Donut Muffins!

Seriously? Its been since April?! I thought for sure I had posted something in June!? Guess not. Anway. I am alive for the 5 of you who read this!

With all of the relocation business, I didn't get to cook as much as I would've liked to. We move into our house Sept 1 so things will change then!!

I have gotten to try out a few recipes that Ive really liked, so I will try to post these over the next week or so.

To start....a recipe from TastyKitchen.com. I am not even sure how I came across these but they are absolutely awesome! I love how easy they are to make and the impressive flavor they have. Muffinman has named them "MuffinNuts" but I didn't think that was appropriate....My recipe below is a little different from the one on Tasty Kitchen. I used mini muffin pans and added vanilla and LorAnn's Buttery Sweet Dough Emulsion.  I first read about this on Joy the Baker's blog. I am now obsessed. DONT STRESS!! You can find it at Hobby Lobby in the cake decorating section (fair warning, its on a low shelf, so don't panic if you have to really search!)

Donut Muffins (makes 4 dozen mini muffins)
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh zested nutmeg (or you can use the bottled)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp Lorann Buttery Sweet Dough Bakery Emulsions
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray the mini muffin tin lightly with cooking spray
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinamon in a medium bowl
4. Combine the remaining ingredients with a whisk in a separate bowl
5. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined
6. Fill the muffin tins up a little over halfway (they come out looking more like donut holes than muffins this way)
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes (18 was perfect for my oven)
8. While they bake, prepare your toppings: cinnamon sugar, chocolate glaze, vanilla glaze.....you name it!
9. Pop the muffins out immediately and dip in toppings.
10. Let cool completely and store in ziploc bags or an airtight container.

Toppings:
Cinnamon Sugar: Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, melt butter in another. Dip donuts in butter then in cinnamon sugar
Chocolate glaze: Pour 1/2 cup boiling hot cream over 6 oz chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Dip donuts in the chocolate
Vanilla Glaze: Melt 4 tbs of butter. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla and 1 cup (or more as needed) powdered sugar. Dip donuts into glaze. You can also add the Lorann Emulsion to this as well!!
*Add sprinkles as desired! :-)

Vegetari-WHAT?

After reading blogs like this and this, and vowing to use up the ingredients in my kitchen before going to the grocery store. I was inspired to run out and buy the pasta attachment for my kitchen aid. Thankfully (I’m not sure for whom), I convinced myself that it would be ineffective to not grocery shop this week but buy kitchen goodies. Instead I decided to try to recreate both of these vegetarian pastas because I knew I had canned pumpkin and artichokes in my pantry. Don’t worry, I am not mixing the 2. It just gave me options. Plus, I figured the Muffinman and I could use a little vegetarian-ness in our diet (yup, there I go again making up words.)


The outcome was surprisingly good! Feel free to mix around the vegetables (I think spinach and kalamata olives with feta cheese would rock!). Also, you can easily top this wish shrimp or chicken to make it a little more filling. What I am more excited about is that I finally got a new charger for my camera, so I can use it instead of my iphone to document my recipes! Unfortunately, this is not a very pretty dish to photograph!! Enjoy!

Vegetarian Pasta

4 servings, 6 pts

Ingredients

6 oz dry penne pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
½ can artichoke hearts, roughly chopped (about 5 artichoke hearts)
1 handful flat leaf parsley
3 oz grated gruyere cheese (you can use parmesan, I just had gruyere on hand)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried minced onion

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 tsp flour
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tbs heavy cream

Directions
1. In a large food processor, add the bell peppers, artichokes, and parsley. Pulse until well minced and combined
2. Add in ½ of the cheese, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, and minced onion. Pulse until combined

3. Remove mixture from the processor and place in bowl.

4. Salt a pot of water and bring to a boil.
5. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain
6. While the pasta cooks, in a large sauce pan, sauté the garlic with a little cooking spray
7. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and combine with a spatula
8. Add in the canned tomatoes and their sauce and stir to combine

9. Once the sauce has thickened, add in most of the remaining cheese and cream

10. Add the vegetable mixture to the sauce and stir to combine
11. Serve the sauce mixture over the cooked pasta

Crawfish!!!

Alright, so throw your stones, gripe all you want. I know its been almost a month since I posted. I've wanted to, I just couldn't get to it!! I haven't forgot though, I've been taking pictures in hopes of posting soon. Lots to come, including a tested-ly (oh yeah, its a word) delicious coffee cake that you can adjust to your liking!

Over Easter we had a crawfish boil, and it was delicious. Of course, we always have more than we can eat, so we spend that last half of the meal peeling the leftovers (and drinking beer!).

With the leftovers, the muffinman requested Crawfish Etouffee. While I wasn't in the mood to cook tonight, I did a quick google search and found this recipe. Its easy and quick, and I think it turned out delicious!! I alternated Nunu's (from some fellow cajun friends) and some blackened fish seasoning until I got the flavor to where I wanted. In addition, I didn't follow their instructions for cooking rice.... I just made up a few servings according to the package directions.

You can substitute shrimp if you'd like, but this was an excellent way to use my first batch of leftover crawfish! More to come on what else becomes the crawfish's fate...

My goal this week is to cook dinner from whatever is in the house. My freezer is overflowing (mostly with veggies and homemade sorbet), and I have a good amount of pasta in the pantry....I just think its time to use up some of this stuff! If I had the time (or motivation) I'd clean out my pantry and inventory the contents for ya, but we all know thats not happening. Hope you have an awesome week!

Cooking Extravaganza!

Yes, you read it right! After I came home and deep cleaned my kitchen, I proceeded to destroy it again! :-) Since I am leaving the dear muffinman to fend for himself this weekend, I wanted to make a few things for him to have to eat. In addition, I wanted to make something for a co-workers birthday tomorrow and something to bring to my parents.

For the birthday, I opted for one of my favorites....and something very easy. Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies, you can find the recipe I use here. For my parents, delicious bread (I really wanted to try out the soft pretzel recipe, but I didn't have the right dough made! Stay tuned, that will definately be in the near future). My husband was so enthralled with the loaf of bread I made, I had to quickly mix up another batch of dough so he could have a loaf for this weekend!!

So, my list of items cooked tonight.....macaroni and cheese, au gratin potatoes, chocolate chip blonde brownies, mexican chicken casserole (made with leftover bbq chicken, so Im sure it tastes more like bbq chicken casserole), 2 loaves of white bread, and prepped the ingredients for a crokpot venison stew (Thanks April for the excellent recipe!!). In addition, I made dinner. That consisted of baked chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, and asparagus with goat cheese and walnuts.

If you even like asparagus in the slightest amount, you will have to try this super simple recipe. It looks pretty and sounds elaborate, so it's a great one to serve at dinner parties or holidays!

Roasted Asparagus with Goat Cheese and Walnuts
(print my recipe @ TastyKitchen.com)

Ingredients
10 spears Asparagus

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Walnuts, Chopped
about 1 ounce  Goat Cheese, Chopped
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Rinse and trim the asparagus.
3. Add olive oil to a small rimmed baking sheet.
4. Add asparagus to the oil and shake to coat.
5. Sprinkle with walnuts.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes (until tender).
7. Remove from the pan, place on a serving dish, and sprinkle with goat cheese, adding more if desired.

Ole!

Look at me, 2 posts in one day!!! While I continue to bask in my success, I have a favor to ask of all you reading (ok, maybe it really is just the 4 followers, but I'm hoping theres others!) I'm wanting to really try to make this blog take off, so if you would, PLEASE add yourself as a follower so I can judge how many people actually read! I have a goal of 50 by the end of April, we will re-evaluate then and hopefully up the goal! In addition, please feel free to pass this blog along to anyone who you may think have an interest!

Made a great casserole with the leftover shredded pork from the carnitas last week. It's super easy (especially if you already have the meat cooked and shredded!). If so, just skip to step 5 and when it calls for cooking liquid, add the 1 cup of chicken broth.


In addition, I used a smidge of olive oil instead of cooking spray in the pan (I keep forgetting to print my list off smart shopper when I go to the store!). While we are on the subject....the smart shopper is another great gift I received this year. While it might seem hokey, its a cooks best friend...really! I no longer have to remember in my head when I use the last of something while cooking. I can just step to the fridge, hit record, and speak what I need (note: be sure you don't have a husband yelling random items in the background, it hasn't perfected distractions yet).

Mexican Chicken Casserole (adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

1 cup ff, less sodium chicken broth

2 (4.5 oz) cans chopped green chiles (I omitted these)

1 3/4 lbs skinned boned chicken breasts

1 cup chopped onion

1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup milk

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese (I used mexican blend)
1/4 cup (2 oz) light cream cheese

1 10oz can enchilada sauce

12 (6 inche tortillas)

Cooking spray

1/2 cup shredded reduced fast extra sharp cheddar cheese (used mexican blend)

1 oz tortilla chips

Directions

1. Combine broth and 1 can of chiles in a large skillet; bring to a boil.

2. Add chicken; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until chicken is done, turning chicken once.

3. Remove chicken from cooking liquid, reserving cooking liquid; cool chicken.

4. Shred meat with two forks, and set aside.

5. Preheat oven to 350°.

6. In a large skillet, add 1 can chiles, onion, and garlic

7.Sauté 3 minutes or until soft.

8. Add reserved cooking liquid, milk, Monterey Jack, cream cheese, and enchilada sauce; stir well.

9. Stir in shredded chicken; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

10. Place 4 tortillas in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray.

11. Spoon 2 cups chicken mixture over tortillas.

12. Repeat layers twice, ending with chicken mixture.

13. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and chips.

14. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

15. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*As I mentioned, I had about a cup and a half of shredded pork leftover, so I halved this recipe. It made 6 servings, which is perfect to leftovers for lunch!

So Long, Farewell!!!

Yes folks, crockpot week is over, and I, for one, am elated.Crockpots are cool and all, but most food tastes better cooked other ways (in my opinion).

Friday I opted not to cook, and we, instead, went out for the husbands birthday. We always enjoy The Keg, and this visit was no different. A great dinner accompanied by some good wine and conversation with excellent bartenders made our evening complete (thanks Chris and Ryan!).  Here you can see Chris pouring me (yet another) glass of Jaboulet Cotes du Rhone "Parallele 45."

Saturday, I recovered! We decided to grill because the day was just too gorgeous to be stuck inside! I found a neighborhood Walmart Market nearby that I never knew existed....and love it! We bought a whole organic chicken and some ribs to grill. As you can see below, husbands are excellent at splitting chickens! :-) Its that Texas A&M degree....

Accompanying the great meat were grilled vegetables, and excellent roasted potatoes.  It was a great way to round of the closing of a weekend! Stay tuned this week for some leftover casserole recipes!

Happy Birthday Muffinman!!!

Yes, its the love of my lifes birthday....but I was under the impression he would not be home tonight, so I was ill prepared!! For one, I planned tonight as the crock pot dinner he would not eat....ooops. For 2, I was planning on making his cake tomorrow! So, I was in high speed when I came home!

While this was excellent to get things done, it resulted spilling a full glass of water on the floor, bonking my head on a cabinet while taking out the trash, dripping salsa on my computer (the hazards of using a computer for my recipes), and my smoke alarm going off for a good 10 minutes. After cleaning up my messes and consoling myself and muffindog (i was saying "my poor head" while he was in the far corner of the yard trying to get away from the smoke detector), I literally had about 30 minutes to finish up.

Alls well in the muffin household now. Muffinman is home. Muffindog in sleeping. And this muffinwoman is having a glass of wine before pie! I'd say the husband summed up the meal best... "The peppers are good. Num Num. The bread is like the ultimate bread ever. Num, Num, Num. Can I have some more bread?"

Tonights crockpot meal is truly a no-fuss option! A lot of crockpot meals require a significant amount of prep time (still worth a cooked meal when you come home, but it takes up time in the morning). This one took me about 10 minutes last night, and maybe 5 this morning. (only because I dumped one of the peppers over when filling it with sauce and had to re-assemble!!) Even if you aren’t a fan of bell peppers, you can eat the filling and steer clear of the pepper!

Once I realized I needed to make muffinmans birthday “cake” tonight, I repeated the carrot and parsnip side dish for dinner as well….and of course, I had to bake some bread!! This time, I added a little butter and rosemary to the top of my loaf!

I halved the recipe below, making enough filling for 3 peppers, but only filled 2. Stored the rest of the filling in the fridge and plan on making a pepper for lunch sometime in the next few days.

Crockpot Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients

6 tall green bell peppers

1 lb ground beef, extra lean

1 cup rice, uncooked (I used brown)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large carrot, shredded

1 tsp beef bouillon

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 can condensed tomato soup

1 can water

Directions

1. Cut the top off of the peppers, and remove the inner seeds. Rinse inside and out

2. In a medium bowl, combine the beef, rice, onion, carrot, bouillon, salt, and pepper.

3. Fill each pepper with the beef mixture about 2/3 way full (rice will expand)

* you can stop here, wrap the peppers in saran wrap, and refrigerate over night

4. Place the peppers in your crockpot.

5. Mix the soup and water with a whisk

6. Pour the soup mixture over the peppers.

7. Cook on low for 8 hours

Snickers Pie

Ingredients

14 oz semisweet baking chocolate

4 tbs butter

1 (9inch) baked pastry shell

25 caramels

1 cup, 1/3 cup, and 5 tsp heavy cream

1 ½ cup salted peanuts

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 snickers bar, cut into small pieces.

Directions

1. In a sauce pan, melt the chocolate and 3 tbs of butter

2. Using ¼ cup of the chocolate, spread all over the sides and bottom of the crust.

3. Place crust in the refrigerator to harden, set the remaining chocolate aside

4. In a separate sauce pan, melt 20 caramels, and 1/3 cup cream, stirring frequently

5. Remove from heat and stir in the peanuts

6. Spread the peanut layer over the chocolate layer and return to the fridge.

7. Beat 1 cup of the cream with the vanilla until soft peaks form

8. Fold 1/3 of the cream into the reserved chocolate (be sure its cooled down before adding the cream)

9. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the chocolate mixture

10. Spread the chocolate cream into the pie crust.

11. Refrigerate until set

12. In the same saucepan you used for the caramels, melt 5 caramels, 5 tsp heavy cream, and 1 tbs butter.

13. Sprinkle the chopped snickers over the pie, then drizzle with the caramel sauce.

14. Keep covered and refrigerated until served.

A Delicious Surprise!

Bigger news than my crockpot meal for the night is the 3 packages I arrived home to on my front porch! A couple weeks ago I started a conversation with my Uncle about bread....and lo and behold, supplies started arriving at my door!!

In addition to the pizza stone and peel (look at me learning the terms so quickly!), I received SAF Red Instant Yeast (something I've eyed on other blogs!), 2 bread books, some sourdough starter, large containers to store dough in, and a yeast canister and measure! I am fully stocked and ready to begin a new journey through breads!!!

I started by making the basic dough recipe from the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day."  Ive been waiting and waiting for it to rise so I can enjoy it with my dinner tonight!!

So, on to the dinner! Tonights crockpot dinner was Ravioli Casserole from MomsWhoThink.com. While I made several substitutions in the recipe, I immediately knew that I could make something much fresher tasting than what this recipe amounted to. So, the recipe that follows is the same concept (pasta sauce, pasta, meat, ricotta, spinach), but how I will make it in the future....and I WILL make it in the future!!

Crockpot Ravioli Casserole

Ingredients

6 containers grape tomatoes, rinsed

2 heads garlic, seperated and peeled

10 basil leaves, coarsly chopped

4 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 lb ground turkey (you can use chicken or beef as well), browned

1 15oz container ricotta cheese

1 10oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of all moisture

4 handfuls dry pasta (any shape)

Directions

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a slow cooker

2. Cook on low for 6 hours, or until tomatoes start to burst and garlic becomes soft

3. Using a blender or imersion blender, puree the sauce. Return to Crockpot

4. Boil the pasta to al dente

5. Add the pasta, meat, spinach and ricotta to the sauce. Stir

6. Simmer another 20 minutes on low in the crockpot.

This is some of the best bread I've ever had, and can't wait to make variations of the basic dough!! The kit that I received came with some vietnamese cinnamon that smells better than any holiday I've experienced. I want to try cinnamon sugar pretzels sometime in the next week!

Against the Slaw!

(Yes, Im being cute in the title. I really dont like coleslaw, but had to try this recipe!)

As I entered a delicious smelling house this afternoon, I found myself wondering “Is it cruel to my dog to make him smell awesome meat slowly cooking all day?” I hope not, besides, I will let him try some!

I had a little grocery trouble today. Went to 2 stores and couldn’t find instant polenta or thyme at either!!! I ended up using the premade polenta and grilled the slices in an grill pan with some olive oil, garlic salt, and dried minced onion. SO -tonight’s meal is Pork Carnitas (courtesy crockpot365.blogspot.com), gorgonzola coleslaw, crispy polenta, and roasted vegetables. I wanted to get away from traditional rice and beans with a tortilla dish, so this is the result of my creativity.

Served in a tortilla with the pork, the coleslaw was an incredible combination! The roasted vegetables were a great hit! My Mother in Law made something similar for Thanksgiving 2009, and I loved them.

Pork Carnitas (Adapted from crockpot 365.blogspot.com)
5 pts (not including tortilla, based on 6 servings)
Ingredients
2 pounds pork shoulder (I used a1.7 lb center cut pork loin)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 large orange)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 large lime…I used 2 small)
7 cloves garlic (whole intact)
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cumin
1 cup beef broth
flour or corn tortillas
Directions
1. Remove the skin from the garlic cloves. Set aside
2. Using a hand juicer, juice the lime and the orange. Set aside
3. Open and measure your beef broth, set aside
4. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to your slow cooker and swirl to cover the bottom.
5. In a small bowl, combine the salt and cumin. Rub mixture all over the pork, then add to the slow cooker.
6. Add whole garlic cloves.
7. Pour the citrus over the pork
8. Pour about ½ cup of the beef broth over the pork, and the rest around it evenly.
9. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the pork shreds quite easily with a fork
10. Shred meat fully and mash in the garlic cloves.
11. Serve on warmed tortillas with desired toppings.
*I moved her directions around a bit so there was so pork slime on my hands, knife, fruit, etc!*

Gorgonzola Coleslaw (adapted from http://www.kalamazoogourmet.com/recipe06-2.php?recipe=108)
2 pts (makes 10, 1/2cup servings)
Ingredients
½ red onion, sliced thin
1 bag shredded cabbage (for coleslaw)
1 cup shredded carrots
1/8 cup golden balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup turbinado sugar
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoons whole grain prepared mustard
4 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese
Directions
1. Using a grill pan over medium heat, grill the onion slices in a little olive oil until caramelized and softened
3. Combine the onions, cabbage, and carrots in a large glass bowl.
4. Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt, and stir until dissolved.
5. Stir the vinegar mixture into the cabbage mixture.
6. Cover and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes..
7. Stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard and cheese.
8. Mix into the slaw.
9. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 4 hours before serving.
*Just before I served the coleslaw, I dumped it in a strained because it was really runny, which I didn’t like seeing! It still tasted great!

Roasted Vegetables (foodnetwork.com)

2 pts (based on 8 servings)

Ingredients

1 pound carrots

1 pound parsnips

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper 6 sprigs fresh thyme (I used tarragon)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.Peel the carrots and parsnips and cut them in half lengthwise, larger ones can be quartered. Place them on a large rimmed baking sheet.

3. Drizzle the carrots and parsnips with the olive oil and honey.
4. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

5. Scatter the thyme sprigs on top.

6. Place them in the preheated oven.

7. After 10 minutes, give the veggies a toss and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft and slightly caramelized.

8. Serve warm.

*I only did half of this recipe and it still ended up being enough to feed 4!

Crispy Polenta Stars (adapted from several recipes on the internet!)

1 pt a piece (based on 12 “stars”)

Ingredients

1 chicken bullion cube

½ cup water

1 tbs butter

1 clove garlic, minced

2 handfuls polenta

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Dissolve chicken stock in the water over medium heat

2. Add the butter and garlic and bring to a boil

3. Once it begins to boil, sprinkle the polenta into the stock, stirring constantly

4. Continue stirring until it thickens

5. Add in parmesan cheese and salt

6. Line a small pan with saran wrap (you can use any size to change up the thickness)

7. Pour the polenta into the pan and refrigerate until firm (I just left it in the fridge until I was ready to ‘fry’ it)

8. Remove the polenta and cut shapes of your choice out

9. Heat a little olive oil in a pan and ‘fry’ the polenta until golden and crispy.

This just in....

And I thought I should share.

I recently purchased Jello Mousse Temptations in the Creme Caramel flavor. Definately worth trying. I've had the Dark Chocolate and its just as awesome! I'll be trying out some desserts/parfaits with these for sure!

A little crockpot comfort . . .

I sped home today because I didn't have all the ingredients I needed to make my "Rio Grande" Meatloaf. After a quick stop at the store, I was well prepared and ready to quickly get it in the crockpot to cook for a couple of hours on high. It's now smelling awesome, and I tried a new trick that I got the idea from a fellow blogger @ crockpot365.blogspot.com. She layers meat and veggies seperated by foil for a full dinner in the crockpot!!!

I haven't tried it before, so I thought this would be a great night! First I assembled all the ingredients for the meatloaf and pressed it into the bottom of my greased crockpot. Then, i put a layer of foil. Next I took some baby red potatoes, olive oil, and 5 whole garlic cloves and wrapped them in a foil packet, placed it on top of the meatloaf. After those cooked on high for 2.5 hours, I added a foil packet of fresh green beans (mixed with olive oil, garlic salt, and crushed almonds) for 1 hour on low.

All in all it turned out well!! Served the meatloaf with some salsa and sour cream (turned out a little dry), mashed the potatoes and garlic with a couple laughing cow cheese wedges and a splash of unsweetened almond milk, and served the green beans as they were (foil packet steamed them).

Rio Grande Meatloaf
½ 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
pinch of salt
2 tsp cumin
pinch of pepper
2 handfuls tortilla chips, crushed fine
2 large egg whites
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs lean ground beef
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well (using your hands if needed)
2. Grease your crockpot
3. Using one long strp of foil, cut it in half lengthwise, and fold each strip into a 1-2 inch wide long strip
4. Cross the strips in the bottom of the crockpot and let hang off the sides (will use as handles to remove the meatloaf)
5. Shape the meatloaf in your crockpot and cover
6. Cook on high 2.5 hours, low 1 hour (could probably do 4-5 hours on low)
7. Serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, etc.

*Just a note, you don't have to measure out all the veggies, about a small handful of the onion, green pepper, and cilantro will work. Also, the original recipe called for a full can of black beans, but I thought it was too much (the meatloaf tasted more like black beans.)

All Crockpot, all the Time (or for a week!)

Well, its been awhile, but Im sure all 2 of you expected that! I had the wonderful honor of helping cook the food for my brother engagement party and truly enjoyed it. The items that I contributed:

Tea Smoked Lettuce Cups
Spinach and Artichoke stuffed Mushrooms
Jalapeno-Cream Cheese Wontons
Mini Mac and Cheese cups
Petit Fours
Bourbon Balls
Butterscotch Dip with fresh fruit

To ease back into my cooking after a fabulous engagement party, Ive decided to go all crockpot this week! Starting Monday I will test out recipes from some fellow bloggers (whom I do not know, but would love to be as faithful to blogging as they are!) I will try to post what websites I got each recipe from (as well as a critique), but here are the few I frequent: Momswhothink.com, Crockpot365.blogspot.com, StolenMomentsCooking.com, AllRecipes.com, and Recipezaar.com.

Not that this one is healty, but heres what I made Friday night to end my no cooking spree!

Cheesy Ravioli Casserole
Ingredients:
2 lbs pre-packaged 4-cheese ravioli, cooked and drained
2 cups broccoli florets
1 ½ cups diced chicken, cooked
1 jar alfredo sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup mozzarella cheese, divided
1/3 cup parm cheese
1 tbs butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
2. Coat the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish with a thin layer of alfredo sauce.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the ravioli, broccoli, chicken, garlic, alfredo sauce, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese until combined. (Be careful not to mix too hard that you tear the ravioli.)
4. Place mixture into baking dish and top with 1/2 cup mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
5. Cut the butter into small pieces and scatter on top of the cheese. 6. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.
6. Set to broil for additional 5 minutes if you want it more toasty!

For your Viewing Pleasure

My bosses birthday cake: white cake, blackberry filling, buttercream frosting.






- Posted from my iPhone

Beef stir Fry

Man I am not keeping up with my new years resolution to blog….but Im kinda sick of the computer by the time I get home from work! I’ll do better, I promise!

I realize that I have many visions for this blog--- eat healthy, create new recipes, post new finds, etc. I will apologize in advance for it taking a new direction each time I post! I have recently re-discovered my love for cooking and baking, and want to cook all day long…. Problem is I have to work, and if I didn’t work, I wouldn’t be able to support my kitchen obsession. So my time with the kitchen is confined to a couple hours in the evenings, and whatever time I can put together on the weekends.

As I was debating what to make for dinner last night, I was dreading cooking. I wanted to BAKE! After giving the husband a choice of chicken, beef, or shrimp (of course, he chose beef) I began to think through what I would do with the frozen .8 lb of flank steak. I had some fresh snap peas and mushrooms, so I decided to make a pseudo-stir fry.

Once I had the steak defrosted, cubed, and browning in a pan, I stared at it…in love. The new Train song “Hey Soul Sister” was playing, and I was in heaven. Clean kitchen to cook in, music on the radio, and cooking.

I opted not to bake last night, since I had just finished a cake the night before…. Ill post about that later. For now, here’s what I did with dinner

Beef Psuedo-Stir Fry (created by whatever you have on hand!)
~ 1 lb stew meat, flank steak, or any other steak you can cube
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbs minced garlic
½ cup sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 cup sugar snap peas
2 tbs low sodium soy sauce
Salt an pepper

Directions
1. Heat vegetable oil in a large pot or wok and brown meat. Season with salt and pepper
2. Remove meat from pot, and place on a paper towel lined plate
3. Pour out grease from pot and wipe any excess out with a paper towel
4. Return pot to stove and on medium/low heat, add in sesame oil and garlic
5. Brown garlic, stirring often, for about 4 minutes
6. Add in the vegetables, and stir occasionally, for about 6 minutes
7. Add in the soy sauce and turn the vegetables to coat
8. Add the beef back in a heat thoroughly.
9. Serve over brown rice.








- Posted from my iPhone

MMMMMM Mac n Cheese

So sorry its been awhile!! I was at my sisters for a few days this week, and then had too much other stuff going on to actually cook!! Tonight though, I have flank steak defrosting in the fridge for dinner.

One of my favorite things to make is macaroni and cheese (maybe its because its one of my favorite things to eat!) My recipe is not the leanest side dish, but its decent….especially if you are craving the fabulousness!! So my recipe comes out to 7 pts for ¾ a cup (which is an great size!!) 2 cups of cheese give you the great flavor you need – experiment with different kids of cheese and spices. Tonight, I am trying it with pepper jack cheese!

Pepper Jack Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
1/3 cup light butter (about 6 tbs)
3 tbs flour
1 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
3 cups 1% milk (has same pts as nonfat)
2 cups cheese of your choice (I am using ¾ cup pepper jack, 1 ¼ cup velveeta)
1 lb uncooked pasta
Directions
1. Get water boiling and cook, drain the pasta while making the sauce.
2. Over medium heat, melt the butter (do not let it brown or boil)
3. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and quickly whisk into a smooth paste
4. Add the spices and stir
5. Slowly add the milk, 1 cup at a time whisking until well combined with the butter/four
6. Let the sauce come to a slight boil, stirring continuously
7. Once it has thickened to your liking (it will get thicker once the cheese is added!), turn the heat as low as you can and slowly blend in the cheese.
8. Turn off the heat and stir in the pasta, coating completely.
9. You can refrigerate or freeze in portions. To reheat, place the desired amount in a saucepan on med-low and cover. Stir occasionally. You may want to add a little milk to restore the creaminess.

Special Somethin'

My brother came to stay with us for a night, so I wanted to do something special for him! This dinner recipe was in the January Cooking Light, and it caught my eye while walking on the treadmill Monday (I used 1.5 lbs of meat since I have 2 boys for dinner! That’s why the pts are pretty high for a serving). As for dessert, Texas Sheet Cake is his favorite. While comparing recipes, I came across a white Texas Sheet Cake recipe….so I thought it would be fun to try to mix the 2 in one cake!

What I learned my first time baking sheet cake….it can be a pain! Maybe im not as good with delicate cake as I am with hard to mess up candy….But its hard to ice/frost cake without it crumbling. I guess it will take practice.

I did learn that you can microwave this icing to make it spread easier…that helped a lot. Also, I recommend doubling the icing recipes (mainly the chocolate one)…. I ran out by my last cake!

White Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
1 cup butter, cubed
1 cup water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp baking soda
frosting
½ cup butter, cubed
¼ cup milk
4 ½ cups powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1 cup praline pecans, chopped

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, bring butter and water just to a boil.
2. Immediately remove from the heat; stir in the flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, salt, baking powder, extract and baking soda until smooth.
3. Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.
4. Bake at 375° for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
5. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.
6. For frosting, in a large saucepan, bring butter and milk just to a boil.
7. Immediately remove from the heat; stir in confectioners' sugar and extract.
8. Stir in pecans; spread over warm cake. Cool completely.

Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients

Cooking spray

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1 cup butter or stick margarine

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs
Icing:

¼ cup butter
3 tbs cocoa
3 tbs buttermilk
2 ¼ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup pecans, toasted

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. To prepare the cake, coat a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with cooking spray, and dust with 2 teaspoons flour. Set prepared pan aside.
3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour and next 4 ingredients (2 cups flour through salt) in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.
4. Combine water, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/4 cup cocoa in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
5. Remove from heat; pour into flour mixture.
6. Beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended.
7. Add buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and eggs; beat well.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake at 375° for 17 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Place on a wire rack.
10. To prepare the icing, combine 6 tablespoons butter, milk, and 1/4 cup cocoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
11. Remove from heat, and gradually stir in powdered sugar, pecans, and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
12. Spread over hot cake. Cool completely on wire rack.

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
2 cups uncooked noodles
cooking spray
1.5 lbs top sirloin steak, cut in ¾” pieces (or buy stew meat)
1 tbs butter
2 tbs chopped shallots
1 (8 oz) packaged baby bella mushrooms
1 tsp minced garlic
3 tbs low sodium soy sauce
3 tbs all purpose flour
1 ½ cups fat free, low sodium beef broth
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp salt
3 fresh thyme sprigs

Directions
1. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
2. While noodles cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak; sauté 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan; cover.
3. Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat.
4. Add shallots and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes.
5. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds.
6. Stir in soy sauce.
7. Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
8. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly.
9. Add pepper, salt, and thyme sprigs.
10. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thickened.
11. Return beef to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Discard thyme sprigs.

Today

Breakfast: 1 cup congee (with 1 tbs honey, 2 tbs pecans), Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt ---6.5pts

Lunch: ¾ bag jolly time 94% ff popcorn :-( --- 2.5 pts

Dinner: Steak Tips in Peppered Mushroom Gravy, ½ cup wheat pasta --- 11pts

Totals (sorry will update with cals, etc later) --- 20 pts

Easy Dinner!!

Nothing too spectacular about today….gearing up for the Beef Tips in Mushroom Gravy that I plan to make for my brother tomorrow! Ive been thinking that I really enjoy the blogging and cooking, but figuring out all the nutritional stats and making them post right on here is a little agitating. So, going forward, I will post calories, fat, and WW pts for each meal or recipe. This should make the blog easier to read! If you want to know specifics on a certain recipe, just send me an email or leave it in the comments. I should have it in my SparkPeople account!

Shrimp Fried Rice (about 4 servings)
Ingredients
2 tsp canola oil
3 med scallions, chopped
4 oz frozen salad-size shrimp (thawed under lukewarm water)
2 cups cooked brown rice
4 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
4 eggs
1 ½ cup frozen peas and carrots
Instructions1. Coat a wok or large skillet with cooking spray and heat until an added drop of water sizzles.2. Scramble egg substitute in wok. Remove when cooked and set aside.3. Add oil, scallions, peas and carrots and shrimp to the wok. Stir-fry for five minutes.4. Add cooked rice, eggs and soy sauce. Stir-fry for about three minutes.

Breakfast: 1 cup congee (with 1 tbs almonds, 1 tbs honey), Dannon Light & Fit Raspberry Chocolate Yogurt --- 215 cals, 3g fat, 5 pts

Lunch: ½ serving of leftover butter noodles, ½ cup broccoli, ½ cup cauliflower, Green Giant Just for One Broccoli and Cheese (micro waved the veggies together so they all had sauce!!) --- 232 cals, 4g fat, 3 pts

Snack: ½ of Leftover Cinnamon Apples --- 90 cals, 0g f, .5 pts

Dinner: Shrimp Fried Rice --- 286 cals, 10g fat, 7pts

Totals: 823 calories, 18g fat, 13.5 pts

Back in the Habit

Even though the title makes me think of Whoopee Goldberg in “Sister Act,” it still resounds how I’m feeling about cooking. I went off the deep end with candies and sweets over the holidays, and now its time to get back to basic (but delicious!) healthy cooking. For now, I hope to post a few new recipes on here each week. My goal is to get to where I can post a whole weeks menu with nutritional information for you to use, then use the blog to talk more about other fun food related things! We’ll get there…

So today started off excellent…. I actually got out of bed and on the treadmill by 5:15!! Out the door with straightened hair and a packed breakfast and lunch (not to mention a delicious decaf cup of coffee from my Keurig) by 6:40. At 6:48, my car was having a heart attack. You know the sound it makes when your door is ajar, or your husband passenger doesn’t have his seatbelt on? Yes, that sound times 10…in volume and speed…and a blinking light that said “TURN OFF ENGINE.” I obeyed…and called the muffinman from the side of the road.

Since this is a food blog, and not an “about me” blog…the short version is – my car is getting old…..its sensors are failing (kinda like my memory). So, it will be in the shop for a day or 2. However!! When I got to the office, the warm, oatmeal-like breakfast I had packed for myself was not in my lunch bag!!! Apparently I put it in the fridge, and took the yogurt instead. So, yogurt for breakfast; and soup and crackers for lunch. (youre wondering where my recipe for today is, right?!)

Dinner…yeah! The fun part of my day! Tonight is Balsamic Crusted Pork Chops, Cinnamon Apples, Faux Fried Okra (frozen, baked, not fried), and Buttered Noodles (Target brand, prepared light butter). Packages of pork chops were BOGO at Albertsons this weekend, so you will be seeing lots of pork recipes...BUT they are easy to swap with chicken!

Balsamic Crusted Pork Chop (2 servings – 6 pts)
Ingredients
2 3oz boneless lean pork chops
dash of salt and pepper
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 green onion, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ cup panko bread crumbs
1 tbs light butter or margerine

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Line a small metal baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray
3. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork and place in the prepared baking pan
4. In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, green onion, and garlic together
5. Pour 1-2 tbs of the tbs of the vinegar mixture over each chop
6. Top each chop with half of the panko
7. Pour butter evenly over the panko
8. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the center is no longer pink

Cinnamon Apples (3 servings, 1 pt)
Ingredients
2 apples of your choice (I usually used McIntosh, but I have granny smith right now)
1 ½ tbs sugar
½ tbs cinnamon
1/8 cup water

Directions
1. Peel and cut the apples into 1 ½” cubes
2. Place the apples, cinnamon and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Cover
3. After 2 minutes add in the water and stir. Replace lid
4. Check on apples every 5 minutes for desired tenderness (done when cooked to your liking. Be careful, they will get super soft really fast!)


And for a bonus (which will be for breakfast in the am!!) We received macadamia nuts over Christmas. I love them in cookies, but am avoiding them, so I adapted a WW orange pecan muffin recipe to the one below (I also had no oranges, so we are trying lemon!!)

Lemon-Mac Mini Muffins (24 servings, 1 pt per muffin)
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 large egg white
1 tbs vegetable oil
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup buttermilk *
1 tbs lemon zest
2 tbs dry roasted salted macadamia nuts
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
* In place of the buttermilk, you can place 1 tbs vinegar or 1 tbs lemon juice in a bowl, add enough milk to equal 1 cup. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then use the amount you need.

Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Arrange 24 mini foil muffin cup liners about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. Or spray a mini muffin sheet with cooking spray
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
4. In a separate, small bowl, whisk together egg white, buttermilk, oil, lemon zest, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of nuts.
5. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until combined; do not over mix.
6. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup liner; sprinkle muffin tops with remaining nuts. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 12 minutes.
7. Move the muffins to a wire rack over a baking sheet, let cool 10 minutes
8. In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar with lemon juice
9. Lightly spoon icing over each muffin and let dry


And to finish – here are the nutritional stats for today. Kinda went heavy on dinner since I didn’t eat much throughout the day:
Breakfast - Dannon light n fit vanilla yogurt: 80 cals, 0g fat, 16g carbs, 5 g protein, 0g DF, 2pts
Lunch - 1 can Amys Tomato Bisque, 20 oyster crackers: 300 cals, 9g fat, 53g carbs, 5g protein, 4g DF, 6.5 pts)
Dinner- Balsamic Crusted Pork Chop, 1 serving cinnamon apples, ¼ cup okra, ¼ cup buttered noodles: 762 cals, 21g fat, 92g carbs, 33g protein, 6g DF, 11pts
Snack (b/c I had to try out my muffins!)- 1 Lemon-Mac Mini Muffin: 57 cals, 2g fat, 10g carbs, 1g DF, 0g protein, 1 pt
Total: 1198 calories, 43g fat, 171g carbs, 44g protein, 10g DF, 19.5 pts