Foodophiles

Crock pot Vegetable Curry

2012-01-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

When people tell me that they hate Indian food, I have to assume that they just haven't tried the right dish, or the right part of Indian Cuisine. This is a great intro dish.

4 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium potatoes
8 oz frozen green beans
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
2 TBL quick cooking tapioca
1 tsp garam marsala (on your grocer's Asian aisle)
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 salt
1-14oz. can chicken or vegetable broth
1-140z can of diced tomatoes
1 can coconut milk (not fat free)

In a 3 1/2 quart to 5 quart slow cooker combine all ingredients except Coconut milk.
Cover and cook on low heat setting for 7 to 9 hours, or high for 3.5 to 4.5 hours.
at the last half hour, add coconut milk and let warm through.
serve over hot cooked rice.

Make ahead options:

using a quart sized freezer bag mix all spices together.

Santa Fe Chicken

2012-01-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

I substitute tilapia for the chicken in this dish. It is really good either way.

1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup soy sauce (gluten free)
1 TBL olive oil
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 ground coriander
3 tsp chopped garlic
1 TBL honey
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips (or whole tilapia fillets)
2 TBL chopped fresh cilantro (you can leave this off if you dislike cilantro)
1/4 cup white wine

Mix all ingredients together
pour into a 1 gallon freezer bag
marinate at least 30 minutes
bake 350 degrees at 40 minutes.

make ahead option: take 1 gallon freezer bag, freeze and label.

to serve:

thaw and put into a 9x9 baking dish
bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

Oatmeal Cookies

2012-01-13T12:30:00.000-08:00

These cookies are fantastically addictive. The recipe makes 4 dozen. I have to quickly freeze the remaining cookies to hide them from my family. I think they could eat the whole 4 dozen!

1/2 cup sugar (or you can sub agave nectar)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup rice milk
2 1/2 cups oat flour (made by pulsing old fashioned oats in a blender)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups of old fashioned oats
1 cups raisins or chocolate chips if desired. ( i use the enjoy life dairy free chocolate chips)

with a mixer, mix the shortening and sugars.
add vanilla and rice milk and mix again
add oat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt and mix well
stir in the old fashioned oats and chocolate chips or raisins.
drop dough by the rounded tablespoons on the cookie sheet.
bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

Oatmeal Chocolate Snack Cake

2012-01-13T12:20:00.000-08:00

If you are very gluten sensitive, you may not be able to tolerate the oatmeal in this recipe. So please use your own judgement. However, if you can tolerate it, this makes a wonderful, healthier dessert alternative.

2 cups of oat flour (made by pulsing old fashioned oats in your blender)
1 cup of sugar (or you can sub 2/3 cup of agave nectar)
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup of oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup cold water

In one bowl mix oat flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt
in second bowl mix oil, vinegar, and vanilla.
pour water and oil mixture into dry ingredients and mix well.
pour into greased 8x8 pan
bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

Oatmeal Spice Cake (gluten free for some)

2012-01-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

This cake is made with oats. the addition of oats is an amazing way to make a dessert item healthier. You can use regular oats, or if you are sensitive you can get gluten free oats. Some gluten sensitive individuals cannot tolerate oats at all, so please assess your own sensitivity.

4 1/2 cups oat flour (made by pulsing old fashioned oats in the blender until they become flour)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar plus rice milk to total 1 cup
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and spices
add vinegar, milk, oil, and vanilla
mix well
add to greased 9x13
bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes

Make ahead option:

measure and combine all dry ingredients into freezer bag, label it and store it.

gluten free freezer cornbread mix

2012-01-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

This is an awesome resource to have tucked away in the freezer. Sometimes it seems like gluten free cornbread mixes are super dry. Thankfully, this one is moist and it holds together well. It is a great accompaniment to soups or stews.

4 1/4 cups of all purpose gluten free flour
4 cups of cornmeal
3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 cup shortening

combine all ingredients and store in freezer bag.

For each batch:
1 egg
1 cup almond milk

In a large bowl whisk eggs and milk,
stir in 2 1/3 cup of corn bread mix until just moistened (will be lumpy)
pour into a greased 8 inch square baking pan
bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes

Sweet Mustard Glazed Salmon Fillets

2011-12-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

4 salmon fillets
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons Brown sugar
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place salmon in glass baking pan
Combine all other ingredients
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Season both sides of salmon with salt and pepper.
Pour glaze over salmon and turn to coat.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until flakes with a fork

Lime fish

2011-12-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1 Pound white flesh fish (I like tilapia for this recipe)
1/4 cup lime juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon pickled ginger
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

In small bowl whisk together all ingredients except fish
Place fish in glass baking dish and pour marinade over top. Put in fridge to marinate for only 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
bake for 25 minutes.

Maple Salmon

2011-12-09T19:33:00.000-08:00

If you aren't naturally a fish lover, this recipe is really "meaty" tasting thanks to the addition of soy sauce.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons (gluten free) soy sauce
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound salmon

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, garlic salt and pepper.
Place the salmon in a shallow glass baking dish and coat with maple syrup mixture. Cover the dish and marinate the salmon for 30 minutes turning once.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place the baking dish in the preheated oven, and bake salmon uncovered for 20 minutes or until easily flaked with a fork.

Gluten free and dairy free Chicken Korma

2011-05-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

The only really important detail in this recipe is to puree the onion, almond and garlic together in a food processor or blender.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts uncooked and cubed
1 TBL freshly grated ginger
4 minced cloves of garlic
1 can of coconut milk (full fat)
2 chopped onions
1 TBL ghee or vegetable oil
1 TBL ground coriander
1 tsp cardamon
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp Garam Marsala
2 tsp cream of coconut
2 heaped TBL almonds
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup chicken bullion

Directions:

put onion, garlic and almonds into food processor to make paste
heat ghee/oil in pan
cook chicken in pan by itself until no longer really pink and then add the rest of the ingredients and let simmer for half hour.
serve over basmati or jasmine rice.

French pan fried fish

2011-05-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

Emma has recently become obsessed with all things French, so we have been trying a few easy recipes. This one is simple, quick and tasty. All of the kids gave this their seal of approval.

Ingredients:

5 filet of tilapia (or other white fish)
Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper
gluten free flour for dredging
4 TBL canola oil
6 TBL Butter
1 sliced lemon

Directions:

Heat sautee pan over medium high heat
Season fish with salt and pepper
dredge fish in gluten free flour and shake off excess
when pan is hot, add oil and butter
once foam has subsided, add fish
cook until fish form crispy golden crust, then turn and repeat.
serve with lemon wedge.

Low Stress Baked Eggs

2011-05-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

You can prepare this dish either in ramekins or in a larger dish if you don't want to fuss with the individual ramekins.

Ingredients:

butter (for buttering dishes)
1 egg per serving
slice of Canadian bacon per serving
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees
butter the intended dish/es
place Canadian bacon on the bottom of the dish.
crack an egg on top.
bake for 20-25 minutes

Overnight Gluten Free Baked French Toast Casserole (Dairy free too!)

2011-05-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

The kids LOVED this one!! The texture was right and it was soooo easy. We use Sami's bakery millet and flax bread because it has the texture of normal bread. I don't know how it would work with some of the "moister" g free breads.

Ingredients:
10 Slices Gluten free Bread
5 Large Eggs
2 cups Coconut Milk
1 TBL Honey
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

cut bread into one inch pieces.
place into a buttered casserole dish
mix the rest of the ingredients and then pour over bread pieces
press slices down into the liquid
refrigerate overnight
in the morning preheat oven to 350 degrees
bake casserole for 1 hour.

Baked Chicken with Honey-Whole grain mustard glaze

2011-01-27T09:28:00.001-08:00

This recipe was yummy! The original source was Lucinda Scala's show "Mad Hungry"

Serves 4

8 chicken thighs
1/2 cup olive oil (maybe more)
1 lemon (juiced)
Salt and pepper to taste
Some fresh herbs (if you have them)
FOR THE GLAZE
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (Calder also used maple mustard and a little Dijon)
1 or 2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup olive oil
A little salt and pepper

Directions

Marinate chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and herbs, for at least 1 hour and up to a day in advance. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Rub big baking pan with olive oil or butter, place thighs skin side down.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and turn skin side up. Bake for 10 more minutes. To make the glaze, add mustard, honey, and oil in a bowl in that order, whisk, add salt and pepper, whisk some more. Apply glaze with brush or spoon and broil for 5 minutes.
Take out and let rest for a second, and make sure you save all those delicious, lemony, chickeny juices that collected in the pan.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Baked Chicken with Honey-Whole Grain Mustard Glaze - Martha Stewart Recipes

Chicken Scaloppine

2011-01-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup gluten free flour
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (14.5-ounce) can chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves

Pound the pieces of chicken between sheets of plastic wrap to flatten them, about 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with poultry seasoning and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Coat the chicken with the flour, shaking off any excess.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil and butter. Mix together and when the butter has melted add the chicken, working in batches, until they are golden brown, about 4 to 6 minutes per side. Remove the chicken, to a serving platter, cover and keep warm. Add the chicken broth to the pan and cook it over high heat until it reduces by half and thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, parsley and basil. Taste, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed. Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken serve

Paula Deen's Poblano Chicken Chowder (modified)

2011-01-21T13:14:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
3 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 large onions, cut into 1/2-inch dice
5 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/8 cup minced garlic
2 to 3 small poblano peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, or more to taste
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
3 quarts chicken broth
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, minced
3 cups diced (large pieces) grilled chicken
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup g-free all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, or more to taste
1 cup coconut milk

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.

Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, poblano peppers, salt, white pepper, cumin, and thyme.

Saute for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften.

Stir in the chicken bouillon. Add the chicken broth and cilantro, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chowder is thick and the chicken is heated through.

Shortly before the chowder is done, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes to cook the flour. Do not allow the mixture to brown! Ladle 1 cup of the hot liquid from the stockpot into the skillet, whisking constantly.

When the first cup of liquid is incorporated, add another 2 cups of liquid, 1 at a time. Pour the mixture in the skillet into the stockpot, whisking to blend. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes longer, or until the mixture begins to thicken.

Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the hot sauce, then the coconut milk, and serve.

Martha Stewart's Beef Braciola (modified)

2011-01-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 3 teaspoons)
g free flour
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, or 1/4 teaspoon dried
10 slices top-round sirloin, very thinly sliced, pounded to 4-6 inches
10 pieces string, 14 inches long
1 small onion, minced
2 tablespoons red wine (optional) or water
1 28-ounce can best-quality tomatoes, coarsely blended

Lay the meat slices out side by side on a clean workspace. Sprinkle each slice with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Roll each piece up from the widest to narrowest end. Tie each piece with the string. Sprinkle with g free flour on outside of roll.
Place the remaining 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Just before the oil smokes, add the meat bundles. (Do not crowd the pan or the meat won't brown.) Working in batches if necessary, cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the onion and the remaining teaspoon of garlic, and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Pour in the wine or water, stirring to deglaze the pan, loosening all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Return the beef to the pan, reduce the heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour. Remove the bundles from the pan, one at a time, snip off the string, and return to the pan. The dish may be made a couple of days ahead to this point, and the taste will improve. Serve as desired.

One ingredient ice cream

2010-02-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

Here is what you do via instructables. Take some brownish bananas. You do want them to be banana bread worthy. Peel them and freeze them. Then throw them in your food processor, or blender. Let it run for a while, until it breaks about and becomes creamy. This is so much like ice cream and its probably the closest a girl like me will get to something creamy.

Quinoa Meatballs

2010-02-08T20:56:00.000-08:00

Yeah, we ate these without the noodles of course. I got the recipe off the whole foods website. I get most of my recipes there now. I went to whole foods to troll for new ideas in the food department. I decided to try ground buffalo meat in this recipe. The kids LOVED these, loved them just as much as regular meatballs if not more. The Quinoa adds fiber and protein to the dish, instead of nothing. Usual meatballs just feature breadcrumbs, which offer nothing but empty calories.

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1 pound (95-percent) lean ground beef
3/4 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup grated zucchini
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 egg

Method

Preheat oven to 500°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil then grease with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together beef, quinoa, onions, carrots, zucchini, ketchup, garlic, soy sauce, pepper, salt, oregano, thyme and egg until well combined. Shape beef mixture into 16 balls and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Roast until cooked through and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.

(Note: To cook quinoa, bring 1 cup water to a boil in a small pot. Pour in ½ cup quinoa, cover and simmer until water is absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside off of the heat for 10 minutes then fluff with a fork. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.)

Coconut Cocoa Balls

2010-02-01T18:45:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe over at primal cosmopolitan girl

It is very very good. I had explained to the kids earlier this week that we were eating like cavemen, which they thought was funny. So tonight, when I asked them what we should call these, my dear sweet innocent children suggested "Hairy Caveman Balls" Hairy, for the coconut. We decided NOT to go with that suggestion for obvious reasons.

Ingredients (makes about 25 balls)
- 1 Cup almonds
- 1 Cup of dried apples and apricots (1/2 and 1/2). Make sure it’s the kind where the only ingredient is apple or apricot. You want to soak them in water for about an hour to moisten them up – otherwise they won’t break down.
- 2 tsp raw cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Soak the dried fruit for an hour.
In a food processor, grind up the nuts to a fairly fine texture. Stop before you make nut butter.
Add the dried fruit, maple syrup and cocoa powder – process until it forms a doughy ball. You might need to go in and cut up some of the dried fruit if it’s not breaking down.
Take small portions of the dough and roll into little balls – then roll them through the dried coconut.
Enjoy!

Asparagus with Maple Mustard Sauce

2010-01-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

2 lb asparagus
2 TBL grainy dijon mustard
2 TBL maple syrup

Steam the asapargus. Mix the mustard and maple syrup together and drizzle over asparagus

Asian Citrus Broccoli Slaw

2010-01-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

This was surprisingly yummy. I am usually not a fan of raw broccoli, but I didn't really notice it. The dressing is really very yummy.

Ingredients:

one bag broccoli slaw
3 oranges
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Dressing:

3 TBl olive oil
3 TBL lemon juice
3 TBL orange juice
1 tsp agave nectar
1 1/2 tsp grated orange peel
pinch of salt

Asian Lettuce Wrap Fajitas

2010-01-30T08:19:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Marinade:

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces skirt steak, trimmed of fat and very thinly sliced against the grain (see Tip)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger

Lettuce wrap stuff:

4 cups mung bean sprouts
shredded carrots
julienne cucumbers
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, optional
Romain Lettuce leaves
chopped peanuts

Peanut Dipping Sauce:

1/3 cup of peanut butter
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 TBL lime juice
2 TBL soy
little squirt of agave nectar
chili paste, or shiracha (rooster sauce) to taste
a little cilantro to taste

Directions:

Make the dipping sauce in advance, just mix it all together and stir, alot.. it takes a while to get the peanut butter to incorporate.
Marinate the meat. I marinated mine for 24 hours and it was WONDERFUL.
I would like to give you grilling directions, but I am not great at it. I basically threw it on there, flipped it and took it off once it was pink in the middle. Got it inside, realized it was too pink, and threw it in the microwave. It was STILL tender and awesome. But I am sure a real griller could do even better.
To make the wraps, take a piece of lettuce, and fill it with meat and all the goodies you prefer.
If you have lettuce and veggies left over, the next day you can take all the leftovers and make a salad, use the peanut sauce as salad dressing.

Pan Sauteed Apples, Pears, and coconut

2010-01-27T19:06:00.000-08:00

I made this recipe mostly. Its a throw together really, more than a recipe. I cook the fruit just until it is hot, but not mushy at all. Everything still has to have "snap" for me to feel good about the nutritional content. Here is what I usually do....

Take sliced apples and pears
sprinkle them with cinnamon
sautee them in a pan with coconut oil (you can use another oil, I just like the health benefits of coconut)
sprinkle in some coconut flakes
drizzle with honey or agave

Sauteed Kale

2010-01-27T18:34:00.000-08:00

This tasted a lot like cut grass, or leaves. We pretended to be brontosaurus and choked some down medicinally, but I don't think anyone will be asking for it. On the plus side, when we put it down the disposal, I think it really gave it a stiff cleaning.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds kale, stems and leaves coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft, but not colored. Raise heat to high, add the stock and kale and toss to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add vinegar.

African Sweet Potatoe with Peanut Butter, Black Eye Peas and Black Bean soup

2010-01-27T18:20:00.000-08:00

This was really good. The kids ate it and liked it, I ate it and liked it. At first I was a bit skeptical, the flavor mish mash I wasn't sure of. But it turned out almost creamy despite the fact that it had no cream, or milk. (here is where I launch into my "oh dairy, I hardly knew ye"). Anyways, I got the original recipe over at gluten free goddess. This site is saving my life daily. So far, none of the kids are complaining. The food looks enough like what we usually have, and they are getting a dessert every night.

1 tablespoon light olive oil or peanut oil
1 tablespoon red or green Thai Kitchen curry paste- hot or mild, to taste (start with less if you prefer it mild)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 medium red onion, peeled, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sweet potato or yam, peeled, diced
1 large yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced
1 jalapeño or other hot chile pepper, seeded, diced fine
1 14-oz. can black-eyed peas, rinsed, drained
1 14-oz. can white beans, rinsed, drained
1 14-oz. can black beans, rinsed, drained
1 quart light broth
1/2 cup 100% natural peanut butter or Sunbutter melted in a half cup of boiled water
1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Juice from 1 big juicy lime
2-3 teaspoons organic brown sugar or raw agave nectar, to taste
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

For garnish:
Chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the light olive oil in large soup pot. Add the curry paste and cinnamon; stir for a minute to infuse the oil with spice. Add the onion, garlic, sweet potato, yellow pepper and jalapeño. Stir and cook the veggies for 5-7 minutes, until softened.

Add the black-eyed peas, white and black beans, broth, peanut butter, red pepper flakes and cilantro.

Bring the soup to a high simmer, cover, and lower the heat; keep the soup on simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Stir in the lime juice and brown sugar or agave. Season with sea salt and ground pepper, to taste. Warm through and taste for seasoning adjustments.

Serves 4 as a hearty meal.

Honey Soy Broiled Salmon

2010-01-27T16:45:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 pound center-cut salmon fillet, cut into 4 portions

Directions

Whisk soy sauce, vinegar, honey and ginger in a medium bowl until the honey is dissolved. Place salmon in a sealable plastic bag, add 3 tablespoons of the sauce and refrigerate; let marinate for 15 minutes. Reserve the remaining sauce.

Preheat broiler. Line a small baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Transfer the salmon to the pan, skinned-side down. (Discard the marinade.) Broil the salmon 4 to 6 inches from the heat source until cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes. Drizzle with the reserved sauce and garnish with sesame seeds (if desired).

Our First "Free" Menu

2010-01-22T21:11:00.000-08:00

This is my first stab at a gluten free, dairy free, soy free, sugar free, sweetner free menu plan. It took forever, but here it is. I tried to include a fruit based, honey sweetened dessert. For this week we are focusing on losing the bread, gluten, everything cracker related. If it seems like alot of food, I am trying to have things like hot dogs for the kids, while having them try out the foods from the direction we are moving towards.

Monday, January 25th

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, steel cut oatmeal, espresso (for mom), green tea (for everyone)
Snack: cut fruit - apples
Lunch: carrots with guac, spinach frisee salad, (always with leafy greens), african sweet potato peanut soup, hot dogs for the less adventurous kiddos, cut oranges
Snack: 1oz almonds, berry smoothie
Dinner: Honey Soy Broiled Salmon, sauteed kale, sweet potato, asian slaw, cucumber black eye pea salad
Dessert: Coconut Cinnamon Oven roasted apples

Tuesday, January 26th

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, OR Steel cut oatmeal, espresso (for mom), green tea (for everyone)
Snack: cut fruit - apples,
Lunch: carrots with guac, salad, try brislings (sardines, blech), hot dogs for the less adventurous kiddos, cut oranges, chicken and veg curry soup
Snack: 1oz almonds, berry smoothie
Dinner: lemongrass beef, brown rice, citrus broccoli slaw, black bean salad, spinach
Dessert: Apple and Pear crisp (sub oatmeal for baking mix)

Wednesday, January 27th

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, OR Steel cut oatmeal, espresso (for mom), green tea (for everyone)
Snack: cut fruit - apples
Lunch: carrots with guac, spinach frisee salad, hot dogs for the less adventurous kiddos, cut oranges, leftover soup and start pinto beans
Snack: 1oz almonds, berry smoothie
Dinner: Korean Beef Stirfry, Teryaki Broccoli
Dessert:coconut macaroons

Thursday, January 28th

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, OR Steel cut oatmeal, espresso (for mom), green tea (for everyone)
Snack: cut fruit - apples
Lunch: carrots with guac, Mixed green salad with brown vinegrette, hot dogs for the less adventurous kiddos, cut oranges, enchilada soup
Snack: 1oz almonds, berry smoothie
Dinner: Agave Lime Chx Breasts, asparagus with maple mustard sauce, black bean salad, spinach
Dessert: Baked Apples (sub Sugar for agave)

Friday, January 29th

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, OR Steel cut oatmeal, espresso (for mom), green tea (for everyone)
Snack: cut fruit - apples
Lunch: carrots with guac, cafe green salad, hot dogs for the less adventurous kiddos, cut oranges
Snack: 1oz almonds, berry smoothie
Dinner: Grilled Swordfish with Tomatoes, lemon garlic broccoli, sweet potatoe
Dessert:blueberry buckle (but with oatmeal)

Saturday, January 30th

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, OR Steel cut oatmeal, espresso (for mom), green tea (for everyone)
Snack: cut fruit - apples
Lunch: carrots with guac, salad, hot dogs for the less adventurous kiddos, cut oranges
Snack: 1oz almonds, berry smoothie
Dinner: Cafe Annie Southwest Chicken, cashew green beans, red beans and rice, spinach
Dessert: Fruit Salad

Sunday, January 31st

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, OR Steel cut oatmeal, espresso (for mom), green tea (for everyone)
Snack: cut fruit - apples
Lunch: carrots with guac, salad, hot dogs for the less adventurous kiddos, cut oranges
Snack: 1oz almonds, berry smoothie
Dinner: Meat Balls and spaghetti sauce (but no noodles) sub spaghetti squash, broccoli, black eye pea and cucumber salad
Dessert: Baked Pears

Gordon Ramsey's Sticky Lemon Chicken

2010-01-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

This was so good. I made it yesterday when we had my friend Terra over for dinner. It was awesome, it had that great tangy sweet balance down perfect. And don't worry, you don't have to yell like Ramsey and get all red faced when you make it. One word of advice, while you are reducing your sauce you will swear it isn't reducing right, that it's too runny. Then, all of a sudden, it will reduce and would burn if you weren't watching it. It happens super quick. So keep your eyes on it.

1 large chicken jointed into 8-10 pieces (I used boneless skinless breasts)

Sea salt and black pepper

3-4 tbsp olive oil

1 head of garlic, halved horizontally

Few thyme sprigs

Splash of sherry vinegar

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

3 tbsp honey

1 lemon, finely sliced (ideally with a mandolin)

Bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 Season the chicken with salt and pepper and heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Brown the chicken pieces (in batches if necessary) over a high heat with the garlic and thyme for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Return all the chicken to the pan, add the sherry vinegar and bubble until reduced by half. Drizzle over the soy sauce and honey and shake the pan to mix.

2 Pour in a good splash of hot water and add the lemon slices. Let the liquid bubble and reduce down until syrupy, which will take about 10 minutes or so. By now the chicken should be cooked through.

3 Transfer the chicken to a platter and sprinkle over the chopped parsley. Serve with the champ and green beans or steamed sugar snap peas.

Pork Chops in the Crockpot

2010-01-12T20:37:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe over at Full Bellies, Happy Kids. It intrigued me because I love using my crockpot and right now our oven is broken. But I was also a bit worried. Sometimes when I cook meats in the crockpot they become so fall apart tender its hard to find whole chunks of meat. Or, the recipes start to taste the same. This recipe is amazing, the gravy it creates is fantastic and the texture is still absolutely true to what you would expect. The meat barely needed a knife, but it was still in whole pieces.

Ingredients

6 pork chops (I prefer boneless)
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
oil for frying chops
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup water

Directions
Mix the flour, salt and garlic powder together. I use a ziploc bag so it's minimal cleaning afterwards. Drop the chops into the flour mixture and shake really well until completely covered. Brown them in a little oil, you don't need to cook them all the way through, just a minute or two on each side until they're nice and brown. Transfer to the crockpot.

Mix the soup and water together. Pour into the skillet, stir well scraping the bottom for all the yummy pieces left by the chops. Pour over the chops and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.....but be sure to drizzle some of that yummy gravy on top. Mmmmmm!

Copycat La Madeline Tomatoe Soup

2010-01-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

This is another classic from the Famous French restaurant and bakery. I am a huge fan of this soup, I order it every time I am at La Madeline with their Caesar Salad. This tastes exactly the same to me. Excerpted from an article by Beverly Bundy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram around May 20, 1994.

Ingredients

4 C. (8 to 10) tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped, or 4 C. canned whole tomatoes, crushed
4 C. tomato juice and part vegetable stock or chicken stock
12 to 14 washed fresh basil leaves
1 C. heavy cream
1/4 pound sweet, unsalted butter
salt to taste
1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper

Directions

Combine tomatoes, juice/and or stock in saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes. Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, one of those handy hand-held food blenders, right in the cooking pan).

Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

Jenn's Super Easy Clam Chowder

2010-01-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

This is really good. When I was little, my Mom used to shop at Randalls. They always had this big kettle of clam chowder out in front of the seafood shop with little plastic cups for samples. I loved the fresh clam chowder. But I have never been able to enjoy the canned version, it tastes "tinny" to me. This was awesome, super awesome. I plan to always have some on hand.

Jenn's Super Easy New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 unpeeled potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans chopped clams with juice
2 (1.8 ounce) packages dry leek soup mix
1 quart half-and-half

Directions

Place the bacon in a large pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisped and browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pot. Set the bacon aside. Stir the potatoes and carrots into the bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Pour the juice from the clams into the pot, and add enough water to just cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
Gently stir the leek soup mix into the potatoes until no lumps of soup remain. Stir in the clams, reserved bacon, and half-and-half cream. Cook and stir until the chowder returns to a simmer and thickens, about 10 minutes more.

Thanksgiving 2009: Paula Deen's Chocolate Chip Pie

2009-11-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

Brian is in love with this pie, which makes sense, because he is crazy for chocolate chip cookies. The recipe makes two pies. One I served for Thanksgiving dinner, the other Brian ate single handed. I think he really liked it.

It was a good thing I had made this as well. I had attempted Lava cakes and they were good, but they didn't bake up enough in the mugs. I used some pretty small mugs, so I plan to make them again in the next few weeks and will letcha know if they come out better this next time.

Chocolate Chip Pie

Pie:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (2-sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts, optional

Whipped cream:

2 pints (4-cups) heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) pie plates; set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Add flour mixture, a little at a time, and mix until fully combined. Fold in the 3 cups chocolate chips and, if desired, the walnuts. Divide the dough between the prepared pie plates and smooth the tops with a spatula.

Bake about 30 minutes or until pies are golden and slightly firm to the touch but still soft. If the pies begin to darken too much before they are baked through, cover with foil and continue baking. Let pies cool completely on a wire rack.

While the pies cool, whip the cream and confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form (tips curl). Fold in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate whipped cream until ready to use. Spread the whipped cream over the pies and serve.

Thanksgiving 2009: Paula Deen's Mac and Cheese

2009-11-28T18:16:00.000-08:00

Paula Deen could wipe the floor with Alton Brown's Mac and Cheese. This was quite possibly the best Mac and Cheese I have ever eaten, much less prepared. The kids have asked me to make it part of our regular meal rotation.

Now having said that, I don't think this is very good for you. Having cooked several of her recipes, I am pretty sure Paula puts a little bacon fat and butter in her morning OJ for taste. Nuthin' she makes is remotely healthy for you. But it is good stuff!

The Lady's Cheesy Mac

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni, drained
2 cups grated Cheddar (at least half sharp)
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Once you have the macaroni cooked and drained, place in a large bowl and while still hot and add the cheddar. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and add to the macaroni mixture. Pour macaroni mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Top with additional cheese if desired.

Thanksgiving 2009: Maple Cranberry Sauce

2009-11-28T18:12:00.000-08:00

This was EPIC! I loved this cranberry sauce so much the kids and I ate it like jello the next day and that never happens with the canned stuff. I wind up just feeding that to Mr. Garbage Disposal. I think this is another dish that will show up each holiday.

Maple Cranberry Sauce

2 12-ounce packages fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup water

Combine all ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until cranberries pop, stirring often, about 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Cool completely. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Cover; chill.)

Thanksgiving 2009: Appetizers

2009-11-28T17:58:00.001-08:00

We kinda had an appetizerpalooza for Thanksgiving this year. I served Little smokies in phyllo dough blankets, raspberry chipolte sauce over cream cheese and crackers, and fried cheese sticks. Then, I also threw in stuffed mushrooms and bacon wrapped dates with Blue cheese.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

They were awesome, Brian (my picky eater) loved them! I think they will be a staple at each holiday.

1 Chub of regular breakfast sausage
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
Olive oil
24 large (about 2-inch-diameter) mushrooms, stemmed
1/3 cup dry white wine

Sauté sausage and oregano in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until sausage is cooked through and brown, breaking into small pieces with back of fork, about 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage mixture to large bowl and cool. Mix in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder, then cream cheese. Season filling with salt and pepper; mix in egg yolk.

Brush 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish with olive oil to coat. Brush cavity of each mushroom cap with white wine; fill with scant 1 tablespoon filling and sprinkle with some of remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange mushrooms, filling side up, in prepared dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake uncovered until mushrooms are tender and filling is brown on top, about 25 minutes.

Bacon Wrapped Dates stuffed with Blue Cheese and Almond

I expected this to be better than it was. When I opened up the blue cheese I bought it was super smelly feet stinky. Although I followed the recipe exactly, the blue cheese just dominated the dish for me. I think maybe before I give up on the recipe, I might try it with cream cheese and see how that changes the taste.

1 pound sliced bacon, cut in half
1 pound pitted dates
4 ounces blue cheese
slivered almonds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Slice dates in half, and open them up. Pinch off pieces of blue cheese, and place them into the center of the dates. Stuff a few slivers of almonds in there too. Close the halves of the dates, and wrap a half-slice of bacon around the outside. Secure each one with a toothpick. Arrange in a baking dish or on a baking sheet with sides to catch any grease.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bacon is crisp. Turn dates over after the first 20 minutes for even cooking.

Lemon Slushie

2009-10-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

Its even cheaper than sonic at happy hour, and Dead easy! It has no corn syrup or additives.

Lemon slushie

1 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup honey
4 cups of ice (or enough to fill your blender)

Put lemon juice, honey, and water in the bottom of the blender.
add ice
crush in blender until smooth.

Black eyed Peas - Kid friendly

2009-10-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

I have been searching to find bean recipes that my children will eat. I have been trying to up our fiber intake by adding beans to each meal. These were awesome. I thought I hated Black eyed peas, but these were awesome!

Gingered Black eyed peas

2 cups dried Black eyed peas rinsed and drained
1/2 cup onion chopped
2 strips of bacon chopped
1 tsp deli mustard
1 TBL molasses
3/4 cup honey
tsp powdered ginger
salt and pepper to taste

Put beans in a pot and cover with water. I think I used close to 3 cups of water.
Add all the other ingredients, cover and simmer about an hour, adding water if you need to during the cooking process.

A1 Beef Stew

2009-10-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe on $5 dollar dinners. I was browsing through my reader, stumbled on this and immediately knew this would be a hit with my family. I was right, it was such a hit. Even the pickier kiddos loved it! It had a really nice flavor. Down here its still about 98 degrees in the afternoon, but we are due for a cold front tomorrow that will bring us some more all like weather. This dish is perfect! Like fall in a bowl.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil ($.20)
1.7 lb. stew beef ($4.77) 2 packages both purchased on Manager’s Special
10 cups water
4 large carrots, peeled and diced ($.40)
4 stalks celery, diced ($.20)
1 onion, chopped ($.30)
2 cups frozen Italian style green beans ($.50) On sale for $1/4 cups last week!1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes ($.59)
2 tsp rice or white vinegar ($.05)
1 5 oz. bottle A1 steak sauce ($.29) Used $2 coupon to buy the bottle!
2 cups brown rice ($.80)

Sear the meat in a frying pan on all sides until brown
add all ingredients to the crockpot, wait 4-6 hours, then eat!

Texas Chicken Fried Steak

2009-09-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

This was an awesome recipe that got rave reviews from Brian. According to him it was better than we have had at the restaurant, and he wants to see it again on our menu. I have been intimidated by the frying part of "down home" food, so I was so excited when this turned out exactly right. I was on a frying high from the chicken strips obviously. Frankly, I think the recipe is kinda fool proof, in our case this was good news.

The quality of the beef is really important. I got friendly with my butcher a while ago, so I was able to tell him what I wanted. (I just re-read that, not THAT friendly, just friendly enough to chat with him). I got cubed round steaks, that were about 3/4 inch thick. Generic Cube steak can be a mishmash of different meats of varying quality, so I wanted to make sure ours was round steak. One of our biggest complaints about CFS at restaurants is that its all batter and no steak.

CFS
1 1/2 pounds of boneless cubed round steak (if you are feeling adventurous, you can tenderize your own)
1 TBL water
1 egg
1 cup saltines (about a sleeve of crackers)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup of vegetable oil

Milk Gravy
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk

Beat water and egg. Mix Cracker Crumbs and pepper. Dip beef into egg mix, then coat liberally with cracker crumbs.
Heat oil over med-high heat till hot. Cook beef in oil, turn once until brown. Probably about 6 to 7 minutes. Just make sure you don't crowd the pan, better to make it in "batches"
Reserve the drippings in the pan, add more vegetable oil if neccessary to make 1/4 cup. I added a few tablespoons of butter.
Stir in flour and salt. Cook over low heat stirring to loosen any brown particles of yumminess from the pan until its smooth and bubbly.
Remove from heat and slowly pour milk into skillet, stirring constantly.
bring to boil and stir one minute.

Fried Chicken strips w/ dipping sauces

2009-09-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

I am slightly intimidated by trying to fry food at home. Its one of those things that has kept me from preparing fried chicken at home before. I had tried a few years ago to make fried chicken with a whole, cut up, bone-in chicken. Unfortunately, the outer crust singed and the meat closer to the bone was still pretty raw. I like my chicken well done, so that was NOT going to work. It kinda turned me off to the whole idea.

Recently I was chatting with my friend Brandy at a playdate. She mentioned they had fried chicken the night before and gave me this super easy (and delicious) recipe that uses boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders. I have made it three times since then and every single time it turns out super awesome. The kids LOVE it!

Chicken Tenders
Ingredients

Chicken tenders (or boneless skinless breasts sliced into tender like shapes)
Beaten eggs
self rising flour (this makes a much better crust than just all purpose. Brandy's husband Tray discovered this by accident. yay Tray!)
spices. Use what you like, I used salt, pepper, paprika, and a pinch of cayenne to taste.
oil, I like canola

So you heat the oil over like medium on my stove.
Take the tenders and put them in the egg solution
then dredge them in the flour mixture. you can repeat this step if you like them more "battery"
drop them into the hot oil and fry until sorta goldeny brown.
If you are paranoid like me, cut into them and make sure they are totally cooked.

Sauces:

Curry Ketchup: (tastes way better than you think!) Brian says its a German thing.

1 teaspoon curry powder
5 ounces ketchup
5 ounces mayonnaise
1/4 finely chopped onion

Honey Mustard:

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Peanut Ginger Sauce:

½ cup Orange Juice
3 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2-1 Tbsp Lime Juice
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
5 Tbsp. Peanut Butter
1 heaping Tbsp. grated Ginger

I also offer spaghetti sauce and ranch dressing.

Narnia Dinner: The Beaver Family dinner Luby's Whitefish and potatoes

2009-08-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

We have been studying Narnia, so we decided to change our plans for dinner and have a Beaver Dinner instead. We decided to have scalloped potatoes and Luby's Baked Whitefish. Don't let the baked part fool you, this in decidedly NOT healthy, underneath a huge slather of mayo hides a bit of fish. Yumtastic, but it doesn't qualify as "healthy", or even "healthy-ish".

Luby's Baked Fish

Ingredients

8 Skinless fish fillets
1/2 c flour
1/2 cup Parmesean
3 1/2 c mayo (up to 4)
lemon pepper seasoning
Dried parsley flakes
Water

Instructions

Coat fish with flour and shake off excess. Lay in dish without overlapping fish. combine the rest of the ingredients. Spread mayo mix on top of fish. add 1/8" water to dish to keep fish moist. Bake on 350 for approx 20 min or until you can flake fish with fork.

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes, about 6 to 8 medium potatoes
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preparation:

In a buttered 2-quart baking dish, place a layer of about 1/3 of the potatoes. In a cup or small bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper. Sprinkle about half of the flour mixture over the potatoes; repeat with another layer of potatoes and the flour mixture and top with remaining potato slices. Dot with butter then pour hot milk over potatoes. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle cheese over the top. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes, or until scalloped potatoes are tender and cheese has melted. Scalloped potatoes serves 6 to 8.

Menu Plan

2009-08-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

Thursday 8/13/09

Breakfast: French Toast and sausages OJ, and milk
Lunch: leftovers, hotdogs, crunchy carrots, applesauce with Milk
Snack: smoothie w/ coconut milk and OJ (frozen fruit, yogurt, OJ or soy milk in a blender)
Dinner: Impossible Cheeseburger Pie, Romain lettuce, carrots, cucumber and tomatoes, Broccoli

Friday 8/14/09

Breakfast: Muffins and Eggs, OJ and Milk
Lunch: leftovers, fishsticks, crunchy carrots w/ guacamole, pears with milk
Snack: smoothie (frozen fruit, yogurt, OJ or soy milk in a blender)
Dinner: Baked BBQ Chicken, Spinach, summer squash, Black Eyed Peas

Saturday 8/15/09

Breakfast: Cocoa pancakes and Bacon, Fruit, OJ, and Milk
Lunch : Leftovers, PBJ, zuchini and celery with ranch, orange with Milk
Snack: smoothie (frozen fruit, yogurt, OJ or soy milk in a blender)
Dinner : Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, broccoli

Sunday 8/16/09

Breakfast: Bacon, Egg, Cheese and Toast w/ OJ and milk
Lunch : Leftovers, Turkey sandwiches, carrots and guacamole, grapes and Milk
Snack: smoothie (frozen fruit, yogurt, OJ or soy milk in a blender)
Dinner: King Ranch Casserole (+ one to freeze), Spinach, Summer Squash, pinto beans

Monday 8/17/09

Breakfast: French Toast and sausages OJ, and milk
Lunch: Leftovers, Grilled Cheese, cut celery w/ ranch, apples and milk
Snack: smoothie
Dinner: Mongolian Beef w/ Brown Rice and Broccoli, Salad with carrot and tomato

Tuesday 8/18/09

Breakfast: Muffins and Eggs, OJ and Milk
Lunch: leftovers, Tuna sandwiches, carrots, oranges with Milk
Snack: fruit smoothie (frozen fruit, yogurt, OJ or soy milk in a blender)
Dinner : Sausages w/BBQ sauce, Spinach, salad with carrot and tomato, baked beans

Wednesday 8/19/09

Breakfast: Cereal, Bacon, Egg, Cheese and Toast w/ OJ and milk
Lunch: leftovers, fishsticks, cut zuchini and summer squash with ranch, apples with milk
Snack: smoothie
Dinner : Broiled Whitefish Parmesean, Broccoli, Macaroni and Cheese, salad w tomatoe

Thursday 8/20/09

Breakfast: Cocoa pancakes and Bacon, Fruit, OJ, and Milk
Lunch: Leftovers, PBJ, carrots, grapes with Milk
Snack: smoothie
Dinner : Pork Chops, Spinach, brown rice, applesauce, baked beans

Friday 8/21/09

Breakfast: Chocolate Biscuits and Gravy, Eggs, Bacon
Lunch: Leftovers, Turkey sandwiches, carrots and guac, oranges and Milk
Snack: smoothie
Dinner : Chicken Breasts and Stuffing, Broccoli, black eyed peas, applesauce

Saturday 8/22/09

Breakfast: Bacon, Egg, Cheese and potatoes w/Toast and Orange Juice or milk
Lunch: Leftovers, Grilled Cheese, veggie, fruit and milk
Snack: smoothie
Dinner : Hamburger Helper, Spinach, salad, kidney beans in helper

Sunday 8/23/09

Breakfast: French Toast and sausages OJ, and milk
Lunch: leftovers, hotdogs, veggie, fruit with Milk
Snack: smoothie
Dinner :Grilled Marinated Chicken Breasts, Broccoli, corn, asparagus, pinto beans

Monday 8/24/09

Breakfast: Muffins and Eggs, OJ and Milk
Lunch: leftovers, fishsticks, veggie, fruit with milk
Snack: smoothie
Dinner : Homeade Pizza, Spinach, salad

Homeade Hamburgler (mock helper)

2009-08-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

My kids LOVED this. Even Emma, the almost vegetarian of the bunch asked if we could please have it again. I got nostalgic after making the Baked Chicken and Rice and thought, wouldn't it be fun to have Hamburger Helper... except, the stuff in those boxes doesn't seem very healthy. So I found a homemade recipe and slightly modified it for what I was looking for.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed ($.10)
Pepper
3 Tbsp dairy free margarine or butter
3 Tbsp flour
3 cups milk (I used soy, but you can use whole)
1 cup water
2 cups whole wheat elbow or shell pasta noodles
Salt and pepper, to taste
Frozen peas, or mixed veggies, whatever you like

Directions
1. In large skillet, brown ground beef with chopped onion and crushed garlic cloves. Season with pepper. Once fully cooked, drain and rinse ground beef. Do not return beef to the skillet. Yet.
2. In same skillet, add margarine or butter. Once melted, whisk in flour to form a paste. Quickly whisk in milk and tomatoe sauce until no clumps remain. Cook for 3-4 minutes over medium heat, until sauce starts to bubble and thicken. Once sauce starts to thicken, add 1 cup of water and 2 cups of pasta shells. Stir through. Add 1 lb. of meat and mix together. Cover and cook over medium heat for 12-15 minutes, or until pasta shells have cooked through. Stir often. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken slightly after removing from heat.
3. Prepare frozen peas as indicated on package instructions.
4. Serve “Hamburger Helper” Pasta with Peas.

Chicken and Rice Bake

2009-08-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

My mom made this when I was a kiddo. When I was twenty, I suddenly found myself with a six year old little girl to raise and no real cooking skills. I was able to heat things up, or put together a mix, but I had no real kitchen skills. So realizing this child had to eat a real dinner, I would go to the grocery store and pick up 7 boxes of Hamburger Helper in various flavors and 7 pounds of hamburger meat. This dish was my very first attempt at actual cooking. So then it was only 6 boxes of hamburger helper and the ingredients for this dish! I slowly branched out into more adventurous cooking, but I still consider this a nostalgic favorite. Since then I have made a few changes to try and make it a little healthier.

2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup (I use the 98% fat free)
1 can water
2 cups of cooked brown rice (otherwise, it will taste like you put toenail clippings in there. You have no idea how long it took me to realize this very important step. We ate much toenail.)
one onion cut up
salt/pepper/paprika and garlic dusted on top
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Throw this all together in a Pyrex dish and bake it at 375 for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (if you are using the frozen variety)

Thai Peanut Noodles

2009-07-29T19:10:00.001-07:00

8 ounces Spaghetti Noodles
½ cups Chicken Or Vegetable Stock
3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Natural Peanut Butter (2-3 Tbsp)
2 tablespoons Honey
2 tsp Fish Sauce
1-½ tablespoon Fresh Ginger, Peeled And Minced (or 1/2-3/4 Dried)
1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
1 tsp chili sauce for kiddos/2 tsp (or more) if you like the heat a bit more.
4 cloves Garlic, Minced ( Less If You Don't Love It Like Me!)
1 whole Carrot, Julienned (thin Strips)
1 cup Broccoli Florets
½ cups Sliced Mushrooms
1 lb shrimp or cooked chicken

Cook 8oz pasta (spaghetti or linguine) until done and set aside.

Saute your veggies of choice(I prefer the ones above)in a pan with a little oil, until cooked. Set aside.

Stir together vegetable stock, soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, ginger, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes and garlic in a small sauce pan.

Cook over medium heat until peanut butter and honey melt and sauce is heated through.

Add noodles, stir fried veggies, any meat you may include (a few chicken breasts cut in strips is good) and toss to coat.

This post is linked with Foodie Friday, Ann Kroeker's Food on friday, Friday Feasts, and Family Recipe Fridays be sure to click the links and check out all the yummy dishes created, some fabulous recipes to be had!

Firecracker Shrimp

2009-07-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

I had planned on cooking this recipe from the Pioneer Woman. I have loved every single one of her recipes I have tried. However, I realized that I had no skewers, hadn't had time to go down to the fish markets to pick up fresh shrimp and I would be using the frozen, already cooked variety. So I made a few adjustments. It came out AWESOME, however, my tongue is still smoldering. Brian loves spicey foods and for him it was just right.

Firecracker Shrimp (revised)

1 pound of Jumbo shrimp
4 TBL Siracha Sauce (you can find this in the asian aisle of your regular grocery store)
1 tsp chili paste (next time I will probably leave this off so it doesn't have so much burn)
2 TBL Olive oil
2 TBL brown sugar
2 TBL fish sauce (optional, it doesn't taste like fish, its more a type of vinegar, also in the asian aisle)
2 TBl Brown Sugar
5 cloves garlic pressed

throw all the ingredients into the frying pan, stir till hot.

Smothered Chicken

2009-07-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

When Brian is gone, I try to go for some easy meals that don't come out of a bag. This one is PERFECT! I found some really cute kids to showcase the food. See the smiles? that's how I know this is a winner, the kids ate it!

Smothered Chicken

Quickfrozen, or fresh chicken breasts
one onion
2 strips of bacon
cheddar cheese
frozen green beans
garlic (fresh or dried)
paprika
sea salt
pepper

Take chicken breasts and place in a pan with Olive Oil. Season them with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic (to taste, we like alot of garlic). Cook until they are no longer pink in the middle.
Take the chicken out of the pan and put in two slices of bacon. cook.
take bacon out of pan and cut into small pieces.
place the sliced onion in the pan with butter. Reseason with garlic, paprika, sea salt and pepper. cook until translucent.
add frozen green beans, and bacon back to pan. cook till tender
add sliced chicken back to pan and cover with cheese.

I served it with spinach, mashed potates with skins on and sliced apples.

Homeade Chocolate Syrup

2009-07-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

We are trying to avoid artificial colors, flavors and high fructose corn syrup, this has led to lots of experimenting in the kitchen to try and recreate some of our favorite foods. Sometimes, I make something from scratch and it just isn't the same, it falls short. Other times, as with this syrup, I make it and it's actually BETTER than what we used to buy. Not only does it taste better, its cheaper than the Hershey version. I got this recipe originally from The Hillbilly Housewife website.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup tap water
2 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Find a 2 quart saucepan. In it, mix the cocoa and water with a wire whisk or fork. Heat the chocolate water over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the sugar and continue to stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and boil for a full 3 minutes. Remove the syrup from the heat.

Add the salt and vanilla, stirring to blend. Pour the syrup into a clean pint sized canning jar, or a clean catsup container. Put a good lid on the jar and store it in the fridge.

Use this chocolate syrup to make chocolate milk, or serve it over ice-cream. This is remarkably similar to Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup in the can.

Quick and Easy (oh and did I mention CHEAP) dinner

2009-07-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

I loved this meal cause I know how cheap it was! Hey, I get my kicks where I can. So we were on day six of Daddy being out of town. I do pretty good for the first few nights, but then.... well, quick and easy dinners become necessary. And with three kids to feed, cheap is always essential.

I got the corn for 10 cents an ear at Target

The sausage was half price AND I had a coupon that was tripled

The BBQ sauce was free when I combined a coupon and a sale

***happy claps****

So, it was super easy, I just browned an onion, threw in the sliced sausage, added a bottle of BBQ sauce. At the exact same time I had another frypan on the stove with the chopped zuchini, butter, salt and pepper and the corn steaming on the back burner. It was all ready in about 15 minutes.

John isn't feeling well, but even on a good day he doesn't like new food. When he saw what I had on the stove he fell to the floor howling and yelling about how much he hated it. When he slowed down a little I offered him a taste, he said "um, thats yummy mommy, I LOVE it!!!" Fickle fickle

Boston Market Meatloaf

2009-07-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

This is especially yummy. Next time I make it I might try it in the crockpot. I was told you just have to cook on low 6-8 hours. I served it with garlicky-cheesey mashed potatoes and french style green beans.

Boston Market Meatloaf

1 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons Kraft original barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin, 10% fat
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
dash garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the tomato sauce, barbecue sauce and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture until it begins to bubble, stirring often, then remove it from the heat. In a large bowl, add all but 2 tablespoons of the tomato sauce to the meat.

Use a large wooden spoon or your hands to work the sauce into the meat until it is very well combined. Combine the remaining ingredients with the ground sirloin; flour, salt, onion powder and ground pepper. Use the wooden spoon or your hands to work the spices and flour into the meat.

Load the meat into a loaf pan. Wrap foil over the pan and place it into the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take the meatloaf from the oven, remove the foil and drain the fat.

Using a knife, slice the meatloaf all the way through into 8 slices while it is still in the pan. This will help to cook the center of the meatloaf. Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of sauce over the top of the meatloaf, in a stream down the center. Don't spread the sauce. Place the meatloaf back into the oven, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until it is done. Remove and allow it to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Serves 4.

Menu Plan Monday (except its Tuesday :)

2009-06-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday

B- Oatmeal and fruit
L- Sandwich wraps, fruit, yogurt
S- grapes/yogurt
D- Mongolian Beef, brown rice and broccoli (top sirloin was on sale at Randalls last week)

Wednesday

B- Breakfast Burritos (sausage, egg, and cheese), fruit smoothie
L- Pack a lunch w/snacks for trip out: hot dogs in a thermos, granola bars, hummus and veggies or pita chips, cherries, yogurt and drinks.
D- Newton's Hot Wings for Grownups, Chicken Nuggets for the kiddos, salad and fruit

Thursday

B- Pancakes, bacon, Fruit smoothie
L- PB&J from the freezer, chips, turkey sandwiches, fruit, drinks
D- Pork Chops w/shake and bake (center cup sirloin on sale at HEB), garlic mashed potates, applesauce, fresh veggie

Friday

B- Scrambled Eggs and toast, fruit smoothie
L- Frito Pies, fruit, drinks
D- Roasted Chicken (sale HEB), challah bread, veggies, sweet potatoes

Saturday

B- cereal, fruit smoothie
L- PB&J, Chicken Cesare Salad, fruit, Oatmeal bars
D- Bertolli meals (on sale and coupon at Randalls), salad

Sunday

D- Cheeseburgers and baked beans, fuit salad

Hot Fudge Spoon Cake in the freaking crockpot!

2009-06-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

Not a great picture, but my hands could have been shaking from a lack of chocolate....

This theoretically could be the yummiest thing that has ever come out of my crockpot. The cake separates during the cooking and you have a yummy cake on top with a marvelous fudge sauce on the bottom. I highly recommend serving this with ice cream.

cake:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup of cocoa
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick of butter
1 tsp vanilla

topping:
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cup boiling water

1. Coat slow cooker with butter or Pam spray
2. In a bowl whisk together all cake ingredients. It will be thick, just spread it evenly in the cooker.
3. Combine all the topping ingredients until smooth. Pour over cake batter in cooker. DO NOT STIR!
4. Set cooker on High for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Indian Culture Night

2009-04-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

We haven't been doing this as regularly as we should/used to. It is so important to me that my kids grow up with a knowledge and appreciation for other cultures. So tonight was Indian Culture night.

We had some confusion between American Indians, and the people of India. Much confusion.......

For dinner I made Dal, Chicken Korma, Cucumber riata and Naan bread. I planned for it to be an intro to India for the kiddos. None of it was just too spicy or different tasting.

I had to stop partway through cooking to go and rescue Brian from the airport, so I "think" it was still really good, but I haven't eaten that much Indian food. By the way, anyone know of a good Indian restaurant in Houston???

Dal

1 cup red lentils
1 large tomato
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1 medium red onion
5 large garlic cloves thinly sliced
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp chili paste
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 TBL butter

rinse the lentils and then put in saucepan, add tomatoe and water and bring to boil
reduce the heat to simmer, cook 45 minutes

heat the oil in a medium skillet over high heat, add the spices the onion and saute over medium heat, add garlic and saute until brown. add lentil cilantro, butter and salt, simmer for 5 minutes. serve hot.

Chicken Korma

chicken breast
1.5 cup yogurt
2 TBS poppy seeds
1.5 cups onion
1tsp garlic
1tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp garem marsala
1 tsp chili paste
1 TBS coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin
4 TBS cooking oil

cut the chicken breast into bite sized pieces and marinate the chicken with half the yogurt for half an hour or so

in big frying pan, heat oil and fry the onions and chicken until they turn golden brown

add the garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cardamon, cumin, chili, the rest of the yogurt, garam marsala salt and coriander.

after a few minutes, add the poppy seeds and fry.

add coconut milk and simmer until meat is tender.

Homeade Chicken Stock or What to do with that chicken carcass

2009-04-17T19:04:00.000-07:00

Whether its a chicken you baked from scratch, or one you brought home from the deli, you can give those chicken bones a new life as soup stock.

1) Begin with the bones of a chicken, or a bag of beef bones (If you are doing beef stock. Even if you don't buy whole chickens, you can save the bones from your wings and legs in a bag in the freezer, until you have a sufficient amount (about equal to the size of a chicken carcass).

2) Put the bones in a large stock pot, completely covered by water, add a few couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (this will leach all the good minerals out of the bones)

3) Add vegetables, as vegetables start to turn in my fridge, I throw them into a bag in my freezer. I also throw all the scraps from chopping into the freezer too. I usually add: a large onion (chopped in quarters, leave the peel on for a beautiful yellow color in your stock), 2-3 carrots and 2-3 celery sticks (chopped in large pieces).

3) Bring to a boil, and remove the scum that rises to the top.

4) Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 6 to 24 hours (the longer, the better, as this will allow the gelatin to be more fully released from the bones, and results in a more flavorful broth). I usually throw mine into a crockpot overnight for about 24 hours. You can add fresh parsley or thyme to your stock in the last 10-15 minutes. Also, add a bit of salt, to bring out the flavors.

5) Pour through a strainer and set broth aside to cool Set aside bones and remove all meat for future soups, casseroles, etc. When broth is cool, remove layer of congealed fat from the top and discard.

6) Put broth in containers

Swiss Steak (crockpot or oven)

2009-04-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

This is the first thing I learned how to cook. Well, once I graduated from hamburger helper that is.....

Ingredients

* 2 pounds beef bottom round, trimmed of excess fat
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil or bacon drippings
* 1 large onion, thinly sliced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 stalks celery, chopped
* 1 tablespoon tomato paste
* 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 1/2 cups beef broth

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. (unless you are using a crockpot)

Cut the meat with the grain into 1/2-inch thick slices and season on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the flour into a pie pan. Dredge the pieces of meat on both sides in the flour mixture. Tenderize the meat using a needling device, until each slice is 1/4-inch thick. Dredge the slices on both sides once more and set aside.

Add enough of the bacon drippings or vegetable oil to just cover the bottom of a 4 to 5-quart Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the steaks to the pan, being careful not to overcrowd. Cook until golden brown on both sides, approximately 2 minutes per side. Remove the steaks to a plate and repeat until all of the steaks have been browned.

Okay, if you are doing the crockpot, here is where you throw everything in and walk away for 4 hours.

OR if you are using an oven......
Remove the last steaks from the pot and add the onions, garlic, and celery. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Next add the tomatoes, paprika, oregano, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth and stir to combine. Return the meat to the pot, submerging it in the liquid. Cover the pot and place it in the oven on the middle rack. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the meat is tender and falling apart.

Newton's Beef Brisket Recipe

2009-04-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

-Trim as much fat off the brisket as possible.
-sprinkle liquid smoke liberally on the brisket (up to half bottle)
-sprinkle with your selected brisket rub, and extra salt and pepper.
-cover with heavy duty foil and be sure that no steam can escape.
-bake at 225 degrees for about 10 hours (or till fork tender).
-after it has cooled, remove any remaining fat and refrigerate. Save leftover cooking juices.
-When ready to serve, slice the brisket against the grain and pour a little cooking juice over it. Cover tightly and heat in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Grandma Newton's Swedish Apple Pie

2009-04-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

-Butter a 9 inch pie plate
-Peel core and slice 6-8 large apples and put them in the plate.
-Mix 1 TBS Sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over apples.
-Cream one stick soft butter with 1 cup sugar, a pinch of salt and one egg.
-Add 1 cup flour to the butter/sugar mixture.
-Spread over apples.
-Sprinkle top of pie with 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

-Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

2009-04-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

My mom makes this at nearly every holiday, its just sinful.... Brian loves it, but not as much as the brownies she makes.

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

2 3oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
2 TBS Lemon Juice
1 tsp vanilla (the good stuff, the pure not imitation)
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 graham cracker pie crust
2 oz semisweet chocolate chips or squares
1/4 cup whipped cream

- Heat oven to 350 degrees. With mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth.
- Add egg, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix Well.
- Press raspberries firmly into bottom of crust, slowly pour cheese mix over fruit.
- Bake 30-35 minutes just till center is almost set. Cool completely.
- In a small saucepan, over low hear, melt semisweet chocolate with whipping cream. Stir until thickened and smooth. Remove from heat and pour glaze over cheesecake. Chill until served.

Cajun Bourbon Chicken

2009-04-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

Marinade:
1 cup Bourbon
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp paprika
pinch hot red pepper flakes
1 TBL Molasses
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 TBL onion and garlic powder

Combine ingredients into a marinade, (you can process it in a blender if you like). Set aside 1/2 cup into a clean jar to use for basting the chicken during grilling.

In a ziploc Bag, throw the chicken and the marinade. Let it marinate for 6-12 hours,
turning occasionally.

Allow chicken to sit at room temperature while grill heats up and season chicken with salt and pepper. Set heat to medium/high. Grill for for five minutes, then reduce heat to low and continue cooking for 15 minutes, basting with fresh marinade every few minutes.

Shrimp and Chicken Paella

2009-04-07T17:47:00.001-07:00

This was really good, but I didn't measure (I know, nice right?) So I am approximating. But see, everyone loved this, even the kids and so it would be almost criminal not to have it again. I don't have a traditional paella pan, and I was a little afraid that it wouldn't all cook at the same time.

Cut up left over chicken breast about 2 cups
two handfuls of boiled shrimp
chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, red pepper and yellow peppers
1 1/2 cups rice
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
handful frozen corn
handful frozen peas
6 threads saffron
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp turmeric
siraka sauce (or red pepper flakes might work as well)
salt/pepper

okay I took the rice/water/broth and added half of all the spices and cooked it like I would cook any pan of rice.
When that was close to being done, I added everything else (except the shrimp and chicken) to a big fry pan and started sweating all the veg
Then I added the chicken and shrimp and dumped in all the rice and gave everything a big stir until it was heated through. It was awesome. The saffron is expensive, but worth it.

Lasagna Roll ups

2009-03-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend I got a little brighter. I assembled all the meals for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday into pyrex pans with lids. So now sitting in my fridge is all the meals ready to go, all i have to do is turn on the oven each night. I <3 this idea.....

Tonight we had Lasagna Roll ups. EVERYONE loved them... they were alot cheesier than normal lasagna and that went over well. Plus they very neatly came out of the pan to serve.

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef or italian sausage
one chopped onion
package of lasagna noodles
8 oz ricotta cheese
shredded provolone cheese 8oz
1 jar spaghetti sauce
mozzerella cheese 8 oz

1. boil the noodles and brown the meat and onion
2. drain the meat, then in a bowl combine half the sauce, ricotta cheese, provolone, meat and onion mix
3. place some sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish
4. take noodles, place some of the meat mix in it roll it up, about halfway place more meat mix and continue rolling. Repeat until casserole dish is full.
5. pour the rest of the pasta sauce onto the noodles, top with mozzarella cheese.
6. bake in 350F oven for about 45 minutes, until heated through

I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, that much is true

2009-03-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

**disclaimer: this is alcoholic**
I know some folks beliefs run counter to drinking alcohol. And when confronted with the idea of Jesus turning water into wine, they say the wine was weak and mostly water. This isn't, however it does have alot of ice.....

I used to bartend and I had all these nice nozzles on my bottles and my initial monogrammed onto my shot glass. Sadly, things have changed, I can't remember the last time I drank something alcoholic and I had to use the cup from the nyquil bottle as a shot glass.

The Monkey La La

Shot of vodka
Shot of Kahlua
Shot of Baileys
2 tbl coco lopez or cream of coconut
shot of half and half
ice

Blend....drink.... enjoy....

Homeade Chocolate Pudding

2009-03-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

This is soooo good, so much better than the powdered mix. It was super easy to fix, it only took maybe ten minutes. It does take HOURS to set up in the fridge though. I had very antsy kiddos who LURVE pudding and were asking me every ten minutes if it was ready...... It wasn't. This recipe is what pudding fantasies are made of... If you are into that sorta thing.

3 cups milk
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa or carob powder
2/3 cup sugar
Good dash salt
3 tablespoons margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a two quart sauce pan combine the cornstarch, cocoa, sugar and salt. Mix it very well. Gradually add the milk, whisking it in until the mixture is smooth. Heat the pan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring the pudding to a full rolling boil. Boil and stir for one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in the margarine and vanilla. The pudding will thicken as it cools. You can pour the pudding into a pretty serving dish, or small individual cups. I pour it into small individual cups with lids and I make sure to use a ruler so no one gets "more". Store it in the fridge either way. Makes 6 servings.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-23T08:16:00.001-07:00

Breakfasts

Monday: Breakfast Burritos
Tuesday: Slow Cooker Oatmeal with fruit and nuts
Wednesday : Bacon and Eggs with Toast
Thursday: Slow Cooker Oatmeal
Friday: Bacon and Eggs with Toast
Saturday: Slow Cooker Oatmeal
Sunday: Breakfast Burritos with Breakfast sausage

Lunches

Monday: pbj sandwiches and ramen noodle soup, strawberries
Tuesday: might be out for errands
Wednesday: hot dogs, fruit (packed up in cooler)
Thursday: homemade hot pockets
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: mushroom hamburgers
Sunday: leftovers/sandwiches

Dinners

Monday: Seasoned Baked Chicken breasts, green beans, garlic potatoes
Tuesday: Singapore Chicken Rice Noodles/Kids Meal...
Wednesday: Lasagna roll ups, broccoli
Thursday: smothered steak, green beans
Friday: Baked Macaroni and Cheese/BBQ chicken
Saturday: Gordon Ramsey's Sticky Lemon Chicken
Sunday: Leftovers or soup/Homeade Bread

Homade Crescent Rolls

2009-03-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

And you don't even have to beat a can on the counter to make them!

Crescent Rolls

1 T. active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter, softened and cut into chunks
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. mashed potato flakes
2 eggs
1 1/2 t. salt
6 to 6 1/2 c. flour

1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Add the milk, butter pieces, sugar, potato flakes, eggs and salt to the bowl. Stir just to combine. Add three cups of flour and mix well; stirring until smooth. Add as much of the remaining dough as possible until a stiff dough forms.

2. Knead a few times or mix with a dough hook for an additional minute. Cover dough and let rise for 15 minutes.3. Divide dough in half and roll each half into a circle about 1/2 in. thick or a little less. Cut each circle into evenly-sized wedges, about 16-18 each. Roll the wedges of dough from the wide end to the point. Curve ends slightly and place on a cookie sheet. Cover and let rise one hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. (I usually rotate the cookie sheets from top rack to lower rack halfway through so that they get evenly brown on top and bottom.)
The cooked rolls can be frozen and thawed in a few hours on the counter. Or the rolls can be frozen before the second rising.

Gringo's Mexican Kitchen Mock Amazon Sauce

2009-03-09T18:29:00.001-07:00

1 bunch of cilantro
2 cloves of garlic
2 jalapenos (can take seeds out)
2 T Cider Vingear
2 T Water
1 cup Mayo

Throw it all (except the mayo) in the blender or food processor and shred it all to a pulp, then add to mayo. Its so yummy as an enchilada sauce. Recently, I tried using sour cream instead of mayo and I thought it was even better!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2009-02-16T13:29:00.000-08:00

This is good soup. I had been looking for a LONG time for a restaurant quality tortilla soup. I would like to lie to you and say I was searching for something authentic, but I dont think it is authentic, I was looking for something that resembled the Boston Market, or Bennigans. It probably depends on what your expectations are, the versions I had come across were just missing "something". I tinkered, and this is what I came up with....

Ingredients

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken ( I used the leftovers of a rotissere)
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can of tomatoe sauce
1/4 cup of salsa
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
4 cloves garlic, minced
2(14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 can beef broth
2 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 tsp olive oil

I dumped everything but the cilantro and corn into the crockpot for four hours. I added those during the last hour. To serve, throw in some crushed tortilla chips, sour cream and cheese or avacado.

Menu Plan .....

2009-02-12T20:27:00.000-08:00

I am so way behind and unorganized. I felt like a boat adrift. I crave structure, I NEED it to survive!!! So I spent today getting my menus in gear, and my grocery shopping done.... alone.... blissfully alone. By jingo, it took me half the time to make it through the store with none of the kids, who knew?

if the recipes work out, I will post them! Except for the rotisserie chicken, I am stealing that one from HEB.

Thursday - Rotisserie Chicken/mashed potatoes/green beans

Friday - I *think* we are going out for valentines, but a few of the kids are looking a bit green.... I have my fingers crossed. If not, I am making pollo blanco, and I will post the recipe. Its something I had in Mexico, but haven't found much here and the recipes are nonexistent. So I will be making it up as I go along.

Saturday - Baked Potatoes/Salad/Broccoli/Valentines chocolate fondue

Sunday - Black and Blue Sirloin/herbed potatoes/autumnal green beans

Monday - Chicken and Wild Rice bake with White wine sauce/Tuscan peas

Tuesday - Olive Garden Pasta e fagioli soup/homemade bread/salad with olive garden dressing

Wednesday - Jenns Meatloaf/garlicky smashed potatoes/caramelized green beans

Thursday - Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken/Jasmine Rice/ Sugar snap peas

Friday - BBQ Chicken in the crockpot for BBQ chicken pizza/Cheese Pizza/on homeade crust from the bread machine/ salad with olive garden dressing.

Saturday - Chicken and Shrimp Phad Thai

Sunday - Quesadillas/Beans/Rice

Monday - Spaghetti Pie/Broccoli/Salad

Tuesday - Chicken Tortilla Soup/Salad/Homeade Bread/Herb Butter

Alton Brown's Baked Macaroni and Cheese

2009-02-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

pics to come.....

Ingredients

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper

Topping:

3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.

Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Really good Pizza Dough

2009-02-03T21:03:00.000-08:00

I have been looking for a really great pizza crust. I have had mediocre pizza crust before, and I have been sifting through recipes thinking they were okay....... but just not quite what I was looking for.

This one was everything I hoped for. The pics aren't the best, I made a bbq chicken pizza and a canadian bacon/pineapple.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups flour (all purpose or bread)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

Add all ingredients to bread pan in the order given.
Select dough cycle.
Add water if too dry. A little at a time.
After dough cycle is complete, roll dough or stretch to fit pizza pan.
We sprinkle our dough pan with cornmeal but its just an option.
No need to let dough rest again just start loading up with sauce and toppings.
Bake pizza at 450 for 15-20 minutes.
Enjoy!

Freaking fantastic Chinese Orange Chicken

2009-01-26T16:40:00.000-08:00

This is awesome, restaurant worthy, we may never have to eat out again.... awesome. Aren't you lucky? you get to see my ghettotastic nails.

Ingredients

3 lbs. Chicken, cut into bite size pieces
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of cornstarch
4 beaten eggs with a little milk
oil

for sauce:
3/4 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of ketchup
1 cup of water
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
2tsp sambal olek or chili paste
1tsp hoisin sauce
1tsp garlic powder
juice of two oranges
peel from one orange

Beat 4 eggs together and add a little milk. Mix cornstarch, flour and garlic powder together. Dip chicken pieces in the flour then egg. Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Place chicken in casserole dish.

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
Sauce:
Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and ingredients are blended.

Pour sauce over chicken

Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly. Watch carefully that it doesn't overcook or burn.

Serve over rice.

Sunday Breakfast: Coppock Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy (Sauce)

2009-01-25T08:31:00.000-08:00

I know, it sounds weird, right? It sounded really strange to me when I first married Brian and he suggested this and presented me with the recipe. I think the problem is calling it "gravy", gravy to me is savory, not sweet. It is actually like homeade chocolate pudding that hasn't been chilled. As a matter of fact, if you chill the leftovers, they become chocolate pudding.

We used homeade biscuits, but you could just as easily pop open a can....

Ingredients:
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of flour
dash of salt
3TBL cocoa powder
2 cups milk
2tsp vanilla
2 TBL butter (real butter, not margarine)

In saucepan mix dry ingredients until combined.

Add milk stirring continuously until smooth.

Heat over low to medium-low stirring continuously until mixture thickens, being very careful not to let it scorch (that part is why I leave the making of this to Brian). Brian guesstimates it takes between 5-10 minutes depending on the heat of your stove. Use some kind of implement that has a flat edge that will get into all the corners of your pan.

Once it has thickened add the butter and vanilla, stirring until melted through.

The sauce will continue to thicken as it stands.

Cinnabon Clone

2009-01-22T13:18:00.001-08:00

Some men want their women to greet them at the door in lingerie, my husband just wants me to greet him with these..... he was never much for lace anyway. Brian is a huge cinnabon fan, and he thinks these are just as good, and way cheaper! They are SOOOOO GOOOD and evil, because right now I can't eat them, but they are taunting me.... its sad to be heckled by pastries.

Cinnabon Rolls

Ingredients:
***Dough***
2 packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warmed milk
2/3 cup butter
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
7 cups flour, or more if needed
***Filling***
1 cup melted butter, divided
1 3/4 cup sugar, divided
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional
1 1/2 cup raisins, optional
***Creamy Glaze***
2/3 cup melted butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
6 tablespoons hot water, more as needed

Directions:

In a small bowl mix together warm water, yeast and sugar and set aside. In a large bowl, mix milk, remaining 2/3 Cup sugar, melted butter, salt and eggs; stir well and add yeast mixture. Add half the flour and beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour until dough is slightly stiff (dough will be sticky). Turn out onto a well-floured board; knead 5-10 minutes. Place in well-buttered glass or plastic bowl, cover and let rise in warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 1-1 1/2 hours. When doubled, punch down dough and let rest 5 min. Roll out on floured surface into a 15x20" rectangle.

Filling: Spread dough with 1/2 Cup melted butter. Mix together 1 1/2 Cup sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts and raisins, if desired. Roll up jellyroll-fashion and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12-15 slices. Coat bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan and a 8 inch square pan with remaining melted butter, then sprinkle with remaining sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in pans. Let rise in warm place until dough is doubled in bulk, about 45 min. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until rolls are nicely browned. Cool rolls slightly.

Creamy Glaze: Meanwhile, in med. bowl, mix melted butter, powdered sugar and vanilla; add hot water 1 Tablespoon at a time until glaze reaches desired spreading consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

Brookies (half brownie/half cookie)

2009-01-20T09:33:00.001-08:00

Um, these are fantastic, but evil. I made a batch of these when we had Brian's sister over to exchange Christmas gifts belatedly. Um, they disappeared completely and while eating, there were a lot of moaning sounds. I'm assuming that means they were good......

Ingredients
One box of brownie mix
One box of cookie mix
(or use homeade)

Follow the directions on the box for making the brownies and pour into a greased 13 X 9 pan
Make the cookie mix as directed on the pouch and drop by rounded tablespoons into the brownie batter. You'll want to press the dough down lightly.
Bake for 35-40 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven. When they're done, take them out and let them cool completely. For about an hour.
Whip up some chocolate ganache. (Recipe below) Pour it on top and spread it out evenly.
Chocolate Ganache
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
6 Tbsp butter

In a small saucepan, heat cream and butter until just before the boiling stage.
Pour over the chocolate morsels.
Let stand about 20 seconds and stir until smooth.
Pour over brownies and let set before cutting.

Smothered Steak

2009-01-20T09:22:00.000-08:00

Oh my, this is the very best! It was so awesome that I forgot to take pictures because I was way too busy eating my dinner. So this is the picture from the blog I got the recipe from full bellies happy kids (click on the name to get the recipe). The only thing I changed about her recipe is I substituted a slice of salt pork for the imitation bacon bits, and I left out the green beans, I just didn't have room in the pan.

This was good, we all liked it, even the kids. No one complained about the mushrooms it was so good. Its definitely a keeper!

Menu Plan Monday 1/19/09

2009-01-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Monday 1/19 (needs to be easy, we have art)

Smothered Steak in the crock pot
Green beans
mashed potatoes

Tuesday 1/20 (needs to be easy, we have scouts)

red beans and rice in the crockpot
bread from the bread machine
salad

Wednesday 1/21

BBQ Chicken Pizza (cook chicken in crockpot and crust in breadmachine)
salad
cinnamon apples

Thursday 1/22

crockpot blue cheese steak roll ups
California blend veggies
black eyed peas
salad

Friday 1/23

Chinese Orange Chicken
Brown rice
Broccoli

Saturday

Chicken and dumplings

Indonesian Peanut Chicken

2009-01-15T21:39:00.001-08:00

You really must make this, it is fabulous. The kids even liked it. It was a little too spicy for them to eat too much of it, but they did eat it. Next time, I think I will tame their portions a bit more.

2 lbs chicken tenders
2TBS Vegetable Oil
1 Chopped Onion
2 smashed cloves garlic
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup salam olek (thai chili paste) I would actually cut this a bit next time just for the kids, it was perfect for me.
1 cup chicken broth
chopped cilantro for garnish

Salt and pepper the chicken and cook it in a frying pan

Then take it out, cut it if desired and set aside on a plate

put oil in the pan and fry the onion and garlic

add the peanut butter, salam olek, and chicken broth, simmer until combined.

add cut chicken back to the sauce.

Serve over rice (I used basmati) with cilantro garnish.

Maple Orange Chicken with sweet potatoe and butternut squash

2009-01-14T18:53:00.000-08:00

Chicken breast tenders
1 acorn squash cut and seeded
2 sweet potatoes peeled and cut
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 TBL Hoisin sauce
3TBL butter
Juice of 2 oranges
Thyme (a quarter sized amount in my palm?)
Nutmeg
salt and pepper

Throw it all in a crockpot. Set it on High for four hours, come back later and YUM!

The kids ate this, they really liked it. Which probably really isn't a big surprise considering how much maple syrup is in it.

I'm a slacker....

2009-01-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

I would like to tell you all about the awesome cooking I have done, except I haven't. Today I threw 16 bean soup beans into the crockpot, covered it with chicken broth and squeezed three long streams of ketchup into it..... mmmmm, yummy right? Yay for having a hot dinner, but I plan to up my standards a bit as soon as we get out of this busy week. Note for next year... don't schedule all your catch up medical appointments in one week.

Ghengis got a bad rap.... Mongolian Beef

2009-01-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, I originally posted this over at our family blog, but I wanted to move it over here too, since this where I am doing recipes now.

Isn't my sous chef the CUTEST??? This is the activity that John and I like to do together, John is fascinated by cooking!

Tonight I made Mongolian Beef. Its kinda part of our "hey can we make this at home?" restaurant tour. And really, I think this time it was better. The kids have NEVER have eaten a beef dish I made. Tonight they asked for seconds, seconds, it was like the heavens opened and the angels sung, all the planets aligned and my children ATE! So, I figured I would share. This recipe is a compilation of several different recipes. The recipes I researched called for flank steak, but flank steak has ever been my friend. Its so tough, I have never gotten it to turn out right in any recipe I have used it. So I used round steak and it turned out perfect.

MONGOLIAN BEEF

Prep/cook time: about 30 minutes

1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp ginger minced (or you can use the dried)
2 TBL garlic chopped (again you can use the dried, just use a little less)
1 C Soy
1 C water
1 1/2 C Brown Sugar
1.75-2lb Round Steak
1/2 c cornstarch
1 sliced onion

Slice your round steak into bite sized pieces. It helps if you tilt the blad of your knife to a 45 degree angle. Put slices on a plate, and cover them in cornstarch. Let the beef sit for ten minutes soaking up the cornstarch.

Heat up the oil in your wok or skillet. Let it get hot, but not to smoking. Put in your cornstarchy beef in batches. Let it cook in the oil until it gets lightly brown around the edges. Don't worry at this point about the beef being cooked through... it will go back in to cook more. Put the beef on towels to drain.

Once you have all the beef cooked, throw in your onion and start it cooking. Once the onion is translucent add in your ginger, garlic, soy, water and brownsugar, stir. Add beef back into sauce and onion mixture. Let it simmer away until the beef cooks through. As it cools the sauce will thicken slightly. Serve over rice.

Toll house Pan Cookies

2009-01-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

I made these for Brian last night before I left for a Mom's night out. I got to have unadulterated and unchildrenated fun, and these kept him and the kiddos happy while I was gone. It was so much easier than shaping cookies! and YUM!!!

Toll House Pan Cookies

2-1/4 cups unsifted flour
1 measuring teaspoon baking soda
1 measuring teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 measuring teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
One 12-oz. pkg. (2 cups) Nestle Semi-Sweet Real Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract; beat until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in Nestle Semi-Sweet Real Chocolate Morsels and nuts. Spread into greased 15″x10″x1″ baking pan.*

BAKE at: 375°F. TIME: 20 minutes
Cool; cut into 2″ squares. Makes 35 squares.

*NOTE: For one 6-oz. pkg., recipe may be divided in half. Spread into greased 13″x9″x2″ baking pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Makes 24 squares.

Hamster Poop

2009-01-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know, it doesn't sound very appetizing. But in light of our recent "losses" we decided to call it hamster poop. You can always call it whatever you want.... monkey mix, puppy chow... whatever you like. I had to practically drag the kids off of this so that I could package some up for later. The recipe makes a TON, so prepare to package it up or share with your neighbors.

Hamster Poop
--1 box (12-16 oz) your favorite cereal
--1/2 cup peanut butter
--1/4 cup butter
--1 cup chocolate chips
--1 cup dried cranberries
--1 cup almonds
--1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
--1 cup powdered sugar
--3 freezer size zipper bags
--parchment paper or Release foil

Melt chocolate chips and butter in a large dutch oven. When chocolate chips are beginning to lose shape and melt, stir in cereal, cranberries, seeds, and almonds.

Turn off crockpot. Spread out a big length of parchment paper or Release onto your countertop.

Add 1/3 cup powdered sugar into each zipper bag. Shake and bake about a third of the chocolatey cereal in each bag.

Spread out on the foil or paper to cool.

Get hugs, lots and lots of hugs from very happy children who might be high on a sugar rush.

Candy chicken, caramel, Potatoes and foodgasmic brownies

2009-01-05T20:45:00.000-08:00

Okay this is where Mac sat all day, he pretty much camped the kitchen stove. I have been spoiling him and feeding him real food. I think I saw him building me a shrine....

CARMEL

Okay so I made Dulce de Leche. Which is pretty much carmel in the little dipper crockpot. its SOOOO easy I almost feel ashamed of myself for listing it as a recipe. We really like apples and carmel, but we can't have any of the commercial carmels because they have some funny stuff in it. Okay so this is how you make it....

Take one can of sweetened condensed milk.

Peel off the label on the can

Open the can (it has a pull top, I promise you can do it)

place the can in the crockpot about 2/3 full of water

turn on crockpot

wait....... until it turns a nice light brown

its sooooooo easy eat, and enjoy

For dinner, I made Brown Sugar Chicken if you click on the name, it will take you to the recipe I used. Can I just say that the Year of Crockpotting blog is pure genius, absolute genius. This was good, but very very sweet. Brian didn't like it as much as the kids, but then Brian doesn't eat Ketchup, Mayo, or Ranch dressing... anyway, I digress. The kiddos LOVED this.

I also made roasted potatoes. Now I have made these in the oven before and we always loved the flavor, but they ended up kind dehydrated in the oven. So I put the potatoes in the crockpot, drizzled olive oil on them, and sprinkled dry french onion soup on them. THEY WERE SOOOOO GOOD. oh my, they were completely awesome!!!!!

BROWNIES

I have also started a quest for the perfect brownie. These were so completely foodgasmic, awesome, spectacular. Chocolate had a party in my mouth, and I liked it.

Ingredients

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Dog Food

2009-01-01T19:05:00.000-08:00

Yep, I actually cooked for the dogs today, which was refreshing... Normally I am cooking for the very picky children, who think I am trying to poison them and complain with just about every bite. On the other hand, the dogs get so excited when I am cooking, practically explode with enthusiasm when they find out the food is for them, and then lick my feet afterward in gratitude. I think I have been cooking for the wrong crowd.... either that or my food is more exciting as dog food.

So they have gotten a bit of egg, and some ham and chicken tonight. I actually found some recipes for mixes and biscuits I'm going to try tomorrow...... if I'm feeling better......

Easy meal: Chicken Tacos

2008-12-31T18:41:00.000-08:00

This is so easy, its too easy... I almost question whether I can call it a recipe. Okay I took boneless, skinless chicken tenders, threw in about two tablespoons of salsa, and sprinkled on a packet of taco seasoning. Turned the crock on to low, and six hours later, whaaala! tacos!!!

We got the good tortillas from the grocery store, the handmade kind, some avacado, cheese and such and it was awesome. I plan to use the leftover chicken meat tomorrow to make chicken enchiladas. Everyone loved it and it came out beautifully!

Awesome Shrimp and Latkes...

2008-12-29T19:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it might be somewhat sacrilegious to pair non kosher shrimp with latkes... but, it was YUMMY! and we aren't kosher anyway. If you don't know what Latkes are, they are like the yummies potatoe hashbrown/french fry Hybrid you have ever put in your mouth. John ate SIX of them!

I was a little skeptical about the shrimp in the crockpot, I mean, I was worried they would come out mealy and strange, but they came out fabulous!

Also, my pictures are not photo shopped at all yet, so the colors aren't always right. But that is my next thing, getting friendly with photoshop. Okay so here are the recipes....

The Shrimp Recipe I got from the Year of Crockpotting Blog (her link is on my sidebar). For some reason I changed a few things, so I will put it in there the right way, but but the changes I made in purple, because purple is the color of happy princess ponies....

--2 pounds fresh raw shell-on shrimp (ask the fish guy for shrimp in the 21-25 per pound size range)(I used frozen)
--1 stick of butter (it's a lot, but it was supposed to be 2!)
--1/4 cup olive oil
--1/4 cup gluten free Worcestershire sauce
--1-2 T Tabasco sauce (I used 1 1/2)(I used an ancho chile paste instead, brian and I both agree it was awesome but could have been spicer, i would use more next time, maybe add some pepper flakes but we REALLY like spicey)
--1 tsp ground black pepper
--1 tsp kosher salt
--3 lemons, juiced
--1 T chopped fresh basil

The Directions.

You'll need a 5 to 6 quart crockpot for this meal.
Rinse the shrimp, but don't soak them too much. Dump them into the crock pot.

Add the stick of butter, olive oil, and Worcestershire sauce. Measure out the Tabasco, salt and pepper, and throw that in there, too. Juice the lemons, and add that, and top with the freshly chopped basil. Toss just a bit with a big spoon to mingle the flavors. The butter will be in a big stick, but that's okay.

If you are wearing a white shirt, it will get sprinkled with oily Worcestershire spots. You will feel sad, but a good friend will hand you a raspberry martini so you'll stop caring.

Cover and cook on high for about 2 hours, checking every 30 minutes. You'll know the shrimp is done when it has turned pink, and can be peeled easily. I turned ours off at exactly 2 hours. It was perfect.

Serve with bread to sop up the juice.

And here is the Latke recipe (this one is mine)....

Ingredients

2 cups peeled and shredded potatoes
1 tablespoon grated onion
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup peanut oil

DIRECTIONS

Place the potatoes in a cheesecloth and wring, extracting as much moisture as possible.
In a medium bowl stir the potatoes, onion, eggs, flour and salt together.
In a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot. Or use a deep fryer. Place large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil (but DON"T crowd the pan, that is bad, very bad), pressing down on them to form 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties. Brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Let drain on paper towels. Serve hot! If you are making large batches, heat your oven to 300 degrees and line a cookie sheet with paper towels, you can keep the latkes hot in the oven while the rest finish cooking.

Animal Crackers named Alfredo

2008-12-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

So I stumbled across this blog Coconut and Lime and I found a recipe for these animal crackers dipped in chocolate, and I immediately thought about these super cool vintage cookie cutters that used to be my grandma's. So I followed the recipe, and refrigerated the dough, rolled it out, and then could not get the dough out of the cutters!!!! Um frustration!!!! so one came out, and the rest I just cut into squares... they do make AWESOME sugar cookies, but i have to figure out what I did wrong....

Ingredients:
for the cookies:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
5 1/2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg, at room temperature

to decorate:
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
nonparils

animal shaped cookie cutters

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, spices, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. While the beater is going, slowly incorporate the flour into the egg/butter mixture and mix until a thick dough forms. Place in a bowl, cover and refrigerate 1 hour or until it is quite cold and stiff. Flour a clean, flat surface. Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpats. Place the chilled dough on the flour and roll it out until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. If the dough is too cold to successfully roll out, wait a few minutes then try again. Cut out into animal shapes. I do not suggest re-rolling the dough so try to cut out the cookies as close together as possible. Place each cookie onto the lined cookie sheets about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, in a small pan, melt the butter and chocolate chips together. Dip the bottom of the cooled cookies into the chocolate (carefully!) or brush the chocolate on to the bottoms to form a thin layer. Sprinkle with nonpareils if desired.

Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

We redeemed the day by having The Olive Garden's Spinach Alfredo copycat recipe.... oh my. This is good, but not good for you. Probably you should make it before your New Year's resolutions kick into effect....

1 pint of Heavy Cream
1 stick of butter
1/2 - 3/4 C. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Garlic powder
handful of frozen spinach

In a saucepan melt butter. When butter is melted add other ingredients. Simmer this for 15 - 20 minutes on low. make sure you stire. You may wish to season with a little salt and pepper.

Playlist

Recipe for Love-Harry Connick Jr
Unforgettable-Nat King Cole
But for Now-Jamie Cullum
Taking a Chance on Love-Renee Olstead
Undiscovered-James Morrison
The Best is Yet to Come-Matt Dusk
Sophisticated Lady-James Darren
Just what I need-Wouter Hamel

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies and Northern Bean Soup

2008-12-26T17:48:00.000-08:00

What, oh what, to do do with leftover ham? I look forward to making a ham each year not so much for the ham, I mean, I like it too, but for what I can do with it afterward. My very favorite is Ham and Northern Bean soup, it just has the perfect balance of flavors for me and its dead easy.

Here is the recipe.....

Northern Bean Soup

bag of northern beans
2 cartons of chicken broth
one cut up onion
leftover ham bones
cubed ham

1. I usually soak the beans overnight in water, but if you are short on time, you can boil water add the beans, and let them soak for an hour. drain away the soaking water and add the beans to the crockpot.
2. Add the Chicken Broth
3. Cut up the onion and throw that in too
4. Add the ham bones to the crockpot.
5. Set the crockpot to high and walk away.
6. About an hour before you want to serve, remove the ham bones and add the cubed ham meat back in. Let it all warm up.

Oatmeal Chocolate chip Cookies

Brian has been bugging me to make these again for days. He has even been giving me unsolicited back rubs, and then dropping hints about them. It worked, I'm easy... I made the cookies.

By the way, these came out a little dry, but I wonder if its because my butter was frozen and I had to thaw it (in the eighties flashback country themed bowl, I lurve that). So I had to add about 2 TBSP water to make it all work.

3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt (opt.)
3 c. Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 Package semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices; add to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in oats. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 9 minutes for a chewy cookie, 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire cooling rack. Store in tightly covered container.

Playlist:

Snowpatrol - Chasing cars
Muse - Time is running out
Maximo park - Girls with Guitars
Fratellis - For the Girl
Placebo - Space Monkey
Cooper Temple Clause - Blind Pilots
Kasbian - Processed Beats

Carne Guisada in the crockpot

2008-12-26T17:37:00.000-08:00

Okay this is officially my very worst photography ever.... YIKES! This was okay, not spectacular, we didn't save the leftovers to fight over later. The flavor was awesome, but there was something off in the texture. I think maybe this wasn't designed to go in the crockpot. Instead of having that "steaky" feel to it, it was more like a spicy roast, which is okay... but not exactly what I am shooting for. So I think I am going to try this again, but on the grille. I served it with guacamole, cheese, fresh tortillas, salsa, lettuce, and sour cream.

2lbs Round steak
one jar o salsa
about 2 tsp of cumin
one whole chopped onion

Dump into crockpot, turn on low, walk away and come back later.....

Oreo and Easy Truffles

2008-12-24T20:06:00.001-08:00

These are WONDERFUL and easy peasy lemon squeezy. We made these for our neighbors and I didn't think we were going to have enough left when Brian and the kids dug in. Also, I had a very easy cleanup, mostly because the kids licked every single implement I had used in making them. Every spoon, beater, masher, knife was licked completely clean. Also, because the cookies and the chocolate has to be hit with a hammer to be broken up, this was John's favorite cooking session yet. He was a very enthusiastic banger!

Okay so here are the recipes....

Simple Truffles

2-1/2 pkg. (20 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
decorations: chopped PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts, multi-colored sprinkles

MELT 8 chocolate squares. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm.

SHAPE into 36 balls. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet.

MELT remaining chocolate. Use fork to dip truffles; OR roll them in a mixture of powdered sugar and cocoa. return to baking sheet. Decorate, then refrigerate 1 hour.

Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.

DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Baked Ziti

2008-12-23T12:06:00.000-08:00

Okay so I made this last night for dinner and everyone in our family LOVED it! Brian normally hates anything that contains sour cream, but he really liked this. I am toying with the idea that maybe I might replace the sour cream with Ricotta cheese next time. Since you are so much smarter than me, be sure to use a larger pan. This definately bubbles and gets messy, because mine was in a too small pan, I know have a big happy mess on the bottom of the oven waiting for me this morning. ick, I love the smell of burnt pasta and cheese in the morning.......

I served this with bread with oil for dipping. Normally I wouldn't try to carb load like that, but we had Hanukkah and needed something with oil in it. We also had Cesear Salad with it.

Here is the recipe......

Ingredients

1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground turkey meat

1 clove garlic
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.

2. In a large skillet, brown onion and garlic with turkey meat over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

4. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake for 30 minutes covered in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted. then take off the cover and bake until browned on top.

Singapore Rice Noodles

2008-12-21T21:26:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

1 package rice sticks or vermicelli
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used tenders)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion cut into thin strips
2 tbsp peanut oil
6 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes (really to taste, that could be super spicy)
2 tbsp yellow curry powder
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (I use one can)
2 tsp sugar
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1 can bean sprouts
3 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation
Place rice noodles in a pan of hot water, covered, for 10 minutes. Drain when softened.
coat chicken with tamari or soy sauce. Sauté onions and chicken in peanut oil and garlic. Add red pepper flakes. Cook until chicken is no longer pink, and onions and peppers are soft.
In a small saucepan, combine curry powder, coconut milk, sugar, chicken stock, peanut butter, and lemon juice. Heat for a few minutes on low-medium. Remove from heat, and add peanuts, bean sprouts, and basil.
Add curry/coconut sauce mixture to the drained rice noodles. Add chicken and vegetables and mix well.