Joy in Cooking

I'm here. Easy Baked Brown Rice

2011-03-06T19:57:00.000-05:00

I'm still here!

The last 6 months of 2010 were very stressful for me and I needed to take a break from my blog. Last July I started back to work after 5 years off. The transition was difficult and I found myself relying on take out far too often. Blogging definitely wasn't a priority. The week before Christmas, I received news that my position was eliminated. I can't say I was too disappointed. I am happy to be home again able to care for my family full-time. Nothing is more important to me. I plan to keep this blog going, as I love finding and sharing great recipes. Hopefully I have a few readers still.

This Baked Brown Rice recipe is such an easy, foolproof way to prepare rice. I can never seem to get it to turn out correctly on the stove top. It usually ends up to mushy and sticky. Brown rice takes much longer to cook than white rice, but it is much healthier. This method takes the stress out of cooking rice. I hope you'll give it a try. Enjoy!

Baked Brown Rice

adapted from Alton Brown, foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups brown rice, medium or short grain
2 1/2 cups water or stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the rice into an 8-inch square glass baking dish.
Bring the water, butter, and salt just to a boil in a kettle or covered saucepan. Once the water boils, pour it over the rice, stir to combine, and cover the dish tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove cover and fluff the rice with a fork. Serve immediately.

Kellogg's Share Your Breakfast

2011-03-02T09:20:00.000-05:00

1 in 4 kids live in homes where food isn’t always available

I am so thankful that we have always been able to put nutritious food on the table for our family.

You can help feed hungry children by sharing your breakfast at www.shareyourbreakfast.com. When you upload a photo or description of your breakfast, Kellogg's will help share breakfast with kids in school who might otherwise miss out.

What a great way to start the day!

Tyler Florence Cooking Demo (sort of) @ Soaring Eagle

2010-09-25T13:06:00.000-04:00

Tyler's kitchen on stage at Soaring Eagle, presented by KitchenAid

Last Friday night, I went to see Chef Tyler Florence of Food Network fame, do a live cooking demonstration at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, MI. I was incredibly excited when I found out about the show two months ago, via Soaring Eagle's Facebook site. They promoted it on their website saying "Chef Tyler will have a full kitchen on stage for a high-energy rock n' roll cooking show!" Sounds fun right?! I mean, what fellow foodie wouldn't want to be in the same room with Tyler! I immediately booked my 4th row center tickets, and counted down the weeks with great anticipation.

A few days before the show, Soaring Eagle posted the following on their Facebook wall:

"It's a rock n' roll cooking show and Chef Tyler will be making: Chicken Fried Steak with Milk Gravy, Black Eyed Peas with Stewed Tomatoes, Candied Yams, Green Beans with Sliced Onion and Bacon, Big Papa's Banana Pudding and Pimento Cheese with Crackers and Crudite'."

Makes your mouth water just reading the menu, doesn't it?

The show began with an awkward introduction by someone who I believe was a manager at the hotel. He tried to be slick and funny, but when he started talking about food coupons for the resort food vendors, he lost me. His introduction of Tyler almost came out of the blue and could not have been more weak. "Where's the rock?" "Where's the roll?" I asked my husband. I was confused. Then Tyler walked out on stage with his big sexy grin and all was well. I was ready for some amazing food to be prepared right before my eyes, by one of my favorite chefs.

Tyler telling the crowd a story about his early days as an intern at the Grand Traverse Resort.

What transpired next was beyond unexpected. The KitchenAid Induction Cooktop, brand new for this demonstration, kept erroring out and wouldn't work properly. Tyler and his staff had the most difficult time operating it, which resulted in burned custard for the banana pudding, unfinished dishes and a lot of frustration. Tyler has a great sense of humor though and kept smiling throughout the whole thing. He engaged the audience well and answered numerous questions. I felt terrible for him though. I wanted to go buy a bottle of Jim Beam (a favorite from his lonely, cold, intern days in MI), and tell him to make himself a cocktail instead!

Eventually, he was able to get his chicken fried steak and black eyed peas recipe partially done, and they smelled delicious. The green beans and sweet potatoes came out of the oven and looked partially cooked. The only thing served to an audience member was the chicken fried steak. I'm sure everything would have tasted fabulous. I plan on giving the whole menu a try next month, when his new book, Tyler Florence Family Meal comes out. While the evening didn't turn out as expected, I still had a good time and hope Tyler knows....we still love ya in Michigan!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

2010-09-03T19:52:00.000-04:00

Photo from EatingWell.com

Well, I wanted to post my own picture of this one, but it was gone before I had a chance to snap one. Two out of my three kids loved it, so I would call it a winner. Here's a link to EatingWell.com for the complete original recipe. I decided to cook mine in a silicone bundt pan, rather than 2 loaf pans, and it turned out beautifully. My daughter said it looked like a giant chocolate doughnut. The chocolate chips made this a little more decadent, but it's still pretty healthy. Enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

source: EatingWell.com

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chips
2 cups grated zucchini, (1 medium)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. (I used 1 bundt pan).

Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk eggs, sugar, applesauce, oil, vanilla and chocolate chips in another large bowl until blended.
Add to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in zucchini. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans, smoothing the tops.

Bake the loaves 55 to 60 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto rack and cool completely.

Pioneer Woman's Egg Muffin Melts

2010-08-30T22:27:00.000-04:00

Here's a great make-ahead recipe for a quick meal anytime. Pioneer Woman posted this recently, and I knew I had to try it. It's basically an egg salad mixture with cheese that's baked on top of an english muffin. The egg mixture can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to assemble and bake. I made it Sunday morning and 3 out of 5 in my family loved them. Two of my kids are extremely picky, although they did try it, so I've got to give them credit for that. The original recipe calls for regular bacon, but I used turkey bacon and it was just fine. I needed to cook them for a little longer than the 3-5 minutes stated in the recipe, so you'll want to keep an eye on them. These aren't exactly figure friendly, so I won't be making them again for awhile, but it was a good way for me to use up some muffins we had in the pantry. Enjoy!

Here's the link to the original recipe on Pioneer Woman's website.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/make-ahead-muffin-melts/

Egg Muffin Melts

Ingredients

12 whole Hard-boiled Eggs, Peeled And Chopped
2 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
1 cup (real) Mayonnaise
12 slices Turkey Bacon, cooked and chopped
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
6 whole-wheat English Muffins Split

Directions:

Combine eggs with all other ingredients. Fold together gently. If making ahead, cover and store in the fridge overnight.

Spread on English muffin halves, then broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serve immediately!

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chips

2010-08-10T21:53:00.000-04:00

Last month, I returned to full-time work outside the home. It has been a difficult adjustment, after 5 years as a SAHM. We've been eating out a lot, since I have significantly less time to cook, let alone grocery shop. I've been debating whether or not to keep up with this blog. I love reading other blogs and enjoy sharing recipes, so for the time being, I will post when I can and eventually I'll get my act together.

When I got home from work tonight, I noticed 4 extremely ripe bananas on the counter, begging to be turned into banana muffins. I found a recipe that uses whole wheat flour instead of white and decided to give it a try. I think they turned out very moist and light. I loved the combination of peanut butter and chocolate chips too. My plan is store these in the freezer, so I can just grab and go in the morning, and eat once I'm at work.... that is, if we don't eat them all first!

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chips

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large)

1/4 cup honey

2 extra large eggs

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cups chocolate chips and peanut butter chips, combined

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin cups with paper or grease pan well (I used butter).

Beat together butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.

Add banana, honey, and eggs, beating until smooth. Add flour and chocolate chips, mix well.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling almost to top. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 23 to 28 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool a few minutes, then transfer to a rack. Enjoy!

I'm back, and How to Resprout Green Onions!

2010-06-15T12:05:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been over a month since my last post! Sorry for my long absence. I've been around but haven't been cooking many new things lately, mostly in an effot to save money. I find that when I get obsessive about finding new recipes for the blog, my grocery bill seems to skyrocket. I still have ingredients in the pantry purchased for "blog recipes" but haven't gotten around to making them. Sometimes life, and my lack of proper menu planning, gets in the way. Although, I do find that even when I make a menu plan, we almost never completely stick to it. I'm sure you can all relate.

Today I'm not posting a recipe, but I did want to share a great gardening tip that is new to me. Perhaps this is old news to you, but I was excited when I discovered that I could use the cut off root end of a store-bought green onion and regrow it for another use. Just put it in a couple inches of water and wait about 7-10 days.

Here is a picture of a small bowl, I have in my dining room window. The green onions on the left were cut and placed in the water about 5 days ago. The ones on the right were placed in the bowl last night. You can see that it really doesn't take long for these to shoot back up. I believe you can cut and re-use them 3 or 4 times. We go through so many green onions in our house. I can't believe I didn't learn this sooner. No more wasting those roots!

Chicken and Orzo Frittata

2010-05-12T21:55:00.000-04:00

Recently, I posted a recipe for a wonderful side dish of Orzo with Roasted Vegetables. I ended up with plenty of leftover orzo and thought it would be interesting to try adding it to a Frittata. I found a recipe for Chicken and Orzo Frittata by Giada De Laurentiis, over at Foodnetwork.com. I replaced the chicken with some leftover ham I had in the freezer, and sauteed up some onions, peppers and mushrooms to throw in the mix as well. Her recipe also calls for creme fraiche, which I don't usually have on hand, so I substituted sour cream. I like that the whole thing bakes in the oven, rather than starting it on the stove top. I cooked it in a 2qt glass baking dish, and it puffed up perfectly. Enjoy!

Chicken and Orzo Frittata

Ingredients:

3/4 cup dry orzo pasta
6 eggs
1/3 cup whole milk ricotta
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cups cooked chicken or ham, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup diced roasted red bell peppers
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the Orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

In a large bowl combine the eggs, ricotta, and sour cream and stir until the eggs are beaten and the ingredients are combined. Add the cooked orzo, chicken (or ham), scallions, parsley, red bell peppers, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn on the broiler. Place the pan under the broiler until golden on top, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let set for 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve with a side salad.

Honey-Ginger Chicken Bites

2010-05-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

This is another Cooking Light recipe I found online and decided to give a try last night. The chicken marinates for 2 hours or overnight, so it is a good make ahead dish. The cooking time is only about 20 minutes. The only substitutions I made was to use ground ginger instead of fresh, and seasoned rice vinegar instead of cider vinegar. We absolutely loved it. Cooking Light presented this as an appetizer, but I served it as a main dish with sides of scallion brown rice and steamed broccoli. Enjoy!

Honey-Ginger Chicken Bites

adapted from Cooking Light, March 2003

Ingredients:

2/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/4 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

Cooking Spray

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons corn starch

2 teaspoons water

2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted (optional)

1 green onion, chopped (optional)

Directions:

Combine first 9 ingredients in a large plastic bag, seal and shake well. Add chicken pieces, seal and toss to coat. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Remove chicken from bag, reserving marinade. Spray a baking rack with cooking spray and place on top of a sheet pan. Arrange chicken pieces on the baking rack in a single layer. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

While chicken cooks, strain marinade through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Place marinade in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes; skim solids from surface. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture to pan, stirring with a whisk; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; pour glaze into a glass bowl.

Preheat broiler. Add chicken to glaze; toss to coat. Place chicken on a sheet pan; broil 5 minutes or until brown, stirring twice. To serve, sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onion, if desired.

Tex-Mex Black Bean Dip

2010-05-07T10:31:00.001-04:00

This recipe was given to me by a good friend years ago. It comes from a 1997 issue of Cooking Light magazine. I haven't made it in years and I can't remember why, because I absolutely LOVE it. When I was single, I would make this for my dinner once a week. I would eat it with nacho chips or in a tortilla. It is inexpensive, quick and healthy, you can't beat that! This makes a great dip to take to a party or served as part of a main meal. My picky eaters all loved it, so you know it's a winner. Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Black Bean Dip

from Cooking Light Magazine, April 1997

Yield: 1 2/3 cups (serving size: 2 tablespoons) (I always double the recipe)

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup diced tomato
1/3 cup mild picante sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Directions:

Place beans in a bowl; partially mash until chunky. Set aside.

Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add beans, tomato, picante sauce, cumin, and chili powder; cook 5 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add cheese, cilantro, and lime juice, stirring well.
Serve warm or at room temperature with fat-free corn or flour tortilla chips.

Guacamole

2010-05-07T07:00:00.002-04:00

I adore avocados, and absolutely love this recipe for Guacamole. It comes from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and it so easy you almost don't even need a recipe. Ina says to use a sharp knife to slice through the avocados in the bowl until they are finely diced. I prefer to use a fork to mash it up, leaving some chunks of avocado. Better for dipping, I think. Serve with your favorite Mexican dish, or in some delicious Pork Tacos. Enjoy!

Guacamole

from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

Ingredients:

4 ripe Haas avocados
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
8 dashes Tabasco sauce
1/2 cup small-diced red onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 medium tomato, seeded and small-diced

Directions:

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits and scoop the flesh out of the shells into a large bowl. Immediately add the lemon juice, Tabasco, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss well and mash with a fork to desired consistency. Add the diced tomatoes and mix, taste for seasonings. To store, cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed lightly on top of the dip, to prevent air from reaching the avocados.

Citrus Marinated Pork Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

2010-05-06T10:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary, 9 wonderful years together. But, instead of going out for a romantic dinner for two, we shared a wonderful Mexican feast, at home, with the kids. In keeping with my desire for lighter dishes, I opted to try this Citrus Marinated Pork Taco recipe, which I found over at the blog, For the Love of Cooking. This was light, refreshing, yet still very filling. The kids chose not to eat the Pineapple Salsa, but they really enjoyed the pork. I let it marinate for 2 1/2 hours and it was perfectly tender and flavorful. I just love all the colors and fresh ingredients in this meal. The pork and the pineapple work really well together. I also put some homemade guacamole and jack cheese on my tacos. Absolutely delicious!

For the Pork Taco recipe, click HERE
For the Pineapple Salsa recipe, click HERE

Enjoy!!

Stuffed Tomatoes

2010-04-26T21:53:00.000-04:00

I've decided to start serving my family meatless meals at least once a week. I didn't get any complaints when I served tonight's dinner of Homemade Macaroni and Cheese, Broccoli and these delicious Stuffed Tomatoes. My oldest son at three of them. The original recipe uses Gruyere cheese and some different herbs, but I had to work with what I had in the pantry/refrigerator. I think they turned out perfectly. These would pair well with grilled meat, or your favorite vegetarian dish. Light, healthy, quick and easy. Perfect. Enjoy!

Stuffed Tomatoes

inspired by Ina Garten- Barefoot Contessa Family Style

6 ripe tomatoes (2 1/2 - 3 " diameter)
1 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the cores from the tomatoes, removing as little as possible. Cut them in half crosswise and remove the seeds and juice. Place tomato halves in a baking dish.

In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, chives, garlic, cheese and 1 tsp. salt. Sprinkle the tomato halves lightly, with salt and pepper. Fill the tomatoes with the bread crumb mixture. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, or until tender and cheese is lightly browned. Serve hot or at room temperature. May be prepared and filled ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to bake.

Hearty Tomato Soup

2010-04-22T19:39:00.000-04:00

I've been on the hunt for some new, lighter recipes to make for my family. I found this recipe at Foodnetwork.com and thought the addition of white beans to tomato soup sounded interesting. Instead of using canned beans, I used dried beans that I soaked and cooked myself. This way I save money, and control the amount of salt in the cooking liquid. I didn't have any fresh rosemary, so I substituted dry. I also substituted vegetable broth for chicken, but you could use either. I was going for a completely vegetarian dish. My "secret" ingredient was the addition of a splash of balsamic vinegar. I like to add it to my marinara recipe, so I figured it would be just as good in this soup. I was right. The original recipe also calls for serving with creme fraiche and lemon, but I didn't have them. I served it with some homemade croutons instead. Enjoy!

Hearty Tomato Soup
adapted from FoodNetwork.com recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 15-ounce can cannellini (white) beans, drained and rinsed
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
3 cups vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup Half-n-Half

Directions:

In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes. Add the beans, crushed tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, dried rosemary, red pepper flakes, and balsamic vinegar. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, covered.

Puree the soup in a blender in batches, being careful to remove and discard the bay leaf. Return the soup to a soup pot, season with salt and pepper. Stir in half-n-half and warm through.

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

2010-04-17T11:36:00.000-04:00

This is a terrific side dish that goes with almost anything, and the best part is that it can be prepared ahead of time, and is best served at room temperature. I used Ina Garten's recipe from the Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook, except I left out the feta and pine nuts. I'm sure it would be wonderful with those additions, but I didn't have any and was going for a clean and simple dish. I served this with Chicken Gyros and hummus and it was a perfect dinner. Roasting the vegetables gives them such a wonderful caramelized flavor. I highly recommend this one. Enjoy!

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! copyright 2001

1 small eggplant, peeled and 3/4 inch diced
1 red bell pepper, diced in 1 in. pieces
1 yellow bell pepper, diced in 1 in. pieces
1 orange bell pepper, diced in 1 in. pieces
1/2 red onion, peeled and diced in 1 in pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 lb. orzo
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (I left this out)
3/4 lb feta cheese, diced in 1/2 in. cubes (I left this out)
10-15 fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade

For the dressing:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp. dried dill weed
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion and garlic with the olive oil, salt and pepper on a sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes until browned.

Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the roasted vegetables, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the bowl.

For the dressing: combine lemon juice, olive oil, dill, salt and pepper. Add to the pasta and vegetables while they are still warm. Let cool to room temperature, then add scallions, basil, pine nuts and feta, if using. Check for seasonings and serve at room temperature.

Sloppy Joe's

2010-04-13T06:00:00.002-04:00

PW posted this recipe on her site yesterday and I just had to give it a try for our dinner. I followed the recipe almost exactly and it turned out perfect. Typically, I just mix ketchup, barbecue sauce and a little yellow mustard to make Sloppy Joe's, but I thought this would be fun to try instead. Once the ketchup and other sauce ingredients hit the heat, the house started to smell amazing. I'm really impressed with how delicious and easy this was. No need to ever buy the canned stuff again! Let me know if you give this a try and how you like it. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe's

adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

2 tbls. butter
2 1/2 lbs. ground sirloin
1/2 of a large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Ketchup
1 cup Water
2 tbls. tomato paste
2 tbls. brown sugar
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp dry mustard (I used a big squirt of yellow mustard)
1-2 dashes ground cayenne
2-3 dashes Tabasco Sauce
4-5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Rolls and butter, for serving

Directions:

Add 2 tablespoons butter to a large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook until brown. Drain the grease. Add onions, green pepper, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until veggies start to get soft. Add ketchup, water, tomato paste, brown sugar, chili powder, mustard, cayenne powder, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine and simmer for 30 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Spread rolls with butter and brown in a skillet. Spoon meat mixture over rolls and enjoy!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Berries

2010-04-12T11:46:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick and easy dessert that combines some of the best parts of cheesecake, without all the extra calories. It comes from The Dean Brother's Cookbook and according to Bobby Dean, it's "berries made better." I agree. We typically eat our berries with a little sugar or whipped cream, but this was even better. Once the berries are prepped, filling them is easy with a pastry bag and decorative tip. This makes a wonderful treat to take to a party... no fork required, just pop them into your mouth! Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Stuffed Berries

source: The Deen Brothers Cookbook, Copyright 2007

32 whole large strawberries, hulled
12 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each strawberry so they stand upright. Place berries, cut sides down and carefully make two cuts across the top in an X, cutting about half-way through the berry. Fan the wedges just slightly and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese , sugar and vanilla until combined but still stiff. Using a pastry bag with a decorative tip, fill the berries with cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with chopped pecans, if using. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Tony Hawk Skateboard Birthday Cake

2010-04-08T11:59:00.000-04:00

My oldest son turned 8 this week. He loves skateboarding and requested that I make him another skateboard cake this year. Last year I did a blue cake with a lightening bolt, but this year I wanted to get a little fancier. I found a Tony Hawk logo online and drew a replica on some paper, cut it out and then traced it onto the cake using a toothpick. I then filled everything in with frosting and made up the rest of the design as I went along. I used a simple 1,2,3,4 Cake recipe from the back of the Swan's Down Cake Flour box. I added a little extra vanilla extract though, because I really wanted the vanilla flavor to stand out. I divided the batter between a 13x9 pan and one 9" round pan. Once cooled, cut the round cake in half and place one side on each end of the 13x9 cake. Cut and shave off sides to look like a skateboard deck. I took the easy way out and used mini chocolate doughnuts and Pirouette cookies for the wheels. This really is an easy cake to make and the boys just loved it!

1,2,3,4 Cake

source: Swan's Down Cake Flour box

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 cups sifted cake flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour cake pans.

In mixing bowl, cream butter and gradually add sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, sift together, flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture, alternately, with the milk and vanilla, to the butter mixture (3 additions of dry mix, 2 additions of the wet ingredients, always start with the dry and end with the dry). Beat until smooth after each addition.

Pour batter into cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove and finish cooling on racks.

Wilton's Buttercream Icing

source: Wilton 2007 Cake Decorating Handbook

1/2 cup Crisco shortening

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (use clear, for perfectly white icing)

4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar (about 1 lb)

2 tablespoons milk or water, to thin icing

Cream the butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been incorporated, add milk or water, and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. This icing can be stored 2 weeks in refrigerator. Re-whip before using. Makes 3 cups. (I doubled this recipe for the skateboard cake)

Homemade Vanilla Wafer Cookies

2010-03-31T13:50:00.000-04:00

The other day I watched an episode of Tyler's Ultimate where he made his Ultimate Banana Pudding. It looked so delicious I decided make my own version this week. I picked up the ingredients I needed, but then realized when I got home, I forgot the Nilla Wafers. No problem. I figured I probably already had everything I needed to make them at home, so I searched and found a recipe online at another blog called Baking Bites . The dough comes together in minutes and they only take about 11-13 minutes to bake. I think these had a wonderful buttery, vanilla flavor and were nice and crisp when they cooled, much like the store-bought version. Once baked, the cookies are a little bigger than a quarter. Easy to pop into the mouth! Enjoy!

Homemade Vanilla Wafer Cookies

from Baking Bites

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, add flour, salt and baking powder. Stir with a whisk to combine. Combine dry mixture with the wet ingredients.

Add dough to pastry bag (I use the disposable plastic kind from Wilton), that has been fitted with a plain piping tip. I used my Ateco 805 tip.

Pipe dough onto the sheet, making each cookie about the size of a nickel. You can make them bigger or smaller, but will need to adjust the baking time. Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size, remove when they turn a light golden brown. Cool on baking sheets and store in an airtight container.

Sweet Crepes

2010-03-30T10:22:00.000-04:00

Last week, I was talking to a friend of mine about this crepe restaurant she went to in downtown Detroit. She described the most delicious sweet and savory fillings, which made me want to have one immediately! Of course I wasn't about to drive downtown when I knew I could whip these up at home easily. So, I pulled out my handy Joy of Cooking cookbook and decide to just make Sweet Crepes. The recipe is very straight forward and "easy" to prepare, it's the actual cooking of crepes that can be a little challenging. Getting the batter in the pan and swirling it around was easy enough, it's the flipping that took some practice. The books says to "turn the crepes with a spatula or with your fingers" gently holding the edge to pull the crepe off the pan and flip over. I had to use both a spatula to lift the crepe off the pan, and my fingers to hold and flip. Word of caution here... It's HOT! After flipping about 3 or 4 of them, my fingers were numbed enough that the heat didn't bother me as much. Honestly, they were SO worth it though. My favorite way to eat these is with some fresh lemon juice and sugar sprinkled over top. Heavenly!! For the kids, I served these with some cream cheese and strawberries rolled up inside. The crepes can easily be cooked ahead of time, then stored between parchment paper and wrapped in plastic. The leftovers reheated beautifully in the microwave the next morning. Next time, I think I'll make a savory version... the filling possibilities are endless. Hope you'll give these a try. Enjoy!

Sweet Crepes

adapted from Joy of Cooking

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup lukewarm water
4 large eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted (plus extra for cooking)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender, process until smooth. Let stand for 30 minutes before cooking, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days (before cooking the refrigerated batter, stir and let come to room temp. first)

To cook crepes:

In a small non-stick skillet, melt 1/2 tsp. butter over medium heat. Pour enough batter to cover the bottom with a very thin coating. (I used a 10" skillet with about 1/4 cup batter). Quickly, tilt and rotate the pan, then return to the heat and cook until crepe bubbles and bottom is lightly browned, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Slide the pan off the burner. Use a heat resistant spatula, lift the edge of the crepe and grasp with fingers, gentle pull the crepe off the pan and flip it over. This takes some practice! Cook on the other side until browned slightly. Stack onto a parchment or wax-paper lined plate as you prepare the remaining crepes. Yields about 12.

Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin

2010-03-30T09:45:00.000-04:00

Sunday night I made a traditional Easter dinner for my family... Spiral Ham, Green Been Casserole, Corn, and these potatoes. Why a week early you ask? My wonderful mother-in-law has invited us for Easter dinner again this year. She is a wonderful cook and always prepares a plentiful holiday feast. My husband grew up with macaroni and cheese as the usual side dish, however my family always had Au Gratin Potatoes. Since I won't be cooking this Easter, I wanted to prepare a nice Sunday dinner for my family, making sure to include all of my favorite holiday dishes.

This recipe comes from the Joy of Cooking, although I adapted it slightly, by adding some onion and a little flour to the sauce to help thicken it. My whole family loved this dish. It cooks for 1 hour in the oven, resulting in perfectly tender, creamy, cheesy potatoes. Enjoy!

Perfect Potatoes Au Gratin

adapted from Joy of Cooking

Ingredients:

1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely diced onion
2 1/2 lbs. baking potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
3 cups half-n-half
2 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper
pinch of nutmeg
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub a 13x9 casserole dish with the garlic clove, then coat with 1 tablespoon of butter.

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat, add onion and a dash of salt and pepper. Saute until onion is tender but do not let it brown. Add all the half-n-half, sliced potatoes, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, nutmeg, and sprinkle in the flour. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat, then cook and stir gently until the liquid thickens slightly, about 3-5 minutes. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Press down lightly to submerge potatoes. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake for about 1 hour, or until potatoes are tender.

Homemade Chicken and Noodles

2010-03-25T21:25:00.000-04:00

I have another cold... second time in a month. My family can't seem to shake these germs, even though I've been cleaning everything with Clorox and Lysol. Today I needed a chicken soup intervention! I didn't want to make any old chicken soup though. While browsing Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen site, I found a recipe for Chicken and Noodles, which sounded perfect. So... after a short nap this morning, I went to the grocery store to get the main ingredients. It's important to use Amish Kitchens Extra Thick Kluski Egg Noodles , not the thin ones or regular egg noodles because they will get too mushy. I modified the original recipe slightly by adding some bouillon cubes to my stock and changing how I assembled everything. I think it turned out perfectly. The noodles soak up much of the stock, leaving a thick mixture of pasta, chicken and veggies. Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken and Noodles

adapted from Tasty Kitchen.com

Ingredients:

1 whole regular seasoned Rotisserie Chicken
1 (12oz) bag Amish Kitchens Extra Thick Kluski Egg Noodles
5 carrots
4 stalks celery
3 small onions
3 quarts Water
4 cloves garlic

1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
pinch of dried thyme
salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

Remove all meat from chicken and store in refrigerator for later. Place all bones, skin and 3 qts. water in large pot, add 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery stalks , 2 small onions, quartered, 3 cloves garlic smashed, parsley flakes, black peppercorns, dried thyme, and 4 chicken bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour. Pour through a fine mesh sieve, into a large bowl, to strain out the solids. I ended up with 7 cups of stock.

Rinse out the original pot. Add butter, 1 small onion diced, 3 carrots diced, 2 stalks celery diced, 1 garlic clove minced, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat over medium until veggies are tender. Add all the stock and the bag of noodles. Cook for about 10 minutes at a slow rolling boil, until noodles are tender. Add chicken meat and heat through. Taste for seasoning. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Easy Biscuit Doughnuts

2010-03-22T06:00:00.001-04:00

They look pretty good huh? Well, don't let the picture fool ya. These babies weren't cooked all the way through. Yes, I'm posting my first flop here! Well, they were not a total flop. My husband saved the day by microwaving them for 30-40 seconds, and they turned out perfectly. I'm sure it was a "user error", to coin a phrase from my old profession. I misread the directions and had the oil too hot. I also used the Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers Biscuits, which may or may not have contributed to the under cooking of these, I'm not sure. This recipe is still worth trying, if you want homemade doughnuts without the fuss of a homemade dough.

Easy Biscuit Doughnuts

from The Dean Brothers Cookbook

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Vegetable Oil, for frying
1 (12 oz) tube Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuit Dough

Directions:

Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside. Fill a wide, shallow pan with 1 inch of oil and heat to 370 degrees.

Cut small holes in the center of each biscuit. I used a 1" round cookie cutter. Drop the doughnuts into the hot oil and cook for 1-2 minutes, flipping over to brown both sides. Transfer to paper towl lined baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

Pizza Dough and Homemade Sauce

2010-03-21T14:50:00.001-04:00

Last night was pizza night and instead of going for the usual cheap take-out pizza, my hubby requested homemade pizza. My go to recipe for pizza dough comes from the Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook. I like it because it uses honey in the dough and I can make this in minutes in my stand mixer. I usually double the recipe without any problems. I let the dough rise for about 2 hours while we went to a movie. The recipe calls for a shorter rising time but I almost always let it rise for 1-2 hours. We made barbecue chicken pizza's with cheddar jack cheese and barbecue sauce along with smoked sausage pizza's for the kids. As a kid my family always used sliced smoked sausage instead of pepperoni. I made a quick homemade pizza sauce to use for the sausage pizza's. It may take more time and effort than calling the local pizza guy, but it's worth it. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough

from Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups warm water (100-110 degrees)

2 packages dry yeast

1 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions:

For the dough, combine the water, yeast, honey and olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Let sit for a few minutes until yeast starts to foam. Add 3 cups flour, then the salt and mix. While mixing, add 1 more cup of flour to form a soft dough. Knead on low speed for 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling extra flour as needed, to keep it from sticking to sides of bowl. Turn out on to floured board and knead 12 times. It should be smooth and elastic. Place in a large well-oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes. Divide into equal parts and roll into a balls. Place balls on a baking sheet covered with a damp paper towel. Let rest for 10 minutes, then roll out, or refrigerate until ready to use.

When ready to bake, place rolled out dough on a greased sheet pan, load it up with your favorite sauce and toppings, bake in a 500 degree oven for 13-15 minutes. ** If you've refrigerated the dough, let it come to room temp for about 30 minutes before using.

Lisa's Homemade Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 of a small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1 (28oz) can tomato puree

2-4 tablespoons sugar (I like it sweet so I used all 4)

1 1/2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-low heat, add onion and garlic, cook until onion is tender, but not brown. Add tomato puree, tomato paste, sugar (to taste), Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Let simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Taste for seasonings. ** Can be made ahead of time and stored in refrigerator until ready to use.

Cajun Chicken Pasta from Pioneer Woman

2010-03-17T09:28:00.001-04:00

I've never made any cajun dish before, so when I saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman's website I knew I had to give it a try. I prepped all the veggies early in the day, which made this easy to throw together at dinner time. The only thing I did different was to thicken the sauce more with a butter/flour mixture at the end of the cooking process. I loved the flavor of the McCormick Cajun Spice blend and look forward to finding other recipes to use it in. Enjoy!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Cubes
3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, divided
1 lb. Fettuccine
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
½ whole Large Red Onion, Sliced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
½ cups White Wine
1 cup Heavy Cream
Cayenne Pepper To Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
Salt To Taste
Chopped Fresh Parsley, To Taste

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente.

Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate. Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.

Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.

With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy!

Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine. Top with chopped fresh parsley and chow down!

Product Giveaway- Red Gold Tomatoes

2010-03-14T14:25:00.000-04:00

I'm a regular follower of the Real Life Living blog by Annie. She has a terrific giveaway posted this week from Red Gold Tomatoes. It's giant canister filled with: a reusable tote bag, 2 cookbooks, 7 recipe cards, a coaster, 2 fridge magnets, an informational CD and an awesome 1:64 scale diecast Limited Production Red Gold Tomatoes Freightliner Semi with certificate of authenticity. And of course, some Red Gold Tomatoes! One 14.5 ounce can each of Petite Diced Tomatoes, Petite Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies, and Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano.

I sure could use that, how 'bout you?

Head on over to her blog to check out the giveaway and leave her a comment to enter. Good Luck!

Here is a link to the Red Gold website for a coupon worth $0.75 off of 3 cans of tomatoes.

Copycat Recipe: Red Robin's Banzai Burger

2010-03-09T05:00:00.002-05:00

Like many people these days, we rarely go out to eat, except for some cheap $5 Little Caesar's pizza once a week. Red Robin's Banazi Burger is my husband's absolute favorite of all time and I discovered it's extremely easy to make at home. While browsing the cookbooks at the library one day, I came across Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 which contained a copycat recipe for the Banzai Burger. Whoo Hoo! I made it for my hubby's birthday last summer and we just loved it. Yesterday was such a nice day, I decided to do burgers on the grill and we made this again. However this time, instead of making my own teriyaki sauce, I took a short-cut and used a jarred sauce, which I already had in the fridge. It was just as good and very easy. I hope you'll give this a try the next time you're in a burger mood. Make sure to have lots of napkins on hand--- Enjoy!

Red Robin's Banzai Burger

2 lbs ground round

1 bottle Teriyaki sauce (recommend Kikkoman's Teriyaki Takumi Collection - Original )

sliced fresh pineapple

Sliced cheddar cheese

shredded head lettuce

1 tomato, thinly sliced

Burger Buns

Mayonaise

Directions:

Form the beef into patties. In a shallow baking dish, add some of the teriyaki sauce, place the beef patties on top in a single layer, turning to coat all sides with the marinade. (Be sure to reserve some marinade for the pineapple slices). Cover container and refrigerate 4-12 hours.

Place pineapple slices in a separate container, add enough marinade to coat well, cover dish and chill.

Preheat grill to medium heat. Cook hamburgers 3 to 5 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. When you flip the burgers, add the pineapple to the grill and cook until grill marks show, turning once. About 1 minute before the burgers are done, place slices of cheese on top of each patty to melt.

To assemble burgers: Spread mayonnaise on the top and bottom of each bun. Place hamburger patty on bottom bun and top with 1-2 tomato slices, and 1-2 grilled pineapple slices. Cover with about 1/3 cup shredded lettuce and place top bun on sandwich.

Sausage and Spinach Frittata

2010-03-08T10:14:00.001-05:00

Egg dishes are perfect for using up leftover meat and veggies in the fridge. I had spinach, sausage, turkey bacon and green onions that I needed to use up, so I decided to mix these with some eggs. Typically, I just make scrambled eggs with meat and veggies thrown in, but a frittata sounded like a good idea, especially topped with some leftover Monterey Jack cheese. I served this with salsa on top for a little kick. We even had some of the frittata leftover, so I cut it into wedges, wrapped in plastic and froze it, for a quick weekday breakfast. Enjoy!

Lisa's Sausage and Spinach Frittata

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup cooked crumbled breakfast sausage (I use Bob Evan's Original Sausage)

1/4 cup cooked turkey bacon pieces

1/4 cup chopped, cooked spinach

2 tablespoons, chopped green onions

9 large eggs

1/4 cup half-n-half

salt, pepper

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to broiler setting.

Using an oven-proof non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat, add sausage, bacon, spinach and green onions. Warm through. In a bowl, scramble the eggs and half-n-half together. Add egg mixture to pan and spread evenly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let sit and cook over med-low heat, until sides are set and middle is still slightly runny. Top with cheese and place pan in oven. Broil for 2-3 minutes until eggs are cooked and cheese is melted.

Snow Ice Cream

2010-03-07T01:00:00.001-05:00

Well, with spring right around the corner, I thought I should get this one up before we're wearing shorts and flip flops. Right before mid-winter break, we had a ton of snow fall, which gave my kids two snow days. Yea! We scooped up some fresh snow from the back yard and made snow ice cream. The idea came from Paula Deen. I saw her do this on her Food Network show years ago. Luckily, we had a can of sweetened condensed milk in the pantry already. The kids really enjoy it. It tastes very good, but I will not lie, the texture is not smooth and creamy like ice cream, it's a little more icy. It's a fun thing to do with the kids and that's all that matters. Enjoy!

Snow Ice Cream
adapted from Foodnetwork.com

8 cups of fresh snow
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbls. half-n-half

Mix everything in a large bowl and serve immediately!

Super Chicken

2010-03-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

Don't ask me where the name came for this one, other than that's what my mom called it. She got the original recipe out of a magazine somewhere many moons ago. I've adapted it slightly by adding onions and mushrooms, but you can leave those out if you don't like them. Sometimes, I make the chicken pieces bigger than bite sized, to save time on the breading/browning part of the recipe. You can easily adapt the quantities here for your family's needs. I typically use 2 lbs chicken breasts because we love the leftovers... I eat them for breakfast. I don't usually measure out the breadcrumbs, I just dump some in a bowl and add more if I run out. It's really about the method here, more than following the specific amounts.

This has been a family favorite for years... decades really... man I'm getting old! The muenster cheese is definitely the key to this dish. It gets all melted and browned over the top of the chicken. I like to serve this with chicken flavored rice (yes, I use Rice-A-Roni and I love it!), and a green vegetable. I hope our family enjoys this as much as we do.

hot out of the oven, let it cool a few minutes before digging in.

Super Chicken

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large bite-sized pieces
Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs, start with 1/2 of a small container, adding more if you run out
3 large eggs
salt, pepper
Canola or Vegetable Oil
3/4 cup chicken broth (reduce this amount if using less chicken)
8-9 slices of muenster cheese
1/2 cup diced onion (optional)
1-2 cans of sliced mushrooms (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.

Crack eggs into a bowl and lightly scramble with a fork, season with a little salt and pepper. Pour breadcrumbs into another bowl, season with extra salt and pepper if desired. Dip chicken pieces into eggs, then into breadcrumbs. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat with enough oil to almost cover the botton (maybe 3 tablespoons). Brown the chicken pieces on both sides, and remove to baking dish. Keep browning the chicken pieces in batches, wiping the pan clean after each batch and adding more oil (otherwise the leftover breadcrumbs in the pan start to burn and you don't want that in your finished dish.)

Once all chicken is browned and placed into the dish (just pile it in there), sprinkle the onion and mushrooms over top, then add the chicken broth. Cover with the slices of muenster cheese. Cover pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes, until all chicken is cooked through and cheese is browned. Cooking times with vary depending on the size of the chicken pieces.

Cheeseburger Soup

2010-03-05T17:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is lettuce you see popping out from this bowl of delicious soup. I saw a recipe for Cheeseburger soup at Dine and Dish last fall, which was the first time I heard of it. Then, last week, I watched an episode of Diners, Drive-in's and Dives on Food Network, and they showcased this soup. That version really caught my attention because of the addition of lettuce, and mustard. It's different, but VERY good, trust me, the lettuce really works here. My husband took one bite and just smiled, he said it tastes just like a burger surrounded by cheese. I decided to garnish with turkey bacon, but you could add it into the soup for a Bacon Cheeseburger effect. Either way, it's a winner! Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Soup

adapted from Lifes Little Blessing

2 lbs ground beef

1 large onion, diced

salt and pepper, garlic powder

1 (32oz) box of Chicken Broth

4 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, diced

1-2 big squirts of Ketchup and Yellow Mustard (start with less, adding more to taste)

2 cups Half-n-Half

1 lb of Velveeta, cubed

1/2 of a small head of lettuce, shredded

1 large tomato, diced

In a large stock pot or dutch oven, sweat your onion until it's translucent. Then add your ground beef, season to taste with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook until browned, drain the grease.

Add chicken stock, diced potatoes, ketchup and mustard. Let that cook until the potatoes are tender. Add half-n-half and Velveeta and cook over low heat until cheese is melted. To thicken, mix equal parts cornstarch & water and add to hot soup (typically 1-2 tbls). Just prior to serving, add the shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes, warm through.

Amaretto Baked Pears with Streusel Filling

2010-02-28T16:57:00.001-05:00

Last week, I pulled out my 2007 Cooking Light Annual recipes cookbook and flagged several recipes I want to try. I've been in a cooking rut lately and needed some inspiration. Too often I'll buy a cookbook, and then never make anything from it, except for Ina's books, oh how I love Ina's recipes! Anyway, this Baked Pears recipe sounded easy enough and gives you the flavors of a pie without the heavy and fattening crust. I left out the nuts from the original recipe because I didn't have any, and I used Amaretto, instead of Apple Brandy. This smelled wonderful and tasted great with some frozen vanilla yogurt. Enjoy!

Amaretto Baked Pears with Streusel Filling

adapted from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2007

Ingredients:

For the Streusel:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted (I use unsalted)

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Pears:

3 Anjou Pears, peeled and cut in half lengthwise

1/3 cup apple juice

1 1/2 tablespoons Amaretto

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare streusel by combining flour, and next 6 ingredients in a bowl.

To prepare pears, use a melon baller or spoon to scoop out the core from each pear half. Evenly distribute the filling into each of the pear halves. Place pears in 8x8 baking dish and pour apple juice and amaretto into bottom of the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve warm, drizzled with the cooking liquid.

Mini Penne with Chicken, Bacon and Spinach

2010-02-27T16:55:00.001-05:00

While browsing The Pioneer Woman's website the other day, I came across her recipe for Pasta with Bacon and Mushrooms. These are some of my favorite ingredients, so I used her recipe to inspire last nights dinner, using what I already had on hand. I picked up several boxes of Barilla's Piccolini pasta's this week, on sale a Meijer for only .88 cents a box. The 3 huge split chicken breasts I used were from a 5.5lb package I got at Sam's club for only $11.00, which means this whole dish, which was a huge amount of food, probably only cost me around $10 to make. It made enough for 8-10 servings, so you'll have enough for a crowd, or plenty of leftovers. My husband had to work late last night, so after I finished cooking, I sent him the above picture, to tempt him to hurry his tail up and get home! He took one bite and exclaimed "this is definitely blog worthy!" I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Mini Penne with Chicken, Bacon and Spinach

inspired by The Pioneer Woman: Pasta with Bacon and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons Olive Oil, divided

3 large split, bone-less chicken breast, cut into small bite-size pieces

salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder

6 slices Louis Rich Turkey Bacon, cut into 1/2 in. pieces

1/4 cup diced red onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 (4 oz) cans mushrooms

1 carrot, diced

5 oz (1/2 of a 10oz) box of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess water

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/4 cups Half-and-half

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 16oz box Barilla Mini Penne pasta

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons Olive Oil over medium-high eat. Add chicken to pan and season with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder (to taste, I like lots of pepper!) Cook until no longer pink inside. Place chicken on a plate and cover to keep warm. To same pan, over medium heat, add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, bacon, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and carrots, along with extra salt and pepper, to taste. Saute until veggies until tender. Add spinach, and chicken broth. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits. Cook over medium-high heat for several minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half.

Reduce heat to medium and pour in half and half. Stir and allow sauce to simmer and thicken for several minutes. Add parmesean and chicken, stir and heat through. Note: At this point, if you want the sauce thicker, mix 1 tbls. soft butter with 1 Tbls. flour and stir into the sauce. This will thicken it very nicely. Serve with extra parmesan on top if desired.

Mexican Casserole- Using Leftover Taco Meat

2010-02-17T19:51:00.000-05:00

Taco night is pretty common in my house and we always have leftover taco meat in the fridge or freezer. This casserole is a perfect way to use it up. Sometimes I add frozen corn to the mix, but I forgot to do that today. This is not a diet friendly meal, however it's inexpensive, uses up leftovers, and feeds 6-8 people! These days, I'm lovin' meals like this! Enjoy!

Mexican Casserole

Ingredients:

1 (14-15 oz) bag of tortilla chips, crushed

1/2 cup shredded Jack cheese

2 cups leftover taco meat

1 cup salsa

1 (14.5 oz) can of black beans

1 (14.5 oz) can stewed sliced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Cooking Spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half the crushed chips on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with the Jack cheese.

In a large skillet, heat the taco meat, salsa, black beans, and stewed tomatoes over medium until heated through. Spread meat mixture over chips and jack cheese. Spread sour cream over meat mixture, then top with Mexican shredded cheese. Top with remaining crushed tortilla chips. Bake for 30-40 minutes until heated through. Serve over lettuce and tomato, with extra salsa on top, if desired.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts

2010-02-13T16:30:00.000-05:00

If you like Reese's Cups, then you'll love these! White chocolate covered Reese's Cups are my husband's favorite candy. I thought I would make him a special treat for Valentine's Day, since he is working hard in the basement installing new lighting. I found the recipe for these over at All Home Cooking All Year Long. Michelle used chocolate chips, but I used Ghirardelli White Chocolate Candy Dipping Bar, which I picked up at Sam's Club over the holidays. I love the taste of this product and it melts perfectly. This only took minutes to prepare and my 6 year old helped make the heart shapes. I had leftover dipping chocolate that I decided to tint pink and drizzle over the hearts for some color. Fun to make and even more fun to eat. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts

adapted from Michelle at All Home Cooking All The Time

1 cup creamy peanut butter
a dash of salt
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
a dash of vanilla extract

12 oz. white chocolate candy coating

Combine all ingredients (except white chocolate) in a bowl and mix until smooth, with no white specks. Form into heart shapes and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. I used extra powdered sugar on my hands to keep the peanut butter from sticking. Place pan into freezer to let shapes set for 1 hour.

Melt white chocolate in microwave save bowl according to package directions. Using a skewer or fork, dip into chocolate, let excess drip off. Place back on sheet pan and put into freezer for another 30 minutes.

Barbecue Meat Loaf

2010-02-12T09:36:00.000-05:00

I think this is my new favorite meat loaf recipe. We love barbecue sauce in my house. I use it in Cheesy Barbecue Casserole, and make Barbecue Sloppy Joe's, instead of using a canned sauce. Our favorite store bought barbecue sauce is Sweet Baby Ray's... because it's sweet! The original recipe called for 1 1/2 pounds of meat, but I had 2 lbs. in the fridge so I used all of it. In addition to the 2 egg whites, I included a whole egg because I used the extra beef. I added some shredded carrot and green pepper to the mix for extra flavor and fiber. I loved the flavor of this meatloaf. After I removed it from the oven, I let it rest for about 10-15 minutes. It held together perfectly and was not dry at all. Served with mashed potatoes and green beans... it's a classic home made blue-plate special and very comforting on a cold winter night. Enjoy!

Barbecue Meat Loaf

adapted from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2007

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean ground beef (I used ground round)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper

3 tablespoons shredded carrot

1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs (I used Italian seasoned, but plain would be fine)

2 tablespoons barbecue sauce, plus extra for top of meat loaf

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 large egg whites and 1 whole egg

Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium non-stick skillet, saute carrots, onion and green pepper in olive oil over med heat until soft, but not browned. Let cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine the beef, sauteed vegetables, breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce, and remaining ingredients (except cooking spray).

Shape meat mixture into a loaf on a sheet pan coated with cooking spray. Spread remaining barbecue sauce over top of meat loaf. Bake at 350° for 45-1 hour or until a thermometer registers 160° (amount of time depends on thickness of loaf). Let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Pita Bread

2010-02-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

Here is a delicious pita bread recipe I found over at thefreshloaf.com . I needed pita bread to serve with my Chicken Gyro's for dinner last night. The process to make these is very much like making pizza dough. I used my Kitchen Aid to do all the hard work (kneading). The dough doubled in size in about an hour, but the recipe said 90 minutes, so I left it alone. I doubled the recipe, so that I'd have enough left over to make pizzas for the kids the next day. It took me a few tries to get the hang of rolling the dough to the correct thickness. If it's too thick it will not puff up correctly, but it will still taste great. My last one turned out perfectly! Serve with Gyros or hot out of the oven with some honey. Yum!

Pita Bread

Makes 8 pitas

Ingredients:

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups warm water

1 Tablespoon honey
1 packet active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the dough hook, mix the yeast, water, honey. Allow to proof for 5-10 minutes (should become bubbly). Add olive oil, flour and salt. Mix at low speed for 10-15 minutes, adding a little more flour as needed to prevent sticking to side. Dough should be tacky, but not overly sticky. Remove from hook, and shape into a ball. Place into a large bowl, greased with a little oil or spray. Roll the ball around in the bowl to cover it with the oil. Cover bowl with towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Punch dough down to release gases. Divide dough into equal portions and shape into balls. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover with damp towel and let rest for 20-30 minutes. With a rolling pin, on a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a flat circle about 1/8 inch thick. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.

Place on a sheet pan, lined with parchment paper, baking 2 at a time, for approximately 3 minutes. The pitas are done when they puff up in the oven.

Perfectly puffed, right out of the oven!

Chicken Gyros with Cucumber Dill Sauce

2010-02-04T13:14:00.000-05:00

This is one of the best chicken recipes I've made in a long time... so easy and flavorful! This is a great recipe for extending a little meat for a lot of people. I used 4 boneless chicken breasts, to feed 5 of us for dinner. My youngest didn't want to eat the chicken (he's quite picky and not feeling well), but the rest of us each had two Gyros, and we still have enough left over for two small lunches. My oldest son actually requested these leftovers for lunch today. I marinated the chicken for about two hours, then cooked it in batches in a non-stick skillet. At dinner time, all I had to do was re-heat the meat in the microwave and serve! Easy, delicious and healthy! Don't forget to check back tomorrow to get the recipe for homemade pita bread.

Lisa's Chicken Gyros with Cucumber Dill Sauce

Serves 4-6

For the chicken/marinade:

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut in thin strips
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
6 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Fresh Pita Bread
red onion and tomato (optional)

Cucumber Dill Sauce- see recipe below

Directions:

Place chicken pieces in ziploc bag with next 6 ingredients. Mix well and marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Working in batches, saute chicken in a non-stick skillet over high heat. You will not need to add any oil to the pan because the chicken is already coated with oil from the marinade. Cook chicken until no pink remains. Serve with pita bread, sliced red onion, tomato and cucumber sauce, if desired. Enjoy!!

Cucumber Dill Sauce:

1 medium cucumber, seeded, and shredded (squeeze out excess water)

1 cup sour cream

juice of half a lemon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. dill weed

pinch of sugar

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve with Chicken Gyros.

Cheesy Barbecue Casserole

2010-01-31T18:39:00.000-05:00

This is one of my husband's FAVORITE dinners. Whenever I ask him what he would like for dinner, this is his request. I've made it countless times and it never dissapoints. We like to use Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce, but any kind will work just fine. It's appx. 600 calories per serving, but you could lighten it up with ground turkey and low fat cheese. A simple tossed salad compliments this perfectly. It's very quick and easy to prepare and can be assembled ahead of time, then baked in just 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Cheesy Barbecue Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb box Medium Shell-shaped pasta

1 lb Ground Chuck

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup barbecue sauce

1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

1 tablespoon dried parsley (optional)

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions. Cook beef and onion in a large skillet, over med-high heat, until browned, drain grease.

Mix pasta, beef mixture, and remaining ingredients, except 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese. Spoon into baking dish. Cook for 30 minutes until hot in center. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar and continue baking for another 10 minutes.

Creamy Chicken Enchilada's

2010-01-30T08:00:00.001-05:00

Obviously I was rushed to get this picture taken before we devoured our dinner, so please excuse the picture! This is one of our favorite mexican recipes that I originally got from the Campbell's soup website. The recipe originally calls for 1 can of cream of chicken soup to use in the creamy sauce. Tonight I decided to try making my own creamy chicken soup base, using just butter, flour and stock. It only takes a few extra minutes for this step, and tastes great. The recipe also calls for cooked chicken, so you'll need to plan ahead. I roasted several bone-in chicken breasts the day before, and used the meat in several different recipes this week. Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Enchilada's

For the chicken soup base:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. poultry seasoning
black pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in salt and flour, let cook for 1 minute. Whisk in chicken stock. Add poultry seasoning and pepper, keep whisking until sauce thickens about 10 minutes. Should be thick like a canned soup base would be. Let cool and set aside. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

For the enchilada's:

Need appx. 10 Fajita size flour tortilla's
cooking spray
1 1/2 cups chicken soup base (can subsitute 1 can cream of chicken soup)
8 oz sour cream
1 cup salsa (I used medium)
2 tsp chili powder
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Jack cheese
optional toppings: green onion, lettuce and tomato

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.

For the sauce mixture, mix chicken soup base, sour cream, salsa and chili powder in a medium bowl.

In another bowl, mix 1 cup of the sauce mixture with the shredded chicken and cheese.

Spread 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side down in shallow baking dish. Pour remaining sauce mixture over enchiladas. Cover with foil.
Bake at 350°F. for 40 min. or until hot. Top with tomato and onion, and serve over lettuce, if desired.

Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks

2010-01-29T13:22:00.002-05:00

I've been in a bread making mood recently. Yesterday I made homemade rolls to go with our chicken stew for dinner. Tonight we're having spaghetti, so I decided to make garlic breadsticks. I found a recipe for Divine Brea dsticks over at My Kitchen Cafe and thought they sounded really easy. I sprinkled garlic powder and parmesan on them before baking, then brushed with butter as soon as they came out of the oven. Next time I think I will put the garlic powder in the melted butter instead. Either way, they taste great! Enjoy!

*Makes about 20 breadsticks depending on how thick or thin you cut them.

Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups warm water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

3 ½ cups bread flour (may need a little more depending on humidity)
½ teaspoon salt

garlic powder and parmesan cheese (to taste)

3 tablespoons butter, melted (for the baking sheet), plus a little more to brush on after baking.

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix water, yeast and sugar in large bowl or stand mixer bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes to proof yeast. Add flour and salt, knead for three minutes, until dough starts to pull away from bowl. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Spread melted butter onto an 11X17-inch baking sheet. Roll out the breadstick dough about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick and cut into strips with a pizza cutter. Twist slightly if desired and place about 1/2-inch apart on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with garlic and parmesan cheese. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes. Bake 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees until golden brown. Brush with a little extra melted butter.

Fresh out of the oven

A Nice Surprise!

2010-01-28T13:26:00.007-05:00

What a suprise it was to login this morning and see that I've been nominated for a Beautiful Blogger Award! Michelle at All Home Cooking. All Year Long was so nice to nominate me for this. Thanks for putting a smile on my face today Michelle!

Seven Interesting Things About Me:

My favorite food is potatoes! Fried, mashed, baked, roasted.... the list goes on. My family used to call me the potato bug.
I'm not a photograhper and I use a simple point and shoot camera. If I'm organized enough and can get my dishes made during the day when we still have some natural light, then my pictures can turn out pretty well (I think). Unfortunately, I'm usually making dinner at 5pm with 3 hungry kids at my heels and am lucky if I remember to even get the camera out!
I'm a recovering neat freak. It's a long process but having 3 children has forced me to bring my standards now a few notches... and then some! Luckily they are all old enough now to have regular chores.
I cried at the end of Julie and Julia! I can relate to Julia being a late-30 something, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. Guess that's why I started this blog, to share my passion and have some fun along the way.
I hate Fish, any and all kinds! I've tried several different types and each time I have to spit it out because I can't even swallow it! So, you will not see me post any fish dishes here. Sorry.
I'm currently addicted to Tim Horton's English Toffee Cappuccino..yes, there is an empty cup sitting on the table next to me as I type.
I've watched Food Network for at least 10 years, but it wasn't until Ina Garten came on that I actually started making the recipes I saw on t.v. She is my culinary inspiration.

Upon receiving this honor, I'm supposed to nominate seven other blogs for the same award. I nominate the following seven fabulous blogs:

The Cookbook Junkie. This is the first blog I started reading. I always look forward to seeing the interesting recipes/cookbooks she discovers.
Real Mom Kitchen. Check out the incredible bread recipes. Yum!!
My Kitchen Cafe. Great recipes and pictures. I made several of her dishes already and they have all been wonderful. I highly recommed the cinnamon rolls!
Domestic Cents. A blog about using domestic arts to live a simple, frugal life. We all need to do more of this! Can't wait to try the Oatmeal Bread.
A Feast For the Eyes. She's an Ina fan and has a picture of herself with Tyler Florence, very cool! Great pictures and some wonderful German recipes that I'm looking forward to trying.
Tried and True Cooking with Heidi. Love the simple, kid-friendly recipes. Check out her recipe for Cinnamon-Pretzel Twists.
Full Bellies, Happy Kids. Love the name... so true! I've been inspired by several of the recipes from this blog, such as the Ham and Potato Casserole. Good hearty food!

If you've been nominated, will you pretty please pay it forward? Here are the guidelines:

Thank the person who nominated YOU. :)
Copy the award and post it you YOUR blog.
Link back to the person who nominated you.
Share 7 interesting things about yourself (yourselves).
Nominate 7 more bloggers for this award.
Post your link to those 7 blogs.

Thanks!

Lisa

Lisa's Sweet and Spicy Chinese Chicken

2010-01-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

We love Chinese food, but have been avoiding take-out food recently, in an effort to save money. One of my favorite chinese dishes is Chang's Spicy Chicken, from P.F. Chang's China Bistro. This is my take on the dish using a homemade sauce and help from the store with pre-packaged popcorn chicken. I came across the idea of using the popcorn chicken over at RealMomKitchen.com. What a brillant idea! I would never bread and fry all those tiny chicken pieces myself at home, and using the popcorn chicken makes it so much easier. Now, if you really want to save time, you could just use a store-bought bottled sauce and call it a day, but my sauce had a very nice balance of sweet and spicy and my family really enjoyed it.

Lisa's Sweet and Spicy Chinese Chicken

1 bag frozen popcorn chicken (I purchased mine at Sam's Club)

For the Sauce:

2 tablespoons Canola Oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup Sweet Chili Sauce (found in Asian section)

3 tablespoons Honey

2-3 dashes Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Ketchup

4 tablespoons Sweetened Rice Vinegar

2 tablespoons Apple Juice

pinch of Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

1 tablespoon Corn Starch

Cook popcorn chicken according to package directions.

In a large saucepan, heat the garlic and green onions in oil, over medium heat (do not brown the garlic). Add the next 7 ingredients and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. To thicken sauce, mix corn starch with a little water and add to sauce. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.

In a large bowl, coat chicken with sauce. Serve over rice.

Chinese Potstickers

2010-01-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

When I left my corporate job 4 years ago, my co-workers gave me a couple of books as going away presents. One of them was the Good Housekeeping Light and Healthy Cookbook. Guess they knew I'd have a lot more time for cooking! This recipe is the first one I tried from the book and we just love it. It takes a little time to assemble, but they can be made ahead of time and frozen, then fried up easily whenever the craving strikes. Enjoy!

Chinese Potstickers

1 8oz package coleslaw mix

8 oz ground pork

1 green onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

2 tbls. reduced sodium soy sauce

1 tbls. seasoned rice vinegar

2 tsp. corn starch

36 wonton wrappers

1 large egg white, beaten

Soy Dipping Sauce (below)

Prepare Filling: In a 2-qt. saucepan, heat 1 inch water to boiling over high heat. Add coleslaw mix and heat to boiling. Cook 1 minute; drain. Immediately rinse with cold water to stop cooking. With hands, squeeze out as much water as possible. Finely chop cabbage. Squeeze out any remaining water. Place in a medium bowl. Stir in ground pork, green onion, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch until well blended.

To assemble: Brush eash wonton wrapper lightly with egg white. Spoon 1 tsp on filling in center of wrapper. Bring two opposite corners together over filling; pinch and pleat sides together to seal filling. Repeat with remaining wrappers, egg white and filling.

In a deep non-stick 12-inch skillet, heat chicken stock over high heat. Place all potstickers in pan in a single layer, bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer until all potstickers are cooked though, 5 minutes, and bottoms start to brown. Gently remove from pan. Serve with dipping sauce.

Soy Dipping Sauce:

In a small bowl, stir 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger. 1 chopped green onion and 1 tablespoon sugar, until blended. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Homemade Croutons using Leftover Hotdog Buns

2010-01-24T21:13:00.000-05:00

Most of the time when we have a few leftover hotdog or hamburger buns, I throw them in the freezer, then forget about them until they are too freezer burned to use. Here's a quick and easy way to use up those buns before they go bad. It's extremely easy and quick to prepare. Much better than prepacked croutons! Enjoy!

Hotdog Bun Croutons

2-3 leftover hot dog or hamburger buns
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
garlic powder (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut up bread into bite size pieces. Spread out on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, and season to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (if using). Mix well (I use my hands to do this). Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until browned and crispy.

Turkey Burger Sliders - White Castle Style

2010-01-16T19:56:00.003-05:00

I saw another blog post for this recipe recently that looked so easy and delicious that I had to give it a try. I decided to use lean ground turkey breast, instead of beef, since I already had that in the fridge. I was concerned that it may be too dry, so I rubbed a little butter on the bottom of my baking dish first. This worked out very well. The minced onions softened nicely and the meat was quite flavorful. I used Kings Hawaiian Butter Rolls to serve these on and I have to say, topped with some dill pickle slices, they tasted better than White Castle...less greasy, and more meat! This only takes minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to bake. Enjoy!

Turkey Burger Sliders- White Castle Style

makes appx. 16 sliders

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/3 cup dried minced onion
2 lbs ground turkey
6-7 slices american cheese
salt, pepper and garlic powder
Kings Hawaiian Butter Rolls, sliced in half
Dill pickle slices (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle the minced onion flakes in the bottom of the dish. Press the ground turkey into the dish (on top of the onion) to form one big patty. Lightly season with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Using a drinking straw, poke holes all over the meat patty. Bake for 20-25 minutes, remove from oven, drain excess grease. Top with cheese slices and return to oven for 2 minutes until melted.

In a skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and place rolls, cut side down, cook until very lightly browned. Serve with a slice of pickle on each burger (if using).

Banana Bread

2010-01-15T00:01:00.001-05:00

This recipe comes from the cookbook that inspired my blog's name, the Joy of Cooking. We had breakfast for dinner last night and I made this bread to go with our eggs, sausage and hashbrowns. I had to laugh because the recipe says, "cool completely before slicing", Yeah right!   I let it cool just enough to remove it from the pan, then we devoured it! The lemon zest was a nice addition, something I haven't done before when making banana bread. The recipe calls for an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, but mine was slightly larger, therefore the cooking time was only 45 minutes. Just make sure to check your bread when the kitchen starts to smell incredibly good and the edges of the bread are light brown. Enjoy!

Banana Bread
from the Joy of Cooking, copyright 2006 Simon & Schuster

Makes one 81/2 x 41/2" loaf

Ingredients:

1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 large eggs
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
Optional:   1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with butter.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl (I used my Kitchen-Aid mixer with the paddle attachment), beat the sugar, butter and lemon zest until creamy. Beat in the eggs and banana. Add the dry ingredients in about 3 parts, beating until smooth after each addition. Fold in nuts, if using.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45min to 1 hour (depends on pan size) until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly, then unmold.    Enjoy!

Red Rice

2010-01-14T09:53:00.001-05:00

We have mexican food (nachos, tacos etc.) usually once a week. I like to make this rice to go with our ground beef (or turkey) because it allows me to serve less meat per person. For our family of five, I typically cook up 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of meat, and will have enough left over to use for a second dinner or a few lunches. This rice is easy to make, inexpensive and much healthier than the pre-packaged versions. I always have the ingredients in my pantry and refrigerator.

The original recipe comes from the 2008 Christmas Edition of Cooking with Paula Deen. It calls for fire-roasted tomatoes, but I just use regular canned tomatoes.   I hope you'll give this a try, you'll never buy the boxed stuff again!

Red Rice
adapted from Cooking with Paula Deen, Christmas 2008 Edition

Makes 10-12 Servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups long-grain rice
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes   (fire-roasted, plain, chili-ready, use whatever you have on hand)
3 cups chicken broth
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon dried cilantro (optional)

Directions:

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook for 4-5 minutes or until onions are tender. Stir in rice, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, broth, chili powder, salt and dried cilantro (if using). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Fluff rice with a fork. Serve immediately.

Baked Corn Dogs

2010-01-10T21:58:00.000-05:00

My kids love corn dogs, but I can't stand the traditional store-bought deep-fried ones. There's something about the batter in those that tastes wrong to me. These however, are quite tasty and I feel much better about serving them, because I know exactly what went into making them. I only use Hebrew National All-Beef Hotdogs because they don't have any artifical ingredients and taste great. The corn bread dough for this recipe has a sweetness from brown sugar that I really enjoy. I serve these with a honey mustard dipping sauce, which complements it perfectly. Enjoy!

Baked Corn Dogs
slightly adapted from Food Network Magazine (found on Foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients:

1 cup milk (I was out of milk, used 2/3 cup half-n-half and 1/3 cup water)
1 package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 cup fine yellow cornmeal
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting and kneading
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or paprika
9 reduced-fat hot dogs, halved crosswise
1 large egg, beaten

Directions:

Warm the milk to about 110 degrees in a saucepan; pour into a medium bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and let soften for about 2 minutes. Stir in the olive oil, brown sugar and cornmeal with a wooden spoon. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and cayenne pepper; stir to make a sticky dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour if needed, until smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. ( I've also done this in my Kitchen-Aid with the dough hook). Shape the dough into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and lightly oil a large baking sheet. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 9 pieces. With a rolling pin, roll-out each piece into a rectangle, slightly longer than the hot dog. Place a hot dog on the dough, and roll-up lengthwise. Place on the baking sheet, seam side down. Brush the dough-wrapped dogs with the beaten egg. Bake until golden, appx. 15 minutes.

Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls

2010-01-05T13:00:00.016-05:00

There is an italian restaunt in town called Antonio's, that serves the BEST bread I've ever eaten in a restaurant. Soft, chewy, warm, and dripping with garlic butter. When these rolls came out of the oven, my first thought was "they're just like Antonio's, without the garlic!" Wow, I'm in trouble! I had one right out of the oven, then ate two more with the Cheddar Corn Chowder that I made for dinner. If you've never made bread before, I would highly recommend giving these a try. The recipe calls for short rising times, so they won't take all day to make. I made these in my Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer. The dough hook does all the hard work for you.

shaped and ready for second rising

hot out of the oven, smells like a bakery!

Easy Dinner Rolls
from The Sisters Dish blog - Mollys Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk (heat in the microwave for 30 seconds)
1/3 cup sugar
1 package yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon)
1/3 cup oil
1/2 T salt
1 egg
All-purpose flour (I ended up using a total of 4 1/2 to 5 cups)

Directions:
In mixer, with dough hook attachment, combine yeast, sugar, and warm water; let grow until bubbly (about 5 minutes). Add milk and mix. Mix in oil and egg. Slowly add 2 cups flour, mix and then add salt. Add 1/2 cup flour at a time until it comes away from side of bowl.

Let rise in mixing bowl for about 30 minutes (I let mine rise for an hour). Form rolls as desired and place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise an additional 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Brush hot rolls with melted butter. Makes appx. 2 dozen.

Cheddar Corn Chowder with Chicken

2010-01-05T12:00:00.001-05:00

This might become my new favorite soup. It starts with bacon, which is definitely a good thing, then adds two of my favorite veggies, corn and potatoes. Yum! I came up with this recipe by combining elements of some other recipes, to make my "ultimate" version of corn chowder. The soup could easily be lightened up by cutting out the bacon and cheese and using milk, instead of the half-n-half. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did. Oh, and best of all.... my daughter who has a taste aversion to almost all veggies, actually cleaned her bowl, had seconds, and asked for thirds! I told her there was carrots in the soup (she can't stand them) and she replied "they're grated", like it's no big deal.

* Note- this recipe uses cooked chicken, so plan accordingly.

Lisa's Cheddar Corn Chowder with Chicken

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tbls. spoon olive oil
2 tbls. butter
2 carrots grated
1/2 a large onion, chopped
32 oz box of chicken stock (I use Kitchen Basics brand)
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, but into bite-size pieces
1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3 cups frozen corn
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup Half-n-Half
1 cup grated cheddar (I used medium)

Directions:

In a large soup pot, add bacon to 1 tbls. olive oil, cook until bacon is crisp and fat is rendered. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon. Drain fat, reserving 1 tbls. in pan. Add butter to pan, along with the onions and grated carrot. Cook until onion is tender, but not browned.

Add the chicken stock, diced potatoes, bay leaf, dried parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender, appx. 15 minutes. Add the corn, chicken, half-n-half and cheddar cheese. Heat through. Taste for seasonings, adding more salt if necessary.

** If you would like a thicker consistency, mix equal parts softened butter and flour, adding to hot soup and cook until soup thickens. **

Red Velvet Cake Balls

2010-01-04T22:14:00.000-05:00

If you've been around the food blogosphere the past year, you've probably heard of Bakerella. She first caught my attention with her appearance on the Martha Stewart Show last year. When I came across her post for Red Velvet Cake Balls, I was very excited. Red Velvet cake is my husband's most favorite dessert of all time. These are so delicious, but what makes them even better is how easy they are to make. A box cake mix, can of frosting and some chocolate candy coating are all you need. Run to the store and get the ingredients now. You must try these. Really!

Want to see the inside of one? Looks pretty good, huh?

Red Velvet Cake Balls

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)

Directions:

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting.
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet.
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra. Let sit until firm.

Ina's Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms

2010-01-04T21:51:00.000-05:00

Mushrooms and sausage... two of my favorite pizza toppings come together into a fantastic appetizer. I took these delicious morsels to my brothers house on New Years Eve and everyone loved them. My brother said they taste like pizza without the crust. Well said, I think. I used button mushrooms, as per the recipe, but I think they would be good with cremini, or as a main course, using portabello mushroom caps. I used Bob Evans Italian Sausage with a dash of red pepper flakes added, and regular onion, instead of green onion. These are perfect little bites. Enjoy!

Sausage-Stuffed Mushrooms
adapted from Ina Garten's recipe on Food Network.com

Ingredients:

16 extra-large white mushrooms
5 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
2 1/2 tablespoons Marsala wine or medium sherry
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casings
6 scallions, white and green parts, minced ( I used 1/2 cup regular onion, chopped)
2 garlic cloves minced
2/3 cup panko crumbs
5 ounces mascarpone cheese, preferably from Italy
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala. Set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, crumbling it with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it's completely browned. Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in the scallions and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients. Finally, swirl in the mascarpone and continue cooking until the mascarpone has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste, Cool slightly.

Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Bake until the stuffing is browned and crusty (appx. 40-50 minutes).

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

2009-12-28T22:08:00.002-05:00

One of our little Christmas traditions is to have cinnamon rolls for breakfast, along with some eggs and OJ. Nothing too fancy really. Typically I just pop open a can on Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Rolls and call it a day. They are perfectly delicious and easy, but this year, I decided to give homemade cinnamon rolls a go (plus Meijer was out of the Grands). I found a delicious looking recipe over at My Kitchen Cafe, the third recipe I've made from that site. The recipe calls for vanilla pudding in the dough, which makes it very sticky. I was worried that I was adding too much flour while trying to knead the dough, but the recipe said the dough should be soft, not sticky, so I kept adding flour until I was able to move the dough around without it accumulating all over my hands. It was quite messy, but they turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself! I had to cut the recipe in half, since 24 rolls would have been way to much for my family of 5. The leftovers reheated beautifully the next morning too!

Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
From My Kitchen Cafe

Yield 24 large rolls

Rolls:

½ cup warm water
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
3 ½ ounce package instant vanilla pudding
½ cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
6+ cups flour

Filling:

1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon

Frosting: (I used a can of cream cheese frosting)

8 ounces cream cheese
½ cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

Directions:

In a small bowl combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.
In large bowl, take pudding mix and prepare according to package directions.
Add butter, eggs and salt. Mix well. Then add yeast mixture. Blend. Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Do not overflour the dough! It should be very soft but not sticky. Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled. Then roll out on floured board to 34 X 21 inches in size. Take 1 cup soft butter and spread over surface. In bowl, mix 2 cups brown sugar and 4 teaspoons cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top. Roll up very tightly. With knife put a notch every 1 1/2 inches. Cut with thread or serrated knife. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Cover and let rise until double again.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they start to turn golden (don’t overbake). Frost warm rolls with cream cheese frosting (combine butter and cream cheese and mix well, then add vanilla and sugar and mix again, then add milk for desired consistency).

out of the fridge and ready to bake.

Daring Bakers Challege December 2009- Gingerbread Houses

2009-12-25T11:50:00.000-05:00

My son's "gingerbread" house

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

Before I go any further, I must admit I did not bake a gingerbread house from scratch this month. I was very excited about this challenge when I first read about it. Last year I made graham cracker houses with my kids and it was a very fun project and I was planning on doing it again this year. I knew it would be even better with real homemade gingerbread. HOWEVER, I volunteered to help out in my son's classroom with their holiday party this year. The teacher decided to do a gingerbread house as the craft. Oh Joy! After spending two days, constructing and decorating "gingerbread" houses with 25 second graders, I was totally over the idea of decorating houses at home. Hopefully next year I can give it a try. Please forgive me. :)

Merry Christmas!!

White Christmas Snack Mix

2009-12-19T16:14:00.000-05:00

My sister-in law gave me this family recipe of hers a few years ago and it's now become a tradition to make this in my house every Christmas. You'll need a big bowl to mix this in, as it makes a lot! I sent some into work with my husband and everyone loved it. Sweet and salty, the best combination! Enjoy!

White Christmas

Ingredients:

5 cups Cheerios (original)
5 cups corn or rice Chex cereal
1 (10oz) bag of mini pretzel twists
2 cups salted peanuts
1 bag plain M&M's (holiday color)
2 bags white chocolate chips
3 Tbls. vegetable or canola oil

Directions:

Combine first five ingredients into a very large bowl and set aside.

In smaller, microwavable bowl, combine the white chocolate chips and oil, mix well. Microwave for 1 minute, stir. Microwave for another minute, stir. May need one more minute (depending on appliance).

Pour over dry ingredients and mix well. (It may seem like there's not enough chocolate to cover it all, but keep stirring, it will coat everything!)

Spread out on parchment or wax paper lined baking sheets to cool. Store in air tight container.

Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins

2009-12-19T15:59:00.001-05:00

My first post in over a month.. bout' time, huh? Colds, flu, Thanksgiving, my birthday and other events with friends and family have taken up most of my time these past 6 weeks. Now that the kids are out of school, I finally have some time to get back to my blog.

the cake my husband got me for my birthday, love the fall colors!

Slowly but surely I've been trying to use up the three huge cans of pumpkin puree I picked up at Sam's Club before Thanksgiving. I found the recipe for the pumpkin muffins over at My Kitchen Cafe. It's the second recipe I've made from that site and I've been very happy with both of them. These muffins are very moist and flavorful. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup butter melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 apple, peeled and finely chopped (I used a Honeycrisp)

For Topping:
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in center of mixture.

Combine pumpkin, butter, and eggs in another bowl. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fold in chopped apple.

Spoon into paper cup lined muffin tins, filling two-thirds full.

Combine the 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; sprinkle evenly over muffins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks.

Creamy White Chicken Chili

2009-11-09T20:36:00.004-05:00

Today was a busy day in the kitchen for me. I had to pick-up my daughter from school early because she wasn't feeling well. On the way home, I asked her if there was anything she wanted to make her feel better, her reply...Chicken Noodle Soup. I love it when my kids request homemade soup, and I love making it for them even more. Luckily, I had a large pack of split-chicken breasts in the fridge already thawed. I rubbed them with some olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted them for about 40 minutes. This is THE best way to cook chicken meat when you need it for a recipe. Roasting with the bone-in and skin on produces very moist and flavorful meat. Once it was cooled, I shredded the meat and used it in the soup, and Creamy White Chicken Chili for dinner. I found a recipe for the chili at My Kitchen Cafe and made a few modifications. My family really enjoyed it and I hope you will too.

Creamy White Chicken Chili

3 large split bone-in, skin on chicken breasts
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 carrot, shredded
2 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
16 oz chicken stock ( I used 1/2 of a 32 oz box, can use a 14.5 oz can of broth and a little extra water if desired)
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/ 4 teaspoon dried cilantro
1/ 2 teaspoon pepper
1/ 8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half n half

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place chicken breasts skin side up on a baking sheet. Rub with olive oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite size pieces.

In a dutch oven, add 2 tablespoons Olive Oil and the diced onion, celery and grated carrot. Sauté on med-low heat until vegetables are tender, do not let them brown. Add beans, chicken meat, chicken stock, green chilis, and the spices.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and half n half. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream and shredded Jack cheese. Makes about 6 servings.

Hearty Ham and Potato Casserole

2009-11-05T09:35:00.000-05:00

I found this recipe over at Full Bellies Happy Kids recently and knew I had to give it a try. Cheese, Ham, Potatoes, what's not to love, right? My husband and I really enjoyed it. I would be eating leftovers for breakfast this morning, but our microwave died last night.

The kids were lukewarm on this dish. Young Mr. Picky Pants wouldn't eat it at all. Miss Picky Pants wouldn't eat the ham, go figure. Mr. Eat Everything said he liked it, but didn't finish it. I think next time I make it I'll use regular onion instead of green onion. I love them, but I don't think my boys liked the flavor they added to the cheese sauce. I followed the original recipe almost exactly, except for adding a little salt, extra pepper and a dash of cayenne to my sauce. I also sprinkled the top of the casserole with paprika before baking. A great comfort food dish, that could easily be made ahead of time.

Hearty Ham and Potato Casserole

(I doubled the recipe and cooked it in a 13x9 dish)

2. cups cubed potatoes
2 cups cooked cubed ham
1 fifteen ounce can of whole kernel golden corn, drained ( I used thawed frozen corn)
1/4 cup fresh parsley (optional) ( I used a teaspoon dried parsley)
1/4 cup butter

2 Tablespoons chopped onion or green onion or leeks

SAUCE

1/3 c. all purpose flour
1-3/4 c. milk

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. salt
4 oz. shredded cheese, preferably yellow

Boil your potatoes until they are ALMOST done, they still have to cook in the oven for a while longer.

Drain off the water, add in the ham, corn, parsley, butter and green onions. Mix well.

In a small pot, add the milk and cook over medium heat until it just starts to want to boil, add in the flour and the remaining sauce ingredients and stir until thickened.

Pour the potato mixture into an oven proof dish, pour the milk mixture over, sprinkle some more cheese over and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until potatoes are done. Remove foil and bake for a few minutes more until cheese is completely melted and browned.

THE DARING BAKERS OCTOBER 2009 CHALLENGE: MACAROONS

2009-10-27T17:21:00.001-04:00

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

This was my first time eating a french macaroon, let alone trying to make them. There are many different flavorings and colors that macaroons can be made with and they look very pretty when finished, however, I decided to keep it simple. I added cocoa powder to my batter and then filled them with Nutella. Honestly, I have to admit that I didn't really care for the overly almond flavor of these, or the cost. The almond flour cost $10 for a 16 oz bag. Needless to say, I doubt I'll be making these again. I would rather spend money on expensive chocolate, than almond flour.

Ingredients:

Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

2009-10-26T21:22:00.000-04:00

Doesn't it look like a perfect chocolate chip cookie sitting on top of a muffin?! I made these Sunday afternoon because I had the urge to bake something and thought the kids would like them before school this morning. Nothing like having a little dessert for breakfast!

I used Ina Garten's Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffin recipe to make these. The batter has sour cream in it which makes these very moist. This is my go-to muffin recipe. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style, 2002

makes 16 regular muffins

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons unslated butter, at room temp.

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 extra-large eggs, at room temp.

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups milk chocolate chips (recommed Hershey's brand)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans. Spray tops of pans with cooking spray (makes it easier to remove the muffins).

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt (I use a whisk to blend it all together). With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans using a large ice-cream scoop, filling to the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the muffins are lightly browned on top. (I always set my timer for the minimum amount of time and give it more time if needed)

Crock-Pot Beef and Bean Chili with Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread

2009-10-14T10:42:00.000-04:00

No seasoning packet here, this is all from scratch. This is one colorful chili when it's all mixed together. Along with the beef, I added red and black beans, and for even more fiber, corn, grated carrot, yellow and green peppers.  My youngest wouldn't eat it, but everyone else had seconds. This filled my crock-pot up to the brim, so make sure you have a large cooker.

Lisa's Crock-Pot Beef and Bean Chili

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef (can substitute turkey)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomato
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomato with green chiles
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and very finely chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1-2 dashes ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried cilantro
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

Cook the beef, onion and garlic in a large skillet over high heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain and add to the slow-cooker.

Add in all remaining ingredients, stir and cover. Cook on high for 3 hours.

This corn bread recipe is one of our favorites. The first time I made it my husband said it was the best corn bread he had ever had. The cheddar and jalapeno give it such great flavor, and letting the batter sit on the counter before cooking, makes it very moist and tender, almost cake like.   I modified the original recipe by using mild cheddar (that's what I had on hand), and only 1 jalapeno. Enjoy!

Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread
adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten 2006

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
2 cups grated cheddar, divided
1/4 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts
1 jalapeno pepper, minced

Directions:

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and melted butter.

With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't overmix!   Mix in half of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

A Perfect Gift

2009-10-03T13:58:00.004-04:00

A friend of ours volunteers at a local C.S.A. farm in Milan. My husband met up with him for coffee the other day, and ended up bringing home this large box full of peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and more. Check out the huge yellow tomato and the dark purple peppers. It makes me happy just looking at the colors in this box.

little eggplants, so cute!

I had some of my homemade marinara left over so I cooked up the eggplant, red, green and yellow peppers in olive oil, along with some onion, fresh tomato and garlic, and then mixed them in with the marinara. Healthy, delicious and no recipe required!

Serve over angel hair pasta. Enjoy!

Mushroom Risotto

2009-09-30T23:06:00.001-04:00

I love mushrooms! This is one of my favorite dishes to order at an italian restaurant. Last night I wanted to make something new, so I finally decided to give Ina Garten's Mushroom Risotto recipe a try. Her recipe calls for dried morels that are soaked in water to produce a stock. I didn't want to deal with this step, so I substituted other mushrooms and vegetable stock. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly and the results were perfect...creamy and al dente. Yum!

Mushroom Risotto

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics (Clarkson/Potter 2008)

4 oz fresh wild mushrooms (the package at my store contained sliced oyster, baby bella and shitake)
1/2 lb fresh cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups vegetable stock
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 oz pancetta
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat the chicken and vegetable stocks and bring to a simmer.

In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for another 5 minutes.

Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes.

Add 2 full ladles of the chicken stock mixture to the rice, plus the saffron, salt and pepper. Stir and simmer over LOW heat until the stock is absorbed, 5-10 minutes. Continue to add the stock mixture, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry before adding more of the stock mixture. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 25-30 minutes total.

When done, the risotto should be thick and creamy and not at all dry. Off the heat, stir in the parmesan cheese. Serve hot in bowls with extra cheese.

Quick-Fix Skillet Burritos

2009-09-28T19:31:00.001-04:00

Nothing fancy here, but it will please almost everyone at the table, is inexpensive, and I always have the ingredients on hand. I found the original recipe at Kraftfoods.com, but adapted it by cooking onions with the beef and adding frozen corn.

Quick-Fix Skillet Burritos

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 pkg. Taco Seasoning Mix
1 can (19 oz.) kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1 cup Salsa
1 cup water
4 flour tortillas (6 inch), cut into 1-1/2-inch squares
1 cup mexican style shredded cheese
lettuce, tomato, sour cream, green onions for serving.

Directions:

BROWN meat and onions in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat; drain.

ADD seasoning mix, beans, salsa, corn and water; stir. Bring to boil. Simmer on medium-low heat 5 min.

STIR in tortillas; top with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Serve on a bed of lettuce and tomatos. Top with sour cream and green onions, if desired.

ready to serve

Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzel Twists with White Chocolate Drizzle

2009-09-28T19:08:00.006-04:00

Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzel Twists

Last night I made a batch of Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels drizzled with White Chocolate. I found this delicious recipe over at Tried-and-True Cooking With Heidi. Thank You!!

These couldn't be easier to make and the combination of salty pretzel with the sweet cinnamon sugar and white chocolate is great! I sent 1/2 the batch to work with my husband, which made him very happy. I'm sure I'll be making these again and again.

2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar
1 lb bag mini pretzels

4 oz white chocolate (or Almond Bark)

Mix oil and cinnamon sugar in large microwavable dish. Add pretzels and toss to coat. Microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes (stirring every 30 seconds), or until oil's absorbed. Spread on cookie sheets to air dry. Melt white chocolate and drizzle over the top. Store in airtight container.

Daring Bakers in September: Vols-au-Vent with Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough

2009-09-27T14:16:00.000-04:00

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of a whisk and a spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

I joined the Daring Bakers in August 2009 and this was my very first challenge. I've never made puff pastry and was excited and nervous to attempt making this. Last week, while making the dough, it was extremely warm in my kitchen and the butter started coming out of the dough a few times. I immediately wrapped and chilled it for a few hours to let it relax. After 4 "turns", I left the dough in the fridge for a day and a half. I needed to take a break from rolling dough and getting flour all over my kitchen. I was worried about how the dough would turn out, but as you can see from the photo, the vols-au-vents puffed up very nicely. They were flaky, buttery and perfect for serving my Chicken Stew in.

shaped and ready to bake

Hot out of the oven

I had plenty of dough left over so I shaped it into a rectangle, sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar and rolled it into a log. I cut 1 in. pieces and sprayed them with some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Bake on a sheet pan lined with parchment at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. They made the house smell great and tasted even better. We ate these as a snack before dinner!

This was a fun challenge and I look forward to the next one!

Chicken Stew

2009-09-26T20:06:00.002-04:00

I love Ina Garten, a.k.a. the Barefoot Contessa. I have all of her books and actually use them at least once a week. She is probably the one celebrity chef (well, she's not technically a trained chef) that has insipred me the most. I've watched Food Network for the past ten years, but it wasn't until Ina appeared that I actually started cooking the recipes I saw on t.v. This Chicken Stew recipe is one of my all time favorites. I've made a few adjustments to suit my family's tastes, but the basics are still the same. I did not make her biscuit recipe (although I have before and it's great). Check back tomorrow for my first Daring Baker's challenge reveal and you'll see how I served this delicious stew.

I love my green Le Creuset Dutch Oven!

Chicken Stew
adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style, 2002 Clarkston Potter/Publisher

3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock       (I use Kitchen Basics stock in a box)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups chopped onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups frozen green peas
8 oz canned mushrooms
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used half-n-half)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with the olive oil. SPrinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Shred the chicken into large bite size pieces. You will have 4-6 cups of chicken.

In a medium saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute' the onions, carrots and celery over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the cream. Add the shredded chicken, peas and parsley and mix well. Simmer on low for a few minutes until everything is heated through.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

2009-09-25T09:32:00.002-04:00

Breakfast for dinner is a favorite in my family. We usually have it once a week because it's inexpensive and everyone eats without complaining. I wanted to use up some of the left over mashed sweet potatoes I have in the fridge and thought sweet potato biscuits would be interesting. I found a recipe on the Betty Crocker Bisquick website and decided to give it try. Using Bisquick made these come together quickly. The recipe states a yield of 16 biscuits, but I only got 10. Guess I made them a little too big. I also made a cinnamon/sugar butter to spread on them and the combo was outstanding. This is my new favorite way to use up leftover sweet potatoes. Unfortunately, they were so yummy hot out of the oven, that I forgot to take a picture.

Picture from: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/sweet-potato-biscuits

Baked Broccoli Mac & Cheese

2009-09-24T14:44:00.000-04:00

I spent much of my day yesterday working on my Daring Bakers Challenge (which I'll post next week), so by the time 4:30 pm rolled around, I needed to whip up something quick for dinner. I quickly grabbed a box of Ronzoni elbows from the pantry, and found a large head of broccoli in the fridge that needed attention, so I decided mac & cheese with broccoli on the side would be good. Once I finished making the cheese sauce and added the cooked pasta, I was worried that I didn't have enough noodles for the amount of sauce. I had already cooked the broccoli in the pasta water, so I decided to throw it in with the mac & cheese, instead of serving it on the side. Boy am I glad I did. The broccoli soaked up the sauce and was very tasty. My oldest son loved the dish, but the other two kids only ate the pasta and picked out the broccoli. Oh well, more broccoli for me!

Lisa's Baked Broccoli Mac & Cheese

2 cups half-n-half
2 cups 2% milk
1 16ox box of elbow macaroni
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tsp minced onion

2 dashes ground red pepper (optional)

1/2 cup mexican blend shredded cheese (or whatever you have on hand)

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.

In large saucepan over medium heat, warm the half-n-half and milk together.

In another large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to directions on box. 2 minutes before pasta is finished cooking, add the broccoli, finish cooking and drain.

In a dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add salt & pepper. Slowly add the warm milk mixture, while stiring with a whisk. This will thicken up really well. Turn off the heat and add the cheddar cheese, minced onion and ground red pepper (if using). Once cheese is melted, add the pasta with the broccoli and mix. Pour into the baking dish and sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of extra cheese. Bake at 375 for approximately 30-40 minutes, until bubbling and the top is nicely brown. Enjoy! Serves 6-8 people.

Tacos, Tortillas, Tostadas, Oh My!

2009-09-23T10:38:00.002-04:00

I've never fried my own tortilla chips or taco shells before, until last night! So easy to do and much better than store bought. I used a tall sided pot for the frying and still ended up with grease over the stove-top, but that's okay, it was worth it. The kids loved the homemade taco shells. They were kind of like a puffy-taco, really crunchy and not overly hard like the boxed kind. I used store bought corn tortillas and metal tongs to help hold one side of the tortilla up to make the taco shape. I did this right before serving, but I think they would hold up well enough to be made ahead of time. I also left some of them flat for tostadas and cut some into chips. Delicious!

Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Cider Pan Sauce and Maple Sweet Potatoes

2009-09-21T23:10:00.001-04:00

I had a package of pork tenderloins in my fridge that I planned on cooking this past weekend, but I ended up not having to cook at all. Friday night was my euchre night with the girls, so I got pizza for my husband and kids. Saturday we had soccer games and ended up getting chinese takeout. I did prepare a quick batch of chocolate chip pancakes for the kids after church Sunday, but nothing else. Later that evening, I had a craving for cider and doughnuts. We are fortunate to live right down the road from Plymouth Orchard and Cider Mill, so we went and picked up a dozen freshly baked cinnamon doughnuts and 1/2 gallon of cider. Yum!

For dinner tonight, I decided to use some of the cider in mashed sweet potatoes, as well as in a pan sauce to go with the pork tenderloin The Roasted Red Pepper Mustard I used in my sauce is from a Michigan company called Sansonetti Gourmet Food. I picked it up at the Canton Farmers Market two weeks ago and have fallen in love with this product. It's great in this sauce, but also good mixed with some mayo on a sandwich.

Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Cider Pan Sauce
serves 6

2 tablespoons Roasted Red Pepper Mustard (may substitue Dijion)
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 package Pork Tenderloins (2), trimmed
Reserved pan drippings
1/4 cup Apple Cider
1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons butter

Mix all ingredients and rub over the tenderloins. May let this marinate for an hour or two, or cook immediately in an oven-safe stainless-steel saute pan. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until pork is cooked through.   Remove from oven, transfer tenderloins to a plate. To the pan drippings, add the apple cider, salt and pepper. Cook over med-high heat until slightly reduced, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the parsley and butter. Serve over sliced tenderloin.

Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes
serves 6

3 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste

Cut potatoes into large chunks, boil until fork tender. Drain and put back into pot. Add butter, apple cider, maple syrup, salt and pepper and mash until desired texture is achieved. Enjoy!