Fudge Stripe Ice Cream Sandwiches

2 cookies
Large spoonful of ice cream
Squirt of canned coolwhip
Half a strawberry sliced and fanned.

Stack and eat!

FYI--it is a bit messy.  Have napkins on hand.

Roasted Panko Asparagus

For the last month I have gotten a bunch of asparagus in my bountiful basket. I love asparagus, but needless to say I have thrown out a few bunches cuz I didn't use them. This week I was determined to use the asparagus. But I wanted something different. I saw a recipe similar to this somewhere online and just threw it together.

1 large bunch of asparagus (from bountiful basket)

2 eggs whisked

1 package of Panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2-3 tsps of Emeril's Essence

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray

Pam Olive Oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Pour the Panko crumbs into a casserole dish or something like that. Add the salt pepper, cheese and Emeril's Essence to the panko and stir to combine. Cut the ends off the asparagus and rinse them. Whisk the 2 eggs in another casserole dish. When asparagus is dry toss them a few at a time in the egg. Then toss them in the panko. Place the covered asparagus on a foil lined and cooking sprayed cookie sheet. After all asparagus is on the sheet dump the remaining panko crumbs on top of the asparagus. Then spray with the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray all over the asparagus. Then I sprayed more Olive Oil cooking spray on top of that.

Bake for 15 mins.

This was REALLY good! Enjoy!

Mango Salsa

I am totally loving bountiful baskets! It is fun to come up with ways to use all the fruit and veggies I get each week.

This week we got Mangoes, tomatoes, and cilantro. So I knew I wanted to make a salsa. So I waited a few days for the mangoes and tomatoes to ripen a bit more so they would have lots of flavor. This turned out so yummy! I have made salsas before so I just went off of my knowledge of salsa making and had fun.

2 mangoes (from basket)

3 tomatoes (from basket)

1/2 red onion (from Italian pack in basket)

1 clove of garlic pressed (from Italian pack in basket)

1 jalapeño (I took the seeds out)

a bunch of cilantro (from basket about 2 Tblsp)

Chop all the above ingredients and put into bowl. Then add salt and pepper to taste. 1 Tblsp lemon juice (I would have done fresh lime juice if I had some limes) and 1-2 tsps of balsamic vinegar. Stir it all together and enjoy with chips! Refrigerate to marry the flavors together a bit more, if you have any left after making it ;-)

Cheesey, Creamy Veggie Soup

Not the best photo but at least there is one right? :)

So I wanted to make something that used a lot of my veggies I got in my bountiful basket. Mostly the broccoli and the cauliflower. I didn't want to make a pasta or anything and because it is still so annoyingly cold here in Utah I had a go with a soup. I wanted to post this recipe while it was fresh in my mind so that when I want to make it again I will know where to look for it. I just made it up as I went. I love doing that!

I chopped up the following:

1 head of cauliflower (from bountiful basket)

1 bunch of broccoli (just the florettes also from the basket)

1 yellow onion (from basket)

4 carrots

4 large yukon gold potatoes

So I steamed the broccoli and cauliflower in my steamer for 30 mins. Meanwhile had the potatoes boiling. I melted a stick of butter with about a tablespoon of olive oil. I threw in the onions and carrots and pressed 4 garlic cloves in and cooked those in the butter for about 10-12 minutes. The I put in about 2/3 cup of flour and stirred that and cooked for a few minutes. Then poured in 32 oz of chicken broth/stock. Stirred to combine then poured in a pint of cream. Stirred that all together and let it come to a boil. It thickened nicely. Then I added the steamed broccoli and cauliflower. At this point the soup seamed to be getting too thick so I added about a cup of water. Then for flavor added salt, pepper, and two big heaping spoonfuls of sour cream. Then I added 2 cups of grated sharp cheddar cheese. Cuz everything is better with cheese ya know. Stirred in the cheese as it melted. Then drained and added the potatoes. Then let the soup simmer for about 10 mins while I fried up some bacon.

Served in bowls with crumbled bacon on top.

It was YUM! Certainly not the healthiest soup, but it was warm and comforting.

General Tso's Chicken

1 Large egg white

3tbl cornstarch

3tbl Chinese cooking wine (or white wine of your choice)

3tbl soy sauce

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken (diced)

1/4 cup chicken stock

2 tsp white vinegar

2 tsp sugar

vegetable oil for frying (sesame, peanut, etc)

12 dry red chili peppers

1 tbl minced ginger

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup roughly chopped cashews (optional)

Green onion tips sliced on the bias for garnish

In a bowl whisk together egg white, 2 tbl cornstarch, 2tbl wine, 1tbl soy sauce. Add chicken and toss to coat. Allow to marinade up to 2hrs.

Make sauce in a separate bowl - whisk together 1 tbl cornstarch, tbl chicken stock, (whisk together until smooth), add remaining 3tbl chicken stock, 1 tbl wine, 1 tbl soy sauce, vinegar, & sugar - set aside.

In a large wok heat 3inches of oil to 350. Cook chicken in oil until crispy. Remove and set aside to drain on a towel. Discard all but 1 tbl of oil from wok. Add chili peppers, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes & 1/2 cup green onions. Stir fry until fragrent (about 15 sec). Add chicken stock sauce, bring to a boil and cook - stirring constantly - until sauce thickens (about 1min).

Remove from heat - toss with chicken - serve over rice with green onion and cashew garnish.

Wannabe Outback Cheese Fries... in honor of my resolve to diet

5-6 Rinsed and Sliced Russet potatoes
Season salt and chili powder
Bake at 425 until golden brown

Move to a plate

Top with 2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
and crispy bacon bits

Nuke in the microwave until cheese is nice and melty

Serve and dip in Ranch dressing

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.