Cara's Creature Comforts

Winter mini vacation

2012-01-27T16:40:00.000-06:00

I think I'll always consider the lake a vacation. It's sometimes nice to just turn your phone off, not be very connected, and just relax. Some trips to the lake are more relaxing than others, but this one certainly ranked higher up on that relaxing list! There weren't many other people out there, so the dogs could run free, which they loved. The lake was iced over, so you can see Bruno in the picture below "walking on water". He definitely enjoyed that more than Bear did.

Also, I love the new camera Norris got me. It really captures colors a lot better than my old digital, and I think it does a pretty dandy job for a point and shoot!

Lightened Up: Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

2012-01-26T16:22:00.003-06:00

My meat and potatoes man loved this....and so did I! We just booked a return trip to the resort we went to last summer, which serves as good motivation to watch what's going in more. I know a lot of people are doing that in January, and if you're to the point where you're tired of yogurt and celery sticks (please tell me you're eating more than that anyway!) and looking for some new recipes, I have some great ones to try that we have been re-making lately. (linked at the end of this post)
This salisbury steak definitely belongs on the list. It's warm, comforting, hearty, delicious, AND decently healthy! Not your traditional salisbury steak, but you would never guess based on the end result! I made mashed potatoes with a tiny amount of butter, skim milk, and roasted garlic and they were perfect with this meal and were also well received!

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Serves 4

1/2 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 tbsp minced dried onions
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 egg whites
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 1/4 cups beef broth
1/8 tsp salt
pinch black pepper, or to taste
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/3 cup water

Combine the meats, dried onions, onion powder, breadcrumbs, and egg whites in a bowl. Form four patties from this mixture.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and brown the patties on both sides. Remove patties and set aside. Drain skillet if necessary.
Add mushrooms to the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, or until lightly sweated (some of the moisture comes out of them). While mushrooms cook, combine beef broth, salt, pepper, flour, tomato paste, vinegar, W sauce, mustard powder, and water.
Return patties to the skillet and spread mushrooms evenly throughout the skillet.
Pour broth mixture in the skillet over the patties and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and let simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

slightly adapted from Skinny Taste

Other recipes to try if you're looking for some lighter options:

Crockpot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
"The Best" Vegetable Soup
Lowfat Chewy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Blueberry Banana Breakfast Snack Cake
Smoky Ham and Corn Salad
Shrimp Cobb Salad
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Chopped Apple Salad with toasted walnuts, feta, and pomegranate vinaigrette
Pear and Pomegranate Salad with gorgonzola and champagne vinaigrette
Oven Baked Okra
Macaroni and Cheese with cauliflower
Yogurt Poppyseed Muffins
Greek Chicken Wings with cucumber sauce
Laughing Cow Chicken
Lemon Parmesan Shrimp Pasta
Italian Turkey Burgers with basil garlic mayo
White Whisper Pasta
Steak and Potato Salad with chimichurri sauce

Blonde Chicken Chili

2012-01-23T20:06:00.005-06:00

This one's for you, Granddad! My cousins always called my granddad "dadnarg" and I could never figure out why they called him that, so I just never called him that. I guess I figured it was some thing somebody used to call him (you know, like when little kids call their siblings something before they can speak very well and then it sticks). Finally one day in high school (pretty sure it wasn't all the way to college!!), the light bulb came on and I exclaimed "dadnarg is granddad spelled backward!!" as if I was the first one to figure that out. DUH!! Ever since then, Granddad has lovingly called me Blondie:)
PS- I promise I'm smarter than that in real life:)
Anyway, this is blonde chicken chili. I really like white chili and have loved Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili in the past. Our internet was out the day I intended to make Cha Cha's, so I wanted to see a recipe for another version. I based mine off of Michelle's recipe. It reheated really well and on most days, I stirred in a little hot sauce or buffalo sauce along with some shredded cheese. Good stuff!

Blonde Chicken Chili

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cooked and cubed
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups chicken broth
8 oz chopped green chiles
30 oz canned great Northern beans, undrained
15 oz white or yellow corn (depending on if you want a bleach blonde or a yellow blonde;)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

In a medium sized stockpot, cook the chicken, stirring occasionally, until all pieces are evenly brown. Stir in the onions. Cook until translucent. Drain mixture and set aside.
In the same pot, bring the chicken broth and green chile peppers to a boil. Stir in great northern beans, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, cilantro and crushed red pepper. Stir in the chicken and onion mixture, and reduce heat. Simmer 30 minutes or longer, adding additional beans from the remaining cans for a thicker consistency as desired.
OR Do what I did and toss everything in a crockpot and eat it when you get home, whenever that may be!:)
adapted from allrecipes

Owl Birthday Cake

2012-01-15T16:38:00.003-06:00

A fun night with a girlfriend making a first birthday cake definitely went better than either of us expected! Her sweet baby girl is turning one in a couple of days and was an owl for Halloween, so an owl themed birthday party was a perfect fit. We made a two layer lemon cake with chocolate buttercream between the layers, iced it with white buttercream, then put store bought pink fondant over it. We made the owl out of rice krispies, then iced her in different colors of buttercream (we stuck the head to the body with toothpicks and those are the only stabilizers we needed to use). The letters are glittery sticky letters that we "glued" with buttercream. We made about 30-40 cupcakes in varying colors to go with her and they turned out really cute! This was a really fun project!

Balsamic Chicken

2012-01-12T19:05:00.006-06:00

This chicken will be making many reappearances in our house. Grilled, baked, on its own, with pasta, in a cold pasta salad, with sauteed onion and bell pepper, and any other way we can think of it. I had low expectations going in, but we both loved it.
Toss the chicken in the marinade in the morning and it will be ready for you to cook when you get home from work. If you forget, just give it a twenty minute bath in the marinade and you'll still be set. Throw on the pasta water, cook the pasta and chicken at the same time, and you have a (less than) thirty minute meal!
Tonight I doubled the marinade and served the chicken over whole wheat spaghetti and sprinkled it with feta. Flavor combination winner! I kept thinking how very good it would be with some sweet onion or a little cilantro over the top. Basically all those ways I listed above are all the ways I talked about how I would like it while I was eating it:) Enjoy it any way you want!

Balsamic Chicken

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp brown sugar

Combine vinegar, chicken broth, seasoning, garlic, and brown sugar and stir well. Marinate chicken in mixture for at least 20 minutes and up to 24 hours. Cook whatever way you prefer--if you want the sauce, reduce the marinade on the stovetop (make sure it boils for at least 90 seconds). If you are cooking the chicken on the stovetop, cook it for about four minutes on each side, then add sauce and reduce for about five minutes (leave chicken in pan).

**To serve it over pasta, I doubled the marinade and reduced all of it.

adapted from allrecipes.com

Happy New Year from our house to yours!!

Crockpot Steak and Potato Soup

2012-01-09T19:06:00.001-06:00

Woah, I just signed on to post this and it told me my last post was my 500th. That's a lot of rambling and a lot of food! It will be fun to look back on and is a great place to store my recipes for my own reference. Hopefully someone out there is also finding something that works for you!

After I sat down to eat this, I finally realized it was basically beef stew in the crockpot. DUH. I jazzed up a version I found on Betty Crocker and came out with a good, comforting product. Norris loves this Campbell's steak and potato soup and I made this in an effort for him to eat the real stuff instead of the canned stuff. I served it with blueberry muffins and it made a great, filling, hot meal, even for my meat and potatoes guy!

Crockpot Steak and Potato Soup

8 cups beef broth
3 carrots, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 lb beef steak (whatever cut you would like to use...the only good looking and good priced ones at my store were petite sirloins, so I used those)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb small red potatoes, diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup flour

**fresh spinach

Combine everything except water and flour in 5 qt crockpot and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.
Whisk flour into 1/2 cup water until well blended. Pour into crockpot and cook on high for thirty minutes, then serve. While you wait for that, bake up a batch of fresh bread to serve with the soup!

**I had some extra fresh spinach in the fridge that needed to be used, so I tossed a large handful in my bowl on top of the soup then stirred it in to wilt. I really liked the addition!

Makes 8 large bowls

adapted from Betty Crocker

White chocolate peppermint fudge brownies

2012-01-03T15:05:00.001-06:00

This title seems wildly inappropriate for a January 3rd post, but I forgot to post it during the holiday season and don't want to forget about these!

A friend posted a picture of her holiday treat plate on facebook and I had to know what these little beauties were. She shared the source with me and we put them on our holiday baking list. I am sure glad we did because I really enjoyed these and I finally have a homemade brownie recipe that I really like!

In the past, I've tried homemade brownies and they just never quite did it, but these are it: fudgy, rich, decadent...all the qualities of a perfect brownie. I definitely won't wait until next holiday season to make these brownies again, but I'll try out some new toppings...the caramel/pretzel topping I've seen floating around sounds pretty spectacular!

The parchment overhang is a really handy technique for taking the brownies out without butchering them. But if you're like me and want to pretend you didn't eat any because you just ate the ones that didn't come out very well, forget the overhang and just spray that pan!

White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge Brownies

from Real Simple

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/3 cup chopped peppermint candies (about 15 candies)
Heat oven to 350° F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line with 2 crisscrossed pieces of parchment, buttering in between and leaving an overhang on all sides; butter the parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter and semisweet chocolate. Microwave on high in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly. Whisk in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined (do not overmix).
Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan.
In a medium microwave-safe bowl, microwave the white chocolate and oil in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Spread on top of the cooled brownies. Sprinkle with the candies and let set.
Holding the paper overhang, lift the brownies out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares (4 rows by 4 rows).

By Dawn Perry, December 2011

Tastes like Lasagna Soup

2011-12-21T10:40:00.002-06:00

Norris' school had a soup luncheon as their staff Christmas celebration and at the last minute he realized he needed to bring soup. I was not in the store going mood and looked through the cabinets for something I could put together and realized I had most of the ingredients for the lasagna soup idea I've seen floating around the web. I really liked this, but not so much as leftovers because the noodles were soggy. This would be a great soup for a get together when it will all be eaten OR leave the cooked noodles out until you are ready to reheat and add them then. The flavor really reminded me of lasagna and I can imagine that if you follow the instructions about topping with cheese and broiling it, you would have pretty much a lasagna replica, but done in much less time than lasagna! Check out the recipe link for her broiling and garlic crostini suggestions!

This is how I sent it: soup in crockpot, cooked noodles in bag to add just before serving, and shredded mozzarella on the side for topping.

Tastes like Lasagna Soup

from Paula Deen

1 pound ground chuck
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
32 oz chicken broth
2 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes (I left these out)
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups broken lasagna noodles
1 (5-ounce) package grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook meat, onion, bell pepper, and garlic over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until cooked. Drain well.

Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Skillet Barbecue Chicken Pasta

2011-12-08T15:42:00.000-06:00

I feel like I should lead off by saying that Norris loved this stuff! I really liked it too, so it's definitely a winner!
One skillet, quick prep, and loved by all = something that will be in our regular rotation.
I added a little extra barbecue sauce and sprinkled a little extra cheese plus jalapenos on top because I like them on everything. I know I botched Prevention RD's nutrition facts by adding the extras, and it was good the way the recipe was written, but I just love jalapenos too much and was okay with a few extra calories from the bbq sauce and cheese!

Skillet BBQ Chicken Pasta

from Prevention RD

Pumpkin Bean Soup

2011-12-08T15:34:00.000-06:00

As much as I've always loved pumpkin, I haven't had it in savory dishes but a few times. I have seen recipes for pumpkin soup for a long time now, but was nervous to try it since in my mind, pumpkin goes with spices and sugar. Since I do love to try new things and old things in new ways, I decided to try this. It had some familiar flavors like peppers, onions, beans, corn, and tomatoes, but just a hint of pumpkin. Like the pureed carrots in my favorite cream of carrot soup, the pumpkin really thickened this soup without adding cream or flour (making it healthier) plus packs a lot of great nutrition. Don't worry, this does not taste at all like pumpkin pie!! Give it a try. It reheats wonderfully for lunches all week!

Pumpkin Bean Soup

from allrecipes via Taking back my twenties
Makes 4 large servings (I would call it 5)

2 tsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped (I used green)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups chicken broth
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the bell pepper and onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Mix in the garlic and cumin and cook, stirring, for an additional 2 minutes. Pour in the pumpkin puree, black beans, corn, chicken broth, tomato sauce, and 1 teaspoon cilantro; season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a gentle boil; reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.Adjust seasonings according to your taste preferences.

Fruitcake Fudge

2011-12-07T15:29:00.000-06:00

Another Gram and Granddad special! I think Granddad would eat fudge every day if he could:)
When I was little (actually, I was never really "little" since I was 5'2" in 4th grade,, so let's say "younger":), my uncle Steve owned a store called the Fudge Factory. Gram and Granddad would let me help work the cash register, which I remember thinking was so cool. They would pour the fudge out on those giant marble tables and it was a thing of wonder as a kid. I'm sure now somebody would complain about child labor if they saw me back there, but I'm so glad I have those memories!
Here is a new fudge flavor. I love the idea of dried cherries, pistachios, and apricots all in one place. Gram says the sour cream adds just enough balance to the sweetness of the fudge and has just enough of a taste to make someone wonder what it is, but definitely not taste the sour cream. Plus, it's pretty colors! This would look beautiful on a holiday sweets tray. Grandma, maybe we should add this to our holiday treats list????

White Fruitcake Fudge

(from a magazine or newspaper...we were looking at it over Thanksgiving break!)

3/4 cup chopped walnuts orpistachios

3/4 cup finely chopped driedapricots

1/2 cup raisins (used driedcherries)

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup butter

12 oz. white baking chocolate,coarsely chopped

1 7 oz. jar marshmallow creme

!. In a bowl combine walnuts,apricots, cherries. Reserve 1/4 cup.

Line a 9 X 13baking pan with foil; extend foil over edges of pan.

Butter the foil.

2. Butter sides of a heavy 3quart pan. In pan combine sugar, sour cream

and butter. Cookand stir over medium heat until mixture boils.

Clip a candy thermometerto side of pan. Reduce heat to medium - low;

Continue boiling at amoderate, steady rate, stirring occasionally, until

thermometer registers236 degreesF (18 to 20 minutes)

Adjust heat as necessaryto maintain a steady boil.

3. Remove pan from heat. Stirin chocolate and marshmallow creme.

Continue stirringuntil chocolate is melted and mixture is combined.

Stir in fruit and nut mixture. Immediately spread fudge evenly in prepared pan.

Top with thereserved 1/4 cup fruit and nut mixture. Chill fudge until firm.

Use foil to liftfudge out of pan. Cut fudge into squares. Store inrefrigerator.

Makes. about 3pounds or 117 one-inch pieces.

Almond Toffee

2011-12-06T11:27:00.001-06:00

Gram and Granddad (my grandparents on my dad's side) are always trying out new recipes, especially sweet ones around the holidays! I'll share a couple of the most recent ones they have sent me. I always wish I had these treats already made and sitting on my counter! :) I love love love toffee, so I was really excited to see this recipe! They even put the toffee on a Santa plate to photograph it:) The journalism teacher in Granddad was definitely coming out for this shot!

Almond Toffee

from Better Homes & Gardens

(click the words "almond toffee" to go check out the 5-ingredient recipe!)

Happy Thanksgiving!... food crafting

2011-11-22T10:26:00.001-06:00

We made a different kind of "turkey dinner" in class today. The kids had a great time making them and they turned out so cute!!

I got the idea from the internet and changed up some of the suggestions. What we used:
sliced almonds for the turkey
caramel ice cream topping for gravy
white icing for mashed potatoes
yellow food coloring gel tube for butter
round sprinkles for peas/corn/cranberries (cranberries not on this one)
the sprinkles that come on the top of the funfetti icing canister are multi colored and shaped, so they picked the orange discs out of there to make sliced carrots
yellow cupcake with a little icing "glue" to glue one of those super cheap cookies on (which worked perfectly size and structure-wise!), then icing for the plate to get the food to stick.

These were a hit! They would be fun at the kids' or adults' table:)
Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Cranberry Apple Baked Oatmeal

2011-11-10T09:30:00.000-06:00

Mmm..fall in a dish, available every morning! Remember, I look for everything to use pumpkin in, and in my head, a baked oatmeal with pumpkin, cranberry, and apple in it sounded good. Behold the power of Google--typed in "my idea" and a whole bunch of other people already had "my idea"!! If you try this and you like sweet oatmeal, you'll want to add in more sugar. I like to sprinkle this with cinnamon and a touch of sugar or honey in the morning after reheating. The fresh cranberries are much more tart than dried would be, so follow your preference there, too. This is a healthy way to start a cool fall day!

Pumpkin Cranberry Apple Baked Oatmeal

adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

2 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup fresh cranberries or 1/2 cup dried cranberries (chop up your fresh if you use them--but be warned, they'll be super tart!! I had fresh on hand this time but will switch to dried next time)
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup apple, chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped (didn't use this, but it sounds good!)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a square 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.
Combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.
Combine milk, pumpkin, butter, and egg and stir well. Add apple and cranberries. Pour into oat mixture and stir to combine.
Pour into baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.

Skinny Crockpot Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

2011-11-09T22:08:00.000-06:00

This recipe was another winner for Soup Sunday (and operation fill the lunchbox)! I loved the smell of it while I was cooking and the lemon zest gives it just a hit of something that makes you curious of the smell and the taste but is the perfect element of flavor in the soup! Even though the recipe calls for just 3/4 cup of wild rice, it seems like there is so much by the time this is done cooking and it's a great filling soup. Plus, it's "skinny"!! That really means it's from a Weight Watcher's blog, but it's really good and you'd never know it's a "skinny" version!

oops, I thought I had another ugly picture of soup to share with you, but I'll share this ugly one instead:) This is Norris doing his "we're taking a picture in the garage and this is embarrassing and someone is going to drive by and see us doing this" awkward laugh and me taking a self pic in the garage. Fun K-State season, even with this weekend's loss!

Skinny Crockpot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

slightly adapted from Let's Get Cooking

1 cup finely diced carrots
1/2 onion, finely diced
3/4 cup uncooked wild rice (this is expensive to buy a box/bag of, so check out the bulk bins!)
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
zest of one lemon
1/4 tsp ground pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
50 oz chicken broth

Combine all ingredients in a 4 1/2 qt crockpot. Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 3 hours. Remove chicken, shred with fork, and return to crockpot. Remove bay leaves and serve.
Serves 6

Pizza Focaccia

2011-11-07T21:47:00.000-06:00

This would be great party food for adults or kids. It has such a quick rise time and the dough comes together so easily that you could have it all made and just pop in the oven or let kids make the dough and top with their favorite toppings and bake while the party's going on. Cut it into breadsticks and it makes the perfect appetizer; add a side and it makes a great dinner!
Norris claims there is not enough cheese for amount of bread, but I think it's perfect and took the leftovers to school where the kids agreed with me. I haven't made focaccia in a while and need to get back to making the Blitz Bread focaccia--that made some killer paninis!
I loved this a quicker alternative to pizza and with a side of roasted asparagus, this made a great dinner (despite the fact that it was already dark at 6:30 when we ate...depressing!!).

Pizza Focaccia

from Macaroni and Cheesecake

(I didn't change anything besides the toppings and using my own sauce, so I'm just linking there!)
Tip: focaccia dough is stickier than cinnamon roll dough, so don't be alarmed by that fact!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops: Lightened Up

2011-11-06T21:57:00.001-06:00

Yes, still putting pumpkin everywhere I can. I used to have a pumpkin face mask from BBW that I looooved. Wish they still made that!
The original recipe calls these cookies, but Nikki had the right idea of changing the title to muffin tops. Pumpkin makes things so moist that they could be called really moist, cakey cookies, or muffin tops. Muffin tops is much more appealing, and with my lightened up version, they won't give you a muffin top!:)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops

adapted from Pennies on a Platter

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 egg
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F.
Combine flours, soda, salt, and spices.
Cream the eggs and sugar/Splenda. Add oil, applesauce, pumpkin, and vanilla and beat until blended. Stir in flour just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop by ice cream scoop (1/4 cup size) onto Silpat lined baking sheets, about two inches apart. Bake for about 16 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Store in airtight container for up to 4 days.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta

2011-10-27T11:51:00.001-05:00

If you like macaroni and cheese and buffalo wings, this one is for you. We both really enjoyed this and will like it even more next time when I use the mild wing sauce instead of the hot sauce. Despite the sweat beads forming from eating this with spicy sauce, we both went back for more and polished off the leftovers, which is a sign of something great in our house. You can prep this a day or two before and just bake when ready!

Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta

very slightly adapted from Prevention RD
Serves 6 generous portions

13.25 oz whole wheat pasta (that's the box size they sell at my market)
1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp buffalo wing sauce, divided
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup feta or Gorgonzola cheese
Nicole suggested topping with green onions and cilantro, which I think would be excellent!

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cook pasta according to package directions.
Heat butter in saucepan over medium heat, then whisk in flour to form a roux. Cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and turn heat down to low. Simmer while stirring until milk thickens slightly. Stir in cheeses until smooth. Stir in 1/3 cup wing sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
Spray a 9x13 with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine pasta, sauce, and chicken, then pour into baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown, top with feta and bake another five minutes. Drizzle with remaining wing sauce and top with other garnishes if using.

"The Best Vegetable Soup"

2011-10-25T18:40:00.000-05:00

Still on the soup kick. I have been trying to kick a sickness or allergies, whatever this is, and soup and spicy foods are especially great for that. This reheats wonderfully and even freezes well, so I made enough for this week plus 2 more servings and in a couple weeks I'll have a week of a different soup every day for lunch...wow, my life is exciting, huh??
This is called "The Best Vegetable Soup" so I'm sticking with the name. And for the taste and nutrition information balance, I'd say this is definitely a contender for best vegetable soup. I think I still like the Quick Fall Minestrone the best, but this is also tasty and a great way to get your veggies on!

The Best Vegetable Soup

adapted from Prevention RD
Serves 6

1/2 tsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 dried bay leaf
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
32 oz fat free low sodium chicken broth
14 oz can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large russet potato, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup frozen green beans
5 oz condensed tomato soup
5 oz water
1/4 lemon, juiced

Saute onion in oil over medium heat for five minutes or until softened. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add red pepper flakes, thyme, salt, pepper, and bay leaf and cook another minute.
Add stock, canned tomatoes, and juices to pot and bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cover pot. Simmer 15 minutes.
Add carrots, celery, and squash. Simmer another 12 minutes.
Add corn and green beans and simmer another 10 minutes.
Add soup, water, and lemon juice, heat through, season to taste, and serve.

Caramel Apple Sticky Buns

2011-10-24T18:32:00.000-05:00

Yum!!!I loved these so much. I think I liked them better the day after I made them after the caramel had a chance to set up and get thick like icing instead of glaze. I'll be making them again and adding walnuts...that would just take these over the top.
I used my regular cinnamon roll dough and followed her instructions for the rest, so I'll just link to her site for the recipe. Try these out this fall--be sure you have someone to share them with!!

Caramel Apple Sticky Buns

Slow Cooker Mexican Pot Roast

2011-10-23T10:40:00.000-05:00

When we walked into the house for FCA last week, we were greeted with the smell of dinner cooking. Our host was proud of what his wife was making and showed us into the kitchen where he lifted the crockpot lid (don't tell his wife!! I think it was pretty close to done though) and revealed a Mexican pot roast topped with Monterey jack cheese, jalapenos, and tomato sauce. That sounded so good to me, but I knew my husband wouldn't go for thos toppings and I'd have to top it on my own. I searched for a recipe (hers was from a church cookbook) and found one I could adapt..I wanted to be sure the meat still tasted like the Mexican dish I was going for and knew I could just top it with the good stuff myself. This meat was really good, but I accidentally poured too much water over it so I know it would be better without so much water. You could make burritos or tacos out of it, but I served it with sour cream rice and kind of mixed them together and it was excellent that way! Especially considering I don't normally care for roast, I really enjoyed this!

Charley's Slow Cooker Mexican Style Meat

from All Recipes

1 (4 lb) rump or chuck roast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/4 cups diced green chile pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
5 oz bottle hot pepper sauce
1 tsp garlic powder

Trim meat of excess fat, then rub with spices. Place in crockpot and sprinkle onion over meat. Pour pepper sauce over the meat, then add enough water to cover 1/3 of the meat.

Cook on low for ~8-9 hours, then shred meat and cook on low another hour.

Mexican Sour Cream Rice

2011-10-16T10:38:00.000-05:00

Oh man, this stuff was good! (Dad, I always think of you when I say "oh man"!!)
I like that you can adapt this recipe to whatever you have on hand and whatever flavors you like. I would have LOVED it with roasted jalapeno peppers, but my husband wouldn't have appreciated that at all, so I had to settle for topping it with jalapenos. This is something I was actually excited to eat leftovers of.
When I was making the sour cream mixture in the beginning, it reminded me almost exactly of the dip Norris likes to make for tailgating and parties. It does taste pretty great! It's basically his dip mixed with cooked rice and baked. Add in some cooked chicken and dinner's ready!

Mexican Sour Cream Rice

from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

3/4 cup uncooked white rice
3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups light sour cream
6 oz light cream cheese, softened
1 c shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
(OR instead of the seasonings, you could use a packet of taco seasoning if that's more convenient for you)
2 jalapenos, roasted then chopped
2 c frozen corn
1/2 can black beans

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a square or 9x13 casserole dish.
Bring broth to a boil, stir in rice, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until broth is absorbed. Meanwhile, combine sour cream, cream cheese, seasnonings, corn, black beans, and 3/4 cup of cheese.

After rice is cooked, stir it into the sour cream mixture. Pour into greased pan and top with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until liquid is semi-absorbed and it looks creamy, but not runny. OR if you bake this in a 9x13, bake for 30 minutes covered.

Orange Pumpkin Loaf

2011-10-14T08:08:00.000-05:00

I said I'm on a mission to try every pumpkin flavored product on the market...I think I'm also on a mission to try every pumpkin baked good recipe. I searched "pumpkin" on allrecipes.com and came up with a giant list, but many of them were variations of the same....pumpkin bread, bars, rolls, and cookies. I wanted something different but still a little pumpkin-y. And I'm not quite ready to try pumpkin soup because I just can't get in the groove for that...if anyone's tried and liked it, please let me know!
This recipe intrigued me because it includes an entire orange (peel and all) in its ingredient list. The orange gives the bread a nice bright flavor, the dried cranberries a little tang, and the pumpkin contributes a little flavor and a lot of moisture. I really loved this!! I got a little gunshy with the whole orange and wound up leaving out one chunk of orange peel. I was afraid it would be bitter, but it wasn't at all. You could zest the whole orange and then use the entire inside just to be sure if you wanted. I froze half and can't wait to pull it out again and will definitely be making this again! I healthified the recipe, but the link to all recipes below brings you to the original if you want to try it the unadapted way.

Orange Pumpkin Loaf

adapted from all recipes

1 large orange
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup Splenda
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup water
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
Cut orange into wedges and remove seeds. Place entire orange in a food processor and pulse until pureed.
Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in pumpkin, water, and ground orange.
In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.
Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined, careful not to overmix.
Stir in dried cranberries. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Chicken Potato Chowder

2011-10-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

This soup was very similar to a corn and bacon chowder I have made before, but more hearty and filling and enough to satisfy my husband for a meal. It rained all day here (thankfully! we needed it!) and it seemed like a perfect day for soup. I love soup and all the fall foods...I think I am on a mission to seek out every pumpkin flavored product on the market. There are so many new ones this year!
Served with garlic bread, this was a super filling comfort food meal that both of us really enjoyed. I hope you do, too!

Chicken Potato Chowder

adapted from Joelen's Culinary Adventures

6 slices bacon, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
30 oz chicken broth
2 large potatoes, diced
4 cups frozen corn
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
2 cups fat free half and half
salt and pepper to taste
shredded cheese and green onions to garnish

Cook bacon until crispy in a large stock pot. Remove bacon to paper towel lined plate and remove all but 2 tbsp bacon fat from the pan.
Saute the garlic in the bacon fat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add potato and broth to the pot, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.
Add chicken and thyme, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes or until chicken and potatoes are cooked.
Stir in corn and half and half and simmer another 5 minutes or until half and half is heated. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper (don't forget you're adding bacon in so don't salt it too much!).
Garnish with cheese, bacon, and green onions.

Good stuff

2011-10-12T19:57:00.000-05:00

As much as I like homemade ice cream, I haven't been able to find a way to make a low fat version of it that turns out really great. Ice cream was on sale this week so I picked up a new flavor and it's GOOD! You would never guess it's fat free and lower cal. It's a little like butter pecan and definitely worth the $3.50 I paid for it!

Blue Bunny Fat Free Caramel Toffee Crunch

Vegetarian Chili

2011-10-11T10:23:00.000-05:00

I recently learned from our chili cookoff champion friend that real chili, the kind that you can win the main event for at those contests, just has the meat and sauce. That sounds pretty boring to me! I like veggies, beans, and all sorts of other things in my chili. If you are a chili purist, this recipe will definitely not pass your test, but for everyone else, try this soon! This is another meal that I made on a Sunday and ate for lunch all week. This filled me up far past the end of the school day. If I were making it for dinner, it would be perfect with some cornbread on the side!

"The Best Vegetarian Chili in the world" (as named by the recipe author!)

adapted from All Recipes

makes 6 (1 1/2 cup) servings

1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 medium onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz can chopped green chile peppers, drained
34 oz crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 cup frozen corn
15 oz garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
~1/2-1 cup stock or water
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion to pan and saute for one minute. Add seasonings (except for chili powder) and saute until onion is tender. Add veggies and green chiles and cook until heated through, about three minutes. Add tomatoes to pot and simmer five minutes. Add chili powder, beans, and corn. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Add stock or water as necessary. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Spicy Orange Sauce

2011-10-10T10:16:00.001-05:00

If you have allergies or a cold, I suggest you make this soon. What a way to introduce a recipe....
The reason I suggest it is because it's a really good meal and has a great spice factor that will clear you right up. This is a Cooking Light recipe that you can change up however you like. Add in your favorite veggies, serve it over brown rice, rice noodles, however you like. I thought it was great with steamed broccoli...a little sauce on the broccoli was so good!

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Spicy Orange Sauce

adapted from Cooking Light

1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce
2 tbsp canola oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
baby corn
water chestnuts
snap peas
1 carrot, julienned

Pat shrimp dry and toss with cornstarch.
Whisk together orange juice, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and Sriracha.
Heat oil over medium high heat. Add ginger and garlic and stir fry for fifteen seconds. Add shrimp and stir fry another three minutes. Add veggies and juice mixture and cook another two minutes or until sauce thickens, shrimp is done, and veggies are crisp-tender.
Serve over rice, noodles, or more veggies.

Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

2011-10-09T10:16:00.001-05:00

Today I was telling my dogs (yes, I like to talk to them sometimes because then I’m not talking to myself at least, right??) that it feels like something has to drop in order to keep my life together. Exercise, school, class, volunteering, cooking, what will it be? I know they aren’t all essential to life, but they make me feel complete. After we talked it out (okay, they panted and waited for me to throw them a treat), I realized I can’t let anything go. I need to plan things out better, but I also need to learn to ask for help or say no sometimes. I am getting better about saying no, but asking for help isn’t exactly in my nature. I have said before that I definitely earned my nickname “mom” in college. I am a total nurturer and need to learn to be nurtured sometimes.

And hey, I must have a few minutes if I’m here writing. I should probably be doing something else, but I do what I want! Not really, but it’s fun to say!

Oh, and those pumpkin snickerdoodles? I liked them so much (and so did my husband and my students) that I went home and made a full batch the next night to another day of rave reviews. Seriously good stuff!

Anyway, back in the kitchen today. Well, I turned my crockpot on in the kitchen this morning anyway. We’ve been eating a lot of turkey tacos and other fallback foods and still haven’t resorted to eating out yet, so I’m proud of that! Meal variety is low, but we are still eating at home which I like.

A Year of Slow Cooking will probably be a great resource again for me this fall and winter. I have enjoyed many crockpot meals from this blog in the past, but may be relying on this awesome kitchen tool even more in the coming months. This honey garlic chicken turned out awesome and went perfectly with golden sweet cornbread and some veggies. Quick and easy dinner ready in the time it takes to throw things in a crockpot or as the author said, put everything in the freezer and just throw it in some morning and there is no think time in the morning! (especially helpful on days you realize at 6:30 AM that you have a meeting at 7:10…)

Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

from Crockpot 365

no picture....didn't even think about it in the rush I was in to get dinner on the table then get to FCA!

4 chicken thighs

3 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 cup soy sauce (La Choy or Tamari wheat-free are gluten free)

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup honey

Combine ingredients in 4 quart slow cooker. Cook on low for 10 hours.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

2011-09-27T15:55:00.000-05:00

Since I opened a can of pumpkin, I decided I needed to make something else with it. Yes, needed:)

Annie recently posted pumpkin snickerdoodles, which sounded like a perfect treat. So glad I opened that pumpkin and needed to use it because these were some of my favorite cookies of all time. They are SOOOOO good!I didn't change a thing except for to make only half the recipe, so here's the link!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Quick Fall Minestrone

2011-09-26T15:29:00.000-05:00

It's officially fall, which means it's officially soup season again for this girl! With the cooler temperatures comes all things fall food, which makes me really excited since I love soups and pumpkin everything. As I've said before, I like to make a batch of soup on Sundays and have it for lunch every day. Yes, it sounds boring, but I make something I really like and it's easy, homemade, and healthier than many other options. Here is the short list of other soups I like that reheat well throughout the week:
Hearty Tomato Soup
Southwestern Chicken and White Bean Soup
Corn and Bacon Chowder
Spicy Poblano and Corn Soup
Pan Roasted Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup
Taco Soup
Black Bean Salsa Chili
Loaded Potato Soup
Turkey Chili Taco Soup
Black Bean Soup
Roasted Vegetable Soup
Creamy Potato Soup with Ham

This minestrone is from Cooking Light. I changed it a lot based on what I had and what looked good at the store, so here is my adapted version. Mmmm....fall!!

Quick Fall Minestrone

adapted from Cooking Light

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups chicken broth
1 medium zucchini, halved and sliced
1 yellow squash, quartered and sliced
2 small baking potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup uncooked orzo
16 oz white beans, drained and rinsed
topping: croutons and Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute for 3 minutes, until soft. Add broth, potatoes, carrots, oregano, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add zucchini and squash and simmer another 3 minutes. Add orzo, beans, and spinach and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

2011-09-25T17:26:00.001-05:00

Pumpkin is back! Pumpkin is back!
Well, it never really went away in my house because I hoarded a few cans at the end of last fall to have for this year just in case it was difficult to find again. But, it's back at the front of my mind in everything from candles to soap to food. I just love the scent and the flavor. Here are a few of my favorite pumpkin recipes:

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Ice Cream
Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Brownies
Pumpkin Chiffon Cake
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Pumpkin Pie Bars
Pumpkin Dip
Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

I have wanted to try pumpkin oatmeal for a loooong time now and for some reason am just finally getting to it. I used my favorite standby baked oatmeal recipe (remember, I'm boring and make all my breakfasts and lunches on Sunday and reheat oatmeal every morning and soup every lunch for a week!) as a base and here is my adapted recipe. If you love pumpkin, this is perfect for you--pumpkin for breakfast (and healthy!)!
**I should have originally added--this is not super sweet and therefore does not taste like pumpkin pie. It has pumpkin flavor, but you can amp up the sweet factor with more brown sugar, honey, whatever you like. I was trying to get a semi healthy start to the day by not adding in lots of sugar:)

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

2 cups uncooked oats
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
4 egg whites
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups skim milk
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Spray a square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and preheat oven to 375 F.
Combine oats, baking powder, brown sugar, and pie spice.
In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, egg whites, and skim milk.
Stir wet and dry ingredients together, transfer to baking dish, and bake for 20 minutes.

Grilled Pizza

2011-09-21T19:59:00.000-05:00

When I first moved to Wichita after college, I took a gamble and moved in with two girls I didn't know. They were friend of a friend of a friend type thing, but I definitely didn't know them. We all went to K-State at the same time so I figured they had something going for them:) The gamble definitely paid off and I wound up meeting some of my closest girlfriends who I still love to hang out with. Our lives have changed a lot since then, but we still get together (including an unforgettable trip to Mexico this summer!).
How does this relate to grilled pizza? These two girls were so great that they just brought me along to everything with their friends since they were both from the area and I wasn't. They let me tag along and introduced me to a lot more people who I now luckily have as friends also. One time they brought me to a grilled pizza party. Everyone was to bring toppings and the host was manning the grill all evening throwing together all sorts of combinations. I remember loving the texture of the crust and all the different combinations he came up with, but I was so excited to meet people that I didn't think much about the pizza afterward. Wish I would have remembered it sooner because it's so good!
For me, right now is prime grilling season because it's not so dang hot. Fire up your grill and follow the super easy instructions to grilled pizza. Try to get your grill heated evenly so it doesn't turn out like mine in the corner:) If you haven't cleaned your grill in a while, do that before you make this. Hey, it needed cleaned anyway!

Grilled Pizza

your favorite pizza dough
your favorite pizza toppings

Preheat a grill to medium high heat. Brush grates lightly with olive oil.
Place dough on grates, close lid, and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes. Use tongs to remove dough from grates and place cooked side up on a cutting board. Top with toppings, then place back on grill, close lid, and allow to cook for another 3-5 minutes. Done!

Peach Cobbler

2011-09-20T19:51:00.000-05:00

I should first say that no peach cobbler will ever touch my Grandma's peach cobbler. Seriously. Every time she makes it, I find myself standing by it taking "one more bite". So good!!
When in search of a quick and easy cobbler that we could use for our first cooking lab at school, I was also looking for something that the kids could do nutritional modifications to. (First unit after safety and sanitation is nutrition). This one fit the bill and although no Grandma's peach cobbler, it was really darn tasty! Believe it or not, it's from Paula Deen and we were able to adjust the nutrition stats to make them at least better than the original!

Peach Cobbler

sadapted from Paula Deen

4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
6 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
1 1/2 cups skim milk
ground cinnamon, optional

Preheat oven to 350 F. Melt butter in bottom of 9x13 in the oven.
Combine peaches, 1/2 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Combine flour, sugar, and milk and stir together to get rid of any clumps. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit mixture, including syrup, over top of the dough. Do not stir. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and bake for about 30 minutes.

Black Bean, Corn, and Shrimp Salad

2011-09-19T19:50:00.000-05:00

This is a quick and easy weeknight dinner that you could eat hot, cold, plain, over rice, in a tortilla...however you want. It's really good, too! The lime and cilantro add just the right touch of brightness.
Busy week of middle school football, a MASSAGE!! ($5 groupon score, awesome!), parent teacher conferences, a birthday brunch for a very special lady, and a KSU football watch party!

Black Bean, Corn, and Shrimp Salad

from Cooking Light

(it says 4 servings for the original version and I used less shrimp and more corn but would say it's plenty for six burritos)

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
cooking spray
2 tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3/4 cup salsa
2 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed

Combine shrimp with chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin. Toss to coat.
Heat a saute pan to medium high heat. Spray with cooking spray.
Saute shrimp for about three minutes, or until done. Add 1 tbsp lime juice, then remove shrimp from heat. Add corn to pan and saute until slightly softened. Add beans and salsa and cook until heated through. Add remaining lime juice and cilantro. Serve on tortillas, over rice, plain, hot, cold, however you like!

Semi-Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

2011-09-17T11:39:00.000-05:00

I kind of think of this as a cobbler because that's what it looks like and it has similar elements. A filling underneath a layer of dough and baked, but this is definitely not sweet!
This is more of an idea than a recipe. I made regular chicken and vegetable soup (potatoes, chicken, carrots, green beans, corn) but with about 1/3 of the liquid. I reduced the liquid way down and poured it into a 9x13, then put canned biscuits on top. I brushed the biscuits with melted butter, sprinkled with cracked pepper, and baked at 350 for about 20 minutes. Perfect quick comfort food!

"Best Ever" Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-09-14T17:36:00.000-05:00

Whew...has it really been about three weeks since I was here last? My computer didn't even recognize this web address when I started typing it in! Since I last posted, school has gotten into full swing--both high school classes and the two graduate classes I am taking. I just started my masters degree in educational counseling and I am really excited about it. A lot of reading, but it will be worth it. I am excited about the topics and feel like I have already learned a lot! Between that and the rest of life (including Norris' football games and all the things I can't say no to), I have been busier than ever in these last two weeks! I love that I get to cook at school because it's a great outlet for me and I haven't had a whole lot of time for it at home lately.

I put "best ever" in quotation marks because while the recipe calls them that, I think each person has such different preferences in chocolate chip cookies that you can't call just one recipe the best!
BUT---we had a chocolate chip cookie comparison lab at school (kids loved it, of course!) and this was the winner. Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies were a close second, but we have a new recipe we'll be using at school every Wednesday for cookie sales, and these are it! Quite a few of the kids said this was the best cookie they have ever eaten...hence the name best-ever chocolate chip cookies!
I have tried a lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes and for me, these definitely rank up in the top three. I will make them again when I want a doughier cookie--I think they taste a lot like cookie dough, which I love!

Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Food Network Canada via Apple a Day

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cream butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Blend in egg and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (except chocolate chips). Stir dry ingredients into batter until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Bake for 10 minutes or until barely golden brown on the edges (do not overcook!).

Let cook on the sheet on a wire rack for five minutes. Remove from baking sheet and cool completely.

Ranch Burgers

2011-08-28T13:50:00.000-05:00

Simple and delicious. One pound of ground beef + one packet of Hidden Valley Ranch seasonings = quick and wonderful dinner approved by both members of the family. Assemble the burgers the night before and it's even quicker!

Have you heard of Little People, Big World? This is a case of Little Burger, Big Bun.

Ranch Burgers

1 lb ground beef
1 packet ranch seasonings
buns
condiments of choice (I used ketchup, mustard, and a whole bunch of sauteed onions)

Mix meat and seasonings well. Cook how you like them. I didn't feel like getting the grill out and sweating, so I broiled them on a rack in the oven.

Banana Peanut Chocolate Chip Muffins (Whole Wheat, too!)

2011-08-25T17:23:00.000-05:00

Okay, these clearly aren't muffins, but they are the fruit of my first vegetable "garden"! It was really a planter on my driveway that I grew a few peppers in, but I was pretty excited that something came out of it. Apparently I did get a little bit of the gardening gene from you, Grandma and Papa! Wish I was as good at it as you guys are!!

Back to the muffins..

Quite a title....these hearty muffins are a good start to the day. They taste like a whole grain breakfast, not a cupcake, which is what I prefer in the mornings and for a snack anyway. Portable and perfect for a quick weekday breakfast!

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

from Taste of Home Cooking Light

makes 12 muffins

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup skim milk
1 1/3 cup mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped pecans (I used peanuts)

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, bananas, applesauce and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.

Coat muffin cups with cooking spray; fill three-fourths full with batter. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Bake at 375° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

Mushroom Lasagna

2011-08-23T20:57:00.000-05:00

WOW, this was excellent. This would be a great company meal--you can make it ahead of time and just bake it when you're ready. It also makes a great freezer meal--bake it, then wrap it well, thaw it out and heat it up. That's if it makes it to the freezer....it's so good! It's like a creamy alfredo pasta with mushrooms but layered and pretty. Norris, who as a kid declared "I don't want no basagna!" loved it. So good!!
This was one of those meals that I made on a Sunday cooking spree and tasted as I went (hey, practice what I preach at school, right??), which made me excited all day Monday about having it for dinner. The sauce, the noodles, the mushrooms, so good. I would even add some sauteed spinach next time for another flavor dimension. I just sprinkled crushed red pepper on top and it was perfect.

Mushroom Lasagna

from Ina Garten

Ingredients

salt and pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 pound dried lasagna noodles
4 cups whole milk (I used 2%)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I added this based on reviews)
12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided (I used 1 stick...couldn't quite go for 1 1/2 sticks of butter in one dish)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used about 1/3 tsp)
1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms (I used a little over a pound of button mushrooms), stemmed and sliced about 1/4 inch thick
2 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced (added this in)
1 cup freshly ground Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt and a splash of oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Cook the mushrooms with a little salt and pepper until they release juices and are tender, about five minutes.

For the white sauce, bring the milk and garlic to a simmer in a saucepan (I heated milk and garlic in the microwave). Set aside. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. After working in the milk, add 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick. Set aside off the heat.
To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the sauce in the bottom of an 8x12x2 or 9x13 baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more sauce, then 1/3 of the mushrooms, and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Repeat 2 more times, layering noodles, sauce, mushrooms, and Parmesan. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

2011-08-16T16:15:00.001-05:00

Before you continue reading (if anyone is out there reading!), make a list of your favorite 15 people.

Got it?

Now let these people know that you'll be making peanut butter and jelly bars for them. That way you won't have to worry about eating WAY too many of these because they are THAT good! (assuming you love PBJ anyway) And hey, if you've already told all fifteen that you're bringing them one, then you can only eat one:)

When Kelsey posted these and said she made them for the first day of school, I thought that was the cutest idea. I still love peanut butter and jelly anyway and will eat it in a lot of forms---try a grilled/pressed one if you haven't yet. So good! I plan to bring these to the nice office ladies and custodial staff. I like them and they're nice to butter up every once in a while:)

I only got cell phone pictures and the other one got lost in cyberspace somewhere. I put them on a tray and they were gobbled up within the hour!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

from Bon Appetit, March 2011
as seen on Apple a Day

nonstick spray
foil
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup jelly or jam of your choice
2/3 cup salted dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 8x8 baking pan with heavy duty foil, leaving a two inch overhang around the edges (this will help you lift them out later, so be sure to do this!). Coat foil with nonstick spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Cream peanut butter, sugar, and butter until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Add flour mixture and beat just until blended. Pour half the dough into the prepared baking dish and press down with your fingers or a cooking spray coated spatula. Put the other half of the dough in the freezer for ten minutes.
Spread jelly over the peanut butter layer in an even layer (I had to stir up my jelly first to break up the clumps).
Remove dough from freezer and break into grape sized pieces and scatter over the jelly layer. Sprinkle chopped nuts over the top.
Bake bars until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes (took mine about 36). Cool completely in pan on rack. Use foil overhang to lift bars out of the pan. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to three days.

Smashed Red Potatoes

2011-08-15T10:01:00.000-05:00

All summer long, we grill and roast chopped red potatoes to get a nice crispy skin and they taste so great. I was about to do the same for this meal when I realized I had just made the Smoky Grilled Red Potato Salad (one of my favorite dishes to bring to get togethers still!) and should probably change it up. I served this with the mushroom chicken, which was the worst picture I've seen in a while and should not be shared again. These were great to soak up the mushroom sauce on the plate!

Smashed Red Potatoes

10 medium sized red potatoes, diced (be sure to get uniform sizes so they cook evenly)
everything else is approximate; do it to taste, like every recipe!!
1/3 cup sour cream
3 tbsp skim milk
1/4 cup margarine or butter
2 tsp dried rosemary
salt
pepper

Boil red potatoes. Drain and smash. Keep some chunks in there for texture. Stir in all of the other ingredients, taste, and adjust. Serve with something saucy to soak up the sauce!

Mushroom Chicken

2011-08-14T21:56:00.001-05:00

If you love mushrooms, you've come to the right place. I've said it before, but I wasn't much (haha I just typed mush!) of a mushroom eater before Norris, but since he likes them so much, I started adding them to a lot of things and found myself clipping and marking more mushroom recipes than ever before. Just take a look at some of the mushroom dishes that have graced our table: (all of the links are clickable to take you to that recipe)
Balsamic Dijon Chicken with Mushrooms
Pasta with Creamy Wild Mushroom Sauce
Baked Lemon Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
Pan Roasted Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup
Low Fat Creamy Mushroom Pasta
Mushroom Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce
Easy Crockpot Mushroom Chicken
Chicken Mushroom Quesadillas
Chipped Beef on Toast
White Whisper Pasta
Mushroom Risotto (one of Norris' all-time favorites)

Wow....that's not even all of them--that's just the recipes that have quite a few shrooms in them. I didn't even realize I had made this many dishes with mushrooms. I did laugh when I realized how many times I have said that Norris loves mushrooms and that I didn't use to like them. Oops! It's like at school when you teach the same class more than once in a day--"have I already said that?" "well, I better say it just in case I haven't already said that!". Sorry kids!!:)

Anyway, back to the mushroom dish at hand, which was EXCELLENT!! We both loved this. My dear friend Steven (I won't use his other nicknames here:) gave this to me quite a while ago and I dug it out of the book today. Norris' first day of teaching is tomorrow and I thought I'd send him off with a meal he would love! Love it, he did! I know he's going to be an outstanding teacher and make a big difference in the lives of some lucky middle school kids!

oh wow, this picture is worse than I thought. My camera died at the exact moment I took a picture. This food is SO good, I promise!

Mushroom Chicken

adapted from Steven's recipe

4 boneless chicken breasts
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/3 cup sliced green onions

Season flour with salt and pepper and put on plate.
Heat pan to medium high heat with olive oil. Preheat oven to 375 F and grease small baking dish.
Pound chicken to 1/2 inch thick. Dredge in seasoned flour.
Brown chicken in hot oil, then transfer to prepared baking dish.
In same pan, melt butter, then saute mushrooms with salt and pepper until tender. Deglaze pan with chicken broth. Reduce liquid by 1/2 to 3/4.
Spoon mushroom sauce over chicken and bake for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake another five or pop under the broiler to melt the cheese. Garnish with green onions.

Low Fat Chewy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-08-11T21:12:00.000-05:00

First, I have to say that I love bananas but hate banana flavored things. As long as it's real banana and not imitation banana flavoring, I'm in. In the case of these cookies, I'm ALL in. These are awesome.
Norris didn't even know there was banana in them before I told him, and then he could taste it. So, if someone in your family is not a banana lover, don't worry--it's not too strong.
I still have about ten black bananas in my freezer plus a few more on my countertop that will probably meet their fate in the freezer also, so I have my eye on a few more banana recipes to try. I'll let you know what I discover!

Low Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/4 cup Splenda (could use sugar instead)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, unpacked
1 large egg
1/4 cup mashed banana (about two medium bananas; use your overripe bananas)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Cream together butter and sugars. Mix in egg, banana, and vanilla.
Stir in flour and oats just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Scoop by heaping tablespoons onto a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until just lightly brown on the sides. Store in an airtight container after cooling completely.

adapted from Skinny Taste

Spicy Garlic Sauce

2011-08-10T20:39:00.000-05:00

This sauce is so good and so easy! The whole dinner I put together with it took right around 20 minutes from start to finish, which is obviously awesome.
The first time I made this sauce, we dipped blanced green beans in it and I loved it as a dipping sauce for green beans. The next time, we dipped shrimp in it and I think it is a nice spin on cocktail sauce that you could provide as an option or as an appetizer for an Asian inspried meal. This time, I served it over shrimp, broccoli, and whole wheat couscous and it was great as a meal! It is a little spicy, so tone it down if you don't care too much for spice. You can always add spice later but it's pretty difficult to tone down the spice after the fact!

Spicy Garlic Sauce

3 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium preferred)
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh grated ginger (I forgot this one time and it was still great)
1 tbsp oil (sesame, vegetable, olive)
2 tsp chili sauce (Rooster sauce!)
2 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 4 tsp cold water (I dissolved it in about 3 Tbsp instead)

Combine everything but the cornstarch slurry in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for two minutes. Stir in the slurry, then return to simmer until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

from Stephanie Cooks and Can You Stay for Dinner

Flat and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookes

2011-08-04T12:58:00.004-05:00

I have not strayed from my standby Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies in a long time, but for some reason Norris was requesting flat and chewy chocolate chip cookies. My cookies used to often turn out flat and I was always disappointed, but apparently I should have kept those recipes around because that's what my husband was craving!

The problem I had with the original recipe was that it wasn't that flat and it was really funny looking. After baking half of the dough, I seriously considered ditching the rest. Instead I mixed in about 1/4 cup extra sugar and they turned out just fine. I still prefer my other recipe, but Norris declares these are awesome. One site I saw the recipe on shows them as an ice cream sandwich and I do have to say that these would be the perfect cookies for that! The cookies are a little salty and I would love the contrast of the slightly salty cookie with the sweet ice cream. Yum!

Now if we could only figure out where the rest of the cookies went...we had a bag of them last Thursday night on the counter and now they're gone and neither of us know what happened to them!! Hopefully whoever had them enjoyed the rest of them:)

Flat and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 c all purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

8 oz butter, softened

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar (would change this to 2/3 to 3/4 cup)

2 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 c chocolate chips

2 cups chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

Cream together butter and sugars. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, soda, and salt. Add this mixture all at once to the butter mixture and mix just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Chill dough for at least thirty minutes. In the meantime, wash your dishes:)

Preheat oven to 325 F. Scoop dough by 2 tbsp balls onto lined baking sheet. Smash with a glass (put parchment or waxed paper between the glass and cookie so it doesn't stick). Bake for approximately 15 minutes.

as seen on Laura Rebecca's Kitchen from NY Times' Amanda Hesser

Mushroom Risotto

2011-08-03T19:44:00.004-05:00

While I admit that a 112 degree day was not the ideal day to make risotto, it was worth every minute of standing by the stove. I don't typically go for hot filling meals in the summertime, but this creamy and hearty risotto was so good that I snuck a couple of extra bites while packaging up the leftovers (looking at a couple of uses for those right now!).
I made this from just knowing the basic risotto method, which is something I learned in culinary classes and books. You could substitue any kind of broth (mushroom broth, anyone??), add/subtract butter, change up/add/subtract the cheese, play with the spices, swap in different vegetables, add meat...you can do a lot of things with the basic recipe! I don't like wine in risotto, but many classical recipes call for it. If you are going to use wine, use about 1/2 cup of dry white and add it at the very beginning before any broth.

Mushroom Risotto

~5 cups hot chicken broth
~1 1/2 cups arborio rice (the bag at my store has a tiny bit over this, so I go with that)
1 small onion, finely minced
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
~2 tbsp butter
~1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
parsley for garnish
parmesan cheese for garnish

Saute mushrooms and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp butter and olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic powder. Saute onion for about two minutes.
Add rice and stir to coat.
This is the point where you start adding the broth--1 ladle or so at a time. As soon as the rice looks almost dry, add another ladle. Someone told me a great tip of setting your timer for 18 minutes when you start your rice because it does always take about that long to cook completely. The rice should be al dente (not mushy but not crunchy) and really creamy. It shouldn't be glue-y but it shouldn't be runny either.
When you have about two ladles of liquid left, stir in your mushrooms. Finish cooking the rice, then stir in the remaining butter and cheese. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Gorgonzola Bruschetta with Honey

2011-08-02T12:57:00.000-05:00

We had some fun guests in town this weekend--my parents and our cousins Kim and Paul! We decided to meet here since it's right in between their houses and had a great weekend. I was looking for a few new recipes to make and found this twist on bruschetta. I knew we'd be out and about all day Saturday and would be ready for something to eat right when we got back, and these delivered--they were quick and easy to put together (thanks, sis!) and they tasted great. I knew not everyone likes gorgonzola, so we put mozzarella and a pepperoni on half so those people could enjoy a different flavor. I loved the balance of the gorgonzola and the honey--these are a must try if you like gorgonzola!

Gorgonzola Bruschetta with Honey

1 baguette, cut in small slices

crumbled gorgonzola

honey

Preheat broiler on low. Crisp bread in oven for a few minutes. Top with gorgonzola and put back under the broiler for about three more minutes. Drizzle with honey and serve.

from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

Fresh Cherry Margaritas

2011-07-31T13:23:00.000-05:00

I am enjoying my last couple days of summer (really, last couple days...I go back on Wednesday!! I take the GRE on Tuesday so that's pretty much it for me!). These cherry margaritas were perfect with the juicy fresh cherries in the stores and markets right now. A nice change from the regular margaritas and a great summer drink! We are also thinking of all the good names to use for these for a Halloween party because they could defintely look gory!!

Fresh Cherry Margaritas

makes 2 quarts

1 lb fresh cherries, pitted
1 cup silver tequila
juice of 2 limes (or more, I love lime)
1/3 to 1/2 cup simple syrup
1/4 cup maraschino juice
lime slices for garnish

Muddle cherries. (I used my hands because I only have a tiny muddler...I looked like I sliced my palm in half by the end!!) Smash them up really well and get a lot of the juice out of them. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Serve over ice.

adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from Fine Cooking

Honey Lime Roasted Corn Salsa

2011-07-27T14:18:00.000-05:00

After how much I loved the honey lime enchiladas from last week, I thought it would also be an excellent flavor combination in salsa. I like lime juice in my salsa, but hadn't thought of honey before, although I'm sure it's nothing new in the food world.
Norris' aunt and uncle grow corn so Norris brought some back for us last week. You can do whatever you like for the salsa--this is just my ideas and a flavor combination that I enjoyed!

Honey Lime Roasted Corn Salsa

3 ears of corn, roasted (on the grill or microwave/boil first and then roast under broiler, then trim from ears)
1/2 fresh jalapeno, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pepper, finely chopped (I used a combo of green, yellow, red, and orange)
2 Tbsp lime juice
1-2 Tbsp honey
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 onion, finely chopped

Combine and let flavors marry in the fridge before serving. I think this would also be good warm or at room temperature.

Vegan Blueberry Banana Breakfast/Snack Cake

2011-07-26T12:59:00.000-05:00

I wrote the title as breakfast/snack cake because you could definitely have it for either. Norris and I both really enjoyed this, although I will admit that while I was making it, I may have covered the part of the recipe title that said "vegan" just so he wouldn't not eat it due to that! This was just as moist and good as any regular cake/bread, but much better for you!
Blueberries are so good for you that it says so right on the container! As for the bananas--if you don't already do this, once you see your bananas going south, store them in the freezer and you'll have overripe bananas anytime the banana bread/snack cake mood strikes! I was really accumulating them, so I might be making something else with them soon...or this again because it's excellent!

Vegan Blueberry Banana Snack Cake

from Weekly Bite via Prevention RD

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (in a pinch, you can use 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup AP flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
4 overripe bananas, mashed
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray a 9-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar and set aside. With an electric mixer, combine the sugar, canola oil, and applesauce.
Combine wet and dry ingredients with an electric mixer. Add in the bananas half at a time, combining after each addition but do not overmix. Fold in blueberries.
Bake for 1 hour or until it tests done.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

2011-07-20T21:10:00.000-05:00

When I read the description of these enchiladas, they immediately went on my menu plan for the week. How can you not make something that another woman said her husband was shoveling into his mouth and not patient enough to wait for her to take a picture of them to start eating??

At first you may question the addition of honey in your enchilada, but don't doubt--just try it! The chicken is a little sticky and sweet, but it's not overpowering and with the chili powder, it just works. If your family doesn't typically go for green enchilada sauce, they'll never notice (Norris didn't!) because it gets mixed with light cream and looks like cheesy sauce. You could easily stretch your food dollar by adding some rice in place of some of the chicken. Try this soon--enjoy!

Honey Lime Enchiladas

6 tbsp honey
5 tbsp lime juice (juice of one big lime)
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 lb chicken, cooked and shredded
8 flour tortillas (soft taco size)
1 lb Mexican cheese, divided (I used about 8 oz total instead)
16 oz green enchilada sauce, divided
1/2 cup light cream (I used half and half)

Combine honey, lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder, and chicken. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Reserve ~1/2 cup of cheese. Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
Combine the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream.
Fill tortillas with chicken and cheese, roll up, and place in pan. Top enchiladas with sauce/cream mixture and then with cheese.
Bake at 350 F for approximately 35 minutes.

as seen on Stephanie Cooks

Barbecue Pork Quesdillas

2011-07-20T00:03:00.000-05:00

Norris has been making some awesome fall off the bone smoked pork lately. He comes up with his own idea for rubs and the last two have been really great. The most recent had some chipotle buffalo sauce on the outside instead of his normal olive oil and then a spice mixture and I loved loved loved it. The only problem was that we planned on feeding 10-12 people with it (we were at the lake where it's normally community dinner every night!) and there were only 5 of us eating it (where was everybody???)! This meant we had some leftovers, which I was not disappointed about, and have been eating for lunch a few days already. I put quesadillas on the menu and while I was looking through the freezer for meat, it dawned on me that the pork would be good in them. I heated up the pulled pork, mixed with Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce, and put it in a quesadilla along with mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Oh my gosh, was it good! Of course, I wound up topping with a couple of jalapenos and serving with a little sour cream, and it was gobbled up by the boys on poker night. SO good!
I don't know what happened to my camera, so another even crappier phone photo goes with this.

Barbecue Pork Quesadillas

(not much of a recipe!)

two flour tortillas
barbecue pork mixed with a little extra barbecue sauce
sauteed sweet onions
mozzarella and cheddar cheeses (shredded) --amount is your preference

Make in quesadilla maker or on stovetop. Serve with jalapenos and sour cream.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

2011-07-18T15:12:00.000-05:00

If you like jalapeno poppers at all, you will love this stuff! You can adjust the amount of jalapenos to your taste preference, but I love jalapenos and put them on anything I can find to put them on, so I put a lot in this dip and made it pretty spicy. This dip makes quite a bit and would be perfect this fall for football parties!

Jalapeno Popper Dip

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened (I used light cream cheese)
1 cup mayonnaise (I used light)
4 oz chopped green chiles, drained
chopped pickled jalapeno peppers (I used about 6 oz and the original recipe calls for 2 oz...adjust to how you like it)
1 cup shredded cheese (I used an Italian blend and some white cheddar...use whatever you want!)

Combine all ingredients and heat in a crockpot over low heat OR combine ingredients except a little cheese and put in baking dish, top with remaining cheese, and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

from allrecipes via The Rookie Chef

Sauteed Summer Squash

2011-07-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

Part of our girls' night menu, this side dish was even liked by one friend who doesn't like vegetables pretty much at all and another who doesn't like cooked vegetables! I was looking for dishes that could be made with ingredients that are in season right now, and squash and zucchini are abundant, so decided to go with them. The onions are from my grandparents' garden!

Sauteed Summer Squash

2 medium zucchini, halved and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch slices on the diagonal (makes it look prettier!)

2 medium yellow squash, halved and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch slices on the diagonal

2 small onions, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

~2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

crushed red pepper

Heat a pan large enough to fit your vegetables without crowding over medium high heat.

Add oil to pan and heat. Add all vegetables to pan at once and cook until crisp tender, stirring constantly. Season to taste, add balsamic vinegar, and cook for about 30 seconds to let vinegar heat. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and serve.

Zucchini Jam

2011-07-14T11:31:00.000-05:00

First I thought it would be fun to show a couple of pictures of my grandmas who I grew up cooking with. Gram and I were featured in the "Cooks of the Week" cookbook with a few recipes we loved to make together. Blarney Stones are still a family favorite every St. Patrick's Day! Granddad always let me make applesauce on days I was "sick", too:) Lots of fun cooking at their house!

While my other grandparents lived two hours away, we got to see them almost as often! We would always spend time with them in the summer (normally camping in their RV) and see them a lot during the year as they would drive up for almost all of our games. I was the luckiest kid on the field/court with all four grandparents in attendance at almost everything! (and they all still come to as much as they can!) We also cooked with my grandma, but we liked to sew with her more. My favorite thing she makes is fried okra every August...I eat more than my fair share!
She called us to see if we wanted to make zucchini jam, and while at first I thought that sounded pretty strange, it sounded fun, too. We went down this week and made zucchini jam---you cannot tell at all that there is zucchini in it since you use apricot jello. It tastes like apricot jam, which I love! It took less than two hours from start to finish to make two big batches of this and clean up. Not bad for a canning project!

Zucchini Jam

6 cups grated zucchini

6 cups sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice
1can 10 0z crushed pineapple drained
2 pkg Apricot gelatin 30z

Combine one cup water and zucchini. Bring to boil for eight minutes.
Add sugar,jello,pineapple,and lemon juice and stir to combine.

Bring back to a boil for 8 minutes, pack in jars, and seal.

Girls night in the kitchen

2011-07-13T11:30:00.000-05:00

Last night I had a great time in the kitchen with a few girlfriends! They had been asking me (for about a year, oops!) to do something like this, so I figured it was finally time. We ate some delicious food and had a great time in the kitchen together.

On the menu:

Spinach Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

Cheesy Stuffed Chicken

Sauteed Summer Squash

Amaretto Peaches

These are all adapted from different places and I have put my own touches on them over time to create new versions of the recipes. I was looking for a menu that they would like and that would be easy enough to recreate for their hubbies and families. Anyone can impress with these dishes without spending all day in the kitchen!
We were too busy having fun to take many pictures, but here are a few, some taken from my lovely friends. Thanks for coming, girls!

Couscous Tabouleh

2011-07-05T23:35:00.000-05:00

I hope it's okay for me to still call this tabouleh even though I used couscous! I love tabouleh with bulgur wheat, but couldn't find it in the store I was in and decided I'd just go with couscous and it was delicious.

My first teaching job was at a school in a really diverse neighborhood with great ethnic restaurants nearby--specifically Thai and Mediterranean food. One of my favorite restaurants in Wichita was caddy corner from the school so we spent many inservice lunches there. I hadn't had tabouleh in a while and ate my fair share in Daytona. I was looking for something for lunches, made a big batch of this, and it lasted me through the week with leftovers to spare. I just made 3 servings of couscous and added in a bunch of vegetables and a dressing, similar to how I made panzanella. Adjust it to your tastes, but if you taste it and it's missing something, it's probably lemon juice and salt!

Couscous Tabouleh

cooked couscous (how easy....boil water, put couscous in water, stir, cover, remove from heat, and fluff after five minutes)

cucumber, seeded and chopped

tomatoes, seeded and chopped

lots of parsley

mint if you have it and like it

red onions, chopped*

green onions, chopped

green peppers, chopped*

feta cheese*

dressing:

olive oil

lemon juice

salt

pepper

*from what I understand, these aren't "traditional" ingredients, but there isn't much traditional about this, so add what you want!

Mix it all together. I think it's best after giving the flavors a chance to get to know each other for a day or so and I like it cold or room temperature.

Panzanella

2011-06-29T05:34:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but I don't care to turn on the oven much in the summer time. I love the fresh tastes of summer and appreciate light lunches in the scorching Kansas heat. This panzanella salad was a perfect start to a nice day by the pool when we were home visiting my parents. (although I did turn on the oven to make croutons, but we did that at night when it was a touch cooler!) Can't wait to have it again soon!

Bonnie has put out a wonderful new cookbook. It's really beautiful and I am excited to try a lot of things out of it. This recipe is adapted from her new book.

Panzanella Salad

homemade croutons (always make extra because they are really tempting to snack on, especially for men passing through the kitchen)
cucumbers, seeded and diced
tomatoes, seeded and dices
bell pepper, chopped
minced red onion
chopped fresh basil leaves
chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
extra virgin olive oil
white wine vinegar
shredded Parmesan cheese

Yes, I noticed I didn't put amounts. I didn't measure and instead used what I had and then made the dressing to taste. If you love tomatoes, use more of those, if you hate peppers, don't use those. You get it.
For the dressing, as a rule of thumb, it's typically 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. In my world, it's more like 2 parts vinegar because I like vinegar. Add in your garlic, salt, and pepper to taste for your dressing, then drizzle it over everything.
I combined everything but the bread and cheese the night before to let the flavors mingle, then added the bread and cheese about a half hour before service. It would be really easy to eat this all week if you just did that every day. Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary to us!

2011-06-28T09:47:00.000-05:00

Three years...many more to come!

Last week in Florida, one night at dinner we somehow got started talking about the best parts of being married. There were lots of good reasons already given that I could agree with, but I had to add that I love that my husband makes me laugh just about every single day. Thanks babe, love you!

Culinary School Part 3

2011-06-27T17:34:00.000-05:00

I have to say that despite the terrible trip home, Year 3 of culinary school was my favorite! A lot of my friends from Year 1 and Year 2 were there, which definitely made it more fun. A lady who teaches in my district also went, which was different from the years before and also fun. I'm so glad I got to go three years in a row because we had a little core group who all went together the last three years and it has been so fun having that relationship with teachers from around the country. Every year we go out together in the evenings and explore the local fare.
I was a little disappointed at first when we got the email saying they had changed our location. We were supposed to once again go to Le Cordon Bleu Orlando, but they were in the middle of some curriculum and class changes, so we changed to Daytona State College. It was DSC's first year of hosting so they weren't quite sure what to expect from us, but I think we convinced them they should keep hosting in the years to come:) If you know anyone looking for a culinary school but not wanting to pay an arm and a leg in tuition at one of the better known names, this is a great place for them to go. The staff is all so friendly and extremely knowledgeable. I really couldn't even believe all the information they had to share. I know they have forgotten more about food than I will ever remember. They also had great tales of the history and science to go along with everything, which made everything make more sense and more memorable. They were friendly to each other, too, which I think speaks highly of their department and what they have going on at DSC. Plus, they're just a few minutes away from the beach which makes everything better:)
The third year was much more relaxed and focused on more ethnic foods, which I was really excited about. I have to admit that I rocked out the Mediterranean food day:) Everyone was there to have fun and learn and we ate plenty of great food!

We got (very) VIP access to the Daytona racetrack.

The kitchen where they prepare food for over 25,000 people. The other 200,000 people bring their own food or eat concession stand fare like hot dogs, hamburgers, funnel cakes, and the other good stuff:) They had a race Sunday and they were smoking ribs on Tuesday when we went.

This is the very VIP part of our tour. Bill France, the founder of NASCAR, has a suite on the top floor. It's gigantic and has an awesome view. Here's just a small part of it.

Our great chef instructor, Dave Weir, demonstrating some fruit and vegetable carving.

Dinner at some place with the word Deck and Down Under in it. Every time I tried to say it, I got it wrong. Beautiful location and this was our view from our table. Well, I didn't stand there the whole time, but the spot behind me was our view:)

Dinner at somewhere else with a pretty view! We ate at JB's fish camp in New Smyrna Beach one night and that was a fun place to eat! I got seafood everywhere we went. Some of it was awesome, some not so awesome, but we had a great time!

Lamb kebabs on Mediterranean day.

Tabouleh (minus a couple lbs of parsley) on Mediterranean day. I seriously woke up in the middle of the night after eating this wishing I had some more.

Barb and me with our roasted red pepper hummus and tabouleh.

Some more of the spread. I guess I only took food pictures on two days. Oops!

Grilled endive with peppered citrus fruits, citrus vinaigrette, and candied orange peel (or as we called them, orange jujubees:).

Green salad with crab cakes. I ate a lot of crab cakes this week!

Pork tenderloin stuffed with spinach, cream cheese, blue cheese, garlic, and roasted yellow tomatoes.

Since we were the first class to go through, we got a picture of us framed for them to hang. They loved it...even made the Dean a little misty eyed:)

Beautiful building. Only three years old and a great facility. Loved the entryway!

It was a great experience. I am really looking forward to attending the Spotilght Series next year! This year was on sustainable agriculture, so I'm hoping to have a similar topic next year!

Lately....

2011-06-14T19:58:00.001-05:00

I held an iguana in Mexico. He was really soft and friendly.

Bear tried to learn how to swim. I think this picture is a good portrayal of how he does it. He looks like a person who was thrown overboard not knowing how to swim. His paws go straight up and down with head completely out of water. Trying to work on that teamwork so Bruno doesn't have to bring the whole haul:)

Working on finishing the basement...obviously still in progress!

Had an excellent time at the beach with excellent friends. It was beautiful and the resort was awesome!

Spent lots of time here while at the resort...lots of chairs in the water plus I had my own floatie!

Spent a beautiful evening on the beach.

Looking forward to a lot more of these things this summer. Headed back to HOT Florida for another week of culinary school next week!

Honey Mustard Pork Chop with Crispy Potatoes

2011-06-14T19:36:00.000-05:00

I haven't been around for a while (and I clearly have not been working on my photography skills!). I got all caught up in the end of school, time at the lake, workin' on my tan, vacation, and summer curriculum work! When we sat down for this dinner, I told Norris I couldn't even remember the last time I made a hot dinner at home! I have made a few things here and there, but haven't taken pictures. I'll link to a few of the recipes because I've been relying on old favorites plus a couple of new ones.

I love thinly sliced potatoes baked until they're crunchy, so this was right up my alley. I even garnished with tarragon from my driveway! (that sounds weird...the pot with the herbs sits in front of the garage so the dogs don't eat them, so it's on my driveway, not herbs growing in the cracks or anything:) The last point I have to include is that this is seriously easy and it smelled awesome while cooking. Less than 30 minutes start to finish!

Happy Summer! Hope you're soaking it up!

Honey Mustard Pork Chops with Crispy Potatoes

5 small Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
4 small pork chops
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp paprika
fresh tarragon, chopped

Preheat oven to 450. Toss potatoes with 1 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper. Arrange in single layer on lined baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes, flipping halfway through. (I sometimes bake them a little longer if they're not quite crispy)
In the meantime, season pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
Combine honey, mustard, and paprika in a small dish.
Place chops in heated pan and top with part of the honey mustard glaze. Cook on this side for about four minutes, then flip and cook on other side for about four more minutes, topping with the rest of the glaze. Cook pork chops to your preference.
Garnish with fresh tarragon.

Smoky Ham and Corn Salad

2011-05-15T20:29:00.000-05:00

Again with the salads--can you tell we are going on a tropical beach vacation soon? :) I am getting so excited! Pool time, good food, and friends, here we come!
I saw this recipe idea on Eating Well and changed it around to fit us (and the ingredients I had in my fridge to use up). Norris kept saying how good the dressing was the whole time we were eating it. He thinks we should use it in wraps, on tacos, and as a spread on sandwiches instead of mayo. Since we only used about 3/4 of the dressing for the salad, we'll have plenty of other places to put it. My guess is that we will have this dressing many more times!

Smoky Ham and Corn Salad

adapted from Eating Well

1/3 cup ~~reduced fat sour cream~~ fat free plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 tsp ~~paprika, preferably smoked~~ chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
8 cups ~~trimmed frisee or mixed salad greens~~ chopped romaine
~~1 medium tomato, diced~~
1 cup fresh corn kernels, from one large ear I roasted the ear of corn before cutting the corn off. 425 F oven for about 20 minutes
1 cup croutons, preferably whole grain I tossed some old cubed bread with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and onion powder in a 400 F oven for about 7 minutes
3/4 cup diced ham (about 8 oz) I heated/charred the ham in a skillet before putting over salad
1/2 cucumber, chopped

Whisk together Greek yogurt, chili powder, cumin, salt, vinegar, and pepper in a small bowl.

Toss dressing with lettuce. Toss with all the other ingredients except the croutons. Top with croutons and serve.

Shrimp Cobb Salad

2011-05-11T21:36:00.000-05:00

This is a satisfying and quick main dish. Norris and I both really enjoyed it. The shrimp are amazing! I'm sure they would be great cold the next day, too, but ours didn't make it to the next day!
The dressing is really good on this, so I would suggest using it--Norris liked it, too. It's bright and citrusy and perfect for this warm weather we are finally getting! (by the way, did we skip Spring? We went from sweats to sweating in about two days!)
I have proclaimed my hate for paprika before, but loved it on these shrimp. They would be good on almost anything. If you'd rather cook outside, you can certainly grill your shrimp for this salad! I didn't put amounts on the vegetables because I think you should just adjust those according to your tastes. This salad will definitely be made again, and I will probably roast the corn next time and make it even better!

Shrimp Cobb Salad

from Cooking Light via Prevention RD

4 slices center cut bacon (I used turkey bacon)
1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp paprika (I used 2/3 tsp)
1/4 tsp black pepper (plus I used some in my dressing)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt, divided (I had to use a bit more in my dressing)
2 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tbsp plus 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
romaine lettuce
cherry tomatoes (omitted)
shredded carrots
frozen corn, thawed
diced avocado

Cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and wipe pan clean. Add 1 tsp olive oil to skillet and heat over medium heat.
Pat shrimp dry and sprinkle with paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. Cook in skillet until done, flipping halfway through. This should take about two to three minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together the lemon juice and mustard. Drizzle in the oil and continue to whisk. Season with salt and pepper to taste and ajust liquids to taste.
Toss lettuce, corn, carrots, and dressing together. Arrange on plate and top with shrimp and bacon.

Asian Chicken Pizza

2011-05-09T19:05:00.000-05:00

For a while, I was making a homemade pizza every week, but I haven't done that in about a month, so figured it was time while I had the time! There is now some pizza dough in the freezer for next week, too!

I didn't tell Norris about this one before I made it because one time I mentioned barbecue chicken pizza and he didn't like the sounds of it. This one sounded too good to pass up so I just made it and of course he really liked it!

Prevention RD described the pizza well--tangy and unique but AWESOME! We both really enjoyed this.

I only made one large pizza instead of the two twelve inchers the recipe calls for, so I would suggest making 2/3 of the sauce recipe rather than all of it. Also, let the sauce cool a bit before pouring it onto your crust, especially if it is super thin like mine was. I don't know why, but when I poured the sauce on, it cut a hole in my crust and I had to do some patchwork. Loved the pizza still, so I imagine if I follow all the things I just wrote, I will love it even more next time!

Asian Chicken Pizzza

from Prevention RD and Stephanie Cooks

1 pizza crust

12 oz chicken breast, chopped into small pieces (I used about 8 oz)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

2 1/2 Tbsp honey

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar (I used white wine vinegar and it turned out great)

1 tsp olive oil

2 cups mozzarella cheese

sesame seeds for topping

1/4 cup sliced green onions or chives, for topping

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Combine red pepper flakes, soy sauce, honey, and vinegar in a small bowl--stir well to combine.

Cook chicken in small skillet, then remove from skillet. Pour sauce mixture in skillet and cook over medium heat for about twenty minutes, or until thick and syrupy. Put chicken back in skillet and cook over low heat for about five minutes. Remove chicken from sauce.

Form your pizza dough into the crust while the sauce cools a bit. Rub olive oil over crust. Sprinkle with extra red pepper flakes if desired.

Spread sauce onto crust, then top with chicken, cheese, and sesame seeds. Bake in preheated oven for about 13 minutes. Sprinkle with chives and more red pepper flakes.

Light Cucumber Ranch Dressing

2011-05-08T14:05:00.000-05:00

Thank you for all of your notes about my last post. It was really therapeutic for me to write, and I knew I wanted to write it for myself, so I figured I would share. Thanks for your positive responses, thoughts, and prayers for our family.

I finally got back in the kitchen a bit today and found another winner from Skinny Taste. I prepped veggies and salad greens to bring for lunch each day and this is the dressing I'll bring in a separate container. It's slightly tangy, good and garlicky, and will leave you with dragon breath! (especially if you add the extra clove of garlic like I did) Just share with your lunch buddies and nobody will notice your breath:) I made what Kath calls a Hugh Jass salad, which cracks me up every time.

Light Cucumber Ranch Dressing

(for Nutritional information, go to Gina's site)

1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk (I used 1 1/2 tsp vinegar plus milk to equal 1/2 cup and let sit for five minutes before using. Otherwise I would just waste the rest of the buttermilk)
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1 small cucumber, peeled and seeds removed
3 tbsp fresh parsley
1 clove garlic (used 2)
1/4 cup chives or scallions (my chives are raging in the pot outside, so I used chives)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/8 tsp garlic powder (omitted)
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Chill.
Makes 1 3/4 cup/7 servings

A "see you later" to a wonderful man

2011-05-05T20:08:00.000-05:00

I have been absent from the kitchen for the last few weeks for a few reasons, and I know I already mentioned soccer being one of them. The other is that we have been spending the last few weeks with my father-in-law Norm.
On April 8, he had an accident and was admitted to a hospital in Lincoln and we thought it was all over that night. We were blessed with his recovery over the next few days. The next weekend, we went back up to Lincoln Friday night and were planning on leaving Saturday afternoon to get a few things done at home. Norris' aunt, uncle, and their two adorable boys had just come up and we hadn't gotten to really talk to Norm much with him being able to see and understand us, but we thought we had to leave. We left town and got 20 minutes outside of Lincoln, stopped for gas, and wound up driving straight back to where we came from. We couldn't leave. At the time we didn't know why but now I'm sure God told us exactly what to do (like He always does, but sometimes we don't listen...). We spent the evening with the family and when we arrived at the hospital the next morning, we met a friend in the parking lot who had just come out of Norm's room and said he was sitting in a chair, they shook hands, and he was doing really well. We were so surprised and all but ran up to his room to see this. When we got there, we were able to talk to him, touch him, and have him know we were there. We were able to tell him we love him and he was able to understand. We had no idea that would be the last time we would be able to do that.
He was moved to a rehab hospital a few days later and was really making progress. Unfortunately, at some point while he was lying in the bed there, he developed a blood clot in his brain that the doctors deemed inoperable. That was a Saturday, and we were back in Lincoln by 11 that night. They sent us to a room where we could all (including Norm) be comfortable. Over the next six days, we all took turns sitting with him, talking to him, and spending time with him. It was tough to watch, but we couldn't imagine that Norm would have done it a different way had any of us been in his place.
Friday, April 29 was the day Norm went on. We were all able to be in his room surrounding him with love as he passed. As hard as it was to be there, it was so important for us to be there. I have said this many times--as a Christian, I already believed that the body is just a vessel while you're here on this earth and the spirit passes on to leave the shell here when you leave this world. Never before have I actually experienced those words until April 29. I am able to confirm that there is no way we were watching Norm in the last ten minutes. His spirit had gone on and his shell was just finishing its job here on Earth. It was an incredible moment to be a part of and I am so thankful that God shows us that he takes care of our loved ones when they leave us. I will never forget that experience but will always remember Norm by the way he lived and loved, not by what we experienced that night.
Norm and Deb have always made me feel like their daughter rather than an "in-law". I have been incredibly blessed by all of Norris' parents and family members to feel like a full member of their family. Norm always had a smile and an incredible boisterous laugh to go with it. He always made sure everyone was comfortable and happy around him and wanted everyone to have a good time. As we kept saying this week--he worked hard and played harder. I never knew him in his working years, only in his retirement years, but I can see by what he has built and the people he knew that he worked really hard during those working years. He was a great man and will truly be missed.
We had services for him at their cabin on the lake and it was the most personalized service I have ever attended. Every detail was covered from the pallbearers' red ties (he was a big Husker fan) to the song selections by Deb. His friends did the service and they were great. At the graveside, another friend brought a riderless horse which was so thoughtful. We had a reception afterward at the country club, his next favorite place to be. The whole day felt like we were surrounded by Norm's spirit and for that I was thankful.

Norm, I love you and miss you. Thanks for the wonderful memories.

Cafe Rio Crockpot Chicken

2011-04-22T11:03:00.000-05:00

During soccer season, I am lucky to get time to cook one meal a week at home, so I use the crockpot and things I can prepare ahead of time often. 365 Days of Slow Cooking is an excellent source for all things crockpot--everything from candles to chicken to cobblers. I made this in its original amounts so we could have leftovers throughout the week. Very simple and we both enjoyed it! I served on tortillas with veggies on the side.

Cafe Rio Crockpot Chicken

5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used leq quarters)

8 oz zesty Italian dressing (I used light)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
3 garlic cloves, minced

Mix Italian dressing, chili powder, cumin, and garlic in a bowl. Place chicken on bottom of a greased slow cooker. Pour mixture in bowl over the top of chicken. Cook on HIGH 5-6 hours. Shred chicken with a fork and reserve juice to pour over chicken when serving. Makes 15 servings.

"Crack"ers

2011-04-04T08:38:00.000-05:00

Much to my husband's dismay, when I go grocery shopping, I only go down the cracker/cookie aisle about 1/20 of the time. I just think it's more fun to make my own cookies and we just don't keep crackers in the house.
I was craving something salty and crunchy and remembered these "crack"ers that I saw on Kath Eats. You can make them whatever flavor you want and they are extremely easy to make. Next time I make them, I'll be sure to have a batch of hummus, guacamole, or salsa ready to go because they are the perfect size and structure for dipping!
You've probably figured out why they're called "crack"ers--they're addictive!

"Crack"ers

from Kath Eats
(the original recipe has measurements in weight, but my food scale is at school, so I had to convert to volume. I know it's not the same and if you have a scale at home, use it! These are approximate volume conversions)
makes about 50 crackers

96 grams (3/4 cup) whole wheat flour
96 grams (3/4 cup) all purpose flour
96 grams (about 2/5 cup) warm water
38 grams (about 2/3 cup) shredded cheese (I used finely shredded Parmesan)
10 grams (2 1/2 tsp) olive oil
4 g (2/3 tsp) kosher salt
1 g (1/3 tsp) instant yeast
toppings (I used rosemary, sea salt, and Parmesan)

Combine dry ingredients thoroughly in large bowl. Mix in water and olive oil and combine. Dough will be stiff. Be sure all ingredients are worked together.
Cover and let rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours for more bready flavor. 10 minutes before working with dough, preheat oven to 400 F.
Roll dough (use a bit of flour if you need to) into as thin of a rectangle as you can get it. I rolled it on my Silpat so I could just transfer the Silpat to my baking sheet after rolling. Top them however you want.
Run the rolling pin lightly over the surface to get the toppings into the cracker.
Prick surface with fork to allow steam to escape.
Score crackers with pizza cutter---cut almost all the way through but not quite. Transfer to sprayed baking sheet or just put the Silpat on the baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for 23-28 minutes. (If baking on Silpat, it will take a couple of extra minutes)
Don't pull the crackers when they start to get a little light brown. Let them stay (but don't burn them). Test for doneness by pushing on the cracker--it should feel a little dense and have a tiny bit of give.

Stephanie's Perfect Party Cookies

2011-04-03T08:44:00.001-05:00

I was just recently saying how exciting it is to be able to come up with your own original recipe and that I think it's fun to try out other's original recipes. Ironically, the latest two I have tried are both from girls named Stephanie! First it was Hawaiian chicken, which we loved, and now these perfect party cookies. These are great! You'll have to sample the dough while they're chilling just to see their progress... :) (no Gram, that's not actually a requirement, don't worry!!) I thought the cake batter flavor was more pronounced once the cookies were cooled. I love their fun color! I baked a few and kept the rest in the freezer for a rainy day (which really means they'll be gone by the end of the week!). I am thinking about making a bar cookie out of the remaining dough, which I think would be really great with this dough. Great work, Stephanie!

Perfect Party Cookies

(click words to go to original recipe)

Cheddar Apple Bacon Sandwich

2011-04-02T16:57:00.000-05:00

I know I've said this before, but I often find myself eating the same breakfast and lunch every weekday. I make five servings of something on Sundays and just reheat all week and it works for me. Already know the calorie count and it's a no-brainer because I don't have to bring lunch with me every day (just bring it all on Monday and store it in my fridge at work).

Three times this week I wound up eating the same thing for dinner too, so I ate the exact same breakfast, lunch, and snack three times this week. Sounds boring, but everything was so good that I just wanted to have it again! This sandwich is not much of a recipe, and I didn't take a photo/think I would share it the first two times because it's just a sandwich, but decided if I've had it three times in a week I better have some record of it for me to refer to later when I'm looking for ideas. This combination is delicious!!

Cheddar Apple Bacon Sandwich

1.5 pieces center cut bacon, cut in half

1 oz sharp cheddar cheese, cut in thin slices

1/2 fuji or gala apple (my favorite varieties for things like this), cut in thin slices

2 pieces whole wheat bread

honey dijon mustard to taste

Cook bacon. Drain off drippings (leave enough just to grease bottom of pan if cooking in pan). Arrange bacon, cheese and apple slices on bread pieces. Cook in pan and press down to flatten sandwich. Cook on both sides for about four minutes. Spread with honey dijon mustard.

OR--if you have a sweet panini press like I do (thanks Jason and Amber!) make it on that!

Bacon Pierogie Bake

2011-03-22T12:53:00.000-05:00

With the start of spring comes the end of the "comfort food" season (in my mind anyway!). My menu planning seems to still be stuck in winter mode this week for some reason. Can't wait for more of the fresh tastes of summer, though!
This meal came together quickly and we both really liked it. I had never looked for pierogies in my grocery store and was actually surprised to find them. I got plain potato pierogies instead of potato and onion since the Mr. doesn't eat onions. My chives have just started growing again so I was excited to be able to just go outside and snip them to use on top of the dish. Anxious to see what other herbs are hiding under that dirt!!

Bacon Pierogie Bake

from Cooking Light and Cooking This and That

16 oz package frozen potato pierogies
2 slices bacon, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 mushrooms, sliced (I added this..you can omit)
1/3 cup Neufchatel cheese (low fat cream cheese)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (used about 1/3 cup)
1 small plum tomato, seeded and diced (omitted)

1/4 cup thin sliced green onions (used chives)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Place frozen pierogies in dish.

Cook bacon in a saute pan until crisp. Remove from pan. (I removed half of the drippings at this point also).

Saute garlic in drippings for 30 seconds. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Add broth and whisk until combined. Pour sauce over pierogies and top with mushrooms and cheese. Be sure to cover the pierogies with sauce (turn them over if you have to) so they don't dry out on the edges. Bake for 15 minutes, then top with tomatoes and bacon and bake an additional five minutes.

Sprinkle with green onions and black pepper and serve.

Hawaiian Chicken

2011-03-20T19:20:00.000-05:00

I love to be able to make up my own recipes and they actually work! I also like trying other people's recipes that they made up that worked for them. I'll always enjoy recipes passed down from generation to generation also, but it's nice to try something new and fresh. This is a Macaroni and Cheesecake original.
We both really enjoyed this. The chicken is really moist and the reduced marinade is great on the chicken and drizzled over couscous. I served it with whole wheat couscous mixed with fresh papaya and pineapple. Great work, Stephanie!

Hawaiian Chicken

from Macaroni and Cheesecake

1 cup crushed pineapple (don't worry about draining it if it's from the can...I would actually add about 2 tbsp of the juice from the can next time!)
1 tbsp honey
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce (will be on the salty side if you don't use reduced sodium!)
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 tsp kosher salt (don't use if you didn't use reduced sodium soy sauce)
1/8-1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tbsp chopped cilantro (didn't use because I didn't have; looks nice with it though!)
2 large chicken breasts, cut in half (used three smallish chicken breasts)

Combine all ingredients except chicken and cilantro in a bowl. Add chicken to bowl and turn to coat. Marinate for one hour. (If you leave a marinade with soy sauce on chicken for too long it will be super salty and turn kind of mushy...learned that the hard way!)
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and marinade to the pan. Cook for about ten minutes on each side. Serve chicken topped with cooked marinade and chopped chilantro.

Balsamic-Dijon Chicken with Mushrooms

2011-03-15T20:44:00.000-05:00

When we were almost done eating this, I said "it almost tastes like steak"---something about the salty sauce and earthy mushrooms I guess! Norris and I both really enjoyed this. I cut the mushrooms ahead of time which made the prep on this next to nothing. This sauce would also be excellent with steak!

Balsamic-Dijon Chicken with Mushrooms

adapted from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
salt and pepper
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried thyme

Heat 1 tsp of oil over medium heat in a saute pan.
Combine the balsamic vinegar, mustard, and garlic in a small bowl.
Season chicken with salt and pepper, then dip in vinegar mixture to coat. Place in pan to saute. Pour remaining sauce over chicken. Saute chicken until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.
Add remaining 1 tsp oil to the pan along with the mushrooms and thyme. Saute for about five minutes, until tender. Add the chicken broth to the pan and scrape up any brown bits. Bring to a simmer and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
Return chicken to pan and warm through. Serve chicken with sauce.

Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes

2011-03-14T22:29:00.002-05:00

I love to make breakfast on Sundays and just reheat every morning. Baked oatmeal is my normal breakfast of choice, but I wanted to change it up a bit. Once I realized that these pancakes took a lot longer to cook than my normal oatmeal pancakes, these turned out great. I ruined a few, so my recipe made less than ten, but I can see that it would make ten if you don't ruin the first couple batches:) Too many things going on in the kitchen at once--oops!

Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes

1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c nonfat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk (I used 1/2 cup)
1 egg and 1 egg white
2 tbsp apple sauce
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped strawberries (original calls for frozen blueberries)

Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in microwaveable bowl. Stir in milk and yogurt. Microwave for 90 seconds.
Beat egg and egg white for about three minutes or until light and frothy.
Fold egg, applesauce, cinnamon, and fruit into oat mixture.
Heat skillet over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbles are popping, then flip. These did take quite a bit longer to cook than regular pancakes, so let them cook!!

Makes 10 pancakes

from Kim's Kitchen

Nutritional Info: (2 pancakes) (Info from Kim; using blueberries and 1/4 cup milk)

Calories: 163; Fat: 2 g; Carbs: 30.5 g; Protein: 8 g