actually went into it...I literally defrosted chicken, boiled water, some assembly required (thank you Campbell's Soup meals in a box), took a handful of frozen green beans out of the freezer and added a few dashes of seasoning, and put everything in the oven. Well, not at the same time, but that was the difficulty level of dinner. Oh, and let's not forget cutting the bread and buttering it. That was rough.

Dessert: easy schmeazy: No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie (I halved this recipe). I used a premade Oreo pie crust shell instead of graham and omitted the cool whip because we didn't have any (starting Friday, we're going to be gone 14 out of the next 21 days...therefore I'm not going to the grocery. Period. Except for maybe milk. Operation: Use what you have" is in full effect.) I also drizzed Hershey's syrup over the top and marblized it before it went in the freezer.

All in all- a good meal that required minimal effort by me. I think I'm on to something here!

Potato & Cauliflower Soup

2009-05-09T20:50:00.005-05:00

I have to confess this was a total improv dinner. I had produce I needed to use, it was 7:30pm and I wanted something healthy (er, anyway) than a frozen pizza. It's a nice, "light" alternative to baked potato soup and could be served with the same toppings.

Potato & Cauliflower Soup
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
2 large baking potatoes, peeled & sliced thin
1 head cauliflower, washed & cut into florets
1 medium onion, minced
3 cups skim milk
1 tbsp minced garlic (or less if you prefer)
black pepper & salt to taste
turkey bacon (optional)
low-fat shredded cheese (optional)
green onions (optional)

Directions:

Bring potatoes, onion, garlic and skim milk to a boil, then reduce heat. cook for 5-7 minutes.
Add cauliflower, cook for another 3-4. Season to taste.
Move contents to a food processor/blender and puree until you obtain the texture you want.
Ladle into bowls, top with garnishes of your choice

Nutrition info: 193 cals, 2g Fat per serving (excluding all optional ingredients listed above).

Mindy's note: Doesn't freeze well!

Weight Watchers Coconut Cake

2009-05-01T20:28:00.005-05:00

I found this on LaaLoosh's blog and had to try it- and courtesy of a Derby party at work today- I finally did! I didn't make the "light" version (I used regular soda and sour cream)...it got good reviews. I would have maybe made more "filling" because I really had to stretch this batch, but otherwise, I would make this again. Browning the coconut for the top of the cake made it look pretty as well :-D.

Weight Watchers Coconut Cake Recipe
Ingredients:

1 box cake mix - white preferably, but yellow is okay
1 can (12 oz.) Diet Sprite or Sprite Zero
1 cup fat free sour cream
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup Splenda (granular)
1 1/2 cups Cool Whip Free

Directions:
It is best to begin to prepare this cake a few days before it is needed in order to allow time to refrigerate it between steps and before serving. Preheat oven to temperature specified on cake mix (350° or 375° depending no brand.) Grease & flour two round cake pans, or spray with Baker’s Secret or Pam for Baking. Mix cake mix and Sprite. (Do not add the other ingredients called for on the cake mix box.) You can add a teaspoon of coconut extract/flavoring if you have it on hand, but it is not necessary.

Pour into 2 prepared cake pans. Bake according to time on box (approx. 30 minutes) until lightly golden brown. While the cake bakes, prepare the filling. Mix 1 cup fat free sour cream and 1 cup Splenda with 1 cup coconut. Reserve a couple of tablespoons of coconut for garnish if you wish. Refrigerate the filling mixture. Cool the cake layers to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight if possible.

To construct the cake: Slice each layer in half horizontally to make 4 thin layers. Beat the filling mixture by hand to fluff a little and make less stiff. Place first layer on cake plate and top with approx. 1/4th of the filling mixture. Repeat this with each layer, so that you have 4 layers of cake with 3 layers of filling in between. Add the Cool Whip Free to the remaining 1/4th of the filling mixture. Mix by hand to make a fluffy frosting for the cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the mixture. Sprinkle the reserved coconut decoratively on the top of the cake. Refrigerate several hours or overnight if possible. Cut into 16 slices … this is a very rich dessert and a small piece is very satisfying. Store any left over cake in the refrigerator.

Entire Recipe makes 16 servings

Serving size is one slice (1/16th of cake)

Each serving = 4 Weight Watchers Points

Garden Harvest Muffins (or Cake!)

2009-05-01T20:24:00.003-05:00

Garden Harvest Muffins (or Cake!)
Adapted from Cooking Light & featured on A Year in the Kitchen

Ingredients

4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (1 cup) (I used ½ oat bran flour, ½ AP flour)
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated peeled Granny Smith apple (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup grated carrot (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.
3. Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.
4. Add grated apple, grated carrot, shredded zucchini, and walnuts to flour mixture; toss well.
5. Combine canola oil, buttermilk, and eggs in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
6. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined.

If baking a cake/quick bread:
7. Spoon batter into an 8 x 4–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.
8. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove cake from pan. Cool completely on wire rack before slicing.

Yield: 9 servings (serving size: 1 slice)
CALORIES 223 ; FAT 9.7g (sat 1g,mono 4.4g,poly 3.6g); CHOLESTEROL 47mg; CALCIUM 30mg; CARBOHYDRATE 31.4g; SODIUM 233mg; PROTEIN 3.8g; FIBER 1.3g; IRON 1.2mg

If baking muffins:
7. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups lined with papers, coated with cooking spray.
8. Bake at 350° for 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Per Muffin:
(12 muffins): 168 cals, 7.5g Fat
(13 muffins): 155 cals, 6.75g Fat

Product Rave: Tastefully Simple's Bayou Bourbon Glaze

2009-04-05T18:25:00.004-05:00

For Christmas my mom gave us two sauce/glazes from Tastefully Simple: Merlot Sauce and Bayou Bourbon Glaze. Tonight I (finally) used the Bourbon Glaze with Chicken baked in the oven and it was amazing!

I marinated the chicken breast in 2-3 tbsp all day, placed in baking dish, drizzed a bit more while it cooked. The end result was a nice flavor- a bit sweet, a bit tangy- but not so much where you tasted the sauce and not the meat. I really enjoyed this and look forward to being able to use it while we cook on the actual grill (but it's cold and windy still here, so that may be a few weeks away).

Garlic Ranch Cauliflower

2009-04-05T18:16:00.002-05:00

I've never been a big raw cauliflower fan and have always assumed I wouldn't like cooked cauliflower either....wrong!

In my ongoing attempt to be a healthier cook, I passed over any cauliflower recipes that were smothered in cheese (Parmesan, Romano, cheddar, etc.) even though they sounded delicious. I did find a healthy recipe in the Biggest Loser cookbook, although I modified it a bit because I don't have any Parm cheese on hand (reduced fat or otherwise)- and I think my version came out pretty good! :-). Hubs liked it too, so I'll be making this again.

Roasted Garlic Ranch Cauliflower
Adapted from The Biggest Loser cookbook

1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
1 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp minced garlic
1-2 tsp black pepper
1-2 tbsp ranch dressing mix

Put florets, ranch dressing mix and minced garlic in a plastic bag- add EVOO and mix enough to coat all the florets in garlic and oil. Place in oven baking dish, top with a few "grinds" of the pepper mill or use black pepper to taste. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to prevent burning.

This made two servings.

Tostada Pizza

2009-04-04T18:58:00.002-05:00

Usually I'm not a big fan of refrigerated pizza dough- at least with traditional pizza. Where it does come in handy is for the a-typical pizza...BBQ chicken & garlic or...tostada pizza!

I've been eyeing this recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook for quite some time but never got around to making it...until tonight. And it was worth the wait! It makes 8 good-sized pieces, would be easily enough to feed 4 people and is made of stuff you likely have on hand already.

Tostada Pizza
adapted from Betty Crocker

1 can refrigerated pizza dough
1lb lean ground beef
1 can fat-free refried beans (we like the spicy kind!)
1 4oz can diced chiles, drained
1/2 onion, diced
1c shredded cheese of your choice
2 tbsp taco seasoning (I used this fajita seasoning)
shredded lettuce
a few good shakes of chili powder

Preheat oven to 400F
Grease cookie sheet with a few sheets of Pam
Roll out the pizza dough onto the sheet- it should be about 8" x 12"
Bake the pizza dough for 5 minutes, remove from oven
In the meantime, combine the hamburger, onion, chiles, chile powder, seasoning until meat is brown and onions are tender- drain grease
Smooth the refried beans over the pre-cooked pizza dough and top with the beef/chile/onion mixture.
Return pizza to the oven for about 8 minutes
Remove pizza, add cheese and return to oven to melt the cheese (about 2 minutes)
Remove pizza entirely and top with lettuce.
Cut & Enjoy!

You could also add sour cream and/or tomatoes if you like!
Nutritional Values: 1 slice (1/8 of pizza) is about 275 cals / 15g Fat.

Fajita Seasoning

2009-03-26T22:02:00.004-05:00

This past weekend I bought all of these beautiful peppers- red, orange and yellow. What I didn't make on Sunday I had planned to use in fajitas tonight...except at 7:30pm when I finally started cooking, I realized I didn't have any fajita seasoning. So I made my own.

Having never really made a spice mix before other than cinnamon-sugar, my expectations were pretty low. I found the first recipe in which I had all the ingredients and went for it. While this one lacked some smoky flavor, it was good in a pinch and- bonus for us- can easily be used for taco seasoning as well. I did omit the bouillon cube because I didn't want that added salt.

Combine about 2tbsp of this and 1/3 cup of water with your cooked veggies & chicken, simmer for a bit and voila! Dinner.

Fajita Seasoning

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. sugar
2-1/2 tsp. crushed chicken bouillon cube
1-1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. cumin

Makes the equivalent of 3 packets of commercial or purchased Fajita Seasoning Mix.

A taste of summer

2009-03-22T20:20:00.003-05:00

In Milwaukee, summer starts in June, spring starts in late April- there is no such thing as abiding by a calendar. We're about 4-6 weeks behind St. Louis, where I grew up. In the summer this is a blessing- longer days, cooler temps and less humidity, but in the spring..yeah it stinks. By Easter in the 'Lou, the flowers are blooming and everyone is outside in their glorious spring wardrobe. Here, you're lucky if you don't need a coat!

This weekend was bright and sunny, temps in the 50s- I rode my bike and even got out the grill from the shed, it's lovely fall/winter/spring home. Except by the time it was ready to grill, it was too cold outside. Instead, I used this stovetop thing hubs got suckered into buying one year at the state fair (if you've been to the expo hall, you understand the attraction!). It actually worked pretty well! I "grilled" red pepper, yellow pepper, onion with a few sprays of Pam and a few shakes of The Spice House's Cedarburg seasoning, grilled chicken using the same season and baked a few spears of asparagus using Pam & black pepper. The house smelled wonderful and the food tasted even better! Makes me very, very anxious for an actual summer night when we cook these fabulous foods outside :-D.

Paninis

2009-03-15T20:46:00.002-05:00

No specific recipe with this one- i used about a third of a loaf of french bread, sliced it in quarters lengthwise to create four, long slices. I baked four chicken fingers , seasoned with spices from The Spice House, a regional spice chain that I love, grilled mushrooms & red pepper slices on the Foreman grill...wiped off the grill, layered the chicken, pepper, mushrooms (adding hummus and 1/8 c mozzarella for me, pepperoni and more cheese for hubs but no peppers)...shoved them in the George Foreman for awhile and, voila! Dinner!

My mom gave me the idea for paninis on the Foreman...and considering I don't use it to cook meat anymore (different story!), this was perfect. Thanks Mom!

Mushroom & Chicken Bake

2009-03-12T20:11:00.004-05:00

This is adaption of the Campbell's Soup recipe for chicken bake...these days I'm trying to watch my food intake and I expected this to be a lot worse for my waistline than it turned out to be. This is a favorite dish of mine- my mom used to make it for me (even though she likely didn't consider it a comfort food, I did!). I realize some people are anti-"cream of" soups, but I'm not one of those people... so enjoy!

Mushroom & Chicken Bake (serves 2)

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed
1 can 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom soup
1 c uncooked rice
1 c sliced mushrooms

Place chicken breasts and mushrooms in a casserole dish, cover with mushroom soup (undiluted). Cook at 350 for about 30 minutes, flip & stir about halfway through. Cook the rice on the stovetop as directed. When the chicken is finished, plate & top with mushrooms. Add 1/2 the rice and top with the remaining cream of mushroom soup.

If you want a thicker sauce, use regular cream of mushroom soup instead of Healthy Request or 98% Fat Free.

Nutrition Info (at least, fat & calories) using 98% FF mushroom soup:
Chicken Breast (110 cals, 2g Fat)
1/2c cooked white rice (100 cals, 0 fat)
1/2 can mushroom soup (95 cals, 4 g fat although you likely will not use all of the sauce!)
1 c sliced mushroom (these were all mine, hubs doesn't like 'shrooms: 20 cal, 0 fat)
Total: 325 cals, 6g fat.

2009-02-24T11:57:00.002-06:00

Chocolate Hazelnut Raviolis (Adapted)

Ingredients:

Wonton wrappers
chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella)
cooking spray
powdered sugar

Take a wonton wrapper and place 1 tbsp of the Nutella in the center. Fold over and press edges together (folding on the diagonal works best). Spray the cookie sheet and the raviolis with cooking spray and bake at 400 degrees for about 5-8 minutes. When the raviolis are crispy, remove from oven and lightly dust with powdered sugar.

Stuffed Red Peppers

2009-02-24T11:50:00.002-06:00

I love red peppers. I love them even more when they're on sale!

Stuffed Red Peppers

Ingredients:

1 (3 1/2-ounce) bag boil-in-bag long-grain rice
4 medium red bell peppers
3/4 pound ground sirloin
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups bottled tomato-and-basil pasta sauce, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry red wine
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°.
Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Set aside.
While rice cooks, cut tops off bell peppers; reserve tops. Discard seeds and membranes. Place peppers, cut sides down, in an 8-inch square baking dish; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at high 2 minutes or until peppers are crisp-tender. Cool.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and the next 5 ingredients (beef through allspice); cook 4 minutes or until beef is lightly browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from heat. Add rice, 1/2 cup pasta sauce, and cheese to beef mixture, stirring to combine.
While beef cooks, combine 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce and wine in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.
Spoon about 3/4 cup beef mixture into each pepper. Place peppers in a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray; add wine mixture to pan. Cover with foil.
Bake at 450° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve peppers with sauce. Garnish with pepper tops.

Nutritional Info (per one pepper with 1/3 cup sauce):
CALORIES 347(20% from fat); FAT 7.9g (sat 3.9g,mono 2.6g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 26.6g; CHOLESTEROL 55mg; CALCIUM 284mg; SODIUM 747mg; FIBER 4.6g; IRON 4.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 39.9g

Valentine's Dinner for two

2009-02-15T11:24:00.002-06:00

Hubs & I kept it quiet this year, having dinner at home and watching the most romantic movie ever: Harold & Kumar go to White Castle. Which, I might add, was much better than I was expecting....however I'm in no hurry to see it again.

Dinner was simple but tasty: NY Strip Steak broiled in the oven with garlic and butter, twice baked potatoes, green beans amandine and sauteed mushrooms & onions. For dessert I made Rachael Ray's S'mores Lava Cakes (halving the recipe since I only needed two!).

The S'mores Lava Cakes were much easier to make than I was anticipating- makes me feel a bit foolish that I haven't done a lava cake before! I did venture off the recipe a bit for the marshamallow sauce- I didn't have any marshmallow creme, however I did have half a package of semi-stale mini marshmallows, so I dumped those in a saucepan with some heavy cream and managed to make a sauce which tasted fine :-). Hubs gave it a rave review, so I'll be making these again.

Happy (2)7th Birthday to me!

2009-01-31T20:37:00.004-06:00

Growing up, my mom always made my birthday cakes. I was allowed to pick whatever I wanted- I remember a rainbow cake, an Ernie cake, teddy bear, even Strawberry Shortcake.

I've never taken a Wilton class but found this adorable cake pan on eBay and couldn't resist. My bedroom growing up was decorated Care Bears...I loved Sunshine Bear and as a gift to myself, I was determined to make myself this cake. Although no Sunshine Bear pattern was included, I am just as happy with my sweeter than sweet TenderHeart Bear.

For my first attempt, this wasn't too bad! I used a Funfetti mix for the cake (also very mature)...I didn't think I could do a cake from scratch, homemade icing and decoration all in one day, so I took one for the team ;-). I originally intended to take this to the office on Monday, but now that it's finished I'm going to be selfish and share it only with the hubs. Everyone else will have to be happy with mini-Cupcakes, iced with the leftover frosting. Hope the boys like pink!

So, Happy (2)7th Birthday to me tomorrow...too bad I have to share it with such a manly holiday. If you count Superbowl Sunday as a holiday, that is. :-)

Don't be crabby!

2009-01-04T13:36:00.003-06:00

I made these on New Year's Eve- hubs and I weren't feeling well, so we stayed put, spending our last moments of 2008 doing what we do best...watching a movie on the sofa. But, even though we were certainly not heading anywhere exciting, I wanted to make something different for dinner. So here's what I came up with...crab cakes. Faux crab cakes really, as I used imitation crab, but they came out really good! They were a little spicier than I may have liked, but generally speaking, I'll be making these again.

Don’t be “Crabby” Cakes
Modified from “My Crab Cakes” by Rod Mowery on Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 green onions, chopped (I omitted)
3/8 cup olive oil (I used 3.5 tsps)
1 (6 ounce) can canned crabmeat, drained (I used 6 oz imitation crab chunks, thawed & shredded)
1 egg
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dry mustard
8 ounces buttery round crackers, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used 2.5 tsp)
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning TM
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 cup dry bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over high heat. Saute green onions briefly until tender; cool slightly.
2. Combine crabmeat, sauteed green onions, egg, mayonnaise, dry mustard, crushed crackers, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper. Form into 1/2 inch thick patties. Coat the patties with bread crumbs.
3. Heat 1/2 cup oil in a skillet over medium high heat (I covered bottom of the pan). Cook cakes until golden brown on each side. Drain briefly on paper towels and serve hot.

Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits

2008-12-31T11:30:00.009-06:00

As close to the real thing.....as the real thing.

INGREDIENTS
Dough:

1 1/4 lbs. Bisquik
3 Oz. freshly shredded cheddar cheese
11 Oz. cold water

Garlic Spread:

1/2 cup melted butter
1 teas. garlic powder
1/4 teas. salt
1/8 teas. onion powder
1/8 teas. dried parsley

DIRECTIONS
1. To cold water, add Bisquik and cheese, blending in a mixing bowl.
2. Mix until dough is firm.
3. Using a small scoop, place the dough on a baking pan lined with baking paper.
4. Bake in 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
5. While biscuits bake, combine spread ingredients.
6. Brush baked biscuits with the garlic topping.

A word of advice- this recipe makes a lot (16 large or 24 small). And I wouldn't make the dough more than golf ball size on the cookie sheet when they're baked or you'll have a huge, huge biscuit!!

Christmas Cookery: The good, the bad, and the just plain ugly.

2008-12-31T11:08:00.007-06:00

This year, the hubs and I chose to stay put in Milwaukee. I had my masters' graduation on the 21st, and we couldn't justify having family 6 hours drive here only to have all of us turn around and go back to my parents house three days later. So, everyone made the trek north....to a week of bitterly cold temps and a lot of snow. I was lucky enough to take the entire week off of work, so naturally I saw this as an opportunity to make a bunch of new things and try them out on my family.

Some things worked out better than others.

The good: My mom's Turkey Tortilla Soup, my meatloaf Parmesan, green bean casserole (really, who can screw that up...unless you burn it...), the dough of the butter spritz 'gun' cookies and the faux Red Lobster biscuits which were a huge hit (I'll be posting that recipe soon). The beef burgundy was also well-loved by the men...I'll be searching for a simpler, crock pot version of that. And, of course, I resorted to my Egg & Sausage Strata....twice...for breakfast. I love a no-fail recipe.

The bad: I messed up my dad's chocolate chip cookies (DOH!). I used reduced fat margarine by accident, making them cakey...and, courtesy of some crappy cookie sheets, the bottoms burnt on most of them. But, thanks to hubs, I got three new cookie sheets for Christmas so that won't be happening again :-)

The ugly: I had a horrific experience making PW's Pumpkin Cheesecake. It tasted great, but the crust and caramel bonded together (and to the pan) and I wound up scraping the filling out and serving it...what a mess. Caramel everywhere! I won't be making that again (sorry PW!). I also won't be making Bon Appetit's Banana Bread with Cinnamon Crumble again...the crumble caramelized (and burnt) in my oven, so even though the inside tasted great, everyone (including myself) peeled off the "crust"...thus defeating the purpose of even adding the crumble. Hmmpfh.

Anywho, the week off did let me cook and bake, something I hadn't done much of with work being so crazy, but now that it's over...I'm perfectly content to eat leftovers for awhile. And thank goodness for my mom and her help during the week...I don't know what I would have done without my sous-chef :-)

Best Rolled Sugar Cookies & Icing....ever.

2008-12-15T13:27:00.006-06:00

I love sugar cookies. Well, not so much the cookie itself, but the activity of using cutesy little cookie cutters and decorating them with all things tacky- icing, colored sugars, sprinkles, etc.

Every year I make something for my coworkers- the first year at work, spiced nuts. The next year, biscotti. Last year, gooey butter cookies. This year....snowflake sugar cookies.

Anyway, my point (and I do have one) is that I've tried more recipes for rolled cookies and icing than I care to admit...and finally found a winning combination! I hope you enjoy making & eating them as much as I did.

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies EVER
By Jill Saunders (Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups butter, softened (3 sticks)
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

My note: Watch the cookies- they go from almost done to burnt quickly!

Royal Icing by Wilton
Yield: About 3 cups of icing

INGREDIENTS:

3 tablespoons Meringue Powder
4 cups (about 1 lb.) confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons warm water

DIRECTIONS:
Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer). I added about three or four big drops of food coloring to the mixture.

NOTES & TIPS:

Keep all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency.
For stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.
When using large countertop mixer or for stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.

Thinned Royal Icing: To thin for pouring, add 1 teaspoon water per cup of royal icing. Use grease-free spoon or spatula to stir slowly. Add 1/2 teaspoon water at a time until you reach proper consistency.

Sweet 100

2008-12-07T10:41:00.004-06:00

Hmm. For having a sweet tooth, I haven't experienced as many of these I would have thought!

How the Sweet 100 Works:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Italicize any items that you would never consider eating.

1. Red Velvet Cake
2. Princess Torte
3. Whoopie Pie
4. Apple Pie either topped or baked with sharp cheddar
5. Beignet
6. Baklava
7. Black and White Cookie
8. Seven Layer Bar (also known as the Magic Bar or Hello Dolly bars)
9. Fried Fruit pie (sometimes called hand pies)
10. Kringle
11. Just-fried (still hot) doughnut
12. Scone with clotted cream
13. Betty, Grunt, Slump, Buckle or Pandowdy
14. Halvah
15. Macaroons
16. Banana Pudding with nilla wafers
17. Bubble tea (with tapioca “pearls”)
18. Dixie Cup
19. Rice Krispie treats
20. Alfajores
21. Blondies
22. Croquembouche
23. Girl Scout cookies
24. Moon cake
25. Candy Apple
26. Baked Alaska
27. Brooklyn Egg Cream
28. Nanaimo bar
29. Baba au rhum
30. King Cake
31. Sachertorte
32. Pavolva
33. Tres Leches Cake
34. Trifle
35. Shoofly Pie
36. Key Lime Pie (made with real key lime)
37. Panna Cotta
38. New York Cheesecake
39. Napoleon/mille-fueille
40. Russian Tea Cake/Mexican Wedding Cake
41. Anzac Biscuits
42. Pizzelle
43. Kolache
44. Buckeyes
45. Malasadas
46. Moon Pie
47. Dutch Baby
48. Boston Cream Pie
49. Homemade chocolate chip cookies
50. Pralines
51. Gooey butter cake
52. Rusks
53. Daifuku
54. Green tea cake or cookies
55. Cupcakes from a cupcake shop
56. Creme Brulee
57. Some sort of deep fried fair food (twinkie, candy bar, cupcake)
58. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting
59. Jelly Roll
60. Pop Tarts
61. Charlotte Russe
62. An “upside down” dessert (Pineapple upside down cake or Tarte Tatin)
63. Hummingbird Cake
64. Jell-O from a mold
65. Black forest cake
66. Mock Apple Pie (Ritz Cracker Pie)
67. Kulfi
68. Linzer torte
69. Churro
70. Stollen
71. Angel Food Cake
72. Mincemeat pie (never again!)
73. Concha
74. Opera Cake
75. Sfogliatelle / Lobster tail
76. Pain au chocolat
77. A piece of Gingerbread House
78. Cassata
79. Cannoli
80. Rainbow cookies
81. Religieuse
82. Petits fours
83. Chocolate Souffle
84. Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake)
85. Rugelach
86. Hamenstashen
87. Homemade marshmallows
88. Rigo Janci
89. Pie or cake made with candy bar flavors (Snickers pie, Reeses pie, etc)
90. Divinity
91. Coke or Cola cake
92. Gateau Basque
93. S’mores
94. Figgy Pudding
95. Bananas foster or other flaming dessert
96. Joe Froggers
97. Sables
98. Millionaire’s Shortbread
99. Animal crackers
100. Basbousa

Yogurt Pound Cake

2008-11-18T21:12:00.005-06:00

My husband's grandmother is one helluva cook and baker. One of her signature "dishes" is a glorious pound cake, which J adores. I've come to the reality that I will never, ever make a pound cake that will ever compare to hers and frankly, I'm ok with that.

But this was one heck of a try!

I'll be taking half of it to work tomorrow in honor of a 7am conference call. Honestly, I think this recipe is awesome(and it used 6oz of plain yogurt in the fridge that I had no idea what to do with). I also got to bust out the bundt cake pan that I rarely get to use. The original recipe had lemon zest instead of almond extract, but I didn't have any lemon zest or extract, so I substituted. It worked out fine.

Here's the recipe- enjoy!

Mrs. D's Yogurt Pound Cake
Adapted from a recipe by Linds

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened (I used one stick margarine, one stick butter)
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 6 oz. container yogurt (flavor of your choice, I used plain)

Directions:
In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add in yogurt, vanilla extract and zest; mix until blended. Gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. Do not over beat. Pour into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove to wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan. Let cool completely before storing in airtight container.

Meatloaf Parmesan

2008-10-12T17:09:00.006-05:00

Don't let the word meatloaf fool you- this is not your grandma's meatloaf! It tastes like a meatball and even my dear husband- who whined, groaned, complained and was entirely too dramatic about how much he doesn't like meatloaf- ate it and enjoyed it. It could easily be customized for more picky eaters (Mom, are you reading?) by removing the onion and garlic. I served this with a side of pasta, but you could probably do garlic mashed potatoes or baked Parmesan cauliflower.

Meatloaf Parmesan
Modified recipe from Amber's Delectable Delights

INGREDIENTS

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup prepared spaghetti sauce, divided
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tomato, seeded & diced (optional)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I used a few good shakes of garlic powder, basil and oregano)

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375°F. Using your hands, mix together beef, half the spaghetti sauce, bread crumbs, half the Parmesan cheese, onion, egg and Italian seasoning in a medium mixing bowl. Shape into loaf and place in an 12x8x2-inch baking dish. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce and cheese. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or to desired doneness. During baking time, if desired, use a baster to remove excess grease from pan (I would recommend doing this!). Let stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Apple Cinnamon Yogurt

2008-10-01T20:26:00.003-05:00

This isn't really a recipe to make yogurt, but more of an additive to yogurt if you hate it. This was inspired partly by the apple yogurt I used to buy at Coop (my local grocery) when I studied abroad in Switzerland, because it's fall and I love cinnamon.

You can make this and add it to either plain or vanilla flavored yogurt- I know Dannon used to make a fruit on the bottom option like this, but I haven't seen it in stores for awhile.

This makes enough "additive" for 5 6oz-ish containers of yogurt. I usually buy the "bucket" of yogurt and divide it amongst containers. There is enough in my pot right now for probably another container, but, I am out of yogurt so I guess I'll have to eat the rest. Darn.

Apple Cinnamon Yogurt

32 oz yogurt, divided into 6.5 oz servings (ish)
1 and 1/2 apples, peeled and cored (eat the other half. It's good for you)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp Splenda/Sugar Substitute/Sugar (whatever you prefer)
2 tbsp water

Peel, core and dice apples. Add apples, water, cinnamon and sugar to a small pot, heat on medium for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. You may want to add more cinnamon and/or sugar to this as it cooks- its entirely up to your tastes. When apples are soft, pull from heat source and let cool. When mixture is cold, spoon into yogurt and stir. Refrigerate and enjoy :-)

Skip & Go Naked

2008-10-01T20:21:00.004-05:00

Just to be clear, that isn't a request :-)

It is, however, an adult beverage made by a friend of mine at a recent patio party that will give you enough liquid courage to actually skip and go naked. These puppies sneak up on you!

Skip & Go Naked
Makes a Pitcher full

1 can frozen lemonade
1 can of beer
1 frozen lemonade can-sized can of gin

That's it! Serve chilled and wait for the festivities to begin.

Source: Kristen W & her lovely sister Stephanie

Tortilla, Beef & Black Bean Pie

2008-09-30T19:58:00.003-05:00

This is an adaptation of a recipe circulating on the What's Cooking board on The Nest. I added/subtracted some ingredients because, well, I can't follow directions because it takes out all the fun.

Tortilla, Beef & Black Bean Pie

1lb lean ground beef (you could use ground turkey as well)
3 flour tortillas
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 large tomato or two smaller ones, rinced, seeded & chopped
1/2 large onion or one smaller one, chopped
1 cup corn (frozen/thawed) /1 small can corn (drained)
diced jalapeno peppers (as many as you'd like)
1 cup cheddar cheese
sour cream for garnish
9" springform pan
Non-stick spray

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Cook beef until no pink is showing. Add taco seasoning, chilis, black beans, corn and onion, simmer according to seasoning directions (about five more minutes)
3. Spray the bottom of the springform pan with non-stick spray- place one tortilla in the bottom (trim if necessary to make it fit)
4. Add a layer of the beef mixture to the tortilla. Pat down so mixture is packed down. Add half the cheddar cheese and diced tomato. Repeat with the remaining mixture, cheese and tomato and top with the last tortilla.
5. Put in the oven, cook for 20 or so minutes. (Just a tip- put a pan on the rack underneath the Springform pan or it will drip all over the place and stink up your house).
6. Remove from oven and let it set for about 5 minutes before serving.

This makes 4 meal-size portions or 5 smaller portions if you're planning a side dish.

Almost-Like-Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

2008-09-29T11:13:00.006-05:00

This is a no-fail recipe of mine. Every time I take it to work, there are rave reviews. This is great for the first "fall" days of the season...enjoy!

3 cups flour ( or 1.5 cups oat-bran flour and 1.5 cups all purpose flour)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of cardamom (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
8 oz package cream cheese*
Chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans) (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix ingredients together except cream cheese and nuts.
Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups) half full.
Put 1-2 tsp cream cheese in the middle, pressing down and spoon any remaining batter on top of the cream cheese.
Shake muffin trays to settle batter so it is flat within each cup. Sprinkle with 1 tsp chopped nuts.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin part (do not touch the cream cheese!). Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely. Do not touch the cream cheese until it cools, as it is very, very hot.

Makes 24 muffins.

*The best cream cheese to use is the cheesecake flavored kind (if you cannot find this, regular cream cheese with a few drops of almond extract also gives a nice flavor). Put the entire tub or brick on a piece of tin foil, and shape it into a long log. Put it in the freezer while you mix and fill the pans, up to an hour. Unwrap and cut with a sharp knife. If the disks are too big around, cut thick slices and then cut them in half. This keeps the cream cheese in one big lump, and also lets you push it down into the batter.

Roasted Tomato Soup

2008-09-24T13:02:00.007-05:00

Let me just say before I give you this recipe that I don't like tomatoes or tomato soup (but do like ketchup and salsa, for those who are curious)...BUT...I really enjoyed this recipe! I had been looking for a way to use up a backyard garden's bunch of tomatoes and this was a great solution- and its easy (bonus!). The soup has great flavor and is actually pretty good for you...enjoy!

Roasted Tomato Soup
Makes 6 servings, 1 cup each

1 1/2 pounds large tomatoes, such as beefsteak, cut in half crosswise
1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, peeled and cut in half crosswise
3 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth, divided
1/4 cup tomato juice
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
Brown sugar to taste (optional)
1/2 cup corn kernels , fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Toss tomatoes, onion and garlic in a mixing bowl with 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the vegetables are soft and caramelized, about 30 minutes. Let cool.
Peel and seed the tomatoes. Trim off the onion ends. Peel the garlic. Place the vegetables in a food processor or blender with 1 cup broth and the remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Pulse to desired thickness and texture.
Transfer the vegetable puree to a large heavy pot or Dutch oven. Add the remaining 1 cup broth, tomato juice, tomato pate, Worcestershire sauce, basil and brown sugar (if using). Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Ladle into 6 soup bowls, garnish with corn and serve.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 95 calories; 4 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 1 mg cholesterol; 13 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 3 g fiber; 146 mg sodium.

Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (35% daily value), Vitamin A (20% dv). 1 Carbohydrate Serving

Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

My modifications:

Seed the tomatoes before they go into the oven or trying to seed them after is really messy!
I seasoned the tomatoes on the baking sheet with garlic powder, onion powder, olive oil and ground black pepper before they went into the oven
I left out the Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, tomato juice and added more tomato paste and a few shakes of oregano
I used minced garlic instead of garlic cloves and it worked just fine- the garlic was added in the blender stage

Spicy Southwest Turkey Chili

2008-09-19T22:14:00.004-05:00

What started out as an attempt to use some of my garden tomatoes turned into a turkey chili...I have to admit it was kind of an experiment, but it got good reviews from my husband and our handyman friend who happened to be here to partake in the um, tasty goodness?

INGREDIENTS:

1lb ground turkey, browned & drained
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
4 tomatoes, seeded & diced
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles, undrained
1 small can tomato sauce
4 oz can chiles, drained (optional)
Jalapeno slices (optional)
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp cumin
black pepper to taste
dash of oregano
1-2 cups water (depending on how juicy you like your chili)

Brown & drain turkey- set aside.
Saute onion, garlic and raw diced tomatoes (not the canned) in the olive oil until onion becomes transparent.
Add the other ingredients and bring to a boil.
Turn heat down and simmer for 30 minutes. Feel free to adjust the spice levels depending on how spicy you like your dish.

Fresh Corn Risotto

2008-09-19T21:33:00.006-05:00

I made this for my husband for our third wedding anniversary earlier this month. Not only was it easy, but it was pretty tasty too. For those who have never made risotto before, this is an easy recipe to start with.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 ½ tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ medium onion, finely chopped
¾ cup Arborio (medium grain) rice
¼ cup dry white wine
½ - 1 cup fresh corn kernels, from 1-2 ears
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium saucepan bring the chicken broth to boil with the bay leaf. Keep the broth warm over very low heat.
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil.
Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring until opaque, about 3 minutes.
Add the white wine and cook, stirring, until completely absorbed, about 1 minute. Add a half cup of the warm broth and cook over moderate heat until nearly absorbed.
Continue adding the stock a half cup at a time and stirring until it is absorbed between additions.
After about half of the stock has been added, stir in the corn, and continue to add the remaining stock as before.
The risotto is done when it is al dente and creamy, about 25 minutes total. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. Discard the bay leaf and serve.

Source: Annie's Eats

I'm baaaack!

2008-09-19T21:29:00.000-05:00

I took the summer off from cooking (and blogging) this summer to write my masters' thesis and have surgery. Well, it's now September, I'm healed and finished with the masters' degree....and ready to cook.

Now that it is fall there will surely be some great soups, stews and pumpkin recipes to come...stay tuned!

Entirely too Easy Crockpot Dinner

2008-05-21T13:32:00.001-05:00

There's a lot of debate about Cream-based soups...so for those of you who have no hatred towards them, here's a super easy recipe which results in a beef Stroganoff type dish.

1lb stew meat
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 pkg dry onion soup mix (you can use more if desired)
1-2 tablespoons water
hot rice or cooked noodles

Place stew meat in crockpot
Combine remain ingredients and stir in
Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours
Serve over hot rice or cooked noodles.

Shrimp Enchiladas Verde

2008-05-21T13:23:00.000-05:00

I'm always baffled what I should do with shrimp besides boil it or sautée in butter. I stumbled upon this recipe on AllRecipes.com and it's been fabulous!

1 lb peeled cooked shrimp- tailed removed & diced
1 c frozen corn, thawed
2 4oz cans chopped green chiles, undrained
2 c canned green enchilada sauce or green salsa, divided
12 corn tortillas
1 15oz can nonfat refried beans
1 c reduced fat shredded cheese- Mexican style, Monterey Jack or Cheddar
1/2 c chopped, fresh cilantro
1 lime, cut in wedges

My notes: I've also made this by substituting the refried beans for 1 can black beans and have added red pepper and onion to it for more color and flavor.

Cooking Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F. Coat a 9 x 13" glass baking dish with cooking spray
Combine shrimp, corn, chiles and 1/2 c enchilada sauce/salsa in a microwave safe medium bowl. Cover & Microwave on high until heated through- about 2-1/2 minutes
Spread 1/4c enchilada sauce/salsa in the prepared dish. Top with an overlapping layer of 6 tortillas. Spread the refried beans over the tortillas. Top the beans with the shrimp mixture, followed by the remaining 6 tortillas. Pour the remaining sauce/salsa over the tortillas. Cover with foil.
Bake the enchiladas until they begin to bubble on the sides, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle cheese on top and continue baking until cheese is melted (about another 5 minutes). Top with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Nutrition Info (per serving, recipe above serves 8)
334 cal
37 carbohydrates
6g dietary fiber
8g fat
27g protein
2g sugar

Stuffed Shells- Taco Style!

2008-05-19T21:26:00.001-05:00

A nice way to use up those jumbo pasta shells when you're sick of Italian!

INGREDIENTS:

12 jumbo pasta shells
1lb ground beef
1 small jar picante or taco sauce (or about 2 cups)
1 can refried beans ( I like the fat free spicy kind!)
1 small onion, diced
diced chiles (optional)
1 cup shredded cheese of choice (colby jack, taco blend, cheddar, etc.)
sour cream (garnish)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400F
Cook pasta shells according to package- drain and immediately fill the pot with cold water so the shells keep their shape until you are ready to fill them.
Cook the ground beef and onion until no pink remains and onions are translucent. Drain off grease.
Add half the picante/taco sauce, 3/4 the refried beans and chiles (optional) to the ground beef and onion. Heat through and turn off heat when bubbly.
Put about 1/2 cup picante/taco sauce on the bottom of a glass dish.
Fill the shells with the meat/bean mixture, about one good spoonful per shell. Put the shells seam side down in the glass dish and top with any remaining picante /taco sauce.
Once all shells have been filled, cover the glass dish foil and cook for about 10 minutes.
Remove foil and add cheese to the top of the shells and heat for another 5-10 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with sour cream and they are ready to serve!

Creamy Potato Soup

2008-05-18T15:59:00.000-05:00

I love potato. Rather than making another thick chowder, here's a simple, smooth and creamy version of potato soup which I love. It makes about 4 average sized bowls.

3 c peeled & cubed potato
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
8 oz half & half

Put cubed potato, minced garlic and chicken bouillon cubes in a pot. Cover with enough water to cover potatoes. Boil until potatoes are tender and practically falling apart. Turn down heat and begin mashing the potatoes until they make a thicker mush. Add the half & half and continue stirring, heating through. Soup should be thin but not runny.

If desired it can be topped with chives, cheese, etc., but I think best left as a nice, simple potato soup :-).

Corn & Potato Chowder

2008-05-18T10:44:00.007-05:00

This recipe was inspired by a little soup joint in Faneuil Hall in Boston where my husband and I went for our first wedding anniversary. They had the best corn & potato chowder ever and this is my attempt at replicating it. It's very thick and a bit on the sweet side, but it's a nice change of pace from a typical cream of potato. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

3c peeled & cubed potato
1 small white onion, diced
8 oz fat free half & half
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cans creamed corn
1 can sweet corn (drained) or 1c frozen corn
1 tablespoon minced garlic (optional)
Black pepper to taste
Shredded cheddar cheese (garnish)

Put cubed potato in a stockpot- cover with just enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender.
In another small saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic in the 2 tbsp butter until onion is transparent. Turn heat off when finished and saucepan aside.
When potatoes are tender, drain most of the water.
Add the creamed corn, canned/frozen corn and onion/garlic mixture. Stir slowly, adding the half & half.
Add black pepper slowly and according to taste.
Bring chowder to a boil- it should be a thicker consistency than regular cream or broth soups. If you prefer a thinner soup, add skim milk.

If a thicker soup is preferred, in a small cup combine 1 tablespoon flour with a bit of water, stir until well blended and add slowly to the chowder.

Buffalo Style Chicken Strips with Ranch Dressing

2008-05-18T09:54:00.005-05:00

My husband *loves* anything spicy...and I don't. This recipe allowed him to completely drench his Strips in the sauce and I left mine plain! Ahh, compromise is a beautiful thing :-)

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten (I had to use 3)
1 1/2 cups crushed corn flakes (I used about 2 1/2 cups)
1 lb chicken breasts cut into 1/2 " strips
Cooking Spray
1/3 cup hot sauce (Franks)
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup fat free ranch dressing
4 celery stalks cut into 1/4 x 3" sticks
4 carrots, cut into 1/4 x 3" sticks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F
Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Place corn flakes in a separate shallow dish.
Working with one chicken strip at a time, dredge in flour mixture. Dip in egg whites and then dredge in corn flakes.
Place chicken strips on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes or until done, turning once.
For the sauce, combine hot sauce, pepper sauce, and Worcestershire in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 1 minute.
Remove from heat, stir in butter. Drizzle mixture over chicken. Serve with ranch dressing, carrots and celery. Enjoy!

Source: Amber's Delectable Delights

Chocolate Punchbowl Cake

2008-05-17T22:55:00.005-05:00

This is a favorite in my family- my cousin Michelle first introduced it to us 15 years ago and it hasn't left our side since! I have to admit, it's simple but one of my favorite desserts of all time :-)

INGREDIENTS

Oil for misting the pan
1 pkg plain devil’s food cake mix
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 pkgs small instant pudding
4 cups milk
½ cup Kahlua or other coffee liquor
1 8oz container Cool Whip, thawed
1 c crushed toffee candy bar pieces (Heath bar)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 9 x 13 inch pan with vegetable oil spray.

2. Place cake mix, water, oil & eggs in large mixing bowl. Blend on low speed for 1 minute. Beat on Medium speed for 2 minute, scraping sides of bowl as need. Pour into pan and bake until cake springs back when lightly pressed with finger and toothpick comes out clean- about 30-35 minutes. Cool cake completely, at least 40 minutes.

3. Make chocolate pudding according to box directions. Crumble cooled cake into 1-inch pieces into a large glass bowl (punch bowl). Pour Kahlua evenly over cake & stir crumbles to evenly distribute. Spread the chocolate pudding on top of the cake, then spread the whipped topping over the pudding. Scatter the crushed toffee pieces over the whipped topping. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least one hour before serving-

Keeps up to 4 days.

Source: The Cake Doctor

Hash Brown Quiche

2008-05-17T22:31:00.005-05:00

I made this this morning for my husband and brother in law- overall, it was tasty but not very filling. The entire 9" quiche fed all three of us with no leftovers. I would advise either serving it as a part of a bigger breakfast or maybe adding another egg or two to make a thicker quiche.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups shredded frozen hash browns, thawed
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup half & half
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 450F
Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible.
In a 9" pie plate, toss the has browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crust starts to crisp.
Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl. When the crust is ready, pour the egg mixture into it and return to the oven.
Lower the temperature to 350F and bake for about 30 minutes until quiche is lightly golden brown on top and puffed.

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen's website on foodtv.com.

Buffalo Chicken Dip (also known as Crack Chicken :-D)

2008-05-17T22:20:00.004-05:00

This is a very popular recipe around the What's Cooking board on The Nest. Just a fair warning though- this makes a LOT of dip! Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

3 boiled chicken breasts, shredded
8 oz bottle of Franks Red Hot Sauce
8 oz bottle of Ranch Dressing
8 oz of crumbled Bleu Cheese (I used shredded mozzarella)
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
16 oz Cream Cheese, softened

Mix all ingredients and bake at 325F for 40 minutes.
Serve with celery and/or tortilla chips.

Source: a lot of What's Cooking? community members