Delicious Meliscious - a cooking blog by Melissa

Lemon Pepper Salmon

2012-01-27T07:00:00.065-05:00

I have to thank Cathy from Cathy's Kitchen Journey for submitting this delicious recipe to the Recipe Swap. Since everyone wants to kick off the new year in a healthy way, it was only fitting that the theme for the Swap was Healthy. We had this for dinner last weekend and both loved it. A lot of the fish recipes I try are lemony or citrus-flavored, so this fit our tastes perfectly. We only had dried thyme, so I used that and thought the flavor was perfect. I completely forgot the lime before serving, but did not miss it. I would love to try it again with halibut.

Funny story - I tried and tried to get Caitlin to taste this salmon because she loves lemons, but she would not (like most dinners). She had just picked out this furry bear hat the day before and wore it for 2 days straight before she was willing to take it off. I tried telling her that little grizzly bears love to eat salmon, but she responded with "No thanks, I only like fish in the water." :)

Source: Cathy's Kitchen Journey

Ingredients:

1 lb fish steak (salmon, swordfish, or halibut) thawed if frozen
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
lime wedges (optional)

Directions:

Rinse fish and pat dry. In a small bowl, combine ingredients (juice through garlic). Place fish in a zip top bag and add marinade. Turn to coat evenly. Marinate in fridge for 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.

Drain fish, reserving marinade. In a broiler pan 4 inches from the flame, broil fish for 6-8 minutes on each side, brushing with the reserved marinade halfway through. Discard any remaining marinade. Fish is done when it begins to flake when tested with a fork.

Before serving, squeeze lime juice over the fish.

Salt & Vinegar Roasted Potatoes

2012-01-25T08:29:00.000-05:00

Anyone that loves salt and vinegar chips, and maybe even those that don't (like me) will like these potatoes. They are crispy on the outside, soft inside and you can adjust the malt vinegar to your taste. They take a little bit of time, but minimal effort. These are an easy side to go with a variety of dinners.

Source: For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients:

10 Dutch yellow baby potatoes
Olive oil cooking spray or olive oil
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Malt vinegar, to taste

Directions:
Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water for 15 minute or until fork tender. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Drain the potatoes then place them, one at a time, on a paper towel. Fold the paper towel over the potato and carefully smash the potato with the palm of your hand so that is flattened but still in one piece. Repeat with the remaining potatoes. Place the smashed potatoes on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil and coated with cooking spray or drizzled with olive oil. Spray the potatoes with a bit of olive oil cooking spray then season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Place into the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Carefully flip the potatoes over and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and drizzle each potato with malt vinegar, to taste and a bit more sea salt. Serve immediately.

Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers

2012-01-20T08:53:00.001-05:00

I'm always looking for fast, healthy dinner ideas and this turkey burger with a Greek twist fit the bill. Using only a handful of ingredients, putting these together takes no time at all. Feta and spinach are always a winning combo and mixed into these burgers was no exception. I made a little bit of tzatziki sauce to top them with and served with crispy sweet potato fries.

Source: Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey
1 egg, slightly beaten
5 oz frozen spinach (about half of a bag), defrosted
3/4 cup feta cheese
1 tsp salt + pinch of pepper

Directions:

Mix together all ingredients with your hands and form 4 medium sized patties. Cook patties in a greased skillet for about 6 minutes per side, or until meat is completely cooked. Serve on toasted buns with extra feta, hot sauce, sliced onion, lettuce and ketchup and mustard.

Blackberry Peach Cobbler

2012-01-04T09:23:00.001-05:00

For this edition of the Recipe Swap, the theme is a bit different - a Secret Recipe Club style swap. Instead of trading a specific recipe, we trade blogs and then each person makes any recipe from their given blog. I was given Lauren's Blog, Ommy Noms. I began browsing and found several recipes that looked good, but when I came across this cobbler recipe, I knew this is what I would make. Our freezer has a nice stash of blackberries now because I bought several containers when they were on sale and I had a bag of peaches frozen from the late summer. I had everything on hand to make this right away and it's a nice after dinner treat for a cold winter evening.

As you can see from the photo, I baked this in a pie dish (placed on a cookie sheet in the oven because I thought there was a chance it would overflow). There were no major spills or overflowing this time, but it was close. Next time I'll use my cast iron skillet since it's a bit bigger. Thanks for the recipe, Lauren!

Source: Ommy Noms

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 cups fresh blackberries (I used 1/2 blackberries and 1/2 peaches)
1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt butter in a large cast-iron skillet or ovenproof baking dish, in the oven, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, place blackberries in a large bowl. Using a potato masher, mash blackberries to release their juices. If blackberries are tart, sprinkle with sugar.

4. In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add 1 cup sugar, milk, and vanilla extract; mix until well combined. Remove skillet from oven and add melted butter to flour mixture; stir to combine. Pour mixture into skillet and pour blackberries over the batter, avoiding the edges.

5. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the batter comes out clean, about 1 hour. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with whipped cream, creme fraiche, or ice cream.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

2011-12-27T08:58:00.000-05:00

This year, we spent our Christmas Eve at home instead of traveling and had so much fun. We went shopping (wasn't as crazy as I thought it might be!), decorated cookies for Santa, and made this birthday cake for Jesus. Christmas in the Manger has been one of Caitlin's favorite bedtime stories since last Christmas, so she can recite the story herself now, and we have been talking about Christmas being Jesus' birthday. I think it's a fun tradition and good reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

The cake turned out great. It is dense, rich and almost brownie-like. It has a slightly hard outer crust, but is soft and chewy inside. I topped the cake with chocolate ganache (heat 1/2 c. heavy cream in a small saucepan with 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips and stir until melted and smooth) and sprinkled with powdered sugar. I cut out a star shape to use as a stencil to go along with the first page in her book "I am the Star that shines in the East. I light the stable for man and beast."

Source: Gourmet

Ingredients:

4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.

Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.

Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with sorbet if desired. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)

Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows

2011-12-23T08:41:00.000-05:00

Sometime this winter, you need to make these sweet, pillowy marshmallows to go along with your cup of hot chocolate. They are easier than you might think - they just need a few hours to set up. I meant to make the peppermint flavored, but in the end decided against it because I was giving them out as gifts and wasn't sure everyone would be a fan. I guess there are people who don't like mint? Aren't they cute?!

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Ingredients:

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided
1 cup light Karo syrup
1 1/2 cup grandulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp peppermint extract
Gel food coloring (optional)
Baking or cooking spray
Powdered sugar for dusting/stick-proofing

Directions:
Place 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Sprinkle the gelatin over top and set aside.

Clip a candy thermometer to a small sauce pan. Heat corn syrup, sugar, salt, and the other 1/2 cup cold water over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Turn to high and cook to 240 F (use a candy thermometer), 6-8 minutes longer.

Turn mixer to low and slowly pour the hot syrup over the gelatin. Increase the mixer speed to high (do this gradually to prevent the hot mixture from splattering everywhere) and let run for ~10 minutes. Add the peppermint extract and whisk for another 5 minutes until you have a glossy, smooth, and thick marshmallow mixture.

While the marshmallow is whisking, heavily coat the inside of an 8x8 pan with baking spray (there's no such thing as over-greasing! I doubled the recipe, and this mixture made enough to spread into 2 9x13 pans and then marshmallows were about an inch tall). Coat with powdered sugar and tap out the excess. Pour in the marshmallow mixture. Drop 6-8 drops of red food coloring over the top and swirl with a knife held vertically. (Alternately, you could add this to the stand mixer and let the whisk go around the bowl 2 or 3 times.) Let sit for at least 4 hours (or overnight) until solidified and cooled.

Turn the marshmallow squares out onto a heavily powder-sugared surface. Using a long greased knife, (or a pizza cutter!) cut the marshmallows into 1-inch pieces. As you're cutting the marshmallows, keep all sides of the marshmallows dusted with powdered sugar and store in an airtight container for ~2 weeks.

Yields:1 batch ~128 marshmallows

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

2011-12-22T08:40:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite things about Christmas and the entire holiday season is baking all of the goodies. This year, I went with something a little different to put together as small gifts for friends and neighbors - hot chocolate mix and homemade marshmallows. Who doesn't like hot cocoa? I tried giving Caitlin some for the first time this year (the swiss miss packets), thinking she would be hooked and ask for more everyday. Actually, her reaction was just the opposite of what I expected...she took a big drink and spit it out all over her clothes. She reminds me often she does NOT like hot chocolate! I've even tried cold chocolate milk and she won't drink that either. She likes chocolate. She likes milk. She does not like chocolate milk. Strange. But, other than my picky child, I am sure everyone would love this rich, chocolately drink on a cold winter night.

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Ingredients:

2 vanilla beans
4 cups granulated sugar
24 oz high-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
9 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups Dutch process cocoa

Directions:
Split and scrape vanilla beans and place in a large bowl or jar with the sugar.

Work seeds into the sugar with your fingers. Bury the pods under the sugar.

Cover tightly and let stand overnight (or up to months--vanilla sugar keeps forever) at room temperature.

In a food processor fitted with metal blade, process semisweet chocolate and dark chocolate until finely ground, using 4-second pulses. Process in batches, if necessary (I broke the bars into chunks to process, not exactly a good thing to do during nap time. It sounds like you're processing rocks for the first several seconds!)
Remove pod from sugar. Add ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar and whisk to blend, making sure to combine well.

Store mix airtight at room temperature for up to 6 months.

To serve, heat 2 Tbsp of mix with 8 oz of milk over medium heat.

Adobo-Seasoned Chicken and Rice

2011-12-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

I've had some rice in the pantry that I've been wanting to use, so I went browsing for recipes and stopped at this chicken and rice dish from an old episode of Bobby Flay's Throwdown. We loved everything about this recipe. The seasoning on the chicken was perfect (although too salty for my taste). The fresh lime and olives are what push this dish over-the-top. I tasted it before the last step and it was ok, but after adding the last 2 ingredients, it was beyond delicious.

Some notes to consider -

-The amount of salt listed in the recipe is more than double than what it needs in my opinion.

-Save yourself some trouble and read the jar of olives before you buy and make sure it says pitted.

-Tumeric stains skin and clothing yellow.

-I only used half the amount of rice (and stock) listed and it was still enough to feed a small army.

-I subbed canned, diced tomatoes for the plum tomatoes.

Source: Bobby Flay

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons granulated onion
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves

4 chicken thighs, with skin, cut in 1/2 (I used 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
4 chicken breasts, with skin, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, finely diced
1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
1 medium red bell pepper, finely diced
About 1/3 cup tomato powder or 1 to 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups long-grain rice
4 3/4 cups homemade chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas (not thawed)
3/4 cup pimento stuffed green olives
3/4 cup pitted picholine olives
Freshly chopped cilantro leaves
Freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
Finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
Squeeze lime juice

Directions:
Mix together the salt, granulated garlic, cumin, granulated onion, paprika, black pepper, turmeric and oregano in a small bowl. Season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and then season with the adobo seasoning mixture.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Place the chicken in the oil skin side down, in batches, if necessary, and saute until golden brown. Turn the chicken over and cook until the second side is golden brown. Transfer the chicken to into a separate pot with all cooking juices, cover and allow to cook through over medium heat. Keep warm.
Place the browning pan with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil back over high heat. Add the onions, green and red peppers and cook until soft. Add the tomato powder, garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add the rice to the pan, stir to coat the rice in the mixture and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, bay leaf, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir well, cover, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes add the peas to the pot, cover and continue cooking until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and let sit 5 minutes covered. Remove the lid, fluff the rice and gently fold in the olives, cilantro, parsley, oregano and squeeze of lime juice. Add the chicken and stir to combine.

Skillet Lasagna

2011-12-08T08:49:00.000-05:00

The next time you're in the mood for lasagna, but don't have the time or energy to do all of the layering and baking, make this skillet lasagna. It tastes just as good! I thought about adding more seasoning during the cooking, but decided against it. Don't be tempted - it doesn't need anything. I did leave out the red pepper flakes because I wanted my daughter to eat it. The fresh basil makes all the difference - don't skip it! Make this when you're short on time or don't want to heat up your oven during the warmer months. This may be your next favorite one-pot dish.

Source: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion , minced
salt
3 garlic cloves , minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 lb meatloaf mix (ground beef, and 8 ounces ground pork. for spicier flavour increase the amount of red pepper flakes)
8 ounces curly-edged lasagna noodles , broken into 2-inch lengths (10)
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 ounce parmesan cheese , grated (1/2 cup)
pepper
8 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup minced fresh basil

Directions:
Pour the tomatoes with their juice into a quart measuring cup. Add enough water to the tomatoes to measure 4 cups.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the meatloaf mix and cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle the noodle pieces evenly over the meat. Pour the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce over the pasta. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes. (The sauce should look watery after 15 minutes of cooking. If dry, add up to 1/4 cup additional water to loosen the sauce.).

Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dot heaping tablespoons of the ricotta over the noodles. Cover the skillet and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with the basil and serve, passing the extra Parmesan separately.

Pretzel M&M Oatmeal Cookies

2011-12-07T08:54:00.000-05:00

Surely everyone has had Pretzel M&M's before, right? Have you ever tried baking with them? I found this recipe for oatmeal cookies that are loaded with crushed Pretzel M&M's. Sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy oatmeal cookie goodness. Go make them now to show to your invisible internet friends.

Source: Bakers Royale

Ingredients:

¾ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup cream cheese, softened
1 egg
½ cup sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup flour
1 ½ cup oats, quick cooking
1 9.90oz Bag of M&M Pretzel (I used a meat tenderizer to crush them in the bag.)

Directions:

Makes 31/2 dozen cookies

Preparation: Line bake sheet with parchment. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Melt and heat butter until it is brown and nutty. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. Place softened cream cheese, egg, sugar, dark brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on medium until mixture is fully combined and shiny, about 1-2 minutes. Add browned butter and mix to combine. Turn off mixer.

3. Place flour and quick cooking oats in a bowl and whisk to combine. Use a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon to fold flour mixture into wet mixture and mix to combine.

4. Using a meat tenderizer crush M&M Pretzel in a plastic bag and add to cookie dough and fold to combine.

5. Scoop one heaping tablespoon of cookie dough onto parchment lined baked sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are golden brown.

Cookies will keep 2-3 days in a tightly sealed container.

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Dipping Sauce

2011-12-02T08:45:00.000-05:00

Here's an easy weeknight meal you'll want to try soon. I've made turkey meatloaf and turkey meatballs several times, but never with an Asian twist. When I saw this recipe, I knew it was something we would love. Not only were the meatballs full of flavor, the lime dipping sauce was great, too. The soy sauce and lime make a perfect tangy combination. Another bonus with this recipe is that they are kid friendly (well, not to my kid yet, she is going through an incredbily picky stage. At least I hope it's a stage...a short one.), but I know they would be a hit with most kids. Make them bite-sized for the little ones and let them dip away. I served these with rice and asian roasted broccoli.

Source: Skinny Taste

Ingredients:
Servings: 4 • Size: 3 meatballs • Calories: 229.1 • Fat: 11.1 g • Carbs: 8.5 g • Protein: 24.3 g

1/4 cup panko crumbs
1-1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
1 egg
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions, chopped
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil

Dipping Sauce

4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp water
1 chopped fresh scallion

Directions:
Preheat oven to 500°F.

Mix ground turkey, panko, egg, salt, scallions, ginger, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp oil and mix with your hands until combined well. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

For the dipping sauce mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 1 teaspoon of oil in a bowl. Add scallions.

Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce.

Serve meatballs with remaining sauce, about 1 tbsp per person. You probably won't use all the dipping sauce.

Makes 12 meatballs.

Bacon Sweet Potato Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

2011-12-01T09:19:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I made this wonderful, delectable salad. Full of sweet potatoes, crispy bacon, your favorite cheese, and tart, sweet pomegranate seeds on top of spinach or greens (I used mixed greens), it's filling enough to be main dish salad. If you're looking to take a salad to any Fall or holiday party, this one is it!

I took Marla's recommendation and used regular pork bacon instead of usual turkey bacon so I could use a little bit of the grease to roast the potatoes. Instead of Gruyére, I shaved some cheddar cheese on top.Then, I poured a warm bacon dressing over the salad. We both really enjoyed this meal. You must try this one!

Warm Bacon Dressing

Source: Paula Deen

Ingredients:

about 2 tablespoons bacon fat
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey mustard, or more to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Combine and whisk all ingredients together.

Salad:

Source: Fresh Family Cooking

Ingredients:

2 pounds Sweet Potatoes, cleaned, skins left on, cut into 1 ” cubes
a pinch of Garlic Salt
a pinch of ground Cinnamon
a pinch of ground Ginger
a pinch of ground ground Black Pepper
a few tablespoons pure Maple Syrup
18-24 ounces Baby Spinach Leaves
12 ounces crumbled Bacon, set aside bacon grease
a few handfuls of Pomegranate Seeds (arils)
grated Gruyére or your favorite cheese (I used cheddar)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400˚F with rack in the center. Cook bacon until brown and crispy in a fry pan. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Reserve bacon fat in a heat resistant container & set aside to cool a bit.

Toss sweet potato chunks with garlic salt, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper maple syrup and some bacon grease. (A little bacon grease goes a long way, so add a small amount first and you can always add more. I use just enough oil to grease them until slightly glistening.) Spread sweet potatoes on a sheet pan in a single layer. Roast for about 35 minutes until cooked through and golden brown. Toss once with tongs about halfway through cooking time for even browning. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and let cool.

Salad assembly: Put baby spinach in a large bowl. Top with roasted sweet potatoes, bacon crumbles, Gruyére and pomegranate seeds. You can season with some more garlic salt and black pepper if desired. When ready to serve, toss salad with your favorite vinaigrette dressing or olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Pumpkin Roulade with Buttercream

2011-11-29T09:43:00.001-05:00

For the Thanksgiving Dessert Edition of the Recipe Swap, I was lucky enough to receive this pumpkin roulade recipe from Patrizia at Mangia! My Family Table. I have never made a pumpkin roll before, so I was a little scared that the whole thing would just fall apart on me, but after reading every review and watching this video, I was ready to get started.

I did leave out the ginger, but this is by far the best pumpkin roll I have had. The cake was light, the filling was perfectly smooth and very light, also. It's a little sweet, though. The next time I make it, I may cut back on the sugar in the filling. This recipe is rated as difficult, but I disagree. It really was easy if you follow the directions. I baked the cake and let it cool for just 4-5 minutes before flipping it onto the towel and gently rolled it up using the towel to do most of the work. Unrolling wasn't a problem, either. The cake wasn't as delicate as I expected it to be, so it was just as easy to re-roll after spreading the filling on top. You'll definitely want this at your next Thanksgiving!

Source: Ina Garten

Ingredients

For the cake:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus extra for dusting

For the filling:

12 ounces Italian mascarpone cheese
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 cup minced dried crystallized ginger (not in syrup)
Pinch kosher salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 18 by 1-inch sheet pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the paper.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt and stir to combine. Place the eggs and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light yellow and thickened. With the mixer on low, add the pumpkin, then slowly add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Finish mixing the batter by hand with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake the cake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched.

While the cake is baking, lay out a clean, thin cotton dish towel on a flat surface and sift the entire 1/4 cup of confectioners' sugar evenly over it. (This will prevent the cake from sticking to the towel.) As soon as you remove the cake from the oven, loosen it around the edges and invert it squarely onto the prepared towel. Peel away the parchment paper. With a light touch, roll the warm cake and the towel together (don't press!) starting at the short end of the cake. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone, confectioners' sugar, and cream together for about a minute, until light and fluffy. Stir in the crystallized ginger, and salt.

To assemble, carefully unroll the cake onto a board with the towel underneath. Spread the cake evenly with the filling. Reroll the cake in a spiral using the towel as a guide. Remove the towel and trim the ends to make a neat edge. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve sliced.

Soul Sweet 'Taters

2011-11-28T09:09:00.000-05:00

Whoever decided to consider this dish a side instead of dessert was genious. It really is like dessert. I cheated a bit and used canned sweet potatoes, so I did cut back on the sugar by 1/2 cup, but next time I think I could cut back even more and not notice. I doubled the recipe and baked in a 9x13 dish. I did bake for an additional 15 minutes, but check yours after 30. I am pretty sure the heating element in our oven is going bad and the temperature is off. I have to set it at least 50 degrees over to get it to register right anymore. Maybe Santa can bring me a new oven?!!!! (ok, a new heating element would make more sense, but that's not as fun.)

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

4 whole Medium Sweet Potatoes
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk
2 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Pecans
½ cup Flour
¾ sticks Butter

Directions:
Wash 4 medium sweet potatoes and bake them in a 375-degree oven until fork tender, about 30-35 minutes. When they are finished cooking slice them open and scrape out the flesh into a large bowl.
Add 1 cup of (regular grandulated) sugar, 1 cup of milk, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of salt. With a potato masher, mash them up just enough—you don’t want to be perfectly smooth.

Now, in a separate bowl, add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup pecans, chopped (that means measure a cup of pecans, then chop them), ½ cup flour, and ¾ stick of butter. With a pastry cutter or fork, mash together until thoroughly combined.
Spread the sweet potato mixture into a regular baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture all over the top.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cranberry Salsa

2011-11-28T08:54:00.000-05:00

Cranberry sauce is not something I normally eat at Thanksgiving. I'm not sure why because I do like cranberries. I think it has to do with seeing that gelatinous blob from a can every year and never having any desire to try it. I came across this recipe for cranberry salsa and decided to make it for an appetizer to our meal this year. I am so glad I did! It's sweet and sour, with just a little bit of heat from the jalapeno. I didn't want to overdo it on the heat, but next time I would keep some seeds/ribs on the pepper instead of removing all of them. You can serve this with crackers or tortilla chips.

Source: Food Fashion and Flow

Ingredients:

1 12 ounce package fresh cranberries
1 Jalapeno pepper
1/4 cup green onion chopped
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons lime juice
dash salt
optional (cream cheese)

Directions:
Chop the cranberries and jalapeno pepper in a mini chopper or food processor. Pulse until the cranberries are chopped, but still a little chunky. Chop up green onion and cilantro into small pieces. Add all ingredients and mix together. Refrigerate for at least a few hours to allow cranberries to soften a little and for flavors to blend.

Mongolian Beef

2011-11-23T08:48:00.000-05:00

Whenever we get take-out, I always get one of two things - general tso's chicken or sweet and sour chicken. I am never adventurous enough to try something new. I've made both of my favorite dishes at home and am moving on to something new this time - Mongolian Beef. The flavor is great, the beef gets a little crispy, and you will probably fight over the leftovers! I probably let the sauce cook a few minutes too long (we're in the middle of potty training at our house) and should have thinned it back out with a little water, but it was still fantastic. I served this with steamed broccoli and rice. Make this at home and it can easily pass for fake-out take-out!

Source: Pink Bites

Ingredients:

1 lb of flank steak, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup of cornstarch
3 teaspoons of canola oil
1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic (about 2 -3 large cloves)
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
3 large green onions, sliced crosswise into thirds

Directions:
Prepare the meat:
First, make sure the steak slices are dry (pat them dry) and mix them with the corn starch. Using your hands or a spoon, move them around to make sure all pieces are coated. Place beef slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch (see picture bellow).

Make the sauce:

Heat half of the oil in a large wok at medium-high and add the garlic and ginger. Immediately add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl. Don't worry if the sauce doesn't look thick enough at this point. The corn starch in the beef will thicken it up later.

Cook the meat and assemble dish:

Turn the heat up and add the remaining oil to the wok. Add the beef and cook, stirring until it is all browned (this is a quick thing). Pour the sauce back into the wok and let it cook along with the meat. Now you can choose to cook it down and reduce the sauce or leave it thinner. Add the green onions on the last minute so the green parts will stay green and the white parts crunchy.

Serve it hot with rice.

Honey Lime Chicken

2011-11-21T08:59:00.000-05:00

Even in November, I love grilling out. We still get quite a few nice days throughout the month, so I marinated this chicken to throw on the grill after work one day last week. The only problem was the wind! It was soooo windy, the grill would not stay lit. So, after 3-4 attempts, I had to grill inside, which I really don't like doing because I can never keep it from getting too smokey inside - does anyone else have that problem? It never looks that smokey on TV :) We both thought the chicken tasted great without being overly limey. This is a great recipe to put together the night before and have an easy weeknight meal.

Source: The Enchanted Cook

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes), plus the zest of both limes
2 Tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 pounds of chicken (I used boneless skinless breasts)

Directions:
In a large zip top plastic bag combine all of the ingredients except the chicken. Seal bag completely and mix well. Add chicken to bag, turn to coat and reseal. Place in refrigerator overnight.

Heat grill (either outdoor grill, or indoor grill pan) to medium high. Grill chicken for approximately 6-7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. If you're using fairly thin chicken breasts, cut time down.

UNO's Deep Dish Pizza

2011-11-18T08:40:00.000-05:00

Pizza has become our dinner of choice on Wednesdays lately. Caitlin is taking a gymnastics class at the Y and so we get home around 7 pm. I make pizza for a quick dinner that we all enjoy. (She has even picked up on the Pizza-Wednesday pattern herself. When we get into the car to go home, she says "Time for pizza!" Smart kid!)

For last week's pizza, I decided to go with a deep-dish recipe. Normally I buy frozen dough and then change up the toppings to whatever sounds good that day. It's good, but getting a little boring. I made the dough on Sunday and put it in my freezer. On Tuesday night, I moved it to the refrigerator so it could slowly rise. I set it on the counter before going to the Y, so when we come home it's ready to go.

I loved so many things about this recipe. First - the crust. It was probably the best I have made. It was chewy, buttery, and didn't get one bit soggy since the cheese was between the crust and the sauce. I will definitely make more and keep in my freezer. Secondly, the sauce, with only 4 simple ingredients tasted garden-fresh. Next time I would use just slightly less sauce on top, but really it was near perfect the way it is. Each piece is very filling!

It's been years since I have been to UNO's, so I can' really say how this compares, but try it and let me know!

Source: Uno Chicago Grill

Master Dough Recipe:
Yield: one 20-ounce ball of dough to make one 12-inch Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza

Ingredients:

1 Package active dry yeast
¾ Cup warm water (105-110 degrees F)
1 Tsp. Sugar
¼ Cup Corn oil
2½ Cups All-purpose flour
2 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Olive oil
12" Deep-Dish Pizza Pan or Cake Pan (I used a cast iron skillet)

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast with water and sugar. Add the corn oil and blend. Add the flour and salt and mix thoroughly. If using a stand mixer, mix for 4 minutes at medium speed, until the dough is smooth and pliable. If kneading by hand, knead for 7 to 8 minutes. Turn the dough out of the bowl and knead by hand for two additional minutes. Add olive oil to a deep bowl. Place the dough ball into the bowl and turn it twice to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.* Let the dough rise for two hours. Do not punch it down. Spread and push the dough ball across the bottom of the pan and up the sides.

*At this stage, the dough can be put in the refrigerator and allowed to rise slowly overnight. Take the dough out of the refrigerator at least an hour before you are ready to assemble the pizza.

PEPPERONI DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Ingredients:

1½ Cups Tomatoes, ground (I used crushed - is that the same thing?)
1 Tsp. Oregano, dried
1 Tsp. Basil, dried
2 Tbsp. Romano cheese, grated
5 oz. Part-skim, low-moisture mozzarella, sliced
5 oz. Provolone, sliced
24 ea. Pepperoni Slices (about 2 oz.)

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, oregano, basil and Romano. Set aside.

Lay the slices of mozzarella and provolone on top of the dough, overlapping the slices to cover all of the dough.

Spread the tomato mixture evenly over the cheese.

Dot the top of the tomatoes with the pepperoni.

Bake on the middle rack of a preheated 475° F. oven for 20-25 minutes until crust is golden brown and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Allow the pizza to rest for 3-4 minutes before cutting and serving.

Pumpkin Pecan Pie

2011-11-17T08:26:00.000-05:00

I am not one to make decisions easily, even when it comes to simple decisions like which kind of pie to have for Thankgiving dessert - pumpkin or pecan? I usually take 1/2 piece of each! After making this pie, there is no need for such decisions. It's the perfect blend of both. I love how easy this was to make and the taste was amazing! I did add just 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, because I thought it was strange that a pumpkin pie recipe had no spices. I'm not sure if it made much of a difference or was needed, but either way - you must make this!

Source: Paula Deen

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
Whipped cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

With a hand beater, beat eggs well. Beat in corn syrup, sugar, butter, pumpkin and vanilla until well-blended. Arrange pecans in bottom of pie shell. Slowly pour egg mixture over them. Bake for 1 hour or until knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Let cool completely before serving to allow the filling to set up.

Garnish with whipped cream

Buffalo Chicken Chili

2011-11-15T08:47:00.000-05:00

Here we go with another round of the Recipe Swap! This swap's theme was One-Dish Meals. I knew ~~my dishwasher~~ Aaron was going to love this swap!! When I was given this recipe from Maryanna at Taste & See, I was excited because I am a big fan of Buffalo Chicken...anything. I've made the famous dip several times for parties and we regularly eat buffalo chicken salads for easy weeknight dinners. Chili was something new, though. And I love recipes where you just dump everything into the crockpot and forget it. This was one of those recipes.

If you like a little heat, this recipe is easily adapted to fit your tastes. I added 1/2 chopped jalapeno, and didn't realize until the chili was done that my half bottle of Frank's Buffalo Sauce was not the same size as the original recipe intended. We always buy the BIG bottle. Don't use half of that! Or, at least test as you go! Sooo....my chili ended up very buffalo-saucy-ish. I'll admit that the first day, there was no way I could eat a bowl of it straight - much too hot for my tastes. A few bites on a tortilla chip were all I could take. I had the same results as Maryanna, though - the heat seemed to dissipate a bit overnight. The second day, it was perfect! Thanks Maryanna!

Source: Taste & See

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts (cooked & shredded or raw & whole)
1/2 bottle Frank's Buffalo Sauce (12 oz. bottle)
1 (15.5-oz) can beans (garbanzo, black, pinto, whatever!)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 (15-oz) can tomato sauce ( I used 1 can)
1 can cream-style corn
1 cup salsa
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

Directions:
Dump everything into the crockpot, and stir well. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. If your chicken was raw when you put it in, take it out after about 8 hours, shred it, and then stir it back into the chili.

Pumpkin Donuts

2011-11-14T08:49:00.002-05:00

I've never made homemade donuts before, but decided these pumpkin donuts would be a great place to start. I don't own a donut pan (yet), so I went the frying route this time. The donuts came out great. They were cakey on the inside with just enough pumpkin flavor. Pretty good for a first try!

The dough will be pretty sticky after chilling, so make sure to use plenty of flour while rolling. I don't have a biscuit cutter, so I used a glass and a large pastry tip to cut the holes. After frying, I dipped half in cinnamon sugar and half in the glaze. We've enjoyed donuts all weekend. When sealed in a Food Saver container, they taste just as fresh as the day we made them!

Caitlin helped taste-test the holes:

Source: Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

Spiced sugar

1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

Doughnuts

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
Canola oil (for deep-frying)

Powdered Sugar Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
Whipping cream

Directions:

For spiced sugar:
Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl to blend.

For doughnuts:
Whisk first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended (mixture will be grainy). Beat in egg, then yolks and vanilla. Gradually beat in buttermilk; beat in pumpkin in 4 additions. Using rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients in 4 additions, blending gently after each addition. Cover with plastic; chill 3 hours.

Sprinkle 2 rimmed baking sheets lightly with flour. Press out 1/3 of dough on floured surface to 1/2- to 2/3-inch thickness. Using 2 1/2-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Arrange on sheets. Repeat with remaining dough in 2 more batches. Gather dough scraps. Press out dough and cut out more dough rounds until all dough is used.

Using 1-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out center of each dough round to make doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Line 2 baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Pour oil into large deep skillet to depth of 1 1/2 inches. Attach deep-fry thermometer and heat oil to 365°F to 370°F. Fry doughnut holes in 2 batches until golden brown, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, until golden brown, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, about 1 minute per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Cool completely.

For powdered sugar glaze:
Whisk powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons whipping cream to blend. Whisk in additional cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form medium thick glaze. Can be made up to 3 hours ahead. Add doughnut holes to bowl of spiced sugar and toss to coat. Spread doughnuts on 1 side with Powdered Sugar Glaze. Arrange doughnuts, glazed side up, on racks. Let stand until glaze sets, at least 30 minutes.

Asian Steak Salad

2011-11-07T08:49:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite dinners is a big salad. There is usually little to no cooking involved and the flavor options are endless. Aaron typically needs a little convincing when I say that we're having salad for dinner and I promise he won't be hungry again an hour later. This steak salad was an easy choice for our weekly menu - it is quick, healthy (less than 300 calories per serving!), and uses a lot of my favorite salad ingredients and flavors. I love, love, love sugar snap peas - so that was the first thing that drew me in. I could eat them raw all day long. Then I saw that the dressing has peanut butter in it! Another win! Ever since I made a Thai Chicken Salad that had peanut butter in it (I'll blog that the next time I make it), I've been sold on peanutty dressings - on anything. And Steak? That is the key to getting a guy to eat salad for dinner.

This salad was awesome. The peas were sweet and crunchy, the dressing amazing, and the steak juicy and flavorful. It would perfect for a hot summer day using fresh vegetables from the garden.

Source: Jane Deere

4 Servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
Calories: 290 ▪ Fat: 16g ▪ Carbs: 15g ▪ Dietary Fiber: 4g ▪ Protein: 21g

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh sugar snap peas, blanched & chilled
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon canola mayonnaise
1 tablespoon peanut butter
2 teaspoons Splenda
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 cups chopped seeded English cucumber (about 1)
4 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces flank steak, cut into small pieces
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, optional

Directions:
To blanch peas: Bring a pan of water to a rolling boil. Place peas in boiling water for one minute. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water. Drain the peas when they are completely cold; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce and next 8 ingredients (through sesame oil), stirring with a whisk. Add sugar snap peas, tomatoes, cucumber, and onions; toss to coat.

Right before serving, heat a medium cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Combine steak, salt, and pepper, tossing to coat steak. Add steak mixture to pan; cook 5 minutes or until well browned and crisp, stirring frequently.

When ready to serve, Combine peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, and green onion and toss to combine. Drizzle with dressing and toss until well coated. Divide into 4 portions and top with steak.

Brussels Sprouts with Maple Buttered Pecans

2011-11-04T08:41:00.001-04:00

For the latest round of the Recipe Swap, the theme was Thanksgiving Sides. I was excited to try something new because we always seem to have the same.old.sides.every.year. Caitlin, from Caitlin's Cooking and More, chose this recipe for me and it looked great in the photo. Brussels Sprouts are not something we normally eat at our Thanksgiving, (or ever!), and honestly, the few times I've eaten them, I've always said it would be the last. They are cute little cabbages, but I can't get past the bitter taste. I've only made fresh brussels sprouts in the past, so for this recipe, I decided to try frozen.

This side dish is perfect for Thanksgiving because most of it can be made ahead of time, but even if you make it that day, it is really fast to put together. To me, the pecans were the best part. You'll think you're eating a sweet, crunchy candy. I would love to remake this dish with a different vegetable - maybe broccoli?

Thanks for sharing Caitlin!

View the full round-up at A Taste of Home Cooking.

Source: Babble.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup pecan halves
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. pure maple or golden syrup
sea salt, to taste
2 lb. small Brussels sprouts, stem ends trimmed
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1-2 garlic cloves, finely squished
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for about 8 minutes, until deep golden and fragrant. Transfer to a bowl and quickly toss with 1 Tbsp. butter and syrup; it should coat the nuts and be partially absorbed. Sprinkle with salt and set aside for up to a day.

In a saucepan with an inch of simmering water, cook the Brussels sprouts until just tender, 5 to 6 minutes, drain and pat dry. If you want to do this ahead, store them in the fridge for up to a day.

When you’re ready to finish them, heat a drizzle of oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the sprouts for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally, until starting to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, then stir in the pecans, transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately. Serves 6-8.

Bobby's Goulash

2011-11-02T08:45:00.000-04:00

The weather is starting to really cool down now, so it's time to start making some good comfort food. I grew up eating goulash pretty often, but haven't had it in years. I kind of forgot about it, I guess. While this may not be the traditional way to make Hungarian Goulash, it is very similar to what I remember and like. If you haven't had goulash before, it's kind of like a homemade hamburger helper, only better. Much better.

I cut this recipe in half and had plenty for dinner and leftovers. It's hearty and full of flavor. My only recommended change is to watch the seasonings, especially the salt (taste before adding any). The first time I made this, it was too much. I cut it back this time and the result was much better.

Source: Paula Deen

Ingredients:
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 pound ground turkey
2 large onions, chopped
3 cups water
1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
3 bay leaves
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
2 cups dried elbow macaroni

Directions:
In a Dutch oven, saute the ground beef and ground turkey over medium-high heat, until no pink remains. Break up meat while sauteing; spoon off any grease. Add the onions to the pot and saute until they are tender about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups water, along with the tomato sauce, tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, House Seasoning, and seasoned salt. Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves and allow the mixture to sit about 30 minutes more before serving.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Kitty Litter Cake

2011-10-31T08:47:00.000-04:00

What can I say about this cake? It looks completely nasty, it tastes great, and is perfect for a Halloween Party or as an April Fool's joke. You can make it even easier by using store-bought marble cake (2 cakes make a lot, but it did fill up the smallest litter box I could find) and pudding cups. Don't be too hurt if people don't eat it, though. It took some bribing and daring to get some to try it and our party. :)

Ingredients:1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (12 ounce) package vanilla sandwich cookies
5 drops green food coloring
16 tootsie rolls
Brand New Kitty Litter Box (small size)
Brand New Pooper Scooper

Directions:
Make your white and German chocolate cake and instant vanilla pudding according to package directions. For the cakes, it doesn't matter what size pan they are made in or what they look like because you will be crumbling them together.

Crumble vanilla sandwich cookies in small batches in a food processor. To 1/4 cup of the crumbs add green food coloring and mix together with your hand, creating flecks of color in the crumbs; set aside.

When cakes are cooled to room temperature crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with 1/2 of the remaining cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding, making the cake moist.

Put the cake mixture into the kitty litter box. Put half of the unwrapped tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat for about 12 seconds or until soft. Shape the ends so they are no longer blunt, curving the tootsie rolls slightly. Bury tootsie rolls randomly in the cake and sprinkle the cake with the other half of the remaining cookie crumbs. Sprinkle the green flecked cookie crumbs over the top.
Heat the remaining tootsie rolls in the microwave and strategically place them over the top of the cake mixture. Don't forget to hang a few over the side to get the full, disgusting effect. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve each guest personally with a pooper scooper for a gross Halloween dessert.

Chicken Gyros

2011-10-26T08:48:00.000-04:00

During my long blogging break, I made a lot of great recipes that became favorites in our house. This is one of them. Normally, I do not care for the traditional gryo because of the lamb, so this is the perfect substitute for me. I love how easy these are to make and the flavor is amazing. The cool cucumber tzatziki with garlic and lemon combined with more garlic and lemon flavor on the chicken make these fantastic. Consider this a perfect option for a quick weeknight meal (I make the tzatziki and marinade ahead so it's ready to go in the evening).

I have made my own pitas for this recipe and while they are great, sometimes I just want to skip that step. After trying a couple store bought pitas, I found a great one: Kontos Pan Plano flatbread. They are soft and not dried out like the other brands I've tried. Check if your grocery carries them.

Source: Elly Says Opa

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken boneless chicken breast
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping Tbsp. plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper
Tzatziki (recipe follows)
sliced tomatoes
sliced red onions
4 (pocketless) pitas

Directions:
Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, yogurt, and oregano in a bowl. Add the chicken and rub the marinade in. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

Preheat the broiler (or grill, or pan on the stove). Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, and then broil until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, depending what size/type chicken you are using. Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes before slicing into strips.

Meanwhile, heat your pitas. Top the pita with the chicken, tzatziki, tomatoes, onions. Roll up and eat!

Tzatziki:

Ingredients:
16 oz. plain yogurt
1 hothouse cucumber or 2 regular cucumbers, seeded
3-5 cloves garlic–depending how garlicky you like it, crushed
1-2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
salt and a little pepper
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Strain yogurt using a cheesecloth over a bowl (if you don’t have that, a strainer lined with a coffee filter will work) for several hours or overnight to get out as much moisture as possible.

Peel and seed the cucumber. Shred or grate the cucumbers and then squeeze the life out of them to get rid of as much excess moisture as possible. I use a kitchen towel to do this, and you will get a lot of liquid so don’t skip this step! Yes, there is a lot of straining and squeezing–and it’s all important! You don’t want a runny tzatziki

Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumbers, garlic, vinegar and lemon juice. Salt to taste. It’s best to refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving, so flavors can meld.
Drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

2011-10-19T08:25:00.001-04:00

I enjoyed participating in the last recipe swap, so I decided to play another round. The new theme was Soup & Stew and I was given this recipe for French Onion Soup from Christen at Cooking with Christen. Aaron really loves French Onion Soup and I have never made it, so this was a perfect swap for us.

I decided to make half this recipe so we could have 4 servings instead of 8. I used 2 onions and low sodium broth. I followed the recommendations of several reviews to carmelize the onions before putting them in the crockpot, and to cook it longer. I added a bit of red cooking wine and worcestershire sauce as well. Instead of making this in the morning before work, I put it all together before going to bed and let it cook on low for about 20 hours total.

For the next 20 hours I lost my excitement for this meal. I used sweet onions and our house had an overwhelming onion smell as it cooked - so much that we had to open doors and windows (sorry neighbors!). The taste was fantastic, though. I used fontina cheese on the bread and put it under the broiler to melt and brown. The onions were soft and buttery, but I still thought it was still too salty overall. Next time I would try and find low-sodium beef consumme in addition to low-sodium broth. Otherwise, this is a great and easy recipe. Thanks for sharing Christen!

View the full round-up at A Taste of Home Cooking.

Source: Sandra Lee

Ingredients:

5 small onions, thinly sliced
2 cans (14 ounces) low sodium beef broth (recommended: Swanson's)
2 cans (10 ounces) beef consomme (recommended: Campbell's)
1 packet onion soup mix (recommended: Lipton's)
8 slices French bread, about 1 inch thick
1 cup shredded Gruyere

Directions:

Combine onions, broth, consomme, and soup mix in a slow cooker. Cook on HIGH setting for 4 hours, or LOW setting for 8 hours.

Ladle soup into serving bowls. Top with a slice of French bread. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over each bread slice. Put soup bowls under broiler until cheese is melted. Alternatively, place the bread on a baking sheet and top with cheese; broil until cheese has melted, about 30 to 40 seconds, and set on top just before serving.

Sweet Potato Banana Muffins

2011-10-18T08:24:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since a banana has sat in our fruit bowl long enough to become overripe. For a long time, we actually had to hide bananas from Caitlin because anytime she saw one, she would go crazy until she got it! But, she's moved on to obsessing over grapes since then, so we're back to the occassional banana problem.

Last weekend we locked ourselves at home to do 3-day potty-training, so we spent some time in the kitchen baking. I found a recipe that used 3 ripe bananas and a sweet potato. I just happened to have an extra of those, too, so this recipe was perfect - I didn't need to leave the house!

The muffins came out very moist with a nice Fall flavor. I can definitely taste the sweet potato and banana in them. It has become the breakfast of choice this week for Caitlin...and since she has practically eaten the entire batch herself, I am happy to say she ate a sweet potato this week. That's big.

Source: Noshings

Ingredients:
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
3 whole Medium, ripe Bananas
1 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Vegetable Oil
2 whole Eggs (large)
2 cups Flour, Not Sifted
2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoons Salt

2/3 cups Mini Chocolate Chips (optional)
1/2 cups Chopped Walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Mix together sweet potatoes, bananas, sugar, oil and eggs.

Then add in the dry ingredients and chocolate chips.

Fold batter carefully until flour is incorporated.

If adding walnuts, save and sprinkle on top so they can toast as the muffins bake.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake for approximately 25 -30 minutes at 350.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

2011-09-30T10:30:00.002-04:00

It's recipe swap time! Twice a month, the swappers on my favorite cooking board come up with a new theme, submit a recipe and swap. We each make a recipe and blog it, then everyone's recipes are shared on a roundup post on A Taste of Home Cooking blog. This is my first time joining the group, and the theme is Apples/Pumpkin - a great theme to start, right?!

I made Ellie's recipe swap, from The Wanna Be Cook. This Paula Deen recipe is a winner that is sure to please all apple lovers. I took the advice of several reviewers and made extra filling (as listed below in measurements). Next time, I will go with the original recipe, only because my 9x13 pan was filled to the very brim with the extra filling and then the streusel on top of that. Maybe I need a deeper dish? I ended up baking the crust an extra 5-10 minutes until it turned a golden brown, and baked the cheesecake for 30 min, but could have gone just a bit longer because the filling was still very soft. Overall a nice change from my favorite pumpkin recipes.

View the full round-up at A Taste of Home Cooking

Source: Paula Deen

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel topping, recipe follows

1/2 cup caramel topping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 30 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping.

Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.

Yield: approximately 3 cups

Warm Spinach Salad with Sausage & Potatoes

2011-09-27T08:21:00.000-04:00

Here is a salad you're sure to love. Made with roasted vegetables, chicken sausage and topped with a light balsamic dressing, it will definitely fill you up. I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy salad and this is my new favorite. I made a few changes to use what we had on hand. I left out the asparagus and used purple potatoes because they looked fun. This makes a delicious, quick and easy weeknight dinner.

Source: For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients:
4 garlic and herb chicken sausages

8-10 vine ripe tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, sliced into chunks
1 cup of baby potatoes
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
8-10 spears of asparagus, ends removed
4-5 cloves of garlic (leave skins on)
Olive oil, to taste
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
12 oz fresh spinach
Feta cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray. Chop the tomatoes in half, quarter the mushrooms and chop the onion. Place the tomatoes, onion chunks, mushrooms and baby potatoes on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Place in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the asparagus and continue to roast for 10 minutes or until the asparagus and potatoes are fork tender.

While the veggies are roasting, cook the sausage in a skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes or until done.

Balsamic and Mustard Dressing:

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 clove of garlic
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions:
Whisk the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, water, garlic then season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste, until well combined.

Once the veggies are out of the oven, carefully remove the skin from the garlic and then slice. Toss the warm veggies and sliced sausages with the spinach and dressing until evenly coated. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Lemon-Garlic Marinated Shrimp

2010-07-12T08:41:00.000-04:00

Here's a really simple appetizer that you can throw together in about 10 minutes. Lemon and garlic make a great combination of flavors and this is sure to be a hit at your next party. This would even be great as a meal, heated and served with angel hair pasta.

Source: EatingWell.com

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 pounds cooked shrimp

Directions:
Place garlic and oil in a small skillet and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. Toss with shrimp in a large bowl. Chill until ready to serve.

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

Nutrition:
Per serving: 73 calories; 3 g fat (0 g sat, 2 g mono); 92 mg cholesterol; 1 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 10 g protein; 0 g fiber; 154 mg sodium; 108 mg potassium.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

2010-07-05T10:53:00.002-04:00

These little pizza bites are a fun appetizer (or future meal in our case) made of a puffy pizza crust, cheese and pepperoni. Dipped in sauce it's the perfect bite size piece of pizza. As I mixed up the dough, I added some extra seasoning to give a little more flavor. I added some garlic and italian seasoning. I saw this recipe on Milk & Honey and as she mentions, these would be fun to change up with different fillings - like bacon & cheddar (yum).

Source: Everyday with Rachael Ray

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup whole milk (I used 1% with fine results)
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
4 ounces pepperoni, cut into small cubes (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup store-bought pizza sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through, then stir in 1 tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping. Serves 4.

Note: These can be made ahead of time. Place baked puffs on a baking sheet and put in the freezer until frozen. Transfer to a storage bag. When ready to eat, preheat oven to 350 degrees, place puffs on a baking sheet, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until warm.

Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-05-03T08:28:00.002-04:00

I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while now since I've seen it pop up so many times on other blogs and is highly rated on allrecipes.com. The dough was very easy to work with, not sticky at all, and reminded me a lot of the dough for these Lunch Lady Bars (my favorite cookie bars). As I was scooping out the giant globs of dough (1/4 cup per cookie!), I was hoping they would taste like the lunch lady bars, too.

I baked 6 cookies on a sheet for 15 minutes. They flattened out as they baked, coming out of the oven about the size of my head! They had a little crisp on the edges and stayed soft in the center. I think I still prefer Toll House to these, but it's a chocolate chip cookie - what's not to like? Definitely worth trying.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Sidetracked. In a good way.

2010-04-22T11:31:00.005-04:00

I know, it's been a month now since my last blog update. Don't worry, we're still eating. Homemade pizza, wraps, and tacos have been favorites lately. Between work, baby, and everyday life, we are staying plenty busy. Even if our dinners haven't been exciting, I'd like to tell you about something else that is very exciting! It's not cooking related, but I hope you'll still read.

A friend and I started a little business last Fall, called Beb-e-ssentials. We are making and selling crocheted hats, hair clippies, beanies, headbands, etc. We have stuff for girls and boys. We're having a lot of fun and it's going great so far.

We've been very blessed and want to pass on some blessings to others who really need it. This week we started something new for a little girl named Gwendolyn Strong. Do you know her? We didn't, until recently. We saw this video on YouTube.com. Gwendolyn has SMA. SMA is Spinal Muscular Atrophy, the leading genetic killer of young children. After seeing this video, we knew we wanted to help this little girl, and the thousands of other kids with SMA. We hope you will, too.

We contacted Gwendolyn's mom, Victoria, and let her know we'd like to help. Together, we've come up with the "Gwendolyn Butterfly" clippie. Find out why we chose a butterfly for this special girl.

We're giving 60% of our Gwendolyn Butterfly sales to the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation (GSF).

In addition, we've kicked off a fundraiser that will run through May 9th.

We'll donate 20% of our bucket hat sales and 30% of all other online sales to the GSF.

That's in addition to the permanent 60% of Gwendolyn Butterfly clippie sales.

If you'd like to do a little shopping for the little ones in your life and help out a great cause at the same time, now is your chance! Pass this on to your friends, become a fan on facebook and you'll see how you can even get free shipping on your order.

Thanks for reading! We appreciate your support!

Moo Shu Noodles

2010-03-22T08:13:00.003-04:00

Of all of my attempts at making Asian food, this recipe is one of my top favorites. It's healthy and easy to throw together - although it did take me longer than the 30 minutes mentioned. Maybe I'm just slow! And while it may not be authentic, it is flavorful and delicious. I only made one change - substituting chicken for the pork. Aaron spiced his up a bit by adding a little szechuan sauce to his bowl. Next time I could see adding more veggies - maybe broccoli and carrots? I hope you're hungry, this makes a LOT of food!

Source: My Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
12-ounces fettuccine
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
3 eggs, beaten
3 medium-sized boneless pork chops, thinly sliced
Ground black pepper
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons ginger (about a 2-inch piece), peeled and grated
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1/2 pound mushrooms, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 small head Napa or Savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions:
Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil. When the water comes up to a bubble, add some salt and drop in the fettuccine. Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and reserve.

Combine the hoisin and soy sauce together in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a 12-inch non-stick skillet, heat one tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add eggs and scramble. When done, scrape them onto a plate and reserve.

In the same skillet heat two tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes (don’t overcook or pork will be tough!). Remove the meat from the pan onto the same plate as the eggs and keep warm.

Add the scallions, ginger and garlic to the pan, and cook until aromatic and the scallions are tender, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms to the pan and stir-fry until golden brown, 4-5 minutes.

Add the cabbage to the pan and stir-fry until tender, about 3 minutes. When the cabbage is tender, add the reserved pork and scrambled eggs back to the pan along with the hoisin-soy mixture and the chicken broth. Stir-fry to fully heat through, about 1 minute, and then toss with the reserved cooked pasta. Cook to heat through and serve.

Homemade Oreos

2010-03-06T15:51:00.002-05:00

So today my car is in the shop I'm stuck at home because Aaron is in Columbus for the Arnold Classic (He even met Arnold and Sylvester Stallone!). After a day of sorting baby clothes, laundry, and cleaning up, I decided to make another small mess and bake some cookies. Oreos sounded good for some reason and I came across this recipe. The strange thing is as I was reading the comments, I learned that TODAY is Oreo's 97th birthday! How weird is that? I think it was a sign that I was meant to make these today. I went for a mint version - putting 1 tsp. of the vanilla extract and only 1/2 tsp of mint extract with a little green coloring. I also ran out of flour, so I had to use a little whole-wheat flour. I used 1/4 cup whole wheat and 1 cup AP.

I didn't realize the cookie would spread so much as it baked, so my first pan came out as jumbo size oreos. So I scaled back the next pan and they came out closer to real oreo size. The cookie is a little bit crispy, the filling minty and creamy. Yum!

As I rolled and flattened cookies, Caitlin sat on the counter next to me and practiced sucking her thumb. See?

Source: Cupcake Project

Cookie Ingredients:
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa
1 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 C sugar
1/2 C plus 2 T butter, room temperature
1 large egg

Cookie Directions:
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar.

Beat in the butter and the egg. Continue mixing until dough comes together in a mass.

Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough.

Bake for 9 minutes at 375 F. Set on a rack to cool.

Filling Ingredients:
1/4 cup room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling Directions:
Place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla.

Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
To make a cookie, pipe teaspoon-sized blobs of cream into the center of a cookie using a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip. (If you don't have a pastry bag, you could easily just spread the filling with a knife or use a Ziplock with the corner cut off as a pastry bag.)

Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

Cheese Crackers

2010-02-26T11:29:00.003-05:00

Cheez-its are quite possibly the most addictive snack ever. I can't buy them. I will eat the whole box! Of course I was immediately drawn to this recipe when I saw the picture of those little crunchy, cheesy crackers. It's ok to make them at home though...yeah, that's what I told myself.

I never guessed making crackers would be this easy. Since I had my food processor out for the one-ingredient ice cream, I decided to go ahead and try this too. That sucker weighs 28 lbs. YES - twenty-eight! I don't like getting it out very often because of that and the fact it's a pain to clean all the parts. I think once I start making baby food, it will have a nice home on my kitchen counter. Until then, it's not so easy to drag out of the cabinet and I use it as little as possible.

Back to cheez-its. I followed this recipe, but substituted half of the flour for whole wheat flour. The crackers came out great. They were crispy, cheesy, and poofed up quite a bit. I think next time I would not refrigerate as long before rolling, and maybe even roll them thinner to keep them from getting as puffy. Aaron thought they needed more salt, but that's just personal preference.

Source: Home Cooking

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper (optional)
4 TBSP cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
3-4 TBSP water

Directions:
Pulse the flour, salt and pepper, then add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add grated cheese a little at a time until the mixture again resembles coarse meal.

Pulse in 3 to 4 tablespoons of water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms into a ball. It will probably take a minute or so. (I ended up using 3 TBSP)

Remove, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours. I left mine overnight. This way the butter has time to solidify and I think makes for puffier crackers.

Roll the dough out to 1/8th-inch thickness directly onto a baking sheet. You don't want to roll them paper thin, neither do you want to roll them too thick. If they are too thin, they will not puff up as much. If they are too thick, they will not be as crispy.

Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut 1 inch squares. Or, if you're like me and know the chances of making mini roll-out sugar cookies is pretty slim, use your cutters here! I made little spring crackers of bunnies, chicks and tulips.

Bake at 350° F for 15-20 minutes or until crackers are golden brown. Watch them after the 10 minute mark.

One-Ingredient Ice Cream

2010-02-26T10:02:00.003-05:00

This just might be the most genius dessert ever - ice cream made from bananas. That's it - just bananas! You won't even need an ice cream maker. I tried it out this week and it's pretty good! Sure, it's not Cold Stone, but it is tasty and healthy at the same time. I was a bit worried when I started the food processor. It sounded like I was processing rocks, but it finally smoothed out into the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.

This would also be a great alternative for anyone who can't/doesn't eat dairy. And you can use up the bananas that always seem to get too ripe too fast.

I mixed a little chocolate syrup in mine, so technically I made two-ingredient ice cream. I'll be trying peanut butter next time.

I'm wondering - can you make this ahead and freeze? If you've tried that, leave me a comment and let me know. Also give me your mix-in ideas.

Source: The Kitchn

Ingredients:
Ripe Bananas

Directions:
Peel & slice the bananas into small pieces.

Freeze for just 1-2 hours (I did overnight).

Blend, blend, blend - scraping down the bowl when they stick.

Thai Chicken Wraps

2010-02-17T13:01:00.006-05:00

Wraps are a popular dinner in our house. We have two regulars: Chicken Caesar and Southwest Chicken. Now we have a third - Thai Chicken. I recently had a really good Thai wrap for lunch and wanted to find something similar to make at home. While this recipe was very good, I am still on a hunt for a different sauce. The sauce I had ordered was much lighter in color and very spicy. I know how to fix the spice level, but not sure what was in, or not in, the sauce to make it much lighter. I'm guessing no soy sauce? Either way - these wraps are super easy to make and taste great!

Source: Adapted from Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
3 (6-ounce) chicken breasts
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I use Lite)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup julienned carrots
1/2 cup julienned cucumber

Sauce:
1/4 cup room temperature chunky peanut butter, soften in microwave if it has been refrigerated
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 (12-inch) flour tortilla wraps

Directions:
Heat a grill pan over high heat. Toss chicken with soy and oil and grill 6 minutes on each side.

Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar and cayenne together. Stream in vegetable oil.

Slice cooked chicken on an angle. Toss with carrots and cucumber.

In a very hot nonstick skillet or over a gas burner heat tortillas 15 seconds on each side.

Pile chicken, rice and veggies in wraps and drizzle liberally with spicy peanut sauce before wrapping and rolling.

Chicken & Basil Dumplings

2010-02-03T20:12:00.006-05:00

Now that I'm back to work, my evenings are pretty hectic. It seems like a rush to try and get everything done before Caitlin needs to go to bed at 8pm. That includes dinner and cleanup, and packing leftovers for lunches. Not to mention all of the cleanup of bottles and clothes, and re-packing for the next day. Basically, I've worked 6 days now and am already not liking this new schedule. Luckily I am taking Wednesdays off as a vacation day for a while, but still need to get things more manageable because those days are limited.

To save some time, I'm trying to use my crockpot more. It's great in the winter to make a big pot of soup and have dinner ready to go without much effort. I found this recipe for Chicken and Dumplings and although it was meant to be made on the stovetop in about an hour, I used the crockpot instead. Check out the source link for the original recipe. I have adapted the ingredients and directions below to the way I prepared the recipe.

This was one of my favorite soups I have ever made. It's healthy, hearty, and you probably have all of the ingredients to make this already. The broth is thick and has a rich chicken flavor. The dumplings were the best part, though. With the garlic, basil, and butter, they weren't at all bland. We'll definitely be making this again. Next time I might add in some peas.

Source: Adapted from For the Love of Cooking

Soup Ingredients:
1 chopped onion
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 cups of chicken broth (I used about a quart of water and extra chicken bouillon)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I put in frozen to start)
1 tsp dried basil
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 1/2 Tablespoons chicken bouillon

Soup Directions:
Put all ingredients above into slow cooker and cook on low heat for 6 hours.

Dumplings:
1 1/4 cups of flour
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Combine the flour with basil, garlic powder, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. But in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine buttermilk and egg, stirring with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined.

Remaining Ingredients:
1/4 cup of cornstarch
1/4 cup of chicken broth (I just dipped some out of the crockpot to mix)
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred with 2 forks. Add the chicken back into the slow cooker. Combine the cornstarch with the chicken broth and mix thoroughly to make a slurry. Add slurry to the soup.

Dumpling Directions:
Drop dumpling dough, 1-2 tsp per dumpling, into the chicken soup. Cover and continue to cook on low for another hour and a half - two hours. Add the chopped parsley to the soup and serve.

Chocolate Wave Zucchini Bread

2010-01-12T14:35:00.000-05:00

Trying to make use of all of our summer zucchini in the freezer, I decided today was a good day to make bread. I found this pretty-looking bread on allrecipes.com and gave it a go. It turned out great, especially the extra sweet, chocolatey top layer. Instead of walnuts, I substituted some chopped pecans I had in the pantry. In addition, I threw in an overripe banana and a handful of white chocolate chips.

A tip I read in the reviews - before mixing in the chocolate in a separate bowl, just pour half the batter directly into your bread pan, then mix in your chocolate in the remaining batter in the bowl. Saves a bowl to clean!

Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1/3 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar together. Mix in eggs. Add zucchini, water, and vanilla; stir. Blend in flour, baking soda, salt , baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in nuts.

Divide batter in half, and add cocoa powder and chocolate chips to one of the halves. Pour plain batter into bottom of the loaf pan. Pour chocolate batter on top of plain batter.

Bake until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes, and remove from pan. Store in refrigerator.

Black Bean Burgers

2010-01-12T10:07:00.004-05:00

It's not often I watch the Food Network anymore, but I did catch this burger on an episode of Big Daddy's House the other weekend. I've had black bean burgers from a box in the frozen aisle of the grocery, but have never made my own, so it was time to try it out.

We both really liked how this came out. The outside of the burger was a little bit crispy and the inside stayed soft. I will say this is a bit spicy for my taste and I even cut back on some of the spices listed in the recipe. And, like many recipes I make, I failed to include everything listed. This time I forgot the Worcestershire sauce. Instead of the tomato szechuan dressing listed in the recipe, we topped with a slice of cheese, tomato, lettuce, ketchup and mustard. This is a great low-calorie alternative to your normal burger!

Source: Food Network

Ingredients:
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 shallots, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1 egg white, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
Spinach
Sliced roasted red peppers, jarred
Sliced red onion
4 multi-grain rolls
Szechuan Tomato Dressing, recipe follows

Directions:
In a large bowl, finely mash the black beans with a potato masher or your hands. Add the shallots, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, Worcestershire, hot sauce, cilantro, egg white, flour, salt and pepper. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Form into 4 patties and arrange on a platter.

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the oil. Sear patties for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until they have a nice crust. Remove the patties to a paper towel lined platter. Assemble the sandwiches with a patty, some spinach, roasted red peppers and red onion on the multi-grain rolls. Top with a good drizzle of Szechuan Tomato Dressing and serve.

Szechuan Tomato Dressing:

1/4 cup Szechuan sauce
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a small bowl, add the Szechuan sauce, tomatoes and cilantro. Whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Use as a dressing for the black bean sandwiches.

Cinnamon Rolls

2009-12-26T07:10:00.000-05:00

Following Christmas tradition, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast! I tried a new recipe this year. Not that there was anything wrong with the recipe I used last year, but I just like trying new recipes.

I thought the rolls were going to have a problem rising as I was making them because the yeast didn't seem to do much in the milk. Maybe the milk was too hot? But by the time they were finished, you can see they did rise just fine. I think they may have been a little less light and chewy than last year, but then again - that was a whole year ago. Do I really remember enough to compare? I was going to cheat and use canned cream cheese frosting, but changed my mind at the last minute and mixed up the frosting myself. Good choice. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Source: Sweet Cakes

Ingredients:

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm milk and then add eggs, butter, salt, and sugar. Add flour and mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars

2009-12-04T09:40:00.000-05:00

Another pumpkin treat for you here. I don't really care for snickerdoodles, so this isn't something I would usually choose to make. But, the photo on Beantown Baker's blog of these bars looked so good, I made an exception. They turned out to be one of the best pumpkin recipes I have tried this year. Just nevermind how much butter is in them!

The cookie layer is a bit thick and Jen mentioned pre-baking that layer by itself first. I was rushed for time, so I followed the recipe as listed. They are still great, but I agree with Jen and will try pre-baking the cookie layer next time.

I'll definitely make these again next year! It's a nice change from the regular pumpkin recipes.

And...totally unrelated, but as these were baking, I caught this sleepy smile on camera. Maybe it was from the sweet smell coming from the kitchen.

Source: Beantown Baker

Ingredients:

Snickerdoodle Layer
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Pie Layer
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

Topping
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Drizzle
1 oz white chocolate, chopped
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan and lay a piece of parchment paper across the pan, so that it extends the pan slightly. The parchment paper is an optional step, but it will make it easier to get the bars out later.

To make snickerdoodle layer:
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

To make pumpkin pie filling:
In a mixer bowl (you can use the same one you used to make the snickerdoodle batter) with a paddle attachment, mix together butter and sugar. A dd the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined. This layer will be less thick and more pourable. Pour over the snickerdoodle layer, smoothing out the top.

Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake for 33-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely. They will deflate a bit and remain a bit pie-like on the top layer. The bars that are closer to the edges of the pan will be more firm.

After the bars are completely cool, place the chopped white chocolate into a bowl or zip-lock bag and melt on low power. When it's completely melted, add the pumpkin pie spice and mix (or knead if using a zip lock bag). Use a spoon or cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the bars and let it cool and harden.

Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into bars. Store in a covered container.

Chicken Brunswick Stew

2009-12-02T09:45:00.000-05:00

I've seen a recipe for Chicken Brunswick Stew a few times and have been wanting to try it. I've never eaten this before, so I can't say how it compares to other recipes, but we liked it! It has a very different flavor than most soups or stews I've made. It's really tangy and has a BBQ taste - maybe too much. We'll definitely be making this again, but I think I'll try a different recipe, or modify this one to use less chili sauce and Worcestershire sauce. I also thought it was too soupy to serve over rice, so I transferred it to the stove top and let it simmer a bit to thicken up. I also chopped up 2 small potatoes and let those cook as it simmered to soak up some of the liquid.

Source: Southern Living

Ingredients:
2 large onions, chopped
6 skinned and boned chicken breast halves
2 (15-ounce) cans cream-style corn
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (12-ounce) bottle chili sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup butter or margarine, cut up
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon pepper sauce

Directions:
Place onion in a 4-quart slow cooker; place chicken over onion. Add corn and remaining ingredients.

Cook, covered, at HIGH 4 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken; shred and return to stew.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Blondies

2009-11-28T15:30:00.001-05:00

These blondies are possibly my favorite recipe I've made this season. They are soft and cake-like with lots of pumpkin flavor. The white chocolate chips and butterscotch chips make them extra yummy and should not be left out! I baked the bars for 35 minutes and made the mistake of not doing the toothpick test to check for doneness. I would consider these slightly under-baked as you can see in the photo, but I prefer that to being over-baked, so I was still happy with the result.

Source: Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups granulated sugar (or brown sugar)
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
½ cup chopped, toasted nuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree. With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips (and nuts, if using) with a rubber spatula.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.

To serve, lift the cake from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Peel off the foil and using a sharp knife, cut into 24 squares.

Black Bean & Corn Dip

2009-11-27T13:14:00.002-05:00

Next time you need a quick appetizer or side for a mexican meal - try this! It's simple and quick to throw together and the corn, spices, and green chiles add great flavor. I'd make this again with some hotter peppers to kick it up a bit.

Source: Delish

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
15 oz. can black beans, drained
1/2 cup corn kernels, removed from the cob
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp diced green chiles
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese with Jalapenos, or more as desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Add oil to skillet over medium heat. Saute onions. Add garlic, green chiles, cumin, chili powder and saute for 2-3 minutes until garlic is fragrent. Add black beans and saute another 3-4 minutes. Using a potato masher, coarsley mash the beans (I prefer only about half to be mashed for consistency). Add corn, saute another 2-3 minutes. Transfer skillet contents to a baking dish. Top with shredded cheese and back at 375°F for 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

Pumpkin Cream Cupcakes

2009-11-18T10:16:00.007-05:00

Hello? Anyone still with me? I realize it has been months since I've posted an update, but I'm back now. I've had my baby girl - here she is - Caitlin Elise!

I'm still cooking, but not so good at photographing & posting what I'm making on my blog. I'll try harder to post more regularly. I've been reading other blogs all along, so I have been saving recipes to try and I'll admit, most of them are sweets.

No time to waste now. On with the post, before Caitlin wakes up!

I made some pumpkin cookies and brownies not long ago and had some leftover pumpkin to use. I needed a recipe that called for 1 cup of pumpkin. I chose these cupcakes and they turned out great. I threw in a really ripe banana, too - just because we had it and I didn't want to throw it away. The cupcakes are really soft and moist, not overly pumpkin-y, and they don't need frosting (yay, saved me more time).

Source: My Baking Heart

Ingredients:
1 pkg spiced cake mix
1 pkg (3.4 oz) jello vanilla instant pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar (or 2 tbsp Splenda for Baking)
1 egg

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cake batter as directed on package. Add dry pudding mix and pumpkin; mix well. Spoon batter into 24 paper-lined muffin cups.

Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in sugar and egg; spoon over batter. Swirl gently with small spoon.

Bake 18-21 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool before serving.

Mexican-Style Chicken with Penne

2009-08-31T08:47:00.003-04:00

You're probably thinking it's about time I make something other than a dessert! (Don't worry, I do have more desserts planned - but it seems like our dinners have all been repeats or nothing worth blogging lately.) We tried this recipe over the weekend and it turned out really great. It was quick to put together and had nice flavors full of fresh tomatoes, spiciness from the peppers, and a little bit of gooey cheesy goodness.

I made a few adjustments: used boneless/skinless chicken breasts, added a seeded jalapeno, hot banana, and sweet lipstick pepper, and completely forgot the corn (I always forget something!). We both really liked this recipe a lot. It was a bit spicy for me, but I was trying to make good use of our peppers so they didn't go to waste. The tomatoes and garlic also came from our garrden and I like to think the flavor was better than store-bought :) This recipe makes quite a bit and would be good for a crowd or just to have leftovers the next day.

Source: Food & Wine

Ingredients:
3/4 pound penne rigate
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch dice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 large garlic clove, minced
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 large chipotle in adobo sauce, seeded and minced, plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/4 pound queso blanco or mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (1 1/3 cups)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook until al dente. Drain the penne.

Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add it to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until the onion is softened and the chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, chipotle and adobo sauce and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the corn, season with salt and pepper and cook until the corn is heated through, about 1 minute.

Add the penne and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the sauce and toss to coat. Add 1 cup of the queso blanco and toss. Transfer the pasta to bowls, sprinkle with the remaining queso blanco and the cilantro and serve.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

2009-08-29T11:58:00.003-04:00

Not being a fan of chocolate covered strawberries, I was happy to find these CHEESECAKE stuffed strawberries on The Novice Chef. You only need a few ingredients to put these together and they turn out to be quite impressive. Try them - you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:
2 quarts of fresh Strawberries
1 box Jello No Bake Cheesecake (I used this box mix and it came with the graham cracker crumbs. This was good, but next time I think I'd try making my own filling - just to compare.)
Crushed Graham Crackers
Milk Chocolate for drizzling (I also used white chocolate because I had some)

Directions:
Wash the berries and hollow out the centers. I used a small paring knife for this. Mix the cheesecake according to the directions. Put the cheesecake in a piping bag and fill each strawberry until slightly overfilled. Then, place the graham cracker crumbs into a bowl and dip each strawberry into the crumbs to coat the top. Melt the chocolate in the microwave (I used just 1 block of the bark type chocolate from Kroger) in 30 second increments stirring between. Again, transfer to a piping bag with a narrow tip and drizzle onto each berry. Refrigerate until you're ready to eat!

Thomas the Train Cake

2009-08-26T10:43:00.004-04:00

My latest cake this month was for a Thomas the Train themed birthday party for our friends' son Sebastian - turning 5! Done in all buttercream with fondant railroad tracks. This is an easy design that was inspired by several cakes on cakecentral.com

Soccer Cake

2009-08-20T11:44:00.002-04:00

The second birthday cake last weekend was for a soccer player turning 7. I have never made a ball-shaped cake, so I was a little worried it might end up not quite looking like a ball, but it was surprisingly very easy and took little time to put together. I used the wilton soccer pan and found a template online for cutting out the white/black fondant shapes to piece over the ball. The stitches were made using a toothpick. I think it turned out pretty good and I'm ready to make another one of these!

The ball pan can be used to make cakes other than sports balls - check out some of the fun ideas from Wilton.

Ladybugs & Flowers

2009-08-20T10:38:00.003-04:00

Another round of birthdays...another round of cakes! My next few posts are just some pictures of a few birthday cakes I've been making this month. Last weekend I made 2 cakes, one of which was this ladybug & flower cake for a 2 year old birthday! This was fun to make and I always like making girly cakes. The cakes are iced in buttercream and decorated using gumpaste.

Corn & Zucchini Pizza with Lime & Cilantro and White Garlic Sauce

2009-08-10T19:43:00.005-04:00

The name is a bit misleading because I modified somewhat, but that's the name of the pizza that inspired this creation. After seeing this pizza on This Week's Menu Blog, I knew it would be another good way to use up some zucchini.

I'm not sure if I've ever had pizza without any kind of sauce, and I figured no sauce AND no meat would be pushing the limits with Aaron, so I needed sauce. I decided to try a white garlic sauce, which I've had when we've had pizza out, but never made myself at home. More about the sauce below...

Ingredients:
1 pizza crust (I used a frozen pizza dough)
1.5 cups mozzarella cheese
3 oz. feta cheese

sliced and/or chopped vegetables:
onions
zucchini
ear of sweet corn, removed from cob
bell peppers
cherry tomatoes, halved

...and whatever else you have or like!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread the crust out and bake it on the pizza stone sprinkled with corn meal at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Then, spread a thin layer of the garlic sauce, half of the mozzarella cheese and the veggies. Sprinkle feta cheese and the rest of the mozzarella on top and bake for 10-15 minutes longer.

After baking, the pizza is topped with cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice. We both really liked this pizza - the vegetables were crunchy and flavorful, especially the fresh sweet corn. It was a perfect summer dinner!

White Garlic Pizza Sauce
I looked at a few recipes to get an idea of where to start and ended up with this sauce...very garlicy & very good. The following can be adjusted to your taste as I didn't measure everything as I went.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Olive Oil
3-4 tbsp Flour
milk (I used 1% milk and did not measure the amount)
salt
minced garlic
red pepper flakes

Directions:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan with the olive oil. Once melted, whisk in the flour until smooth. Cook for a minute, then begin adding the milk, a little at a time, whisking as you go. I used probably 1-2 cups total. You can adjust to get the consistency of sauce you are looking for. Once the sauce is smooth, it's time to season it up. I added a heaping small spoonful of minced garlic, along with 2-3 spoonfuls of the garlic juice (is it called garlic juice?). Add salt to taste and a pinch of red pepper flakes. I had enough sauce to make 2 large pizzas, so next time I would only make half this amount.

Zucchini Spice Cupcakes

2009-08-10T07:59:00.004-04:00

Overgrown zucchini were taking over our kitchen counter. We've been eating zucchini on the grill, zucchini in spaghetti sauce, stuffed zucchini, zucchini fritters and roasted zucchini, but I figured it was time for something sweet. Sure, I could make more zucchini bread, but we already have some of that in the freezer and I was ready to try a new recipe. I found this cupcake recipe on Erin's food Files Blog and comes from Martha Stewart Cupcakes. I loved that I didn't even have to pull out the mixer for this (except for the frosting). Everything was easily combined with a wire whisk. They are moist (I threw in a browning banana we had, too), fluffy and the cream cheese frosting makes them irresistable.

Source: Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Ingredients:
Yields: 24 cupcakes

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 cups packed light brown sugar
3 cups packed grated zucchini
1 cup walnuts (about 3 ounces), toasted and coarsely chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. In another bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, vanilla, and zest until well blended; whisk in brown sugar until smooth. Stir in zucchini, then add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in walnuts.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Now for the Cream Cheese Frosting:
You must make this frosting to go with these cupcakes! The recipe does make quite a bit. I even used 16 oz. of cream cheese because I bought 2 blocks and I knew I would never use the other 4 oz. for something else, so why not mix it in? Unless you want to pipe a mountain of frosting on each cupcake (I piped a decent swirl on the tops and still have plenty of frosting to spare), I think 1/2 batch would do just fine.

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and then vanilla, and mix until smooth and combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. If not using immediately, frosting can be refrigerated up to 3 days in an airtight container; before using bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again.

Mexican Pizza

2009-07-28T08:19:00.002-04:00

Just another variation on our favorite Mexican dinners - pizzas! These are very filling and fun to make. You could modify this recipe different ways to suit your taste. I went for the semi-healthy, semi-spicy version by baking the tortillas instead of frying them, using fat-free beans, skipping the sour cream (ok, I really just forgot it), and adding hot peppers to the meat and the tomatoes - jalapenos, hot banana and another green chile - a Big Jim maybe?

Source: Adapted from Cooking This and That

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef (I brown the meat with chopped onion and a hot pepper)
taco seasoning (My seasoning was made of a combination of cumin, chili powder, pinch of salt, and a spoon of minced garlic)
1/4 cup water
4 flour tortillas (10 inch)
cooking spray
2 tbsp chopped green onions
1/2 can (8 ounces) refried beans
1 cup diced tomatoes (I made pico de gallo for extra flavor - tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, cilantro, lemon juice and salt)
1/2 cup taco sauce (I used homemade enchilada sauce)
1 cup shredded cheese
sliced black olives, optional

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook the ground beef until brown, drain. Return to the heat and add the onion & pepper, taco seasoning and water. Continue to cook for several minutes, until cooked through, stirring often.

Spray both sides of each tortilla with cooking spray and place directly on the middle rack of your oven. Bake for about 6 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden brown and crispy. Watch carefully so they do not burn. Remove to a baking sheet.

Microwave the refried beans for 30-60 seconds, or until spreadable.

Lay 2 tortillas out on a baking sheet; top each with a spoonful of the beans, ground beef, and 1/4 cup cheese. Top with another tortilla and lightly press down.

Top the second tortillas each with 1/4 cup taco sauce. Layer with diced tomatoes, cheese, green onions and a few black olives.

Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into wedges and top with sour cream and/or salsa if desired.

Jalapeno Corn Muffins

2009-07-28T08:08:00.003-04:00

This is one of my favorite things to make to go with pretty much any Mexican style dinner. Normally I would see this long list of ingredients and skip right over the recipe, but most of the items you probably already have. I make one batch (12 muffins) and freeze the leftovers for the next time. It's a quick side - just microwave the frozen muffin for a few seconds (maybe 30?) and it's just like fresh baked. The muffins aren't really spicy (but you could make them as spicy as you like), and still have good flavor and texture between all of the the cheese, jalapeno, corn and honey. They are really soft and would be great with chili!

Source: Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup finely chopped onions
1 cup fresh corn kernels
Pinch salt plus 3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/3 cup shredded Cheddar
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon minced green jalapeno, seeds and stem removed
1 tablespoon minced red jalapeno, seeds and stem removed
3 tablespoons honey

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small saute pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the fresh corn and a pinch of salt and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, cayenne pepper, and cheese. In a second bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, jalapenos, and honey. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Stir in the cooled onions and corn.

Spoon the batter into lightly greased, regular size muffin tins, filling 3/4 of the way full. Bake muffins for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from muffin tins and cool on wire rack. Serve warm.

Yield: 12 muffins

Double Chocolate Brownie Cake

2009-07-25T16:37:00.005-04:00

Today I was in the mood to bake something, but didn't want to go out in the rain to run to the store for anything. I have a good baking stash in the pantry, but decided on this Double Chocolate Brownie Cake that calls for very few ingredients. It's a simple doctored cake mix and turns out really dense, moist, and chocolately. Since the cake itself is fairly rich, I just dusted powdered sugar on top instead of making a glaze or frosting of some kind. Yum!

Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Have all ingredients at room temperature.

In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in eggs, sour cream, oil and water. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Cupcake Burgers & Fries

2009-07-20T09:56:00.003-04:00

Here's a fun treat for your next BBQ. I saw these cupcakes on several blogs this summer and decided I needed to make them. I went the easy route and used box mixes for the cake and brownies and used canned icing.

I made the cupcakes mini sized and used one of the big wilton tips as a cutter for the brownies to fit just right on the cupcake.

You'll need:

1 box yellow cake mix made 50-52 mini cupcakes. I used liners for the cupcakes. Next time I would be more careful about how much batter went into each one because the ones that overflowed the top didn't have matching top/bottom bun sizes.

1 box brownie mix baked in a 9x13 pan was plenty for 50 cupcakes.

1 can of white icing - color some red, some yellow and some green.

sesame seeds (optional)

To assemble the burgers, start by cutting the cupcakes in half. Then top with a brownie burger, pipe some red, green, and yellow icing on top. Brush the top bun with a little bit of water and spinkle sesame seeds on top.

The burgers were fun to make and not too time consuming, but the fries were a different story for me. I bought refrigerated sugar cookie dough and rolled it out and cut it into strips using a pizza cutter. The idea was to peel away every other fry and place it on another cookie sheet so when it baked, it had room to spread.

Well...after rolling/cutting, the dough was pretty warm, so I popped it in the fridge for a while, but apparently not long enough. The dough was way too soft to be able to lift/move each individual fry. It was a long process to try and get the fries to keep their shape...and in the end, they didn't. They spread too much on the pan and didn't look much like fries. Oh well, they tasted fine and right after baking I threw them in a brown paper bag with some granulated sugar to look like salted fries.

Stuffed Jalapeños

2009-07-12T10:57:00.004-04:00

I had these stuffed jalapeños at a party recently and they were great - not too spicy. I knew I'd want to make them myself with jalapeños from our garden, so I did!

To take some of the heat out of the peppers, I seeded them all the day before and soaked them in milk overnight. It's the first time I tried that trick and I can't really say how much it helped, since I couldn't compare the before pepper to the pepper that was soaked. However, most of the peppers were mild enough that I didn't need a drink immediately after eating one. After reading the reviews, I also added a big spoonful of crushed pineapple to the cream cheese. I also used turkey bacon and 1/3 less fat cream cheese to cut out a lot of the fat.

Instead of cutting each pepper in 1/2, I cut a "T" shape into the pepper. I cut a line down the length of the pepper, and a smaller cut across the top below the stem, just big enough to be able to get the seeds out.

Source: Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
12 fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 (8 ounce) package whipped cream cheese
12 slices bacon, cut in half

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Stuff each jalapeno half with whipped cream cheese. Wrap a half slice of bacon around each stuffed jalapeno half.
Arrange wrapped jalapeno halves in a single layer on a medium baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven 45 minutes, or until bacon is evenly browned and crisp.

Chile-Beef Stuffed Zucchini

2009-06-26T08:48:00.004-04:00

After seeing this recipe on Sweet Tea In Texas's blog, I starred it because
I knew I wanted to plant zucchini in the garden this year and would need some different ideas to use it. I'm shocked, but we are starting to get zucchini already! I picked the first one last night and made this recipe for a quick dinner. I also picked 2 small red tomatoes and used those as well.

Instead of the 1/2 cup jarred jalapenos that the recipe calls for, I picked a hot pepper from our garden. I forgot to check which plant it was from. We have THAT many different kinds of hot peppers, but I do have a garden key I created so I can look them up if I remember where I got it.

Overall I liked this recipe a lot, but I also made changes and it turned out a little dry - nothing a little fat free sour cream couldn't fix! Some of my changes were to add chili powder and a little bit of jarred salsa to help with the dryness (I should have used even more).

Source: Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
2 Zucchini (halved lengthwise & seeded)
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 pound ground beef
1 tsp cumin
salt & pepper
1 tomato, seeded & chopped
1/2 Cup jarred pickled jalapenos
1 bag of Mexican style shredded cheese.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450°. Arrange the zucchini cut side up in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Add 1/2 cup water to the dish, cover with foil and bake until the zucchini begins to soften, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the beef and cumin and cook, breaking the meat up, until just browned, about 4 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes and pickled jalapeños

Uncover the baking dish, pour off the water and season the zucchini with salt. Fill with the beef mixture and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake, uncovered, until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

Chicken Florentine Pasta

2009-06-16T09:26:00.002-04:00

Last night for dinner we had this baked pasta dish and it turned out really good! We don't eat much pasta, but I love it, so I was happy to get this one into the dinner plans this week. I followed the recipe below almost exactly, my changes are noted - I also sauteed some sliced mushrooms and threw those in. This made quite a lot of food! Really any veggies you like would be a great addition. I would make this again using broccoli and/or bell peppers.

Source: Cooking This and That

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
12 ounces farfalle pasta (I had 1/2 box of shells to use up, so we used those)
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of basil, oregano, parsley
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used 2 chicken breasts)
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
kosher salt and coarse ground pepper, to taste
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup oil packed sun dried tomatoes, drained and chopped (I forgot to get this, so I just chopped a fresh tomato)
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray. (Or, use this method to make two separate dishes.)

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and cook pasta as directed, to al dente. Drain and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-heat. Add the onions and cook 3-4 minutes until translucent. Add the chicken and herbs and red pepper flakes and cook until heated through. Remove from heat, set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. Stir in the chicken mixture, Monterey Jack cheese, artichokes, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, half of the Parmesan, and cooked pasta.

Transfer to prepared baking dish(es). Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes. In small bowl, combine remaining Parmesan, bread crumbs, paprika, and melted butter. Sprinkle mixture over pasta and continue baking, uncovered, 10 minutes more or until golden.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

2009-06-09T07:02:00.005-04:00

Who doesn't love peanut butter and jelly? I've wanted to make these cookie bars for a while, and I am glad I finally did. But, get the milk ready - these are very stick-to-your-mouth, can't-talk-for-5-minutes, peanut buttery!

Overall I liked the recipe and would make them again, but with changes. I thought there was about twice as much peanut butter cookie dough as needed. As I pressed the dough into the 9x13, I was thinking these are going to be really thick cookie bars. So, I pressed about half of the dough into a 9x13 and then got out a muffin pan and easily made another 12 pb&j muffin bars. The only other change I would make is to use more jelly. Again, because I thought the cookie itself was more dry/hard to eat and extra jelly might have helped with that.

Source: Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups strawberry jam, or other flavor
2/3 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with butter, and line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment, and coat inside of pan with flour; set aside. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. On medium speed, add eggs and peanut butter; beat until combined, about 2 minutes.

Whisk together salt, baking powder, and flour. Add to bowl of mixer on low speed; combine. Add vanilla. Transfer two-thirds of mixture to prepared pan; spread evenly with offset spatula. Using offset spatula, spread jam on top of peanut-butter mixture. Dollop remaining third of peanut-butter mixture on top of jam. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Bake until golden, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool; cut into about thirty-six 1 1/2-by-2-inch pieces.

Beach Bread

2009-05-30T19:06:00.002-04:00

We just returned from a great trip to the Gulf Coast of Florida. I miss the beach and ocean already! While we were there, we ate lunch at Sharky's one day in Venice. As we were waiting for our food, we saw the waitress carry a plate of bread past us that looked so good! It was covered in melted cheese and diced tomatoes. We didn't order it, we didn't need that much food, but I did look it up on the menu and figured out that it was Beach Bread. I made sure to remember it so I could look it up and make it at home! Wasting no time, we had some with dinner this week. I found this recipe online, and since we didn't actually taste it in Florida, I can't say how similar the taste was, but I really liked it!

Make sure you toast the bread under the broiler on both sides before moving on to the dressing, tomatoes and cheese. I buttered the bread, sprinkled a little garlic powder on, then broiled until a little brown. Then added the dressing, tomatoes, and threw in some chopped green onion. For the cheese, I just used a mix of a few kinds we had left - mozzarella, cheddar, and Monterrey jack.

Source: Recipezaar

Ingredients
1 loaf French bread or Italian bread
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup blue cheese dressing
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups diced tomatoes (1 large tomato)

Directions
Slice the bread in half lengthwise

Butter lightly and put under broiler (If watching calories skip the butter) toast lightly.

Spread the blue cheese dressing equally over both halves.

Top with grated cheese and diced tomatoes.

Place under broiler until cheese melted

(Optional Ingredients: Garlic powder, diced onion, mushrooms, chicken, pepperoni or mix cheeses to taste. Original is great, so give it a try first).

Blueberry Pizza

2009-05-10T09:50:00.002-04:00

This weekend we were going to a bbq and I wanted to make something to use blueberries again. Surprisingly, I'm not sick of blueberies yet! Hopefully you're not tired of reading blueberry recipes here, either. I found this recipe for a blueberry pizza that sounded pretty good. It is similar to some of the fruit pizza recipes I've had, but the crust was very different.

Source: About.com

Blueberry Banana Bread

2009-05-03T17:50:00.005-04:00

The overripe bananas are begining to take over my inside freezer. Today I had to do something about that. It's been a while since I've baked something for home, so banana bread sounded pretty good. I've seen a few recipes lately that also have blueberries and/or coconut in the banana bread, so I'm trying this Paula Deen recipe, with the addition of both! This recipe makes 2 loaves.

I ended up baking this for about 1 hour and 20 minutes because it was still gooey in the middle, but you can tell the outside got pretty dark. Despite baking it for an extra 20 minutes, it was still moist on the inside. I really liked the addition of coconut in this bread and will definitely add it again the next time.

Source: Adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups ripe, mashed, bananas
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup coconut
1 tsp. coconut extract (I only added this because I bought it for the coconut cake, and really...when else am I going to use it?)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans.

In a medium bowl and with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring well. Add bananas and pecans, stirring just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 1 hour, or until a tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans, and allow to cool completely on wire racks.

Coconut Cream Cake

2009-04-29T10:44:00.002-04:00

If you like coconut, this one is for you! It came out light and moist, with just the right amount of coconut flavor. The whipped topping was creamy and fluffy and with a bite of strawberry, was the best part to me.

The shortcut of using a boxed mix, with a little doctoring, makes this super simple to put together, but still homemade and great-tasting. Instead of a 9x13 cake, I wanted to make a 3-layer cake. One box mix will get you 2, 8-inch layers. I doubled the recipe and made 4, 8-inch rounds (knowing that at least one would probably fall apart and you have to have one to taste test, right?). I also made extra whipped topping (used 3 cups of heavy cream) since I had layers to fill and then frost the whole outside, too.

I made one other change after reading the reviews. It was recommended several times to only use 1/2 the amount of coconut cream and sweetened condensed milk to soak into the cake. I didn't want it to end up soggy, and I needed to be able to pick up the layers without them crumbling to pieces, so I followed that advice. It still turned out moist and flavorful on the inside, so I would stick to that amount the next time, too.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
3 eggs (I only used egg whites)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1 (14 ounce) can coconut cream
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup flaked coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs, oil, water and coconut flavoring. Beat for 2 minutes and pour into 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

In a medium bowl, combine coconut cream with sweetened condensed milk and stir until smooth. When cake comes out of the oven, poke holes into it in even rows using a large fork or chopsticks. Pour milk mixture over, allowing it to soak into the cake. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

In a large bowl, whisk cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue whipping until stiff. Spread over cooled cake. Sprinkle top with flaked coconut.

Super Sloppy Joes

2009-04-29T10:17:00.003-04:00

Aimee, my cousin, highly recommended this recipe for sloppy joes and not wanting to miss out, I decided to try it. This recipe calls for a chopped red bell pepper, which is great because we still have plenty in the freezer from the garden last year. The flavor of the pepper really stood out and was different than the sloppy joes we usually eat, which have more of a bbq taste and not as prominent as the tomato flavor in this recipe.

I've only made homemade sloppy joes once before. Ours usually come from a can. You know the song..."You don't have to be a man to love Manwich. You don't have to be a witch either, it's true." Be glad there is no audio here and you don't have to listen to me sing that!

Source: Rachael Ray

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and lightly buttered

Directions
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops.

Cupcakes for my Baby

2009-04-22T08:57:00.004-04:00

I know some of you have noticed my cooking & blogging has practically come to a screeching halt the last couple of months. I just haven't had much of an appetite or felt like cooking anything new. Bloggy friends - that's because we're having a baby! We're really excited to have this new addition, due to arrive October 30th. I'm into my 4th month now and starting to feel good again, so I'm back to blogging.

To make this food related, I'll share these cupcakes I made and brought in to announce to my coworkers. Nothing too fancy here. I made a box mix of chocolate cake topped with chocolate buttercream and strawberry cake topped with lemon buttercream. Then, each cupcake was topped with a daisy and a baby item - either a bottle, diaper pin or pacifier in pink or blue, all made from fondant.

California Chicken Salad

2009-04-22T08:21:00.004-04:00

After seeing this salad on Stephanie's blog, Macaroni and Cheesecake, I starred it right away and added it to our menu for this week. It was great for a light dinner and super fast to throw together. It's funny that I wanted to make this because normally I am not a fan of fruit in my salad, or a fan or avocados. But, in the past year, I think I am starting to like avocados a lot more and decided to just give the fruit a chance.

I used a pre-packaged bag of salad mix and was able to get 3 salads out of this recipe (yay, leftovers for lunch!). I used 2 chicken breasts, pounded thin and then seasoned with blackened seasoning. I really liked the variety of flavors in the salad. The sweet strawberries, slightly tart mango (I think it was a bit under-ripe actually), and the creamy avocado came together very nicely mixed with the greens.

Taking Stephanie's lead, I made the same balsamic poppy seed dressing she used. Again, something I would not normally choose because I don't really care for balsamic vinegar. But, I went with it because I do like the other ingredients and have never had a poppy seed dressing before. It turned out just fine - but I personally did not care for it, solely based on the balsamic vinegar flavor. But if you like the flavor, it's great and I'd recommend it!

Even Trixie was scoping it out, hoping to get a taste of the chicken.

Source: Adapted from Jillian Michael's Making the Cut

Ingredients:
4-5 cups mixed salad greens
5 large strawberries, sliced
1 mango, peeled and sliced
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
2 chicken breasts, grilled & diced

Directions:
In a large bowl, place salad greens, then add all other ingredients. Serve drizzled with the poppy seed dressing below, or the dressing of your choice.

Balsamic Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
Source: Adapted from a post on the CookingLight.com Community

Ingredients:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 tsp. splenda or sugar
1 tbsp. fat free mayo (optional)

Directions:
Whisk together all the ingredients.

Spiderman Cake

2009-04-21T08:10:00.001-04:00

Feels like forever since I've made a cake, but I'm back! My nephew Sean LOVES Spiderman, so it's only fitting that he get a spiderman cake for his birthday. I had a hard time getting the buttercream to be really red. For a double batch of buttercream, I used an entire bottle of the no-taste red, plus some burgundy, plus a little more red. In the end I was happy with the color, but for a while I was really afraid this was going to be the first pink spiderman cake. The longer it sits, the darker it gets.

The cake itself is a white cake that I striped blue by dividing the batter into 2 bowls and dying one bowl blue, and leaving the other white. Then, alternating by a spoonful at a time, I layered the colors into the pan before baking. My circles were not quite concentric as the center seemed to spread all over the place. I think my counters aren't level. But, it all worked out because the cake was frosted, so you couldn't tell. My nephew thought they looked like webs through the cake. That works!

Chicken Enchilada Dip Rollups

2009-04-20T08:54:00.003-04:00

This weekend we went up to visit my family to celebrate a couple of birthdays. We had some really great food for lunch made by my mom and sister, along with these Chicken Enchilada Dip Rollups I brought that I've wanted to try for a while now. They were fantastic! I used a tomato basil wrap we had, but any kind will do. You can adjust the amount of heat you like in these. I made these mild since I knew the kids probably wouldn't eat anything too spicy. These would be perfect game day food - maybe with a jalapeno inside, too!

Lucky for me, Joelen is hosting a foodie film event this month for Mexican inspired recipes, in honor of Cinco de Mayo. These enchilada rolls would be the perfect addition to any Cindo de Mayo party.

Source: Cook Like a Champion

Ingredients:
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced (I used the zester for this. A garlic press would work nicely, as well.)
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
cayenne pepper to taste
salt to taste
1 small, southwest flavored rotisserie chicken, skinned and shredded
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
10-oz. can Rotel tomatoes
1 package jalapeno cheddar tortillas

Directions:
-Mix cheeses together until well blended.
-Add all remaining ingredients and mix well.
-Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
-Place one heaping spoonful onto tortilla.
-Spread to edges using a metal spatula.
-Roll and cut into slices.

Skyline Chili Pizza & Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

2009-04-17T20:46:00.003-04:00

Last year we started making our own Skyline Chili at home in big batches and then freezing to save time and use for a quick dinner. This stuff is good on top of spaghetti, baked potatoes, hot dogs, in tortillas as a wrap/burrito, and yes, on pizza! Shame on me for not dragging out my light box to take this photo.

This post is actually for 2 recipes - the skyline chili pizza and the whole wheat pizza dough. This was my first time using whole wheat flour and now I'm really not sure why I didn't try it sooner. It was great! I'll definitely make it again. We usually make one crust fresh and freeze the second dough for another time.

To help the crust get a little more crispy/not soggy, I spread out the dough onto the pizza stone and bake 5-7 minutes by itself. Then, I take it out, add the chili, cheese and onions.

Pizza Dough Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl combine flour, wheat germ and salt. Make a well in the middle and add honey and yeast mixture. Stir well to combine. Cover and set in a warm place to rise for a few minutes.

Roll dough on a floured pizza pan and poke a few holes in it with a fork.
Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until desired crispiness is achieved.

Source for Skyline Chili Pizza: I think Donato's or Dominoes offered this in our area for a limited time, so we decided we could make this ourselves.

Ingredients:
Skyline Chili (probably about 2 cups for a large pizza)
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 small onion, chopped

Directions:
Make the pizza dough as directed above. Spread the dough onto a pizza stone and bake at 45 for 5-7 minutes.

Remove crust from oven and top with the chili, cheese, and onions and bake for 15-20 minutes longer.

You could also put black olives on this pizza!

Apple Spinach Salad

2009-04-12T19:58:00.003-04:00

In our house, salads are usually pretty boring. Maybe boring isn't the right word, but they are defintely always the same old mundane salads. Romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, whatever other veggies we have, croutons and dressing. Over and over. It gets kind of old and makes it harder to want to eat salad.

Not anymore! We had this salad at a party this past Christmas and Aaron and I both loved it. Unfortunately, it took me this long to make it at home for the first time, but it is my new favorite. I love the tart, crunchy granny smith apples, the sweet raisins, the crunchy toasted almonds (I used almonds, the recipe calls for cashews) and the sweet and tangy dressing on top of the spinach.

Ingredients:
1 6 oz package fresh baby spinach
2 small Granny Smith Apples, chopped
1/2 c. Cashews
1/4 c. Golden Raisins
1/4 c. Sugar
1/4 c. Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 c. Vegetable Oil (I used olive oil)
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt
1/4 tsp. Celery Salt

Directions:
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large salad bowl. Whisk together sugar and next 4 ingredients, until blended. Serve with salad.

You can chill the dressing for up to 1 day. Whisk well before serving.

Weight Watchers Asian Beef & Noodles

2009-04-05T19:39:00.003-04:00

This recipe was posted on a message board not long ago and I thought it might be good. I had some cabbage to use up and I have never used Ramen noodles to make something other than Ramen noodles, so we tried it out. This is the second time I've made it, so obviously we liked it! Since a pack of Ramen is only about 20 cents a pack, you know it's a really cheap meal, too.

The cabbage gives it crunch and the beef & onion flavor are really good. You could make it any flavor you want if you don't like or eat red meat. I plan to try it again with chicken or shrimp flavored ramen and meat. The recipe says this makes 2, 10-point servings. But, I thought 10 points was a lot for one meal, so I divided it up into 3 servings to cut back a bit. So each serving was about 6-7 points, instead.

Source: RecipeZaar

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) rib eye steaks
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil, divided
1 cup sliced green onion (1 inch slices) (I used about 1/2 cup)
2 cups packaged cabbage and carrot coleslaw mix
2 (2 7/8 ounce) packages beef-flavor ramen noodles
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

Directions
Trim fat from steak; cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slice.

Heat 1 Tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.

Add steak and green onions; stir fry 1 minute.

Remove steak mixture from skillet; keep warm.

Heat remaining 1 Tsp oil in skillet over medium high heat.

Add slaw; stir fry for 30 seconds.

Remove slaw from skillet and keep warm.

Remove noodles from packages; reserve 1 seasoning packet for another use.

Add water and remaining seasoning packet to skillet; bring to a boil.

Break noodles in half; add noodles to water mixture.

Cook noodles 2 minutes or until most of liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently.

Stir in steak mixture, slaw, and soy sauce; cook until thoroughly heated.

Blueberry Hand Pies

2009-03-24T16:14:00.005-04:00

Hand pies have been on my to make list since last summer. Our freezer is still stocked with blueberries from last summer, so of course I went for a blueberry filling.

I did just a few things slightly different than the original recipe. I used my food processor to bring the butter and flour mixture together since I don't have a pastry cutter and I didn't want to go the fork route. And, if you're like me, you don't have biscuit cutters, either. But, you might have some of those plastic ziploc storage containers (with the blue or orange screw on lids?). I measured one - it's 4 1/2 inches wide and works great as a cutter. I got 20 pies from this recipe. Instead of sprinkling with sugar, I went for a sweet glaze brushed on after baking.

Before tasting one I had decided that these were fun to make, if you have a lot of time, but I probably wouldn't make them again. The steps were really drawn out (do something, then freeze, do one more thing, the chill again, repeat a few more times) and I am not really that patient! A regular pie would certainly be easier, but these individual pies are really cute.

After tasting one, I've changed my opinion on the long process. It's worth it! The crust is super flakey and puffs up nicely. I thought my filling could have used a bit more sugar, as most of the sweetness came from the glaze. As I spooned the filling onto the dough, I tried to keep any extra liquid out, so that was mostly sugar.

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Makes 14 to 24 (depending on cutter size)

For the pastry:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup sour cream
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup ice water

For the filling:
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (thawed)
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon

One egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons water (for egg wash)

For the Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. To make the pastry, in a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Place the butter in another bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 1 hour. Remove the bowls from the freezer and make a well in the center of the flour. Add the butter to the well and, using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make another well in the center. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add half of this mixture to the well. With your fingertips, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Remove the large lumps and repeat with the remaining liquid and flour-butter mixture. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. If preparing ahead of time, the dough can be stored at this point for up to one month in the freezer.

2. Divide the refrigerated dough in half. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one half of the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 4 1/2-inch-round biscuit cutter, cut seven circles out of the rolled dough. Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes. Repeat the rolling, cutting, and chilling process with the remaining half of dough. (I used a 4-inch cutter–if you can call a “cutter” the tin edge of the container that holds my smaller round cutters–and managed to get 12 from each dough half, after rerolling the scraps.)

3. Make the filling: Mix all filling ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

4. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature until just pliable, 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon about 1 to 2 tablespoons filling (use the smaller amount for a 4-inch circle) onto one half of each circle of dough. Quickly brush a little cold water around the circumference of the dough, and fold it in half so the other side comes down over the filling, creating a semicircle. Seal the hand pie, and make a decorative edge by pressing the edges of the dough together with the back of a fork. Repeat process with remaining dough. Place the hand pies back on the parchment-lined baking sheet, and return to the refrigerator to chill for another 30 minutes.

5. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the chilled hand pies from the refrigerator, cut a small slit in each and lightly brush with the egg yolk wash. Sprinkle sanding sugar generously over the pies, and place pies in the oven to bake. Bake until the hand pies are golden brown and just slightly cracked, about 20 minutes. Remove the pies from the oven (mix together and brush on the glaze at this point if you don't want to sprinkle with sugar before baking), and let stand to cool slightly before serving.

Asian Grilled Salmon

2009-03-22T19:50:00.003-04:00

Spring is here and the weather is getting to be a lot nicer. That meant it was time to break out the grill. We were trying to decide what to grill and came across these salmon steaks at the grocery, so we grabbed a couple. It's been a while since we've had salmon and I usually make a marinade with ginger, orange juice, soy sauce and a couple other things. Going for something a little different, I found a recipe for a simple Asian flavored marinade and it was really good. It used few ingredients and had a great, but mild flavor. I am always leary of using mustard in things because I don't really care for it, but mixed with the soy sauce, garlic and olive oil, it wasn't mustardy at all.

I cut this recipe in half for 2 steaks.

We had this with baked beans and pasta salad:

Source: Food Network - Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
1 side fresh salmon, boned but skin on (about 3 pounds) (We used the steaks, but I wouldn't recommend them - too many bones!)

For the marinade:
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons good soy sauce
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Directions

Light charcoal briquettes in a grill and brush the grilling rack with oil to keep the salmon from sticking. (We used a gas grill.)

While the grill is heating, lay the salmon skin side down on a cutting board and cut it crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle half of the marinade onto the salmon and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.

Place the salmon skin side down on the hot grill; discard the marinade the fish was sitting in. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Turn carefully with a wide spatula and grill for another 4 to 5 minutes. The salmon will be slightly raw in the center, but don't worry; it will keep cooking as it sits.

Transfer the fish to a flat plate, skin side down, and spoon the reserved marinade on top. Allow the fish to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the skin and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Dinner Divas Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

2009-03-18T19:08:00.004-04:00

Here is my first Dinner Divas post! I'm a bit embarrassed to say I have never made a Dinner Diva recipe until now. It's not that I don't want to, but a lot of the recipes come from the Food Network site and I do most of my menu planning at work, where this site is blocked. I was happy to be able to pick one of the March recipes, though. I headed to the trusty allrecipes.com site to make my selection and found this recipe for Lime Chicken Soft Tacos.

Normally when we have tacos, I season the meat with cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and a couple other spices. I thought this recipe would be interesting to try since it didn't include my normal ingredients. It was too late, but I realized that I added the juice of the whole lime instead of 1/2 the lime as the recipe listed. Needless to say, our tacos were very limey. Aaron thought they were really good and I liked it, too. I bet the right amount of lime would be better, though. I liked the citrus flavor mixed with the red wine vinegar and spices. If I had some fresh cilantro, that would have been perfect! I did make some quick quacamole with a mashed avocado mixed with some salsa. (Does that count as guacamole?)

Here's the poorly photographed chicken:

You'll notice in the picture above that we had hard tacos. That is because I was out of soft taco shells. We did have burrito shells, so I made one of those, too - just because.

Source: Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
10 (6 inch) flour tortillas
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup salsa

DIRECTIONS
Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano. Simmer for an extra 10 minutes.

Heat an iron skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan, warm, and turn over to heat the other side. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese and salsa.

Texas Chicken Quesadillas

2009-03-07T11:47:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since my last update, but I'm still here! I starred this recipe from ...and a Cookie for Dessert a while back and loved the idea for a few reasons. First, it's Mexican-ish, with a twist. Second, it's quick. And third, I have all of the ingredients. This turned into an easy weekend lunch for us.

The sweet & spicy BBQ sauce I used on the chicken was my favorite part, but the small-ish onion I sliced for 2 big quesadillas was a little too onion-y for my taste. Recently I discovered a new method to making quesdadillas that is so easy. I love that I don't have to use the oven or my quesadilla maker. I always over-fill that thing and have a mess to clean up.

Stove-top method: (Do this after you've cooked the onions and chicken.) Spray your skillet with non-stick spray. Place tortilla in skillet and sprinkle cheese over the whole thing. Then, on just half of the tortilla, spoon the onions and chicken. Let it heat through a little until the cheese is melted and the tortilla starts to brown a bit. Then, fold it in half, let it sit for a minute and that's it. The tortilla will be crispy on the outside while the cheese is melted and gooey inside.

The Chicken:

The method:

Ingredients:
2 TBSP of oil
1-1/2 onions (vidalia is preferred) sliced into rings
1 TBSP honey
2 chicken breasts, diced
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1 Cup shredded Mexican cheese
8 ten inch flour tortillas

Directions:
Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until they begin to caramelize. Mix in the honey and stir until it is golden brown. Remove and set aside.Place the remaining oil in the pan and add the chicken. Cook through over a medium high heat. Stir in the BBQ sauce to evenly coat the chicken. Place the chicken, onions and cheese onto a tortilla, top with the other tortilla and cook in your quesadilla maker about 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can cook them in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Muffaletta Bread

2009-02-23T11:15:00.005-05:00

In honor of Mardis Gras this week, we celebrated early with muffalettas for dinner last night. In the past, I just picked up some bread from the bakery, but decided to try and make my own this time. I ended up making this twice because I mistakenly did not use instant yeast, so the dough never rose! I did end up baking it anyway and it tasted ok, so I'm saving it for some other sandwiches. But, the second attempt was even better, obviously. It was very quick and easy to throw together. I liked that this is a somewhat flatter, thinner loaf (about 2 inches high), so the sandwich isn't too big to eat. My only complaint is that the sesame seeds did not stick to the bread at all after it was baked. Most of them came off.

The first loaf that did not rise:

The second loaf:

To assemble the muffaletta, slice the bread in half horizontally, so it looks like a big hamburger bun.

Layer the Olive Salad, the meats and provolone (Read this previous post with more description and ingredients of the sandwich). Top with the bread and then cut into slices. I like to put it under the broiler before adding the top piece of bread, just to let the cheese melt a bit. But, the muffaletta is traditionally served room temperature.

Source: What's Cooking America

Ingredients:
1 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons instant active dry yeast
Cornmeal
Sesame seeds
Olive oil

Directions:
Using your mixer with dough hook, place water, olive oil, sugar, salt, flour, and yeast in the bowl. Beat until smooth. If using your bread machine, select dough setting and press start. When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface. Form dough into an oval, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 10 minutes.

After resting, turn dough bottom side up and press to flatten. Form dough into a one-inch high circle and place on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Press sesame seeds into surface of dough and brush with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place 30 to 50 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. After rising, bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F. and bake 15 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. (A good check is to use an instant digital thermometer to test your bread. The temperature should be between 200 and 210 degrees.) Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf.

Tropical Carrot Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

2009-02-16T09:07:00.003-05:00

If you love carrot cake, this post is for you. I saw this cake on Dinner & Dessert and knew it had to be my birthday cake! It has three sweet layers full of tropical flavors, mixed with the traditional cinnamon & nutmeg spice of a carrot cake. The pineapple makes it super moist and the macadamia nuts are a must.

Just to let you know, this cake is HUGE. The recipe says to use 3 9-inch pans, but I only have 8-inch pans, so mine may have been a litle taller than the original. I also had to adjust the baking time. It took about 45 minutes, but start checking it around 40 minutes if you're using the smaller pans.

I took Erin's advice and made extra frosting (measurements have been updated to reflect the bigger batch). Maybe I slather it on a little thick between the layers because I had just enough to do this cake with the extra. Don't be lazy like me, go ahead and toast some extra coconut and cover the top of the cake!

The cake falling to its side as I take the first shot:

I tried to stand it back up, but it just wasn't happening.

Source: The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather, found on Dinner & Dessert

Ingredients:
1 cup macadamia nuts (chopped or crushed)
3 cups all purpose flour
3 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
4 large eggs
2 tbsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil, such as canola or safflower
1-1/2 cups shredded peeled carrots
1-1/2 cups diced fresh pineapple or drained crush canned pineapple (this is one 20 oz. can)
1/2 cup sweetened cream of coconut (found near the mixed drinks in the grocery)

Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting
4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, at room temperate
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup + 4 tsp heaving whipping cream
1/4 cup + 4 tsp sweetened cream of coconut
1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt

To Make the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Arrange the nuts on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast them for 7 to 9 minutes, until golden and aromatic. Set aside to cool.

Place one oven rack one-third from the bottom of the oven and the second two-thirds from the bottom. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper rounds, grease with butter, and dust with flour (or spray with Baker’s Joy).

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut, and nuts in a large bowl. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, oil, carrots, pineapple, and cream of coconut. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Stagger the cake layers on the oven racks so that no layer is directly over another. Set 2 layers on one rack and the third on the other. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. The cakes are done when they are golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on racks for 5 minutes, then invert them onto the racks and cool completely, about 15 to 20 minutes.

To Make the Frosting:
Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl on medium-high speed about 1 minute. Add the whipping cream, cream of coconut, and salt; beat until combined.

Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate and spread a thick blanket of frosting on top. Add the second layer, spread thickly with frosting, and top with the third layer. Cover the top and sides of the cake with an even layer of frosting. If you’re feeling energetic and there is frosting left over, use a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip to pipe a decoration around the top rim of the cake.

The cake can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 4 days. Let it cool in the refrigerator about 1 hour before covering, to ensure the frosting has hardened and will not stick to the plastic wrap.

Yield: 12-14 Servings.

Apple Cole Slaw

2009-02-15T15:26:00.002-05:00

Last week I made a carrot cake and went a little crazy on the carrot shredding. The recipe only called for one and a half cups and I think I shredded about 1/2 big bag. I'm glad now because I got to try this recipe. It's not often we have cole slaw because it is on Aaron's list of foods he won't eat. He tried this one, but made a face like usual. I thought it was very good. The flavor was a combination of a sweet, creamy dressing (but not too much mayo), mixed with the tart crunchy apples. I didn't put the red bell pepper in, but will try this again next summer with peppers from the garden.

I still have plenty of shredded carrots to use, so look for more recipes here soon. I also have half of a cabbage left. So feel free to leave me a comment with your favorite cole slaw recipe. I'd love to try some more and compare.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
3 cups chopped cabbage (I used 1/2 small cabbage)
1 unpeeled red apple, cored and chopped
1 unpeeled Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine cabbage, red apple, green apple, carrot, red bell pepper, and green onions. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Pour dressing over salad.

Potato Salad with Green Beans, Artichokes & Feta

2009-02-06T10:29:00.006-05:00

By now you have probably noticed a lot of my recipes coming from a particular blog - For the Love of Cooking. It never fails that when a wonderful looking recipe pops up in my reader, chances are good, it's from Pam. I'm drawn to these recipes because I usually have most of the ingredients on hand and they are the ingredients that I love most (duh!).

When it comes to side dishes, I'm usually not very creative. Most of my effort is put into the main part of the meal and then I scramble to come up with something to serve with it on the side. Tonight was different. We had this delicious potato salad with gyro burgers, another new recipe that I'm not going to blog. It tasted alright, but it fell completely apart into a mess. No good pictures.

I may have mentioned it before, but there are just a few things Aaron won't eat: cole slaw, cottage cheese, and potato salad. I tried to slide this one by since it isn't what you normally think of when you think of potato salad. It's not creamy, no mayo, egg, etc. In the end, he ate all that was on his plate, but didn't want it again. That's ok with me because I loved it. The potatoes were soft and creamy, the green beans a little crunchy, the dressing was light and flavorful, and lately I'm loving feta cheese!

I did leave out the olives because we were out and they aren't really my favorite.

Source: For the Love of Cooking (originally from "Fine Cooking Annual 1" cookbook).

Ingredients:
Dressing:
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of olive oil

Salad:
5-6 baby red potatoes, cut into quarters
1/3 cup of fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
1/3 cup of frozen artichokes, thawed and halved (I used canned)
1/3 cup of kalamata olives, halved
2 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup of feta cheese

Directions:
Combine the vinegar, garlic and oregano in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper to taste. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Taste and re-season if necessary.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the beans and boil until just tender, about 3-4 minutes. Scoop out the beans let rinse under cold running water.

Let the water in the saucepan return to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until they are tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain and transfer the potatoes to a large bowl; add a few teaspoons of the dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool slightly.

Once cool, add the green onions, green beans, artichokes, olives and feta to the potatoes. Pour over the remaining dressing and toss to combine. Taste and re-season if necessary.

Princess Isabelle's Cake

2009-02-04T21:15:00.003-05:00

Here is a Princess cake done for a friend & neighbor. Her daughter Isabelle is turning 1! It's a chocolate cake iced in buttercream. Details are a combination of fondant, royal and buttercream icing. The tiara cake is 6". The smash cake was made using tuna cans! I needed something slighty bigger than my muffin pan and the tuna cans worked really well. However, it was very hard to ice because it was so small and wanted to move around a lot (even with a glob of buttercream gluing it to the board).

Happy Birthday Isabelle!

Smash Cake:

Tiara Cake Details:

Mack Semi-Truck Birthday Cake

2009-02-03T19:42:00.005-05:00

Time for another round of cakes! February is a busy month, so I will have multiple cake updates. First is this birthday cake for a student at Aaron's school. Coincidentally, his name is Aaron, too. Birthday Aaron likes semi-trucks, so I went with this front view of a Mack truck (seen on cakecentral.com). I hope he likes it!

(Darn! I think the flash was on - I'm still getting used to this camera...)

Chewy Coconut Cookies

2009-02-02T21:00:00.000-05:00

During our grocery trip this week, we were both craving junk food. We couldn't resist the Doritos, but we did pass up the cookies. But, I had to promise to make some at home instead. I haven't made cookies since Christmas and I normally make chocolate chip, but figured I'd try to use up some coconut this time. I really liked how these coconut cookies came out. They are crispy on the outside and chewy in the center. I've sampled again today and they haven't lost their chew. During baking, the cookies puffed up some and then flattened out a bit more as they cooled. These would be great with a little chocolate drizzled on top.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then mix in the coconut. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks.

Weight Watchers Grilled Mushroom Pizza

2009-01-31T19:27:00.002-05:00

Thin crust pizza is probably my favorite type of pizza. This recipe is made with tortillas and every bite comes out crisp. You'd never guess this is low calorie. It's also nice to use tortillas because each person can have their own. You can do different toppings, etc. I added some roasted, shredded chicken to the top of ours- trying to use up leftovers.

It was my first time grilling a pizza (-on my stovetop. It was 4 degrees this morning, so I wasn't grilling outside today, but will be making this again in the summer. Just be sure to cook your toppings ahead because the tortilla will crisp up faster than the toppings can heat.)

Source: Laaloosh.com

Ingredients:
8 oz fresh shiitake mushroom, stems removed, caps wiped clean with a damp towel, quartered
6 medium shallot(s), peeled, quartered and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp table salt
1 spray(s) cooking spray
1/2 cup(s) pizza sauce, or tomato sauce
4 medium whole wheat tortilla(s) (I used an 8 inch tomato basil tortilla, hence the red!)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/8 pound(s) provolone cheese, about 4 thin slices
4 tsp grated Parmesan cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano recommended

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450ºF. In a large bowl, toss together mushrooms, shallots, oil and salt; spread on a sheet pan in a single layer and lightly coat with cooking spray. Roast until vegetables are crispy, about 12 to 15 minutes; remove from oven and set aside. (Or grill the vegetables in a grilling basket.) Heat an outdoor grill or a grill pan over medium-high heat. To make pizzas, spread 2 tablespoons of sauce on each tortilla; sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon of oregano. Top each with 1 slice of cheese that has been torn into pieces, 1 teaspoon of Parmesan and 1/4 of vegetable mixture. Place pizzas on grill or grill pan (you may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your grill pan), and cook until edges begin to brown, about 3 to 4 minutes; rotate pizza. Continue cooking until cheese is bubbly, about 2 to 3 minutes more.

Serving Size = 1 Pizza
Each Serving = 5 Weight Watchers Points

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes - The Best Pancakes of Your Life

2009-01-28T10:51:00.005-05:00

If you're looking for an excuse to eat cookies for breakfast, now you have one. Today is Aaron's birthday! It's still snowing & icing, so I took another day off work and offered to make him breakfast. He asked for pancakes. I got online to find a recipe and came across these from Rachael Ray. Normally Aaron doesn't like it when I made "weird shit", so he wasn't thrilled when I told him I was making oatmeal cookie pancakes. He wanted plain, ordinary pancakes. What fun is that? Everyone's had those. Plus, I don't like them. But I do like oatmeal cookies! So, even though it's his birthday, I took a chance on these.

After just one bite, he was saying "OMG, have you tried these?!" He said I have to post these as "the best pancakes of your life" on my blog. They taste just like an oatmeal cookie. They are super soft with just the right amount of sweetness. Another bonus for me was that it used an over-ripe banana! Note that below I am listing the original recipe cut in half. This will make about 6-8 pancakes. I recommend making them on the small side because the batter is pretty thin and soft, so it was hard to flip them in one piece.

Source:
Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ounces, 1/4 cup, chopped walnuts (I used about a handful)
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup whole milk (I used 1%)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 really ripe bananas, mashed up
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 stick butter, plus additional 1-2 TBSP for buttering skillet
Maple syrup or honey, for drizzling

Directions:
Here's a great tip: if you cannot find really ripe bananas, just nuke them in the microwave for about 15 seconds and they will become super soft for mashing.

Mix dry ingredients, the first 7, in a bowl. In a another bowl, mix the wet ingredients, the next 4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined, then fold in the mashed up bananas and the raisins. Stir in the melted butter.

Heat a griddle over medium heat and brush with additional melted butter. Cook pancakes, each about 1/3 cup, until bubbles form on the top, then turn. Cakes will cook in about 2 minutes on each side. Keep pancakes tented with foil as they come off the griddle to keep them hot. Serve with drizzled honey or maple syrup over the top.

St. Tropez Chicken

2009-01-28T10:45:00.000-05:00

At Christmas time, I received a gift full of different herbs and spices. It was great because I didn't have any of the spices in my cabinet already and had never tried any of them before. One of the bottles is herbs de provence. Herbs de provence is a mixture of different herbs including lavender flowers. When I saw this that this recipe for St. Tropez chicken (from Cooking Books blog) called for Herbs de Provence, I added it to our menu for the week.

I had planned on making this on Sunday, since I noticed the chicken will roast for about 2.5 hours. But, what I failed to see is that the roasting was to happen after 1-2 days of marinating. Not so great for a weeknight meal, but I went with it anyway because Aaron gets home a couple of hours before me and I figured I could persuade him into putting it in the oven early for me.

What I hadn't planned was the snow & ice storm we're getting now. I decided to take the day off work. I didn't want to go out on the roads and school was cancelled, so no work for Aaron, either. He had an afternoon dentist appointment, needed a haircut and wanted to stop at the gym on the way home. Tuesday is my longer night to teach at the Y, from 5-7pm. I couldn't believe they were still having classes, but I set off at 4:15 to give myself plenty of time to get there. As I was turning into the parking lot at 4:45, my phone rang and it was our coordinator cancelling classes. Great! I risked my life for nothing. But, Aaron was already at the gym, so I hopped on a treadmill and ran for 30 minutes and we went home together. Chicken started roasting at 6pm, allowing us to eat about 8:30.

I liked the mild citrus and herb flavor of the chicken, but as Aaron mentioned - the flavor seemed to be all on the outside of the chicken. It was good, but once you got past that, it was pretty plain, and my piece was even dry.

Ingredients:
1 large chicken, cut up into serving pieces
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup rosé or white wine
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon herbes de provence

Directions:
In a large freezer bag, place the chicken pieces. Combine the lemon juice and the oil, then whisk in the honey to dissolve. Pour this mixture over the chicken, and add the garlic and herbs. Seal the bag and refrigerate overnight or up to two days.

Preheat the oven to 325. Put the chicken into a roasting pan along with the marinade, skin side up. Cover with foil and cook for 2 hours. Remove the foil and increase the oven temperature to 425. Continue to cook for an additional 15 - 25 minutes, until the chicken is nicely browned.

Remove the chicken to a warm plate and cover to keep warm. Transfer the roasting pan to the stove and spoon off any excess fat from the sauce. Add 1/2 cup water and deglaze the pan. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Seafood Lasagna Rolls

2009-01-26T20:06:00.003-05:00

The only problem I have with making lasagna is that a pan of it is way too much for the two of us. Aaron will eat leftovers one, maybe two times. I hate having to throw something out so I end up eating it for days. and days. and days. Once it's finally gone, I'm so sick of it I don't want it for about a year. Yes, I could always freeze part of the pan, but I either don't think of it or for whatever reason, it doesn't happen. But now I don't have to! These rolls are fun to make and great since you can make as few or as many as you want.

The only advantage a regular lasagna has over these rolls is the no-boil noodle option. It's a great time saver when making a pan of lasagna. There's no way around that one here, but still worth the few extra minutes.

The only thing I would change would be to make these with beef or sausage next time, but that's just my personal preference. I'm not really a fan of crab, but used it anyway because Aaron likes it and we don't eat it that often.

Source: Jamie's Green Kitchen

Ingredients:
6 lasagna noodles
1 ½ tbsp. olive oil
¾ lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can lump crab meat
15 oz. ricotta cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
2-3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
pinch of nutmeg
1 ¾ cups marinara sauce, divided
shredded mozzarella cheese, for topping

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°.

Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until partially tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp to the skillet; season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic to the pan as well and sauté until shrimp are cooked, about 4 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool. Coarsely chop the cooled shrimp and place in a bowl with 1 cup of ricotta cheese, the Parmesan, crab, egg, basil, salt and pepper to taste, and the nutmeg. Stir to combine.

In another bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of marinara sauce with remaining ricotta, to taste. Stir until smooth.

In an 8×8” baking dish, spread the remaining ¼ cup of marinara sauce so it covers the bottom. Lay lasagna noodles out on a work surface. Divide the shrimp mixture evenly between the noodles and spread over the full length of each. Roll up and place seam-side down in the baking dish. Spoon the creamy marinara sauce over the top. Top with shredded mozzarella.

Bake until lasagna rolls are heated through and cheese begins to brown, about 25 minutes.

Italian Salad Wraps

2009-01-25T20:33:00.004-05:00

Tonight's dinner was this super simple Italian salad wrapped in a tomato-basil tortilla. This is great to make if you're trying to use up leftovers or need a light, quick meal. I dressed the salad with an Olive Garden Copykat recipe. You can add whatever you like!

Ingredients:
romaine lettuce
hard salami
pepperoni
cherry tomatoes
kalamata olives
shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
Croutons (I made my own out of some leftover bread, brushed with butter and sprinkled with garlic powder, then broiled until crispy.)

Directions:
Chop vegetables and mix salad ingredients together. Just before serving, add the dressing and toss to coat. Wrap in tortilla (optional).

Here was the salad by itself:

Olive Garden Salad Dressing

2009-01-25T20:19:00.002-05:00

If there's one thing I love about Olive Garden, it's the salad. Second best are their bread sticks and that's about where it ends for me anymore at that place. But, their salad dressing is so good! I found this recipe for the dressing on CopyKat.com and have made it several times. While this dressing is really good, it's still not like the Olive Garden's. You can see by my photo that it doesn't look the same. If you know of a closer recipe, let me know!

Ingredients:
1/2 C. Mayonnaise
1/3 C. White Vinegar
1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp. Corn Syrup
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp. Romano Cheese
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt - or one clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Parsley Flakes
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little too tart for your tastes, add a little extra sugar.

Greek Chicken

2009-01-23T08:29:00.004-05:00

I have a new toy! It's an early birthday present - a Nikon D60. Aaron and I are sharing it since our birthdays are so close and it's something we both really wanted. It arrived on Wednesday. When I say sharing, I mean - I'll probably get to use it in a couple of months. That's how it goes when we get something new and cool. He takes over and I just wait my turn. It's easier that way. He even took the pictures of our dinner last night. I won't complain much - they did turn out pretty great! I usually do something to most of my photos in Photoshop. This one is untouched. - Just cropped and sized. I am looking forward to learning all of the features of the camera though and hoping I'll be able to get some half-way decent pictures of other things besides our food.

I'm a little off-topic. This is supposed to be about Geek Chicken as Aaron calls it. There really isn't anything geeky about this, though. Some might argue that taking pictures of our food and posting it online is geeky, but if that makes me geeky, so be it.

If you're not a huge fan of olives, like me, don't go to the store and spend $5-$10 on a jar of kalamata olives when you only need a few. If you're lucky enough to have a deli with an olive bar, go there. You can get just the right size scoop and not let any go to waste.

Pam's original recipe called for chicken thighs, but I used chicken breasts. I also didn't read ahead (bad habit of mine), so I started cooking in a skillet that was not oven safe. No big deal though, I just transferred the chicken to a baking dish and continued that way. We had wild rice and asparagus on the side.

The things I loved most about this chicken - it's healthy, it's easy to make, you probably have most of these ingredients already (ok, you don't have kalamata olives or feta? I didn't either, but it's always nice when you only have to add 1-2 small things to the grocery list for a meal.), and finally, it tastes as good as it looks.

Source: For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil, divided
1-2 shallots, sliced into thin rings
1 clove of garlic, minced
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, fat removed
Garlic powder, to taste
Dried oregano, to taste
Handful of grape tomatoes
Small handful of kalamata olives, sliced in half
1/2-1 lemon juiced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (divided)
2 tbsp low fat feta cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a an oven-safe skillet on medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and heat for about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Place the chicken into the skillet, seasoned side down, and cook over med-high heat until brown. (3-4 minutes).

Flip the chicken over and add the olives, tomatoes, lemon juice, half of the parsley, and the shallots with garlic. Bake for 15 minutes or until done (I baked a little longer - the chicken breasts I used were on the thick side). Remove from the oven, sprinkle the remaining parsley on top with the feta cheese.

Knock You Naked Brownies

2009-01-18T22:48:00.003-05:00

This weekend we had a game night at our house. Friends came over, we made quesadillas, enjoyed fiesta dip, spanish rice, chips & salsa, red & white sangrias for dinner, with cheesecake and knock you naked brownies for dessert. I love board games and had so much fun playing all night! Thanks for coming over guys. I can't wait to do it again!

I'm not sure where this recipe originated. I have had it written on an index card for a few years in my recipe box. After doing a little googling, it seems like this recipe is everywhere online. I did find a note on one website that supposedly this recipe originated at the Salt Creek Restaurant in Breckenridge, Colorado.

These are my new favorite brownie. I wasn't sure about brownies from a cake mix, but they were really easy to put together and didn't require many ingredients - always a plus to me. They are super sweet, chewy and caramelly. I loved the chocolate chips layered on top of the caramel. I'd say these brownies might be too rich for some, but to me, there is no such thing as too rich.

One tip I will give - as I was making these, I didn't think there was going to be enough of the cake mixture to spread on top of the caramel, but it didn't matter. Just drop spoonfuls on top and smooth it the best you can. It's not easy, but once they came out of the oven, I couldn't even tell it might have been a problem. Love these!

Ingredients:
1 package German chocolate cake mix (18.5 oz)
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup + 1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup melted butter
60 vanilla caramels unwrapped (one 14 oz package)
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine dry cake mix, nuts, 1/3 cup evaporated milk and melted butter. Press half of the batter into the bottom of a greased 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8 minutes. In the microwave or top of a double boiler melt caramels with remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk. When caramel mixture is well mixed, pour over baked layer. Cover with chocolate chips. Chill for about an hour or until the caramel is hard. Press the remaining batter on top of morsels. Return to oven and bake 18 minutes. Let cool before cutting.

Creamy Tomato Soup with Mini Meatballs and Pasta

2009-01-18T22:27:00.002-05:00

Don't judge this soup by my ugly picture. I think this is probably the worst one on my whole blog! I've never been a fan of tomato soup. I surprised myself when I came across this recipe in Ally's blog, Culinary Infatuation, and immediately starred it. Ally's picture looked fantastic and the recipe sounded like something I would love. It wasn't the tomato soup I normally think of from the can (ew!). It was the meatballs and pasta that convinced me.

This was a nice dinner to have on a lazy, snowy day like today. The flavor was delicious. I'm probably not the best person to ask on a comparison to other tomato soups since I can't say I've really had any. Aaron had 2 bowls, so I know he meant it when he said it was good. Sometimes when I ask, he tries to be nice and lies. You have to ask the right questions when you want honest answers. Don't ask if they like it. Ask if they want you to make it again! The truth always comes out on that one.

(As I posted the recipe below, I'm just realizing I forgot the 8 oz can of tomato sauce. This is becoming a common thing - me forgetting an item. I need a re-do.)

Ingredients:Meatballs
1 lb ground sirloin (I used a meatball mix - beef, pork, veal)
2 slices wheat bread toasted and processed
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 C. grated parmesan cheese
1 egg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients well and roll into mini meatballs. Cover cookie sheet with foil and place a cooking rack on top. Put meatballs on the cooling rack and put in oven. cook for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Ingredients:
Tomato Basil Soup
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic minced
2/3 cup fresh basil coarsly chopped
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup orzo (raw) cooked according to package directions (I used tubetinni)
1 cup half and half
1 stick unsalted butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions:
Combine tomatoes, tomato products, stock, and garlic in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add basil. With an immersion blender, blend until smooth and pureed (this can be done in a blender as well). Add butter and half and half and whisk until well blended. Add meat balls and orzo and serve with parmesan cheese.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

2009-01-15T21:01:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite gifts we got for our wedding shower is our ice cream maker. We've tried several different flavors so far, and this is still my very favorite - peanut butter cup. This time, it's minus the "cup"- just plain peanut butter ice cream. I took half of it and mixed in mini chocolate chips, and left the other half plain to freeze.

After seeing the Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream post in Taste & See, I was really wanted to try this fun combination. I mixed just a spoonful of grape jelly into a big scoop of the ice cream. So here we are today, just 4 degrees outside, eating ice cream (inside of course).

When you make this, be sure you spend some extra time on the treadmill while it's freezing. That's all I'm going to say about the fat content.

This recipe came from the manual of my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.

Ingredients:
1 1/8 c. peanut butter
1/3 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. whole milk
2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Mix the peanut butter and sugar together until well mixed. Add in the milk and mix until the sugar has disolved. Add the whipping cream and vanilla. Pour into ice cream maker and mix for 30 minutes.

Homemade Fish Sticks

2009-01-13T10:43:00.007-05:00

Remember These?
I haven't had them in forever, but I used to eat them as a kid and they are great! I guess I forgot about them. But, thanks to Colleen (from Cooking This and That) for making a healthier, grown-up version. I saw this in her blog and immediately starred it to make for dinner this week.

Doesn't this look better?

This was only my second time using panko breadcrumbs and these fish sticks were the perfect use. The oil in the coating helps the sticks brown and crisp up. I did substitute milk for the egg, because I am out of eggs. Actually, the baked onion rings flour/milk mixture I just posted about...I used the leftover coating from that recipe, and added some oil and Old Bay Seasoning.

The dipping sauce for this was delicious, too. I had to buy horseradish, since I've never really eaten it or cooked with it. Next time I could only use about 1 tsp., but that can be adjusted to your taste.

Finished meal:

Panko-Crusted Fish Sticks with Herb Dipping Sauce
from Everyday Food

Ingredients:
1 large egg
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 cups panko
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound tilapia fillets

Sauce:
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
2 teaspoons prepared white horseradish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F, with racks in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil.

Cut tilapia filets in half lengthwise, and then again the other direction. You now have 4 sticks per filet.

Crack egg into shallow bowl, lightly beat with fork. Season with salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, combine panko, Old Bay, and olive oil.

Dip each tilapia stick into egg, shaking off the excess; then into panko mixture, pressing mixture so that it sticks.

Place on prepared baking sheet and bake 12-15 minutes, until panko is lightly browned and fish is cooked through.

Meanwhile, mix all sauce ingredients in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and serve alongside fish sticks.

Baked Onion Rings

2009-01-13T10:27:00.007-05:00

Sometimes I get bored coming up with side items for our dinners. Plain vegetables are the easiest thing, but I'm always looking for ways to serve them in a different way, but still be healthy. Aaron and I both like onion rings, but I've never made them at home, and didn't really want to fry our dinner. This healthier version turned out really well and slightly crispy. Not the same as the battered and fried, but knowing there are only about 3 grams of fat per serving makes up for that!

Another recipe from cookinglight.com, modified a bit.

Ingredients
3 TBSP flour
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/3 c. milk (measurement is a quess. I just poured some in until it was thick enough to stay on the onions.)
2 Large Vidalia or sweet onions, cut into (1/4-inch-thick) slices. Using the larger outer rings, I saved the inner rings to chop for another meal.
1 1/2 cups dry breadcrumbs
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Combine everything except the breadcrumbs & onions in a large bowl. Dredge the onion rings in flour/milk mixture. Then coat with the breadcrumbs in a separate bowl.

3. Place the onion rings in a single layer on a baking sheets (with a few small sprays of cooking spray). Lightly spray the onion rings with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes.

Banana Sour Cream Bread

2009-01-13T10:14:00.004-05:00

Ever have rotting bananas sitting around? That's a pretty common thing in our house. After throwing them away forever, I started freezing them in a ziploc bag, peel and all. I can't believe I used to waste all those bananas before. This weekend I wanted to do a little baking, but use up some things from our freezer, which basically means it had to be blueberry or banana something. It's been a while since I've made bread, so I went browsing on allrecipes.com, like I usually do and decided on this highly rated recipe - using sour cream. It sounded different and good, so I gave it a shot.

The bread turned out just like the reviews listed - a little tangy from the sour cream, light, moist. I used 3 larger loaf pans instead of the 4 smaller pans called for. I really liked how the sides came out from coating the pans in cinnamon & sugar. However, it's not the type of banana bread I like. I like it to be really dense. This bread is more cake-like.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
3 cups white sugar
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream (I used fat-free)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans.
Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Weight Watchers Buffalo Style Green Beans

2009-01-01T16:45:00.001-05:00

Finally, another healthy recipe added to my blog! I made these Weight Watchers Buffalo Style Green Beans last spring and loved them. I can't believe it has taken me this long to make them again. They are a little spicy (I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to spice), so adjust the Tabasco to your liking. If you are looking for something a little different than plain green beans, try this! I totally skipped the chilling part and we ate this hot.

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon orange juice or lemon juice
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
2 medium tomatoes, plum, diced (I used a can of diced tomatoes, drained)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
3/4 pound green snap beans, trimmed and cooked until crisp tender (I steamed them in the microwave using my tupperware steamer - I love that thing.)
1 tablespoon basil, chopped
1/8 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
1/8 teaspoon table salt or to taste

Directions:
Whisk together oil, Worcestershire sauce orange or lemon juice and hot pepper sauce. Stir in vegetables, basil, salt and pepper; chill for 1 hour or overnight. Divide into 4 portions and serve.

Serves 4.
WW Points: 1