In My Kitchen Today

Caramel Pretzel Brownie cups

2009-06-28T21:00:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I'll be honest. My favorite foods to make are desserts. We recently hosted a little BBQ at our house and I volunteered to make the desserts. I love to do things like this so I can test out new recipes and then I don't have the entire batch sitting around my house just tempting me to eat it. So, I saw this recipe for brownie cups and since I love brownies, I decided to give this recipe a try. I loved the salty taste that the pretzels added to the brownie. It was the perfect amount of sweet and salty. The caramel does get a little messy because it starts getting harder as you spoon it on top of the brownies, but the finished product looks oh so fancy. Don't you agree?

Caramel Pretzel Brownie Cups
Adapted from zupas.com

1 German Chocolate Cake Mix
1 egg
1/2 cup butter

In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, egg and butter until smooth. Scoop batter 2/3rds full into a muffin tin sprayed with non stick spray. Scoop 1 tablespoon pretzel crumble on top of brownie batter. Pat down. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the edges are set.

Pretzel crumble

1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 cup crushed pretzels

8 oz caramels, melted in microwave over medium heat--stirring frequently
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Immediately after taking the brownie cups out of the oven, pour caramel over the cups, and then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Place cups in the oven for 30 minutes more to allow the chocolate chips to soften slightly. Place in the microwave for 15 seconds before serving.

Bow Tie Pasta with Chicken, Bacon, and Mushrooms in an Asiago Cream Sauce

2009-06-23T09:56:00.006-05:00

This recipe is a regular in my household. It happens to be one of my husbands favorite dishes. When I asked my husband what he wanted to have to eat on Father's Day, this was his request. It is more time consuming than a lot of my other regular recipes but worth the time if you want something a little more special for dinner. And, it sure beats the price you would pay to have a similar meal at a restaurant. Plus did you know that at a certain Italian restaurant chain their chicken alfredo pasta has 990 calories and 50 grams of fat for one serving? Yikes. I guarantee this recipe does not have that many calories or fat!

Bow Tie Pasta with Asiago Cream Sauce
Serves 4-5

1 T. olive oil
2 chicken breasts
5-6 mushrooms
6 slices of bacon
1 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 box of bow tie/farfalle pasta

Asiago Cream Sauce Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T butter
2 t. flour
12 oz can evaporated milk
1 c. shredded asiago cheese
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Boil water for the pasta and cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Then cook bacon according to package directions. Break the bacon into smaller pieces after it has been cooked.

Slice chicken breast into thin strips. I have found that the best time to do this is to slice the chicken when it hasn't quite defrosted all the way. It makes it super easy to slice it into nice even strips when it is still a little frozen. Then slice mushrooms into bit size pieces. Heat olive oil in a skillet and add mushrooms and chicken and Italian seasoning. Saute until chicken is cooked thoroughly and starts to brown, stirring frequently. After chicken is cooked through, add the bacon pieces and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat.

While chicken is cooking, prepare the Asiago cheese sauce. Heat saucepan to medium heat. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. DO NOT SUBSTITUTE GARLIC POWDER. In my opinion garlic powder should never be substituted for garlic. Garlic powder has a very artificial taste and your sauce will not taste as good. I guarantee that good Italian restaurants don't substitute garlic powder for garlic, so neither should you. It will cost you a matter of cents for the real deal stuff-and it's definitely worth it for the difference you get in the taste quality. After garlic has sauteed for a few minutes, whisk in the flour to make a roux. Whisk constantly and then gradually add the evaporated milk while continuing to stir so you do not have any clumps. Let cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat stirring consistently and then stir in asiago cheese until melted. Combine pasta, chicken mixture and sauce all together. Serve with cheese sprinkled over the top. And there you have it. Enjoy!

Coconut Lime Waffles with a Gooey Coconut Syrup

2009-06-14T08:58:00.007-05:00

I love the fresh taste of limes and I had some limes on hand that I wanted to use up. So, when I ran across a recipe for coconut lime waffles from Coconut and Lime blog, I had to try them out. They were so enjoyable and fresh tasting. When I ran across the waffle recipe, I thought that they would be even more enjoyable with a coconut syrup drizzled over the top. I searched online for a recipe but I couldn't find one that I liked. So, I decided to concoct my own instead. The syrup was so gooey and tasty. Doesn't the picture below with the syrup oozing off the waffles just make you want to lick your computer screen? Ha ha.

Here is the finished product...and now on to the recipes so you can try them out for your next fancy breakfast.

Coconut and Lime Waffles
From Coconut and Lime
About 3 servings

1 cup flour
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons sweetened coconut
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon lime zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1 egg

Whisk together the flour, sugar, coconut, baking powder, salt and zest in a medium sized bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, vanilla and milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Use the directions that came with your waffle iron to finish making your waffles.

Gooey Coconut Syrup
Created by Me

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
2 T. sweetened cream of coconut (not coconut milk)
2 T. butter
pinch salt
1 t. vanilla extrct

Place water and sugar in a pan on medium heat to create a syrup. Stir occasionally.
Once it's reduced by roughly half and is a syrupy consistency, stir in cream of coconut, butter, and salt. Stir until butter is melted and reduce to medium low heat. Heat for 1-2 minutes longer and remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract. Pour immediately over pancakes, waffles or any other foods you like to pour syrup over. (Syrup may start to harden—if it does, you can just reheat it in the microwave for about 30 minutes.)

Cafe Rio Pulled Pork

2009-06-03T19:37:00.007-05:00

So, I was looking for an easy recipe to make for dinner tonight this morning. I found this Cafe Rio Pork recipe on Your Homebased Mom blog. Although I have never had this pork at Cafe Rio, which is a Mexican Grill type restaurant located out west, I was quite excited for the ease of this recipe. It only calls for 3 ingredients to cook in a slow cooker, so I was a little skeptical. But, nonetheless I decided to try it out. The flavors were simmering in my crockpot all day and every time I would walk into the kitchen the smell wafting from the slow cooker was just splendid. My family's consensus was that this recipe should definitely go into my rotation of meals we have on a regular basis. And I like that--especially due to the fact that the hardest part of this recipe was cleaning out my crockpot afterwards!

Cafe Rio Pulled Pork
From Your Home Based Mom
Serves 4

1 c. brown sugar
2 c. salsa (I used a pineapple, peach salsa--that's what I had on hand. This made the recipe even sweeter because it already had a sweetness due to the brown sugar. Next time I think I'll just try a normal, mild salsa and see what flavor it creates. Anyway, have some fun with it...)
1 lb pork tenderloin

Place pork tenderloin in a slow cooker. Mix salsa and brown sugar together. Pour over the pork tenderloin. Cook on low in a slow cooker for 7 hours. Remove pork and shred using 2 forks. Place pork back in the crockpot and mix together until liquid is absorbed. Serve on warm tortillas. Cover with your favorite toppings--cheese, sour cream, etc. and savor the flavors. Yum.

Samoa Bars

2009-05-25T13:49:00.002-05:00

My favorite girl scout cookies are by far the Samoa cookies. I just love the caramel and coconut combination. So, when I ran across this recipe for samoa bars, I was very excited to try them out. Yes, these cookies are time consuming to make but well worth the time--especially if you are getting a craving for girl scout cookies but they are not anywhere to be found. These cookies are comprised of 3 layers--a shortbread cookie layer, a coconut caramel layer, and a chocolate layer (dipped on the bottom of the cookie and then drizzled over the top). Yum. Yum. Yum.

Homemade Samoas Bars

From Bakingbites.com

Shortbread base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

First, make the crust.
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepapred pan and press into an even layer.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips
1 1/2 T. shortening

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled. When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping).

Once bars are cut, melt chocolate chips and shortening in a small bowl. Heat on medium in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.

Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 bar cookies.

Extra Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake

2009-05-21T08:51:00.007-05:00

So, I had some ricotta cheese in my fridge that was about to expire so I decided I was going to make some ziti. However, I didn't have any ziti noodles on hand either. I also didn't have enough mozzarella cheese that could be shredded either. So, basically this is a recipe is a concoction of all the ingredients that I did I have on hand. It is similar to a ziti recipe, but with some adjustments--my favorite addition was the use of sliced up mozzarella cheese sticks. These gave this recipe some extra tasty cheesiness. This recipe also makes an extra pan that you can toss into the freezer for a lazy day.

Extra Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake
Makes 1- 2 qt casserole dish and 1-8 x 8 pan (which I froze)

1 box of pasta noodles (I used whole wheat corksckrew pasta)
5 Hot Italian sausage links (casings removed)
15 oz container of ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 t. Italian Seasoning
1 t. dried Oregano
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cans of spaghetti sauce (divided)
8 Mozzarella Cheese sticks (sliced into about 10-15 piece for each stick)
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Brown and cook the sausage throughly. Break into bite size pieces. Meanwhile in a large bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, egg, Italian Seasoning, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, and parmesan cheese. Then stir in half of the spaghetti sauce to the ricotta cheese mixture and all of the sauce.. After pasta has been cooked and drained, pour it into the bowl with the ricotta cheese mixture and stir until combined well. Stir in all but about 30 pieces of the mozzarella cheese slices (these will be reserved for the top of the pasta). Stir well.

Place some of the reserved spaghetti sauce at the bottom of the casserole dish and 8 x 8 pan. Then place one layer of the noodle mixture in each pan. Repeat 1 more time and top the last layer with spaghetti sauce, shredded mozzarella, and the sliced cheese sticks.

Bake at 350 degrees coved with foil for 30 minutes. Turn up to 375 and cook for 15 more minutes, until cheese browns. Enjoy this cheesy goodness!

An Old Standby--Taco Salad

2009-04-25T05:57:00.007-05:00

It's 5:00 and you're not feeling overly creative--you have no idea what to make for dinner. Sound familiar? Well, this is a meal that works perfect on those nights for me. I can whip it up in under 30 minutes, it's very tasty, and my family loves it too. This recipe does not use those premade taco packets that you can buy at the store. Instead it makes this sweet yet tangy taco filling that adds some spice and originality to a normally dull meal. And after you taste this taco seasoning, you will think those premade packets are artificial tasting and gross. (Sorry Old El Paso...)

I use those Azteca Salad shells that you can find in the refrigerator section at your local grocery store. At the store where I shop, they are located by the butter. This recipe also works great with flour tortillas or crispy taco shells as well.

**Quick tip: Whenever I make this recipe, I like to make several batches of this taco meat and throw and some of it in the freezer. It's not that much harder to make a huge batch of it than it is to make a small batch. And, then I have an already fast meal even faster in the future.

Tasty Tacos
Adapted from "The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook"
Serves 4

1 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
2 T. chili powder
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. tomato sauce
1/2 c. chicken broth
2 t. apple cider vinegar
2 T. brown sugar

Azetca salad shells--Cooked using instructions on the back of the package.

Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat until softened. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients to the skillet with the beef and onion and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat until thickened--for about 10 minutes or so.

Prepare your favorite taco toppings...see mine in the picture below. I like to put all my toppings on a wood cutting board. I think it looks pretty and I don't dirty up as many dishes that way.

Make your taco salad masterpiece by putting your fav toppings in the taco salad shell with some taco meat and enjoy this tasty meal that you got to your table in under 30 minutes!

If you need another idea for a way to use those salad shells...try this recipe

Rich and Gooey Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars

2009-04-16T08:23:00.006-05:00

I love making sweet treats. So when I saw this recipe for chocolate chip toffee bars on this site, I knew it would be a good one. I mean how can you go wrong with toffee bits, chocolate chips, and sweetened condensed milk. This recipe is super easy and pretty quick to make. They work well for special occasions or just as a little treat to drop by to a friend. But I'm warning you--these are highly addictive and super rich. Enjoy!

Rich and Gooey Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars
Adapted from My Sister's Cafe

2 1/3 C flour

2/3 C brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks of butter (do not substitute margarine--actually I NEVER substitute margarine in baking--trust me, it just won't turn out as good.)

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 cups chocolate chips

1 C chopped walnuts

14 oz. sweetened condensed milk

8 oz package of Heath Toffee bits

Stir together flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg and mix well. Stir in 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips and all of nuts. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of this mixture for later and press remaining into a greased 9×13 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Pour sweetened condensed milk over hot crust and top with 1 1/2 cups toffee bits. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over top plus all the remaining chocolate chips and toffee bits. Bake 25-30 more minutes.

Wait for the pan to cool and cut into squares.

Got Ham Leftovers??

2009-04-13T17:55:00.006-05:00

So, I don't know about you but I have a ton of ham left from Easter dinner last night. My theory when it comes to cooking large meats is if I am going to make one, I'm going to make the biggest one I can find--since it takes just as much effort to make a 6 lb ham as it does to make a 10 lb ham. And, then I have lots of leftovers to make my family's favorite soup. What I do with all my ham leftovers is chop them into bite size pieces and freeze about 1 c. of diced ham in Foodsaver bags and place them in my freezer. Then when I feel like making this soup, I just pull a bag of ham out and I'm good to go. I make this soup because my husband hates split pea soup and there aren't too many good leftover ham recipes out there. Even if you like split pea soup, this is a tastier alternative.

Ham and Potato Soup
**inspired by this recipe (of course I had to make my own adjustments)
5 Russet Potatoes, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 carrot, sliced into small pieces
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 c. diced ham
3 1/4 c. chicken broth
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1 can corn, drained
4 T. butter
4 T. flour
2 c. milk (I used skim milk and it still turned out great)

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham, carrot, and chicken broth in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until veggies are tender for about 15 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until begins to thicken, stirring constantly. It will take about 1 minute for it to thicken. Slowly pour the milk into the flour/butter mixture as you whisk at the same time to make sure no lumps form. Place on medium-low heat until the mixture is pretty thick, stirring frequently. This will take about 5 minutes.

Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot with the chicken broth and veggies. Stir in the canned corn. Cook soup until warmed through. Then place on simmer until ready to serve. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cheese and/or green onions. Enjoy your leftover ham yumminess!

Grilled Cilantro Pesto Fajita Pizza

2009-01-16T12:30:00.009-06:00

Wow--i's been way too long! With the holidays, my food blog really got away from me. But now I'm back with a tasty little creation for you all to make up for my absence. Over the Christmas break, my family and I traveled to California and while we were there we went to the California Pizza Kitchen. They have a really cool menu with lots of very different pizza combinations. I got to thinking about some different pizza creations that I could come up with. So, here is my latest. It is a cilantro pesto fajita pizza. My mouth is almost drooling just thinking about this tasty pizza. This gives you both Mexican and Italian food all wrapped into one treat!

Pizza Dough (recipe from Cooks Illustrated Magazine, July and August 2005)
This is by far the best pizza dough I have found out there. I double this recipe and put some in the freezer for later. It's just as easy to double the recipe as it is to make 1 batch.
(Makes 4 personal size pizzas)

2 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 c. water, room temp.
2 c. bread flour (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR!)
2 t. sugar
1 1/4 t. table salt
1 t. instant yeast

Combine oil and water in a cup. Place flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a food processor. Process for about 5 seconds, until combined. While the machine is running, add the oil and water through the machine's feed tube. Process until dough forms a ball (about 1 1/2 min.). Add more flour if your dough does not form a ball. Spray a bowl with cooking spray and place dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until double. (If you are freezing some extra dough, you will freeze it AFTER it has risen.)

After dough has doubled, press down the dough to deflate and divide into 4 equal size pieces. Shape into balls and cover and let rise about 15 minutes. After dough has risen, stretch the dough into disks approximately 1/2 inch thick and 5-6 inches wide. Roll out on floured surface until they are about 9-10 inches in diameter.

Preheat your grill. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Place dough rounds directly on th egrill grate Cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side (you will see the top is covered with bubbles). Make sure to check the underside of the dough round is not too browned because you will be removing these from the grill and then placing your topppings on the pizza and then cooking it on the grill again.

Brush the crusts with about 1-2 T. of the cilantro pesto (recipe following) then cover with mozzarella cheese (Tip: Use the real stuff that comes in the shape of a ball. It is not that much more expensive than the block mozzarella but it melts and tastes oh so much better!) and then add the peppers, onions, and steak. Place on the grill until the cheese is melted for about 2-3 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve pizza immediately.

Cilantro Pesto
1/2 c. cilantro
1 1/2 T. walnuts
2 minced garlic cloves
1 lime, juiced
1/2 t. salt
1/3 c. Parmesan Cheese
1/3 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Process for about 1 minute. While processor is still running, add the olive oil through the feed tube and process until smooth.

Fajita Steak and Marinade
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
Juice of 2 limes
1/4 c. olive oil
1 T. kosher salt
1/2 t. red chile flakes
1/4 t. paprika
1/2 t. cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
Skirt steak (As an FYI--skirt steak is the best steak to use for fajitas)

Combine all ingredients, except for the skirt steak, in a bowl. Add skirt steak and let marinate for at least 4 hours. Place on a preheated grill and cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Take off of grill and cut the steak into strips. **Tip alert: You can prepare this part a day before. Then you can have fajitas one night and the leftover steak can be used for fajita pizza. Perfect!

Peppers and Onions
1-2 bell peppers, sliced into bite size strips
1 small onion, diced
Saute in a fry pan with 2 T. of oil until start to get soft. Place on the pizzas with the steak.

Not from a Can Cranberry Sauce

2008-11-26T08:09:00.008-06:00

Growing up my family always had cranberry sauce straight from the can for Thanksgiving. In fact it was placed on the Thanksgiving table so that you could still see the entire shape of the can--complete with all the indentations and everything!!! So, it wasn't until about 4 years ago that I discovered that you could make cranberry sauce from scratch. It is 5000 times better than the canned stuff. I just made some cranberry sauce this morning. It is one of those Thanksgiving meal items that you can make in advance so you don't need to worry about it on Thanksgiving day. It's super easy and only requires 3 ingredients--cranberries (which you can get super cheap this time of year), water, and sugar. So if you haven't ever had the real deal cranberry sauce, here's your chance to make it. You won't be disappointed!

Not from a Can Cranberry Sauce

3 cups whole cranberries

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

Rinse the cranberries. Then combine the water and cranberries in a medium sauce pan. Place on a burner over medium heat. Once the cranberries and water mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and mash with a potato masher to your desired consistency. (I like my cranberry sauce to still have some whole berries in it!) Place back on the burner over low heat. Stir in the sugar and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Chill and serve with your Thanksgiving feast!

Are there any other uses for cranberry sauce?

2008-11-24T23:11:00.008-06:00

Cranberry sauce...it's one of those foods that we only seem to eat during Thanksgiving season. Why is that? Anyway, here is a great recipe to use some of those cans of cranberry sauce that you stock up on during this time of year because they are so inexpensive. This is a great little appetizer that is so quick and easy. What are some other uses you have for cranberry sauce besides at the traditional turkey day meal?

Also, you can use cranberry sauce in another recipe that I posted earlier this year for some cranberry chicken salad. This recipe also works great with that leftover turkey that you might have!

Cranberry Sauce Meatballs
1 large package of meatballs (about 50 meatballs--You can also make your own meatballs if you feel up to it. I always just take the easy way out buy them because it is so much faster.)
1 can of jellied cranberry sauce
3/4 c. barbeque sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
2 T. Franks Red Hot Sauce
1 T. lemon juice

Mix together the cranberry sauce, barbeque sauce, ketchup, hot sauce and lemon juice in a bowl. Stir until combined really well. Place meatballs in a slow cooker (cooked according to the package instructions). Pour the sauce over the meatballs. Cook on low for 2-3 hours or on high for about 1 hour (until sauce is smooth and warmed through).

Have a Happy Turkey Day and enjoy that cranberry sauce!

Asian Chicken Salad with a Pineapple Soy Sauce Dressing and Marinade

2008-11-19T19:06:00.000-06:00

I have been on a salad kick lately. Salads are so filling and healthy (just as long as you don't use too much salad dressing!) To prevent me from using too much dressing, I use a measuring spoon and limit myself to using 1-2 Tablespoons of dressing when I have a dinner size salad and about 1-2 teaspoons when I have a side salad. This helps to keep the salad pretty healthy. It's really crazy but if you ever look at the nutrition facts for salads when you go to a restauraunt, they are some of the highest caloric items on the menu! Anyway, I looked around my cupboards and fridge and came up with the ingredients in this salad and marinade. It was a very fresh tasting salad and pretty healthy. It really hit the spot! This recipe is also great because the marinade and dressing are the same. 2 for the price of 1-PERFECT!!

Asian Chicken Salad with a Pineapple Soy Sauce Dressing and Marinade

Marinade and Dressing:

3/4 c. pineapple juice

1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. honey

2 T. rice vinegar

1/2 t. sesame seed oil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (flattened)

Combine all ingredients in a blender (except for the chicken) and mix together. Separate half of the mixture for the marinade and set the other half aside for the dressing. Place chicken in a shallow bowl and pour the marinade over the flattened chicken breasts. Let marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Do not marinate for longer than 2 hours. The marinade will start to break down the chicken if you do so causing it to be tough after you cook it. Place chicken breasts on a preheated grill. Grill until the internal temperature reaches between 165 to 170 degrees.

Salad Ingredients:

1 celery stalk, sliced into small pieces

1/3 c. craisins

1 can of mandarin oranges

1/2 c. chow mein noodles

4 cups Spring Lettuce Mix

Separate the ingredients into 2 different bowls. Layer the ingredients over the lettuce mix. Once the chicken has been fully cooked, slice it into bite size pieces and place it over the rest of the salad ingredients. Pour the dressing that was set aside over your salad. (Remember to shake the dressing before using it as the oil will separate from the rest of the ingredients.)

Baklava

2008-11-14T17:05:00.002-06:00

Recently I my husband needed to bring some finger foods for an event at his work. I decided to make some Baklava for him to take. It looks very fancy and tastes delicious. Once you know how to make it, the process really quite simple. Phyllo dough is used for the layers of this pastry treat. You can find phyllo dough at any supermarket in the frozen foods section. Phyllo dough is extremely thin sheets of dough. So make sure you fully defrosted the dough before trying to use it--otherwise it is much more difficult to work with.

Baklava would also make a nice looking treat on a holiday platter if you are hosting a holiday party. Your guests would think you slaved for hours in the kitchen to make it. Little do they know how easy it really was....

Baklava
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 1/2 mixed chopped nuts (I used walnuts and pecans)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted

Syrup Topping ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1) Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Butter all around a 9 x 13 baking pan. Melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter in a separate bowl.
2) Toss together the cinnamon and nuts in a small bowl. Unwrap and unroll the phyllo dough sheets very carefully. You can cover the phyllo dough with a damp cloth when you are not using it to help make it easy to work with.
3) Place 2 sheets of the phyllo dough in the bottom of the pan. Spread liberally with the melted butter. Sprinkle a few small handfuls of the nut mixture over the buttered dough. Repeat in layers like this until you run out of ingredients to layer. Top with 6 layers of dough and butter the top layers liberally with melted butter.
4) Bake in a preheated oven for about 50 minutes--until golden brown and crisp.
5) While dough is baking, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and the water begins to bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients (honey, vanilla, and lemon zest). Let mixture simmer for about 20 minutes.
6) Upon removing the dough from the oven, spoon the syrup over the entire pan until all the syrup has been used up. Let the dough cool and then cut the bakalva into triangle shapes. Place baklava into cupcake holders. Serve.

Southwest Lime Cilantro Chicken Salad

2008-11-05T06:40:00.001-06:00

Recently I got the Southwest Salad at a famous fast food restauraunt. I enjoyed the taste of this salad, but I thought I could come up with a even better one. The salad that I came up with doesn't have any iceburg lettuce like the one you would get elsewhere. And, this salad cost me a fraction of the price I would pay otherwise. Also, if you don't want to make the salad, this cilantro lime marinade would also taste good with chicken on it's own...or you could also try it with fish...

Southwest Chicken Salad with Cilantro Lime Marinade

Cilantro Lime Marinade
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/4 c. lime juice
2 T. olive oil
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. Franks Red Hot Sauce
2 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
3 T. chopped cilantro
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I placed the chicken between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and flattened it out by hitting it with the bottom of a stainless steel pot. This way the chicken could cook faster when I placed it on the grill and so that I had thinner pieces of chicken.)

Combine all ingredients, except for the chicken breast, in a shallow bowl or ziploc bag. Add 2 piece of boneless skinless chicken breast and marinate for at least 30 minutes but no longer than 2 hours. If you marinade the chicken for over 2 hours, the lime juice will start to break the chicken down and it won't taste as good.

Southwest Chicken Salad--Makes 2 servings
3 cups spinach
1/2 c. black beans (rinsed and drained)
1/2 c. canned corn (drained)
1 roma tomato, chopped into small pieces
1/4 c. monterey jack cheese, shredded
Tortilla chips, crushed (optional)
2 grilled cilantro lime chicken breasts, sliced into strips
Newman's Own Southwest Dressing

Divide the above ingredients onto 2 plates or salad bowls. Top with Southwest dressing and serve.

Mexican Toffee Bars

2008-10-19T06:37:00.002-05:00

Here is a little recipe I made up using some sweetened condensed milk I had on hand. My husband jokingly named these Mexican toffee bars since I used some Mexican branded sweetened condensed milk. But I thought the name sounded good so I decided to go ahead and use it.

Mexican Toffee Bars
Graham Cracker Crust
6 Graham crackers, crushed into small pieces
1/2 c. chopped almonds
4 T. Butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix ingredients together and place in a 9 x 9 square pan. Bake crust for 8-10 minutes.
Chocolate Topping
3/4 c. sweetened condensed milk
1 c. chocolate chips
Place ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Melt ingredients in the microwave at 30 second intervals. Stir after 30 seconds. Repeat until chocolate chips are melted. Pour chocolate topping over the graham cracker crust immediately after removing from the microwave. Sprinkle chopped almonds over the chocolate topping.
Bake for 10-15 minutes more until chocolate is set. Let cool and cut into squares.

Raspberry Lime Bars

2008-10-12T07:00:00.002-05:00

Recently my family and I went raspberry picking. So, I wanted to come up with a recipe to use some of the fresh berries that we picked. I also LOVE the fresh taste of limes so I thought a perfect combo would be limes and raspberries. So, here is a new spin on the traditional lemon bars that everyone is familiar with.

Raspberry Lime Bars
Crust Layer
1 c. flour
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 t. salt
8 T. cold butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour, sugar and salt in food processor and spin to combine. Add two tablespoons of butter at a time and pulse until forms a ball. Add 1-2 t. of ice water if needed.

Spread over the bottom of a square pan. Bake until crust is golden brown--approximately 20 minutes. While crust is cooking, prepare raspberry filling.

Raspberry Filling
1 1/2 c. raspberries
1/4 c. sugar
2 heaping Tablespoons of uncooked tapioca pearls

Place in sauce pan and let mixture sit for about 5 minutes. Heat the saucepan over medium heat until the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat and let sit at least 20 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken.

After crust has cooled and spread raspberry filling over the crust.

Lime Topping
3 T. flour
1 c. sugar
1 t. lime zest
2 eggs
1/3 c. fresh lime juice
Mix everything together. Pour over the raspberry filling. Bake until topping is set in a 350 degree oven--for about 25-30 minutes. Let cool and dust with powdered sugar. Cut into squares and serve.

Triple Chocolate Pudding Cake

2008-10-05T06:37:00.001-05:00

I always stock up on cake mixes when they are on sale and/or I have a coupon. So, I had a bunch of cake mixes in my pantry and I decided to make up a chocolate cake recipe with one of the chocolate mixes. So here is a recipe for you if you are in need of a chocolate fix!

Triple Chocolate Pudding Cake

1 devils food cake mix (I used Betty Crocker brand)
1 c. water
1/4 c. canola oil
2 eggs
1 c. prepared instant chocolate pudding
1 c. chocolate chips
Hersheys chocolate syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cake mix, water, oil, eggs, and chocolate pudding. Beat until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour 1/2 the mixure into each one of the round, greased cake pans. Squirt chocolate syrup over the top of each cake before placing in oven. Bake for 26-33 minutes until cake is fulling cooked through. Let cool.

After cakes have cooled, carefully remove them from the pans. Use a tub of chocolate frosting to cover the cake. Also, remember my tip from a previous post--to make your frosting go further, beat the frosting with mixers for several minutes. The frosting will be about double the original amount after whipping it. Cut into slices and serve. I also placed some raspberries on the top of the cake just to add a little more visual appeal so it is just not a big brown blob.

**Also note that I do not claim to be a cake decorator so don't pay too close attention to the frosting job that I did on this cake.

Weeknight Beef Fajitas with Fresh Pico Di Gallo

2008-10-01T06:06:00.000-05:00

Here is another way to 'spice up' the meat leftovers from the roast that was posted earlier this week. I also love the fresh taste of homemade pico di gallo to go on these fajitas. And, since the beef is already cooked, you can have this meal to your table in about 15 minutes. Perfect for a crazy weeknight. I also like to freeze strips of beef leftovers from when I make roasts so I can just defrost it quickly for one of those busy week nights. Bell peppers also freeze well so you can freeze pre-cut bell pepper strips as well--making an already simple meal even simpler!

Homemade Pico Di Gallo
2 Roma Tomatoes, cut up into small chunks
3-4 T. Fresh cilantro leaves, sliced thin
1/2 onion, chopped into tiny pieces
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar

Combine all ingredients into a small bowl and stir. The sugar and salt help to really bring out the flavors of the tomatoes. Serve with your favorite Mexican dish or with chips and salsa.

Weeknight Beef Fajitas
Leftover roast beef, cut into strips
1 T. olive oil
1-2 bell pepper(s), sliced
1 small onion, sliced
3 T. chili powder
2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
1/3 c. water

Add oil, bell peppers and onions in a large skillet on medium high heat. Saute until softened. Add beef, chili powder cumin, garlic powder, and salt to the onion/pepper mixture. Stir until spices are evenly distributed around the beef, onions, and peppers. Add water to make a slight sauce. Cook until water has been evaporated and meat is softened and warmed through. Serve fajitas on warm flour tortillas, topped with pico di gallo.

Two Meals with the Meat of One

2008-09-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

Roast beef--the perfect meal for a Sunday. Growing up we would always have a nice meal on Sundays after church. Roast beef would be one of those meals. The great thing about roast beef is that there are usually lots of leftovers. So, I like to spice up the meat and make it into another meal...details to one of the options will be coming on the post for Wednesday so stayed tuned. Anyway, here is how I like to prepare my roast beef as well as the garlic mashed potatoes that I like to make as a side dish to go along with the roast beef.

Roast Beef

3 lb. round roast

Coarse Kosher Salt

Crushed Black Pepper

Garlic Powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pat roast dry and rub liberally with coarse salt, pepper and garlic powder. Tie roast with kitchen twine in 3 spots to keep the roast together while cooking. Place in baking pan with a small amount of water. Roast in oven for about 1 hour. Cover roast with aluminum foil and cook for another 1-2 hours. Cooking time is determined by how well done you like your meat. Cook for a total of about 2 hours for rare (1 hour uncovered, 1 hour covered) and 3 hours (1 hour covered, 2 hours uncovered) total for well done.

Remove from oven and let sit for about 15 minutes to allow juices to flavor the meat. Slice and serve.

To prepare gravy:

Remove drippings from bottom of the roasting pan and place in a saucepan on a burner. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile mix together 2 T. of cold water and 1 T. of corn starch in a small bowl. Stir into the saucepan after mixture has been brought to a boil. Continue to stir until thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper and serve over roast.

Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes

4 red potatoes, washed throughly and cut into medium sized pieces--keep skins on

5 cloves of garlic, skins removed but kept whole

3 T. milk

2 T. butter

2 T. sour cream

salt/pepper to taste

Place potatoes and whole garlic cloves in a large saucepan on the stove. Boil until tender when poked with a fork. Drain water and place in a separate bowl. Add milk, butter, sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. Beat until potatoes are creamy and not chunky. Serve with roast beef.

Slow Cooker Sunday: Beanless Pineapple Chicken Chili

2008-09-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

So, recently I participated in a chili cook-off. There were 3 different categories where winners would be selected-most unique chili, spiciest chili, and best chili. I decided to try to make the most unique chili because I thought this category would be the easiest to win. I figured a chicken pineapple chili was very unique. However, I did not stand a chance when someone entered a blue chili. That was very unique!! But several people told me that my chili was their favorite, so here is the recipe. It's a nice change from the normal chili with beef and beans.

Beanless Pineapple Chicken Chili

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts—cut into chunks
2 T. olive oil
¾ c. chicken broth
¼ c. water
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used half of a red pepper and half of a yellow pepper)
1-2 jalapeño peppers, chopped (add seeds too if you want the chili to be spicy—the seeds are the spicy part of the jalapeno, otherwise get rid of the seeds)
2 T. shredded ginger root
½ head of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
½ carrot, sliced into small pieces
1 stalk of celery
5 oz can tomato sauce
14 oz can diced tomatoes
14 oz can stewed tomatoes
3 T. tomato paste
2 T. dried basil
1 t. dried oregano
¼ t. dried thyme
1 t. cayenne pepper
1/3 c. chili powder
1 T. cumin
½ t. salt
3 T. Soy Sauce
¼ c. honey
½ fresh pineapple—cut into small chunks
4 T. cornmeal—add a tablespoon at a time while cooking

Cut chicken into bit size chunks and cook in a frying pan with some dried herbs. Meanwhile, add olive oil into the slow cooker. Add chicken broth and water to slow cooker. Then add the peppers, onion, ginger, garlic, carrot, and celery. Stir to combine. Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, and tomato paste to the rest of the mixture. Stir in the spices (basil, oregano, thyme, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cumin, salt). Then add the soy sauce and honey. Add the pineapple chunks last. Cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken starts to shred. While cooking, stir in a tablespoon at a time of cornmeal. It acts as a thickener for the chili. Top with cheese and serve.

**I also like to make this the night before to allow the flavors to become stronger after it sits in the fridge overnight. This meal tastes better as leftovers than it does the first day you make it.

Raspberry Cheesecake Squares

2008-09-17T05:00:00.007-05:00

I don't have much time but I wanted to post this recipe for Raspberry Cheesecake Squares. These look quite fancy but they are actually pretty simple to make. This recipe doesn't require too many ingredients, which makes it nice. And, I usually have all these ingredients on hand regularly too. These also work well to cut into smaller squares if you are entertaining with a lot of people. Anyway, enjoy this raspberry goodness!

Raspberry Cheesecake Squares

Cookie crust
1 stick butter
12 oz package white chocolate chips
2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs (This comes is about 1 sleeve of whole graham crackers. To make the crumbs, place the whole graham crackers in a Ziploc bag and run a rolling pin over them until they are crumbs or place in a food processor to crush.)

Raspberry Cheesecake
8 oz cream cheese, softened
14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
½ t. vanilla extract
3 t. raspberry extract
6 drops of red food coloring (depending on how green you want it to be)

Raspberry topping
2 c. frozen raspberries
½ c. sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place butter and white chocolate chips in a medium sized saucepan over medium/low heat, stirring constantly until both are fully melted. Remove from heat and stir in graham cracker crumbs. Spread mixture in an even layer in an ungreased 9 x 13 pan.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until combined. Then beat in the egg and raspberry and vanilla extract. Divide batter into 2 separate bowls. Add red food coloring to one of the bowls of the cheesecake batter and stir until combined. Place one of the bowls of batter over the graham cracker mixture. And, then add the second bowl of batter over that. Take a knife and run it through the cheesecake mixture to make a marbling effect on the cheesecake with the pink and cream colored cheesecake batter.

To make the raspberry topping, combine the frozen raspberries and sugar in a microwave safe bowl. Stir until combined. Place in the microwave for 1-2 minutes—until raspberries are no longer frozen.

Bake the cheesecake in the prepared oven for about 25-30 minutes or until cheesecake is fully set. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours. Cut into squares and top with the raspberry topping.

Slow Cooker Sunday--Corn Chowder

2008-09-14T06:00:00.003-05:00

Here's another slow cooker recipe. I made it recently when it had been raining for several days straight and it was just a cold day outside. This was the perfect comfort food recipe for those cold, rainy days.

Corn Chowder

6 slices of bacon, cooked and cut into bite size pieces
1 can cream style corn
1 can corn
1 can evaporated milk
1 can chicken broth
2 ribs of celery, sliced into small pieces
1 large potato, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T. basil
2 t. parsley
1 1/2 t. salt
½ t. pepper
¾ c. cheddar cheese
Green onions, chopped

Place chicken broth, celery, potato, onion, basil, salt, parsley, and pepper into a slow cooker and cook for about 4 hours on high until veggies are tender. Stir in evaporated milk, corn, creamed corn, and bacon into crock pot. Don’t drain the corn—just dump in the entire can. Cook for another hour and serve. To make the chowder a thicker consistency, you can add another can of cream-style corn. Stir cheddar cheese before serving and top each bowl with some green onions.

Mango Rice and Fruit Kebabs

2008-09-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

Where did the summer go? I can't believe that it is already September! One thing I love about summer time is grilling. It keeps your house nice and cool and it is so simple and easy. Anyway, the other day I had some fruit that would have gone bad if I did not use it up so I made some tasty fruit kebabs and threw them on the grill with some salmon that I made. Grilling the fruit brings out the flavors of the fruit and the juices. The mango rice also helped me to use up some of my fruit and it was the perfect side dish to this light meal.

All I did for the salmon was marinade it in Lawry's Hawaiian marinade for 30 minutes and place it on the grill. Nothing fancy whatsoever. But, it was still yummy. Salmon is super healthy for you--all those omega 3 fatty acids, low in calories, and packed with protein. My husband is not a big fish fan, but he does like salmon. But I'm sure if you don't like fish, chicken would work just as well.

Grilled Fruit Kebabs
Wooden Skewers (soaked in water for at least 30 minutes before hand)
Fresh Mango chunks
Fresh Pineapple chunks
Fresh Nectarine slices

Thread fruit through the wooden skewer. Place on a preheated grill and grill for 3-5 minutes on each side of the skewer.

For those of you not familiar with how to cut a mango, here are some great instructions I found online. Since mangoes have such a large pit, it can be a little tricky. But this website I found helped me out a lot.

How to cut a mango

Mango Rice
1/2 c. finely chopped mango pieces
1 c. Mango Nectar (I used the Jumex brand. I bought the individual cans of this type of nectar at Wal-Mart in the juice aisle. I always have a few in my pantry to use for smoothies, etc.)
1 c. water
1 c. rice

Place in a rice cooker and cook until done. I only tried this in my rice cooker but I'm sure it would work just as well on the stovetop.

I have found a rice cooker just makes it so much easier to make the perfect rice. I didn't have one until my husband gave it to me for my birthday in June of this past year. And, now it's like, "what did I do before I had it?" Anyway, if you don't already have one, it's something to keep in mind for your Christmas wish list. Christmas will be here before we know it!

Slow Cooker Sunday

2008-09-07T10:21:00.002-05:00

Sundays are a day I usually prepare a Slow Cooker meal for dinner. Crock pot meals are super easy to make. And with our church meeting at 2 PM-5 PM, it is really nice to just come home to a meal that has been roasting all day long and ready as we walk in the door. The smell as we walk in the door is usually divine. So, here is a recipe that I made recently in the crockpot one Sunday. It is inspired from a recipe that my sister-in-law made several years ago when we were on a house boat trip with them. This recipe makes a ton of food and freezes really well for a night when you do not feel like cooking. Another great thing about this recipe is that I usually have all the ingredients on hand so I can make it in a pinch.

Crock Pot Pork Chalupas

1-2 lb boneless pork roast
1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 c. chicken broth

2 T. chili powder

1 1/2 T. cumin
1 t. oregano

2 cans diced green chilies

2 T. unsweeted tapioca (you can find this in the Jell-O section at your supermarket--the only brand I have been able to find is Minute. It is in a small red box. The one box will last you forever.)

1-15 oz can corn, juice included

1-15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1-8 oz can of tomato sauce

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker, except for the roast. Stir until combined. Add roast to the slow cooker. Cook covered for 4-5 hours on high and 7-8 hours on low. Shred pork with a fork, sprinkle with cheese, and roll up in a tortilla.

We like to eat these with a fork because the recipe is pretty juicy. Also, this recipe is great served in the taco salad shells (see recipe here for the shells I'm talking about). Have a great Sunday!

Tortilla Chip Crusted Chicken Parmesan

2008-09-03T09:18:00.006-05:00

Don’t you just hate it when you get to the bottom of a bag of chips and all that is left are the crumbs? As I see it you have two choices: Choice #1--throw the bag away OR Choice #2 attempt to eat the remaining crumbs which quite frankly turns into a downright messy situation. I was having this dilemma the other day and was about to throw a bag of tortilla chip crumbs away. And, then an idea came to my mind. I could crush the crumbs up even more and use these crumbs to coat some chicken. So, next time you have reached the bottom of your tortilla chip bag, try this recipe for yourself. You will not be disappointed!

Try this recipe with some Cheesy Ciabatta rolls. Yummy!

Tortilla Chip Crusted Chicken Parmesan

2 large chicken breasts (cut crosswise into 4 thin chicken slices)
Crushed tortilla chips (about 1-2 cups worth)
2 t. Italian seasoning
1 egg
2 T. Olive Oil
¼ t. black pepper
1 jar of Spaghetti Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan cheese
Your choice of pasta

Flatten chicken breasts by cutting them crosswise into 4 thin slices. Then cover the chicken breasts with either several layers of plastic wrap or place in a Ziploc bag and pound the chicken with the bottom of a small saucepan or frying pan. You’ll have to whack them pretty hard. (This is also a good way to get out any pent up aggression you may have…) I pound the chicken to be about ½ inch to 1 inch thick. Meanwhile heat a frying pan on the stove with 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. And cook pasta according to package instructions.

Crush the tortilla chips either with a rolling pin or in a food processor. Add 2 t. of Italian seasoning to the crushed chips and stir. Place these in a shallow bowl.

In another shallow bowl, beat the egg thoroughly. Stir in the black pepper.

Dip each chicken breast in the egg mixture and then dredge the chicken liberally with the tortilla chip crumbs.

Place each coated chicken breast in the frying pan. Cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side (or until the chip coating starts to become brown). Turn heat to medium low and pour the spaghetti sauce over the chicken breasts. Let cook for about 5-10 minutes, until the spaghetti sauce starts to thicken. Sprinkle parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese over each of the chicken breasts. Continue to cook until melted.

Serve over cooked pasta.

Random Cooking Tips

2008-08-27T11:45:00.003-05:00

Here are some random cooking tips that I have learned over the years. Also, make sure you take the little survey on the right hand side of my site so I know what recipes you have tried!

1) Honey—spray your measuring cup or spoon with cooking spray. It will slip right out.
2) Bananas—to help them to ripen slower, unattach them one by one from the stem. This will slow the ripening process down. If you want them to ripen quickly, by all means keep them connected.
3) Muffins—spray the baking cups before spooning in your muffin batter. This will help the muffins to come out easily from the muffin cups when you go to eat them.
4) Juicing citrus—warm the citrus fruit (lemon, lime, orange, etc) in the microwave for 15 seconds before juicing it. You will be able to get a lot from juice from the fruit this way.
5) Peeling garlic—Place the garlic clove in the microwave for 10 seconds. The peel will come off really easily.
6) Measuring sticky solids like peanut butter and shortening—place plastic wrap in the measuring cup prior to measuring. The sticky stuff will drop right out and you will have one less measuring cup to clean!
7) Store bought icing—Whip it with a hand held mixture before frosting. You will get double the amount of frosting for you to use when icing cupcakes or a cake.
8) Storing fresh basil—Basil does not like cold temperatures. Store freshly cut basil in a cup with water covering the stems only. Your basil will keep for weeks this way. Make sure to change your water occasionally.
9) Freshly made dough—when allowing it to rise, spray the bowl it is rising in with cooking spray (like PAM). The dough will slip right out after it rises.
10) Bar cookies—line your pan with 2 pieces of aluminum foil—one going horizontal and the other going vertical. Then spray with cooking spray. You can remove the cookies so easily from the pan this way.
11) Potatoes—to prevent growth on your potatoes, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes when you store them

Do you have any other tips to share?? Let's hear them! Let me know you're out there so I know if people are actually reading this blog! :)

Nectarine Berry Crumb Pie

2008-08-25T07:14:00.006-05:00

I love the tastes of the summer...berries, barbeques, grilling, nectarines, peaches. So, I decided to incorporate two of these summer tastes (berries and nectarines) into a pie. And, because I happened to have some nectarines and strawberries that were going to go bad if I did not use them soon. But anyway, here is the final result...

Nectarine Berry Crumb Pie

Pie Crust Recipe (makes 1-9 inch pie crust)
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt
1 stick of butter (NOT MARGARINE), chilled and sliced into about 15 pieces
1/4 cup cold water

**I like to make my pie crust in a food processor--it makes combining the ingredients and cutting in the butter super easy! Make sure you do not process the ingredients too much--it will make your crust tough.

Combine flour, salt, and butter in a food processor. Pulse about 10-15 times for about 2 seconds for each pulse--or until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add water 2 Tablespoons at a time and pulse to combine. After all water is combined remove the dough from the food processor and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to chill at least 1 hour. Chilling the dough will make it much easier to work with.

After dough has been chilled, remove from the fridge and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin. The trick to making your dough flaky and not tough when rolling out is to roll in the same direction. The best way to do this is to roll your dough in a clockwise motion from about the 3 o'clock position to the 6 o'clock position. The lift your dough up and turn it clockwise slightly. Repeat the same procedure--roll from the 3:00 position to the 6:00 position and then lift your dough up and turn it. Repeat this procedure until your pie crust is large enough to fit in your pie tin. Place your pie crust in your pie tin and leave let the dough hang just slightly over the lip. Pinch the pie crust at on the lip with your thumb and index finger to make the design for the edge of your pie crust. Repeat all the way around the pie pan.

Crumb Topping Recipe

3/4 c. brown sugar

2 t. cinnamon

1 c. flour

1/4 c. butter

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You will not use all of this crumb topping to cover the pie. It can also be used as a topping for muffins, quick breads, fruit crisps, etc. You can store it in the fridge for about 1 week or so.

I had a little leftover pie crust that I had to cut off on the edge of the pie tin. So, I just sprinkled some of this topping on the dough and placed it in the oven until the pie crust was lightly browned and my family had a little pre-pie treat.

Nectarine Berry Filling

4 Nectarines, peeled and sliced

1 1/2 c. sliced strawberries

1 1/2 c. blueberries (I used frozen blueberries that I just removed from the freezer and let thaw for about 15 minutes before adding them to the filling mixture)

1/4 c. uncooked tapioca pearls (You can find these in the JELLO section at your local grocery store/super center. I used Minute brand tapioca pearls--they are in a small red box. It was the only brand available at the store I shop at. The tapioca helps to thicken the pie filling)

1 c. sugar

1 lemon, juiced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all the above ingredients into a medium sized bowl. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Then pour into the pie crust. Cover the pie filling completely with the crumb topping.

Cook the pie in the oven for about 30 minutes. Then turn the heat down to 375 degrees. Cover the edge of the pie crust so that it doesn't burn. Cook for approximately 15-20 minutes more or until you start to see the filling start have small bubbles. Let pie sit for at least 2 hours in order for the filling to set and serve. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Lemon Berry Muffins with a Coconut Crumb Topping

2008-08-18T07:33:00.006-05:00

So, recently my family and I went and picked blueberries. We got 2 gallons worth of blueberries so I wanted to come up with a new recipe to use these blueberries in. And, then a friend of ours gave us some lemons from a lemon tree that they picked from so I decided to incorporate the lemon flavor into this recipe as well. The yogurt in this recipe helps to make the muffins extra moist. These muffins are perfect for breakfast or if you are craving a sweet little snack.

Lemon Berry Muffins with a Coconut Crumb Topping

Yield: 12 muffins

Muffin Batter:
3 T. Butter, softened
½ c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 ½ c. flour
¼ t. salt
2 t. baking powder
Juice of 1 large lemon
2 t. lemon zest
½ c. vanilla yogurt
¼ c. milk
1 ½ c. blueberries (fresh or frozen but not thawed)

Coconut Crumb Topping Ingredients:

2 T. Butter, softened
2 T. sugar
4 T. brown Sugar
1 t. cinnamon
3 T. sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place muffin cups in muffin tin and spray with cooking spray.

Beat butter until soft. Add sugar and cream. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour, salt, and baking powder to butter mixture. Mix until combined. Add lemon juice, zest, yogurt and milk and beat until smooth. Fold blueberries into the rest of the batter. Add 1/3 c. of the batter to each muffin tin.

Crumb topping: Combine butter and sugars and mixture together with a fork until mixture resembles small crumbs. Mix in cinnamon to crumb topping. Stir in coconut. Sprinkle over the muffins.

Cook muffins for 18-22 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes and serve.

Shredded Beef Enchiladas in a Sour Cream Sauce

2008-08-14T07:55:00.007-05:00

I really enjoy Mexican food. And, enchiladas are probably one of my favorite Mexican dishes. I'm not the biggest fan of the commerically made enchilada sauces out there. One of my favorite local Mexican restaurants has this sour cream sauce on their enchiladas that I love. So, I decided to come up with a sour cream sauce of my own. This recipe is perfect for leftover beef that you might have and want to spice up a little. I made a beef roast in the crockpot on Sunday and had leftovers so this is what I did to the leftovers. Sorry but these are not the prettiest pictures in the world. Enchiladas are difficult to make look nice but they are tasty. This recipe also works great with chicken.

Shredded Beef Enchiladas
Recipe Size: 1-9 x 13 pan or 2-8 x 8 pans
I personally like to make 1-8 x 8 pan and stick the other one in my freezer. This recipe freezes really well.

8 soft taco sized flour tortillas
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 lb. shredded beef (I make a 2-3 lb chuck roast or pot roast in my crockpot and then save the leftovers for this recipe)
1 small onion, chopped
4 T. canned chopped green chilis
2 T. chili powder
2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/4 to 1/2 c. water

Place a small amount of oil in a frying pan and saute onion until tender. Stir in the shredded beef, green chilis, chili powder, ground cumin, and salt until mixed together. Add some water to the mixture to help to mix the seasonings throughout the beef mixture. Cook until water is almost dissolved and beef is pretty tender. You could also use this beef mixture as tacos. After beef has been cooked, add 3/4 c. of the sour cream sauce to this beef mixture.

Sour Cream Sauce
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 T. corn starch
2 T. water
16 oz of sour cream
1 T. chili powder
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
2 T. chopped canned green chilis

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Meanwhile mix corn starch and water in a small bowl. After chicken broth has come to a boil, whisk in the cornstartch/water mixture. This will cause the chicken broth to thicken slightly. Once the chicken broth begins to thicken, remove from heat. Stir in the sour cream, chili powder, cumin, salt and green chilis.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. To make the enchilidas, spread a very thin layer of the sour cream sauce at the bottom of the 2-8 x 8 or 1-9 x 13 pan. Spread about 1/3 cup of the beef mixture down the center of the tortilla. Then place 2 T. of the sour cream sauce over the beef mixture. Sprinkle with some cheese and roll the tortilla up like a burrito. Place seam side down in your pan. Repeat until all beef mixture is gone. Pour the remaining sour cream sauce eveningly over the filled tortillas. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the sour cream sauce.

Place in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the enchiladas are starting to bubble.

Tortilla Week

2008-08-12T14:34:00.006-05:00

So my pantry has a bunch of tortillas in it that I need to use up...so, this week I'm posting some recipes to use up those tortillas. This recipe you seriously can have ready and on the table in 15 minutes flat. It is one of my old standbys when I'm not feeling too creative to make anything else and I want a quick meal. It goes great with a fruit cup or yogurt on the side. And, another plus for this recipe--you can serve it for breakfast or even dinner.

Sausage Breakfast Burritos
**Makes enough for 4 taco size tortillas or 2 large burrito size tortillas
5 links of brown and serve sausage
1 large potato--cut up into small bite sized cubes
4 eggs
1/3 c. milk
1/2 t. ground mustard
1/2 t. salt
Warmed tortillas

Heat a frying pan with some oil (about 1 teaspoon or so). Place potato cubes in the frying pan and cook until tender and lightly brown (about 7-8 minutes). Sprinkle potato cubes with some salt. Meanwhile heat brown and serve sausage in the microwave for about 3 minutes. After they have been heated through drain off any grease with a paper towel and slice each link into about 8 pieces. Mix together the eggs, milk, ground mustard, and salt in a small bowl. After potato cubes have been cooked add the egg mixture and sausage slices to the pan. Turn the egg mixture constantly, as if you were making scrambled eggs. After the eggs are cooked throughly, remove the frying pan from the heat. Spoon mixture onto warmed tortillas. You can also sprinkle cheese, spread salsa, or squirt ketchup over the egg mixture--whatever is your preference. I personally enjoy these with ketchup! Roll up your tortilla and savor the flavors. Quick, easy and to your table under 15 minutes!

Pineapple Coconut Shrimp

2008-08-05T16:02:00.006-05:00

So, I'm just getting back from a weeklong vacation in Hawaii. Here is a recipe inspired by some of the common Hawaiian ingredients of pineapple and coconut—as well as seafood! Aloha to pineapple coconut shrimp. You can also try this recipe with chicken instead of shrimp--I'm sure it will still be very tasty!

Pineapple Coconut Shrimp Ingredients

1 lb. uncooked shrimp
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 T. olive oil
1/3 c. coconut
½ c. crushed pineapple
½ c. coconut milk
¼ c. honey
2 t. Frank’s Red Hot sauce
1 t. soy sauce

Place coconut in a frying pan over medium heat and cook until toasted, stirring constantly. Set aside. Place olive oil in another frying pan over medium high heat. Cook shrimp in the olive oil until pink—a few minutes on each side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add crushed pineapple, coconut milk, honey, hot sauce and soy sauce to the shrimp and stir. Set a few tablespoons of the toasted coconut aside to sprinkle over the finished product. Stir in the remaining toasted coconut into the shrimp mixture. Bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and serve over rice, sprinkled with the reserved toasted coconut.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Salad

2008-07-24T21:38:00.007-05:00

So, this is a salad that my family has on a pretty regular basis. I like fruits more than vegetables, so this salad has quite a few different fruits in it as well as veggies. It helps me to get my servings of veggies in a slightly sneaky way. I also enjoy making this salad because as I make it I sneak little tastes of the ingredients--some mandrain oranges here, craisins here, and a piece of bacon there. This salad works great as a main dish with chicken in it or you can omit the chicken and use it as a side dish. It is a great salad to bring to a fun summer barbeque.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Salad
Makes 2 large main dish salads or 1 big side salad

6 cups of leafy vegetables
1 large chicken breast, cooked and cut in bite size pieces
4 slices of bacon, cooked and cut into bite size pieces
2 hard boiled eggs--sliced
1/2 cucumber, chopped into small pieces
6 strawberries, sliced
1/4 c. craisins
1/4 c. toasted candied walnuts
1 can of mandarin orange segments
Your favorite salad dressing

To make the candied walnuts, toast walnuts on medium heat in a small skillet a few minutes on each side until they start to become slightly fragrant. After they have been toasted melt 1 T of butter in the pan with the walnuts. Then add 2 T of brown sugar. Stir constantly until walnuts are covered with the sugary coating. Remove immediately from the heat and spread on a small cookie sheet. Let harden and toss in salad.

Layer all the above ingredients onto 2 plates or in a large salad bowl. Drizzle with your favorite dressing and eat up!

Salad Week!!!

2008-07-22T21:32:00.006-05:00

So, this week I'm going to focus on some tasty salads that you can make this summer. I love salads in the summer time. They are so refreshing and simple to make. And, they don't turn your kitchen into a sauna. Anyway, today's salad is a Chicken Caesar Salad in a shell. Instead of using croutons in your salad, you can have the same crispy affect by putting the salad in a crispy tortilla shell. I use Atzeca brand shells from my neighborhood Wal-Mart super center. They are located in the refrigerated section by the Mexican cheeses and cream cheese (at least that is where they are in the Wal-Mart near me). You can make the shells up to 2 days in advance. Just be careful to watch them while cooking because they can go from being not done to being burnt very quickly!

Chicken Caesar Salad in a Shell

Makes 2 full size salads

1 large chicken breast (cooked and cut into bite size pieces)

4 bacon strips (cooked and cut into bite size pieces)

1/2 cucumber, cut into small pieces

4 cups of leafy greens

1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese

Caesar Salad Dressing

Parmesan cheese

2 Salad Shells (cooked according to package directions)

Prepare salad shells according to package instructions and set aside. Layer leafy greens, chicken breast, bacon, cucumber, and swiss cheese in the salad shell. Drizzle Caesar salad dressing over the top of the salad. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and serve.

Super Yummy Sausage Arugula Pizza

2008-07-18T11:07:00.008-05:00

Pizza is right up there as one of my favorite foods. I'm going to share with you the best pizza dough recipe that I have found. It's from my Baking Illustrated cookbook and the recipes are from "America's Test Kitchen." If you are not familiar with "America's Test Kitchen," they take familiar recipes and create and tweak them over and over again until they find what they consider to be the best version. Basically, they do all the hard work so that I don't have to. Then I decided to make a tasty sausage pizza—different from your normal sausage pizza. Yum! The nice thing about this recipe is you can make a bunch of small pizzas and top them with different things. A perfect Friday night family activity! Why not try it out tonight?

Pizza Dough Ingredients
1/2 c warm water
2 1/4 t instant yeast
1 1/4 c. water (room temperature)
2 T. Olive Oil
4 c. bread flour
1 1/2 t. salt

Measure 1/2 c. of warm water (abt 110 degrees) into a liquid measure cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it sit for about 5 minutes (until it starts to grow a little). Add 1 1/4 c. room temperature water and then add the olive oil to this mixture.

Using a food processor is a super easy place to make your pizza dough, so try it out! Pulse the bread flour and salt to combine them. Then pour the liquid ingredients through the top of your food processor while pulsing.

After the dough comes together in the processor, pulse for about 30 seconds (until dough is smooth and elastic). Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a round ball. Spray a bowl with cooking spray or spread with oil and place dough in the bowl. Cover with plasic wrap tightly. (According to the Test Kitchen, the plastic wrap forms a tighter seal over the dough and helps to keep the dough more moist than a towel would.) Wait for dough to double in size (about 2 hours). Press down on the dough with your fist. Divide dough into as many pizzas as you would like. (Makes about 3 medium sized pizzas)

I personally divided mine into 2 pieces—one to use now and the other to freeze. I was able to make 2 small pizzas with half of this recipe. After you divide the dough cover it with a towel and let it sit for at least 10 minutes but not any longer than 30 minutes. Then you are ready for the toppings!

**Tip Alert: You can freeze pizza dough now and save it for a later use! To do this, you will let the dough rise. After the first rise, wrap your dough in plastic wrap and then put it in a ziploc freezer bag in the freezer. When you want to use it after it has been frozen, remove the dough from the freezer and you can let it defrost in your fridge overnight. Or place it on your counter for 4-6 hours. Then shape and top it as you would like.

Sausage Arugula Pepper Pizza

Pizza Sauce Ingredients
12 oz of tomato sauce (1 ½ cups)
2 T. tomato paste
3 garlic cloves minced
1-2 t. of your choice of Italian seasonings (I used oregano and basil)
1 t. sugar (I know this may seem weird but it will help bring the tomato flavor out—trust me)
½ t. salt
dash of pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Turn heat down to med low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and spread over pizza dough.

Italian Sausage, Arugula and Red Pepper Topping Ingredients
3 Italian sausage links (with casings removed), cooked and broken into bite size pieces
½ c. fresh arugula (I have fresh arugula in my herb garden that I use. If you don’t have arugula I’m sure fresh spinach would be good as well. Also, another way to sneak veggies into your kids food!)
½ red pepper, sliced into small pieces
8 oz of shredded cheese
1 T. olive oil
Italian seasonings

At least 30 minutes before you want to make your pizza you should have preheat your oven to 500 degrees and put your pizza stone in your oven while it is heating. The key to making your crisp crust and cooked well is a HOT oven and HOT pizza stone. So, make sure you do this.

Shape your pizza dough into the size of pizza you want. I like make mine a little smaller. (It is easier this way maneuver the topped pizza onto the hot pizza stone.) Spread olive oil over the pizza dough. Prick dough with a fork to prevent it from rising too much in the oven. Then top with sauce, arugula, red peppers, sausage and then cheese. Sprinkle with your choice of Italian seasonings. Slide pizza onto the heated pizza stone (this will be the trickiest part of it all…). When it hits the pizza stone, it will make a sizzling sound (It kind of reminds me of Fajitas!) Then cook for about 8-12 minutes (or until the cheese starts to be golden brown in spots. Remove pizza from the open and serve!

Chicken, Bacon and Broccoli Pasta with Lemon Parmesan Cream Sauce and Parmesan Cheese Ciabatta Rolls

2008-07-14T18:40:00.015-05:00

So last week I was on an Asian food kick...this week it looks like it is going to be Italian. I came up with this tasty Lemon Cream Sauce to put on your favorite type of pasta. I decided to use thin spaghetti--yes I know a little boring but still so yummy! You can go out on a limb and try it with farfelle, angel hair, rotini, or penne. Be creative, daring--or just use whatever you can find in your pantry (hence why I used the thin spaghetti).

It would just be wrong to have any type of Italian main dish without some type of bread. So here is a super easy way to have a delicious bready side. Ciabatta (here's a little grammer lesson for those of you wondering how in the world to pronounce this word--cha-BAHT-ta) is an Italian bread made from whole wheat flour. It usually has a dense, crisp crust and an airy center. So, you're probably thinking that this is some type of specialty bread only carried at fine bakeries. But you're wrong. Most grocery stores carry this type of bread now. I got mine at my local Wal-Mart super center. It was in a package of 6 rolls in the fresh bakery section. I put most of the rolls in the freezer to save them for later for when I'm in an Italian kick like I was today. These rolls also work great for panini sandwiches. Now onto the recipes!

Cheesy Ciabatta Rolls

3 T. Butter (softened)

1-2 t. Italian Seasonings (Use a mixture of your favs--I use garlic powder, rosemary, oregano and basil)

Ciabatta Rolls--split in half

Parmesan Cheese

Mix butter and Italian seasonings in a small bowl. Spread liberally over the ciabatta rolls. Sprinkle the rolls liberally with parmesan cheese. (You can also try sprinkling with mozzeralla cheese as well--also very tasty!) Place in 400 degree oven and bake until butter is melted (about 5 minutes). Serve with your favorite pasta dish!

Chicken, Bacon and Broccoli Pasta with Lemon Parmesan Cream Sauce

2 Cooked Boneless skinless Chicken breasts (I grilled mine in a grill pan on the stove--the only seasoning I used was salt and pepper)

4 slices of cooked bacon
1 cup cooked broccoli

Pasta of your choice (cooked according to package instructions)

Lemon Parmesan Cream Sauce Ingredients

1 T. butter

1 t. cornstarch

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 oz (1 cup) evaporated milk
1 lemon (zested and juiced--place zest and juice together in small bowl)

1 t. sugar

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper
1/2 c. parmesan cheese

Place butter in small saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add minced garlic cloves and stir. Add cornstarch and stir constantly. The mixture will be like a paste. Wisk in gradually the evaporated milk, lemon juice, zest, sugar, salt and pepper. Mixture will start to become slightly thicker. Turn heat down to medium low and wisk in the parmesan cheese until melted. Remove from heat. Layer chicken, broccoli and bacon over pasta and spoon lemon cream sauce over and enjoy this restaurant quality Italian meal in the comfort of your own home!

Thai Peanut Lettuce Wraps

2008-07-09T10:18:00.010-05:00

I decided to put together another Asian dish this week. This time it is more of a Thai type dish. Whenever I have been to Thai restaurants, they always ask what scale of spiciness. This dish would be a zero on the spiciness scale. If you want to spice it up a little, just add some red chili paste. That will definitely give it some zing--a little of that goes a VERY long way!

I have always enjoyed lettuce wraps, so I thought I'd create a Thai peanut version of lettuce wraps--complete with coconut, peanuts and cilantro. I used iceberg lettuce with my creation, but you can really use any type you want. I enjoy the crispiness of the iceberg lettuce even though there is really no nutritional value with that type of lettuce.

For the meat filling, I used ground turkey. I am a ground turkey person. We do not use much ground beef at all in my household. I love how much healthier it is for you than ground beef. And, you don't have to drain off any of that nasty grease when you brown it in a frying pan. If you don't use ground turkey in your cooking, give it a try. You probably won't even be able to tell the difference--especially in recipes like this where you are using a lot of seasoning. I know my husband was kind of skeptical at first, but now he likes the taste of ground turkey even better than ground beef. But, if you are not feeling adventurous enough to try the ground turkey, feel free to substitute ground beef or even chicken cut up in tiny pieces. Okay--enough chit chat--now onto the good stuff!

Meat Filling Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey
1 small onion

2 T. brown sugar

2 T. soy sauce

2 t. hot sauce (I like to use Frank's Red Hot Sauce)

2 T. finely chopped cilantro

2 T. shredded coconut
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chopped peanuts--for topping

Brown turkey and onion in skillet until cooked through. Add some salt and pepper to the turkey and onion mixture. Add brown sugar, soy sauce and hot sauce and cook for a few minutes until mixed through. Add cilantro and shredded coconut at the end and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. Place in lettuce cups and spoon thai peanut sauce over the meat mixture. Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the top.

Thai Peanut Sauce Ingredients

2 heaping Tablespoons Peanut Butter
1/2 c. coconut milk (You can find this in the Asian section of your local grocery store. It's a very common ingredient.)

2 T. shredded coconut

2 T. chopped peanuts

2 T. skim milk

Heat peanut butter and coconut milk in a small saucepan until combined. Stir in shredded coconut and chopped peanuts. Remove from heat and add 2 T. of milk to the mixture to thin it out slightly. Spoon over meat mixture in the lettuce wraps. Sprinkly with chopped peanuts.

**Tip Alert: Not sure what to do with that extra coconut milk in the can? If you are like me and you put it in your fridge, you will just end up throwing it away in a few weeks when you get around to cleaning your fridge. So, instead put it in a ziploc back and throw it in the freezer. Then the next time you want to make this recipe or some other recipe that requires coconut milk take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw overnight.

Orange Pineapple Chicken with Orange Rice

2008-07-07T09:24:00.007-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July weekend and enjoyed some Independence Day festivities. I know my family enjoyed watching the fireworks and going to a barbeque on the 4th. It was so nice that the 4th fell on a Friday this year!

In case you are feeling lazy from the long weekend and don't want to think of a recipe to make for dinner tonight, I've got you covered. This is a pretty simple recipe, but oh so tasty! After making "Aloha Pancakes" I had some leftover crushed pineapple from the can of pineapple I had opened. I hate being wasteful, so I came up with this recipe for orange pineapple chicken. My husband absolutely loved this recipe and has asked that it become one I make on a regular basis. Watch out PF Chang’s--you have some serious competition!

Orange Pineapple Chicken Ingredients
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c. flour
1 egg
¼ cup milk
½ t. salt
Olive Oil
Chopped green onions for topping (about 6)

Orance Pineapple Sauce Ingredients
2 T. Soy Sauce
½ c. honey
½ c. orange juice
¾ c. crushed pineapple (juice included)
1 T. orange zest

Cut chicken into bit size pieces. Mix together the egg, milk, and salt. Place flour in a separate bowl. Dredge chicken in the milk mixture and then roll chicken in the flour—covering liberally.

Heat frying pan with olive oil over medium high heat—enough to fry chicken. (about 1/8 to 1/4 cup of oil--just barely covering the bottom of the frying pan). Add flour coated chicken to the frying pan and cook until lightly browned.

Meanwhile combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix together. Pour over cooked chicken in the frying pan. Stir constantly until slightly thickened. Sprinkle chopped green onions over orange pineapple chicken and cook for about one more minute. Remove from heat and serve over orange rice.

Orange Flavored Rice
1 c. rice
½ c. orange juice
1 ½ c. water
2 t. orange zest

Combine all items in a rice cooker and cook until done.

3 Sauce Grilled Chicken Wings

2008-07-01T08:39:00.008-05:00

I enjoy chicken wings, but I don't like the fact that most of the time they are deep fried in a ton of oil. So, since it's almost the 4th of July--tis' the season to grill. These chicken wings taste just as good grilled as they do deep fried in oil. Much more heart healthy and still extremely tasty! So, here are three different types of wings you can make in preparation of Independence Day. These can be the perfect appetizer...or you can do what my family did last night and eat these as your main dish with a large side salad. Delish!

Chicken Wing Ingredients
1 package of chicken wingettes (these are much smaller than the 'chicken wings' you can buy at the store, but they make much better chicken wings)
Coarse Salt
Pepper

Chicken Wing Sauce Ingredients

Teriyaki Sauce
4 T. brown sugar
3 T. soy sauce
2 T. crushed pineapple
I use heaping tablespoons of all these ingredients--it does not need to be exact. Stir all ingredients together until combined.

Hot Sauce
4 T. brown sugar
3 T. Franks Hot sauce
I using heaping tablespoons of these ingredients as well. Stir until combined.

Garlic Parmesan Sauce
2 T. butter or margarine
3-4 cloves of garlics crushed
1/4-1/2 c. parmesan cheese
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. After butter is melted add crushed garlic cloves and stir for about 1-2 minutes. Dip cooked chicken wings in butter/garlic sauce and then roll in the parmesan cheese

Sprinkle chicken wingettes with coarse salt and pepper liberally. Place on preheated grill and grill until cooked through. Spread teriyaki and hot sauces over wings and grill for a few minutes more on each side to help the sauces to carmelize. For the garlic parmesan sauce, remove wings from the grill and cover in butter/garlic sauce. Then roll the chicken wings in the parmesan cheese until covered. Grab some paper towels and enjoy!

Tantalizing Teriyaki Wings

Give me a Little Heat Hot Wings

Perfectly Parmesan Wings

Lemon-Lime Rice

2008-06-28T06:12:00.005-05:00

So, I am not much of a soda drinker. Recently though, I found a deal at a local store where I was able to get 4 boxes of diet soda for free after a mail in rebate. (I couldn’t resist that bargain, even if I don’t really care for soda all that much...) So since I know have 48 cans of soda, I have been trying to come up with some creative ways to use this soda in my cooking. So, here is one of my attempts. I think it is a nice way to spice up your traditional white rice.

**On a side note, I used a rice cooker for this recipe. I have not tried to make it in a saucepan on the stove.

Ingredients
1 c. extra long grain white rice
1 can of lemon lime flavored soda
4 heaping Tablespoons of crushed pineapple (juice included)
3 T. chopped cilantro

Place rice in a rice cooker. Pour soda to the 1 c. line of your rice cooker. Place pineapple and cilantro in the rice cooker as well. Turn on the rice cooker and heat until finished. Fluff rice and add salt to taste.

**Coming soon--recipes to serve with this refreshing and simple side dish.

Can I have S’more Brownies?

2008-06-25T07:18:00.005-05:00

I love the summer time. One memory I have from growing up during the summer time is going on campouts and roasting marshmallows around the campfire. And, then making a delicious s’more treat with the marshmallows, graham crackers, and Hershey’s chocolate bars. But who says that S’mores can only be eaten around a campfire! That is why I decided to come up with this tasty, gooey dessert that incorporates the ingredients used for s’mores into brownies. Trust me, after tasting this decadent treat you will be asking for s’more!

Ingredients
1 box brownie mix
2 eggs
1/3 c. water
2/3 c. canola oil
7 oz jar of marshmallow fluff
2/3 c. chocolate chips
1 ½ c. crushed graham crackers (6-7 whole graham crackers crushed)
3 T. butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x9 or 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Combine brownie mix, eggs, water and oil in a large bowl until combined. Set aside. Crush graham crackers and stir in the melted butter into the graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl. Pour half of the brownie dough into the prepared pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over the dough. Then drop spoonfuls of the marshmallow fluff over the graham cracker crumb layer. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the marshmallow layer. Finally pour the remaining brownie batter over the top.

Place brownies in the preheated oven. Cook for 40-45 minutes until set. (A toothpick inserted into the center will not come out clean due to the melted chocolate chips. I also recommend during the last 10-15 minutes of baking putting some aluminum foil over the top of the pan. This is to prevent the marshmallow fluff from getting too brown.) Remove pan from oven and let sit for at least 30 minutes until serving. Enjoy this gooey treat!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Cinnamon Raisin French Toast

2008-06-23T08:26:00.008-05:00

The weekends are really the only time that I actually make anything special for breakfast—usually it is just a bowl of cereal or toast. A friend of mine requested that I come up with a recipe like IHOP’s French Toast. So, here’s my try at it…I’ve only had IHOP’s French Toast once before so you’ll have to be the judge if it tastes like the real thing. But, I must admit that this stuff (no pun intended) is tasty, even if it’s not the exact replica of IHOP’s. I mean seriously, how can you go wrong with cream cheese and raisin bread?

French Toast Ingredients
Slices of Cinnamon Raisin Bread (I used Wonder brand—which can be found at your local Wal-Mart supercenter…these work really well because they are super thin)
1 egg
½ c. milk
½ t. cinnamon
1 t. sugar
¼ t. nutmeg
1 t. vanilla

Preheat a large frying pan over medium heat. Heat a small amount of butter in pan. Beat egg and milk with whisk. Whisk in the cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla. Dredge bread slices in egg mixture. Place on prepared pan and fry until lightly browned on each side. Meanwhile prepare cream cheese filling.

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients
4 oz cream cheese
½ c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Beat cream cheese until smooth with a hand mixer. Add powdered sugar until combined. Beat in vanilla until smooth.

Spread a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese filling on one side of a piece of the lightly browned bread. Place another slice of bread over the piece of bread with the cream cheese filling and heat on a skillet over medium heat until warmed on each side (about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side). Slice on a diagonal, sprinkle with powdered sugar and your choice of syrup, and serve.

Cravin' Some Craisins Cran-Chicken Salad

2008-06-20T06:04:00.010-05:00

So, I was going through my pantry the other day trying to figure out something quick and delish to make for lunch. And there was the monster bag of craisins we got at Sam's Club several weeks ago sitting there waiting to be used. I also noticed a can of cranberry sauce that I purchased around Thanksgiving time and hadn't used yet. So, here is the yummy lunch creation that was inspired by the craisins and cranberry sauce in my pantry. This recipe would also work great with leftovers from your Thanksgiving feast...If you're like me, then you're probably trying to think of some creative way to use those pounds of leftover turkey!

Cravin' Some Craisins Cran Chicken Salad

Ingredients

2 c. cooked pasta (any shape will do--I used corkscrew pasta because it was what I had in my pantry)

4 T. Miracle Whip (I'm personally a Miracle Whip Girl--but I'm sure Mayo would work fine as well...)

1/2 c. whole berry cranberry sauce

1 1/2 c. cooked or canned chicken (or turkey)

1/4 c. walnuts

1/4 c. craisins

salt to taste

mixed greens for serving

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside. Add cooked chicken, walnuts, and craisins. Stir all ingredients together. Mix together Miracle Whip and cranberry sauce in a small bowl until smooth. Combine with the other ingredients. Add salt to taste. Serve over mixed greens. Sprinkle some craisins over the top and serve.

Aloha Pancakes with Pineapple Coconut Syrup

2008-06-18T07:53:00.000-05:00

I was reminded the other day of college calculus teacher who had lived in Hawaii prior to teaching at the college I went to. Every Friday she would come into the classroom and mention that it was “Aloha Friday.” Other than the “Aloha Friday” salutation, Friday was not any different from any other day of the week. We still had to learn about derivatives, integrals, etc. I don’t know what spurred this memory, but in memory of college calculus and Aloha Friday I have come up with a recipe for Aloha pancakes. Say Aloha to pancakes and goodbye to calculus…And, I must say that I enjoyed making these pancakes a zillion times better than any calculus problem I had to solve in college. I’m sure you will feel the same!

Aloha Pancake Ingredients
1 ½ c. flour
2 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
2 T. oil
¾ c. milk
2 T. sugar
1 egg, beaten
3 T. coconut
½ c. crushed pineapple (drain the juice and reserve for the syrup)

Mix together dry ingredients—flour, baking powder, and salt. Wisk in the oil, milk, sugar and egg to the dry ingredients. Stir in the coconut and crushed pineapple. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Heat a skillet over medium heat and apply a pat of butter to the skillet. Drop 1/3 c. of the pancake batter to the hot skillet. Wait until the batter begins to bubble and flip. Heat on the other side until cooked fully.

Pineapple-Coconut Syrup Ingredients
2 T. butter
½ c. light corn syrup
Reserved pineapple juice
3 T. crushed pineapple
1 ½ T. coconut

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. After butter has melted add corn syrup, pineapple juice, crushed pineapple and coconut. Stir until heated thru. Serve warm syrup over the pancakes.

Sweet and Sassy Pork BBQ Ribs

2008-06-16T19:50:00.000-05:00

I was digging in our chest freezer and found some pork ribs that I froze many months ago. Thank goodness for a food saver or that meat would have been far past its prime! So, I decided came up with a tasty recipe for BBQ ribs. Just don’t forget the paper towels—you’ll need them after sinking your teeth into these messy things!

Dry Rub Ingredients:
2 T. Brown Sugar
1 T. Chili Powder
1 t. Cumin
½ t. Cajun seasoning
½ t. Oregano
¼ t. Cayenne Pepper

Mix dry rub ingredients together. Pat pork ribs dry with paper towels and rub with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle dry rub ingredients over the pork ribs liberally and rub into the meat. (You will still have a lot of the dry rub left after this. You may store the rub in an airtight container for up to 30 days.) Place ribs in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to soak into the meat. Check out this piece of meat below all ready to be grilled!

Sweet and Sassy Sauce Ingredients
½ c. catsup
¼ c. Franks Hot Sauce
½ c. of your favorite BBQ sauce
3 T. Brown sugar
1 ½ T. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 ½ T. Worchestire Sauce
Mix together the sweet and sassy sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Store sauce in the fridge until it is ready to be used.

Place ribs on a preheated grill. Grill until the pork reaches 160 degrees on a meat thermometer. During the last 15 minutes, baste ribs liberally with the sauce on both sides. You may also want to save some sauce to put on your ribs after removing from the grill. Remove ribs from grill, slice, and enjoy!

Super Easy Mint Chocolate Cheesecake Bites

2008-06-14T10:19:00.000-05:00

For dessert one day, I decided come up with a recipe that would combine three of my favorite flavors—mint, chocolate, and cheesecake. With those three flavors, how can you go wrong? This is a super quick and easy recipe but it can also look fairly fancy as well.

This recipe is also a perfect to make for a baby shower or bridal shower. If you are making these for either of these occasions, I would recommend cutting these into smaller squares, placing them in the mini foil muffin cups, and placing them into your freezer several hours before serving.

Ingredients

Cookie crust

1 stick butter (I recommend you use real butter, not margarine)

12 oz package chocolate chips

2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs (This comes is about 1 sleeve of whole graham crackers. To make the crumbs, place the whole graham crackers in a Ziploc bag and run a rolling pin over them until they are crumbs.)

Mint Cheesecake

8 oz cream cheese

14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1 egg

½ t. vanilla extract

1 ½ t. mint extract

6-8 drops of green food coloring (depending on how green you want it to be)

½ package of Andes mint chips (If you can’t find these at your supermarket, you can always chop up the actual Andes mints instead.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place butter and chocolate chips in a medium sized saucepan over medium/low heat, stirring constantly until both are fully melted. Remove from heat and stir in graham cracker crumbs. Spread mixture in an even layer in an ungreased 9 x 13 pan.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until combined. Then beat in the egg and mint and vanilla extra. Add drops of green food color and beat until combined. Pour over the graham cracker crust.

Bake the cheesecake in the prepared oven for about 25-30 minutes or until cheesecake is fully set. Remove from oven and sit for about 4 minutes until cooled just slightly. Sprinkle mint chips over the top of the cheesecake.

After fully cooled, place in the fridge to chill for about 4 hours. Cut into squares and enjoy this mint cheesecake goodness!

Chicken Florentine Alfredo Lasagna

2008-05-16T12:22:00.000-05:00

One day I had a lot of leftover cooked chicken and I was getting sick of making my normal leftover chicken recipes. I decided to come up with a new recipe to turn those boring chicken leftovers into a gourmet meal.

This recipe can make two 8x8 pans or one 9x13 pan if you have a large group. With the two 8 x 8 pans, you have one for you to enjoy now and one to put in the freezer to save for a day when you are feeling lazy and don’t want to come up with something for dinner. I know we all have days like that!

Also, the Alfredo sauce works great over your favorite type of noodles with chicken and broccoli. And it is slightly lower in fat and calories than if you used cream due to the evaporated milk. But for this recipe I am going to use it in lasagna instead.

Ingredients

Alfredo Sauce
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T butter
2 t cornstarch
1 can evaporated milk
1 c. Parmesan cheese
½ t. Italian seasoning
¼ t. crushed black pepper
2 c. cooked chicken

Spinach mixture
10 oz chopped frozen spinach
1 egg
16 oz cottage cheese
¼ c. milk
1 t. dried basil
1 T. dried parsley
¼ c. parmesan cheese
2 T flour

½ box of lasagna noodles
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook noodles according to package instructions.

In small saucepan, melt butter and sauté garlic over medium heat. When butter is fully melted, add 2 t. of cornstarch and stir constantly for about 2 minutes. Add evaporated milk and continue to stir occasionally so that the bottom of the pan does not burn. Cook for about 4-5 minutes over medium low heat. Add parmesan cheese and stir constantly. Cook until cheese is almost melted. Stir in the Italian seasoning and crushed black pepper. Remove from heat and add 2 c. of cooked chicken. Mixture will thicken as it sits.

Meanwhile, cook spinach according to package instructions. Drain spinach. Combine egg, cottage cheese and milk in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the basil, parsley, and parmesan cheese until combined. Add flour to help thicken the mixture slightly.

Get out either 2-8 x 8 pans or 1-9 x 13 pan to put the lasagna in. Place a light layer of the spinach mixture on the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of noodles on top of that followed by ¼ of the alfredo mixture (½ for a 9 x 13 pan); followed by ¼ of the spinach mixture followed by ¼ of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat making each layer.

Bake lasagna for 35-40 minutes, until mixture starts to bubble. Turn oven up to 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes until cheese starts to brown. Let lasagna sit for 5-10 minutes. Slice and enjoy!