Frosty Dark Chocolate Shakes

In a blender or smoothie maker, mix in the following...  I eyeball the amounts...

Crushed ice
Dark chocolate ice cream
milk
chocolate syrup

Blend until thick but smooth.  If it is too runny, add more ice cream, too thin, add more milk.  As a rule, you can ALWAYS add more chocolate.  :)

Pour into glasses and (optional) top with whipped cream, and add a cherry ( ifound green ones and thought they were festive. 

Stuffed Butterfly Porkchops with Zuccini Squash

Thanks to my mom for the recipe!

Slice Thick pork chops about 3/4 way through and open making a "butterfly" shape.

Brown in shortening on both the inside and out adding salt and pepper if desired.

Stuff with prepared stuffing (I used stove top) with added mushrooms and close pork chops.

Place in baking dish with any remaining stuffing and cover with foil.

Bake at 375 for about 30 min. or until chops are cooked through completely.

Rinse and slice green zuccini squash and boil until desired texture.  (I like mine a little firm still.)  Drain water and stir in softened butter (I go a bit over board with the butter.  I'm a glutton).  Salt and pepper to taste.

I served this with a side of prepared candied apples.

Cream Cheese Wonton's

Cream Cheese Wonton's

Filling:

Cream cheese

2 cloves garlic grated or finely minced

fresh snipped green chives for color

lump crab meat (if you like and aren't allergic)

Egg roll or wonton wrappers

These are actually the same thing the difference is size grab what ever your local store has (they are located in the produce section)

1 egg and 1/4 cup water for egg wash

frying oil (your preference olive, peanut, etc)

If you have egg roll wrappers cut them into 4 equal pieces. Add a dollop of the cream cheese mixture to each square. Brush sides of each square with the egg wash mixture.
Pinch up the sides and set onto a drying rack while the oil comes up to temp. (Side tip: use the smallest sauce pan you have for frying. The smaller the pan, the less oil is needed)
Fry the wonton's one at a time (or as the pan allows - do not over crowd the pan it will bring down the temp of the oil). Remove from oil when the wonton has puffed up and is golden brown. This is very quick so don't walk away from the pan. About 30sec each! Remove onto a paper towel or rack to allow any excess oil to come off.

Serve warm :-)

Ham and Guacamole Sandwhiches

I was at a loss for lunch today.  So I hopped on Allrecipes.com and searched for ingredients in my fridge and pantry.  I found this little bit of lunch heaven.

 Cream Cheese Spread, softened


 honey and mustard

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

45 calorie whole wheat bread (toasted, if desired)

leafy green lettuce leaves

tomato slices

honey ham slices Or Turkey

prepared guacamole

Dash crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1.In a small bowl, stir cream cheese until smooth. Gradually stir in mustard and honey until smooth and well blended. stir in pepper. Spread 1 tablespoon mixture on each slice of bread. Top each with a lettuce leaf, 2 tomato slices and 3 slices of ham.


2.Spread 1-1/2 Tbsp. prepared guacamole onto each of the remaining slice of bread; sprinkle with red pepper flakes, if desired, place guacamole side down on the ham. Serve immediately.

 
Oh, my goodness it has a lot of flavor.  I don't think my kids would love it, but the adults over here sure did!

Hard-boiled Eggs

Obviously if you get water hot enough, it boils.  But adding salt seems to make it boil faster.  Unlike with pasta, you add the eggs BEFORE you turn on the unit.  Once the eggs and water start to boil, set a timer for 8-10 min.

Remove pot and place under cold running water.  Don't know if your eggs are boiled?

Here's a trick with boiled eggs:

Place egg on the counter on it's end and spin it.  A hard boiled egg will spin in circles, a raw egg will wobble and stop.

New Categories!

In the labels, there will now be "novice" and "bachelor" categories.  I've mentioned before how some kids start out their adult life thinking that food comes from a menu.  It just isn't right.

When I was first married, my mom gave me a great book called On My Own and Clueless.   There was a section called Recipes Anyone Can Follow, complete with how to boil water, boil eggs, make a white sauce, brown meat, etc.  I can't tell you how much I leaned on that chapter at first.  LOL  I am hoping these categories will help our novice buddies and save the embarrassment of having to call mom and ask how to boil water.

Lemon Pepper Chicken Breast with Garlic Asparagus

Being inside so much this month, I decided to make things a bit 

"Fancier" But honestly this meal is so EASY!

The Chicken breast is simply sprinkled with Lemon Pepper, in a baking dish with a small amount of water to keep from drying out.  Then bake, covered at 350 until juices run clear when poked.

The asparagus is rinsed, snapped, placed in a pot with water just even with the spears and brought just to a boil with about a tsp of fresh minced garlic.  When just to a boil, place in a dish and top with butter allowing it to melt.

We also had Chicken Rice-a-roni, peas and carrots, and fresh fruit.

Grannie Mya's Most Awesome Salad

Spinach

Avocado

Mango (with lime juice and chili sprinkled on)

Tomato

Queso Fresco crumbled

Pecan

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Deli Day

Last night proved long and full of heavy food for many in our house so today I decided a deli style meal would be just the thing. A little bit of everything including veggies, protein and something warm to stave off the cold weather rolling in.

On the menu today:

Carrie's Shrek soup

Green enchilada sauce

black beans

corn

sour cream / heavy cream

chicken stock

cheese

Chef salad:

Lettuce

Carrots

Tomatoes

Red Bell Peppers

Cucumbers

Avocados

Cheese

Chicken

Quiche Lorain

3 eggs

1.5 Cups heavy cream

salt

pepper

nutmeg

cheese

bacon (cooked and crumbled)

bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until firm but not rubbery.

All of these have been listed on the site before - if you have questions just let me know :-)

EASY meatballs

In a large bowl combine the following:
1 lb hamburger
1 1/2 cups dry, uncooked StoveTop stuffing
1 large egg (2 if your eggs are small)

Using your hands-mix until all ingredients are incorporated.  Roll into 1 inch balls and put in a pan that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray. I normally get about 28 meatballs. Bake in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 10, or until meatballs are cooked through. They are now ready for your favorite meatball dish.

(We love them with spaghetti and marinara, or we really love a creamy "stroganoff-like" sauce using cream of mushroom soup and sour cream, served over egg noodles or rice!) Happy eating!

PS StoveTop is now sold in a resealable canister as well as in the box, so you can make as much or as little as you want!

Hungry man's breakfast

 I stopped to watch a show on the Travel channel a while back.  Man vs. Food.  It take this Joe Schmoe guy and has him going all over the country eating all kinds of food in HUGE quantities.  There was once episode that had me drooling.  I did my best to recreate it with what we had and it turned out really well.

I was adding quantities at random, so here are the ingredients and you can eyeball it.


Dice up potatoes and brown them in butter
Season the potatoes with chilipowder and Pepper with a hint of Tobasco
Scramble eggs with milk, onion, green peppers and ham or bacon and Pico de gallo/salsa
Dump eggs onto potatoes and layer with shreeded cheese
cover and let sit until cheese melts.

Serve!

Sausage Soup

1. Brown your sausage. I used about three links of the mild italian sausage, cut into bite sized pieces. Cook more or less depending on how many people you're serving. Drain any grease off.

2. While your meat is browning, take a large saucepan and add about a cup of diced carrots, one finely chopped celery stalk, minced onion and one clove diced garlic to the pan. I also add a few tablespoons of chicken broth to keep veggies from sticking. Saute on medium heat until veggies are tender, normally a few minutes.









3. To the veggies add one container chicken broth ( I used the 48 oz one)
Also add in one can tomato sauce (or 1 can pureed diced tomatoes)
and about 1 heaping tablespoon of basil pesto (I like the Classico brand)
Also, if you have it on hand add in the puree of 1 eggplant (for directions on how to make eggplant puree, see my previous post- it's really quick and easy and can be baking while you're preparing this soup if you put it in the oven before you start the meat and veggies...plus it is tasty and adds extra nutrients to the soup!) 
Salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add sausage to the soup mixture and bring to a boil. When boiling add in your favorite "fresh" pasta. The mini ravioli or tortellini from Buitoni work really well. When the noodles are done, they will float to the top. This normally takes about 5 minutes.

5. Your soup should look something like this by now.

6. Serve with your favorite bread or salad and garnish with a little bit of grated Parmesan cheese, if you've got it.

Eat!

My New Favorite Secret Ingredient...

I have been in a food rut. We seem to make the same 10 dishes over and over again and I admit that I have kind of come to dread dinnertime, because nothing really sounds exciting. Then a miracle happened. I went to the grocery store. ALONE. As in I didn't let any of my 4 children join me.
I was amazed at the produce section. I am always in such a rush that I hurry in and grab my staples; lettuce, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and onions. Then I zip through to the next aisle, because I don't want to be stuck in the store in case my kids decide to start misbehaving. I never really stopped to look at all the variety of stuff in there. Food shopping had become a chore to be rushed through. (But I digress...)
The point is that when I was able to go alone I decided that I would try one new thing that I had never tried before. There in the produce aisle I found it. It was beautiful and completely foreign to me. EGGPLANT. So I  bought it, having no idea how to cook it or what it tasted like. After a little bit of research I found out that it can be pureed and added to sauces. It is AMAZING! It is so easy to do that I have been secretly sneaking eggplant into common every day meals, and my kids are none the wiser. It makes spaghetti sauces richer and soups are thicker, and heartier.
I decided to share my secret with you... Here's my eggplant technique- sneak it in a few dishes and see how you like it.
PS Don't tell my kids- they still don't know what they're eating! :)

 1. Cut your eggplant in 1/2, drizzle with olive oil and lightly salt and pepper them.

 2.Place your eggplant flesh side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 25- 35 minutes. Flesh may be darkened a little, and that's okay.

 3. This is what it looks like when you pull it out of the oven.

 4. Carefully lift you eggplant half  and scrape the contents out of the "shell" into a bowl. It should scrape right out without any difficulty.

 5. It will look like this. The little tiny seeds are completely edible and get pureed so don't worry about them.

 6. Use a hand mixer to puree eggplant.

7. When you are done, it will have the consistency and color of pureed bananas.

8. Your eggplant is now ready to sneak into your favorite sauce or soup.

Other than baking times, the whole process from start to finish takes me about 5 minutes to complete.







FOR YOUR INFO:
Eggplant is supposed to be really good for you and is a low calorie food! Go to
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=22
for more information about the health benefits of eggplant.

My breadstick secret is out.... :)

Carrie asked me to share my bread-stick recipe that was pictured in a previous photo. Well here it is- my secret is out- I CHEAT! 

I have found these awesome crescent roll "rounds" at my grocery store- and I love them! I have unrolled and stuffed them, cinnamon roll style. (see older posts of mine)   I have seasoned them with garlic salt or spread a light layer of pesto on them for extra flavor. I have even unrolled them, let the kids twist them, and bake them like bread-sticks instead of rounds. (Have I mentioned yet that I love them?) Then I follow the cooking times on the package. I hope you enjoy my secret! 

Souper Pepper French Bread Pizzas

My Mom showed my kids how to make this and it is a HUGE family hit:

French Bread cut to make bottom and top halves
1 lb hamburger
1-2 cans cream o' mushroom
sliced bell peppers
Cheese

Brown hamburger, drain
heat back up with soup
spread over each half of french bread
top with peppers and cheese

bake at 350 till cheese is melted

Serve

AMAZING Chicken Salad Sandwich in less than 5 minutes!

 In a bowl, mix together:
1/2 cup mayo or miracle whip
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 green onion stalk, finely sliced
1/2 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 leaves fresh basil, finely cut
1/2 cup grated Italian blend cheese
1 can chicken breast, drained

It will look like this...

Serve on your favorite sandwich bread or roll, I used french bread here.
It is also excellent on lightly toasted bread, too!
EAT.
(serves about 6)

BEEF... with options!

I am always ALL about the quickest, easiest, most versatile meals I can come up with. This recipe is great, because I can change it up pretty easily to make a variety of meals. Let's start with the basics...

1st
Select your beef. In the pictures, I used some thinly sliced skillet steak and cut it into bite size chunks. (I have also used leftover roast or steak, or stew meat.) If meat is uncooked, I take about 5 minutes to brown it before adding it to the crockpot.
2nd
In your favorite crock pot dump in 1 can beef broth, (or enough broth so that everything is touching some of the liquid)
about a cup of clean baby carrots,
some onion, (My kids aren't big onion fans, but we like the flavor, so I leave mine in big chunks so they're easy to pull out.)
the browned or leftover beef, and
chunky cut mushrooms
season with salt, pepper and garlic

(This is what it looks like after steps 1 and 2 are done.)

Steps 1 and 2 normally take about 5-10 minutes to throw together. Simmer on low heat until ready to eat. Mine usually sits all day- everything becomes really soft and tender. When you're ready to eat choose your "thickener". (I have found that if I add my thickener earlier my dish gets really gooey and clumpy... so that is why I wait until about time to serve)
3rd (Thickening options)
OPTION A :Italian "stew"
add 1 small can tomato paste, Italian herbs to taste ( I really like fresh basil!), and serve over your favorite pasta or with polenta. 
OPTION B: Gravied beef and veggies
Remove most of the liquid from the crockpot and use it to make a beef gravy. You can use a gravy packet if you want- substituting the broth for water in the recipes, or you can thicken the liquid by incorporating flour, corn starch or cleargel. ( Cleargel is a great thickener, if you can find it!) Add the gravy back into the crockpot, coating everything. Serve over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice.

(After the broth has been made into gravy and added back into the crock pot before serving.)

(Finished beef with gravy and veggies...)

OPTION C: Stroganoff
Add about a cup of sour cream to the crockpot and incorporate it in. You can also add a can of cream of mushroom soup if you want your sauce to be even creamier and thicker.  Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Bella Brie

Brie with most of rind removed

Butter

Brown Sugar

Kahlua

Walnuts or Pecans

Sliced Green Apples

Sweet Crestini's or thinly sliced crusty bread

Place the Brie on an oven safe platter.

Combine butter, brown sugar, kahlua, and walnuts in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil; stirring constantly to ensure all ingred combine fully.

Pour hot sauce over Brie and then bake in 350 degree oven until Brie begins to shimmer (you just want the Brie to be warmed through and soft) this happens very quickly so don't walk away.

Remove from oven and serve immediately with apple slices and sweet crestini! YUMMMM!

Sweet Crestini

Sweet Crestini

Thin bagguette or day old bread (sliced into thin rounds)

Butter

Walnut Oil (or lightly flavored oil)

Cinnamon

Crushed Almonds

Brown Sugar

Dash Nutmeg

Arrange rounds on a cookie sheet (parchment paper optional).

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat until combined and fragrant.

Brush the mixture onto each bread round (being sure to get some of the almonds on each slice.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until golden (may take less time depending on the size of your bread rounds)

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve with a sweet dipping sauce or along side baked Brie.