Meatloaf Cupcakes

Yesterday I had a lot of rare free time. Nick was sleeping off the shots he got at the pediatrician. He spent most of the day snoozing in his crib. I had ground beef in the fridge. Blah blah ground beef and I wanted to do something not boring with it. Then I found meatloaf cupcakes, PERFECT!!! We just so happened to have some cooked bacon in the fridge.  Andy considers bacon to be some sort of health supplement so I decided to use it as "sprinkles." Cute huh??? Yields 8 cupcakes

For meatloaf bottom:
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Wostershire sauce
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg 
I had some McCormick hamburger seasoning so I threw in a teaspoon of that too! 

Meatloaf Glaze
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Wostershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray muffin tins with non stick spray
3. Mix together meatloaf ingredients. (my LEAST favorite part of meatloaf is getting cold meatloaf hands)
4. Fill muffin tins with the meat mixture to the top, but not overflowing
5. Mix together glaze ingredients and spoon over each cupcake
6. Bake for 30 minutes
7. Carefully tilt the tin over the sink to pour off the fat

Mashed Potato Frosting
 2 cups of mashed potatoes prepared however you want. I like salt, pepper, garlic powder, milk, and either a tablespoon of butter or cream cheese.

I happened to have some piping bags and tips to pipe the mashed potatoes on top. You can also just put it in a ziplock baggie and cut off a corner to use as a piping bag. Add crumbled bacon on top and you're done!

Raspberry Cream Pie

Last week the Mennonite grocery had Driscoll's raspberries for 50 cents! I was thrilled! Seeing raspberries for anything less than 3.50$ is thrilling! I bought 6 containers for 3$. There are still 3 in the fridge that are awaiting us. I found this pie on allrecipes and compiled it from two different recipes. It called for two cups of sour cream... Well it just so happens that Greek yogurt was 3 for a dollar this week. So I subbed the sour cream for Greek yogurt and saved about 500 calories :D So this is technically a "diet" pie... which is why I ate at least half of it!

1 (9 inch) pie shell

3 cups raspberries (about 12oz)

3/4 cup white sugar

1tbsp cornstarch

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 cups fat free Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract  

Topping

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup cold butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Place raspberries in the bottom of the crust

3. Mix the sugar, cornstarch, flour, vanilla, and yogurt until blended and smooth

4. Pour over raspberries

5. Place pie uncovered into the oven (the topping comes later!)

6. Bake for 30 minutes 

Meanwhile cut the butter into the sugar and flour. I like to do this by hand, until you have course crumbs.

7. After 30 minutes remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle on the topping. Return to the oven for 15 minutes. Top will be golden brown and the pie should be pretty firm. Mine was a touch jiggly but firmed up nicely as it cooled.  

 

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Another Taste of Home goodie. I made this once with ground beef since I didn't have any sausage. It was still good, but not as good as the sausage. Luke eats the cranberries and the meat, and then Nick eats the stuffing pieces and the squash so it works out pretty well.

The squash is cooked in the microwave which is so easy! And very fast. It looks gourmet and time consuming but it couldn't be easier. My acorn squashes were 2lbs each, but I still ended up with extra stuffing. I also never made this with the spinach called for.

Ingredients

• 2 medium acorn squash
• 1 pound bulk spicy pork sausage
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach, finely chopped
• 1-1/2 cups soft bread torn into stuffing sized pieces
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions

• Cut squash in half; remove and discard seeds. Place squash cut side down in a microwave-safe dish. Microwave on high for 10-12 minutes or until tender.
• Meanwhile, crumble sausage into a large skillet; add onion. Cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, beat egg and milk; stir in the spinach, bread crumbs, cranberries and sausage mixture.
• Turn squash cut side up. Stuff with sausage mixture. Cover and microwave on high for 2-3 minutes. Yield: 4 servings.

Baked Chicken Enchilladas

My mother in law sent me a box recently with all sorts of treasures... Including my favorite, cooking magazines! This came out of taste of home :) Next time I make it I will probably through in some corn. I cut the sour cream in half and substituted with fat free cottage cheese. It was still nice and creamy without being a calorie fest. Luke refused to eat this. I don't know if he was just being cranky, but mommy and daddy liked it! (oh and don't worry, Luke ate dessert so he didn't go to bed hungry)

Ingredients

• 4-1/2 cups chopped chicken (I threw two chicken breasts in the oven for an hour that morning)
• 1 can (28 ounces) green enchilada sauce
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 9 corn tortillas (6 inches), shredded into 1-1/2-inch pieces
• 16 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used a little less)

Directions

• Mix chicken together with enchillada sauce, sour cream, cottage cheese, and most of the shredded cheese 
• In a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish, layer the chicken mixture alternating with the shredded tortillas. The final layer should be torillas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese
• Cover and bake at 375° for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

I had a lonely cup of pureed pumpkin sitting in my fridge. It was left over from last week's pumpkin donuts. It wasn't enough to make a pie, plus I don't have cloves. I tried making a pumpkin pie without cloves last fall and it just wasn't the same :(

It's hard to say if this is Banana Pumpkin Bread, or Pumpkin Banana Bread. Both flavors come through in this very moist fall-ish bread. Andy really liked it, Nick really liked it, Luke really liked it, and the floor got to taste some too. I sliced the bananas thin instead of mashing them before tossing them in the batter. The bread had actual banana pieces in it which made it so moist. Thanks food.com!

1 cup brown sugar (I reduced it to 3/4)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 bananas, sliced
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon allspice

( I don't have cloves or allspice, so I sub'ed 1/2tsp of pumpkin pie spice)
1/4 cup milk (or 1/4 cup yogurt)

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 325°F.
2 Mix together sugars, oil and eggs.
3 Add sliced banana, pumpkin, and milk (or yogurt).
4 Mix dry ingredients together. Slowly add to wet ingredients, mixing as you go. 

5. Pour into a greased loaf pan, leaving about an inch of room at the top.
6. Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Mine was done at 1hr and 17 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Pastry Crust

Lately I have been making butter crusts. You can use this same recipe with vegetable shortening, like Crisco. For now though I am on a butter kick, especially since butter in Iowa is 1.99$ a pound. Since I'm used to paying at least 3$ a pound I just can't help myself!


The secret to making pie crust not so painful is get the dough COLD COLD COLD. You want to use COLD butter, and ICE water. Once your dough is assembled stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes before you even attempt rolling it.

I have used this crust for pot pies, meatball calzones, and fruit pies. The site where I found this states this is enough for two crusts. Perhaps I roll mine too thin, but I get enough dough for three 9" pies every time I make this.

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) salted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 6 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Pour half a glass of water, then fill the rest with ice.

Mix butter with flour, salt, and butter until it forms little crumbs with pea sized pieces of butter. I do this with my hands.

Add water 1TBSP at a time. Stop at 6Tbsp and mix it together well by hand. Too much water will make the dough tough, so don't add the last two tablespoons of water unless you need it. 

Work the dough just enough to form two disks do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky. Sprinkle a little flour around the disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour. If it is in the fridge longer than and hour you will need to let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes so that it is not too stiff and cold to roll.

Put 1/4 cup or so of flour down on your clean rolling surface. Place dough on floured surface, sprinkle more flour onto dough and roll it out adding more flour if dough sticks to rolling pin. Take a dinner knife (not a sharp pointy knife!) and slide it gently between counter and dough to loosen it from counter. Gently lift it and place into pie plate. I like to use the rolling pin to roll it up off the counter.

Trim overhang to 1/2 - 3/4 inch and fold under against the pie plate and flute edges. After I roll out both of the crusts I collect the scraps, form a ball, wrap with plastic, and stick in the freezer for another time.

Taste of Home has a nice step by step picture tutorial here.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

I love this recipe. I'm not usually a big fan of peanut butter pie because it tends to be so rich that it kinda makes me feel sick after a couple bites. This recipe isn't like that. It truly is perfect! I have made it twice now. The original recipe wanted you to get TWO pies out of this filling. Unless you want to be known as the "chintzy pie lady" use this filling for one 9" pie.

• 6oz package cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup milk (skim is fine)
• 1 16 ounce package of cool whip thawed, reserve 3/4 cup for the top
• 1 prepared crust
• 1 cup of cookie crumbs mixed with 2Tbsp melted butter (Oreo's, Nutter Butters, or graham crackers)
• Press into greased pie plate, bake at 350 for 8 minutes

Instructions

1. Beat together cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Mix in peanut butter and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.
2. Pour into prepared crust
3. Spread reserved cool whip on top
4. Garnish with whatever you want... left over cookie crumbs, shaved chocolate, etc etc
5. Freeze until sold. 
6. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before cutting
7. Store any leftovers in freezer

Rustic Peach Pie

I love peach pie!! I always do mine with canned peaches. It is just a little too much work for me to blanch, peel, pit, and slice peaches! Canned peaches also lets you make this year round. If you use canned peaches drain them in a colander but save 3Tbsp of juice to add back in. I have made peach pie with peaches that I drained a little too well and it resulted in a dry pie without any of that amazing juice.

You *really* should make the pie crust, especially since you're saving all that time using canned peaches! Once you taste it you will be oh so happy you took the time to make the crust. I found a crust recipe that I love because it makes enough dough for three crusts. That way I can stick some dough in the freezer for next time.

Double Pie Crust (or single pie crust if you want to do a crumb topping)

Filling
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
8 to 10 large fresh peaches, pitted, peeled and sliced
(or 2.5 LARGE cans of peaches, drained, with 3tbsp juice added back in)




Egg wash
1 egg whisked with 1 Tablespoon water
course sugar for topping


Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, use a fork to combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter. Mix until crumbly.

3. Place one pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate. Scoop in one layer of peaches. Top with some of the crumbly sugar mixture. Layer more peaches and more crumbles. Continue until you've used up all of your peaches and crumbles.

4.Top with second pie crust in a latice fashion, or with crumb topping
(A found a great lattice tutorial here)

5. Brush the top with the egg wash, and sprinkle with coarse sugar


Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and reduce temp to 350. You do not need to take the pie out, just reach in carefully and place the sheet of aluminum over the pie. It only needs to rest on the pie. My pies generally need another 30 minutes from this point. The top should be well browned and the filling should be bubbling when it is done.

Cheesy Squash, Corn, and Eggplant Casseroles

This dish has the most AMAZING blend of flavors. There is something crazy awesome about the way that melty cheese, sweet corn, savory tomatoes and eggplant compliment each other in this dish.  I noticed the way my hubby was eying up this casserole when I pulled it out of the oven. He asked me what was in it, then looked at it carefully. I could tell he looked skeptical, although he was careful not to say or do anything that might hurt my culinary feelings.  Two bites in, he said "Wow! This is really good!"  I followed this recipe as it was posted here in Healthy Bites Next time I might try adding in ground beef or italian sausage, although it was great without it :-)

Serves: 4-6          Calories/Serving: 356 Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds
• 1 large zucchini, cut into medium-sized cubes
• 1 large yellow squash, cut into medium-sized cubes
• 1c. onion, diced
• 2 medium ears of sweet corn
• Cooking spray
• 1/2tsp salt, divided
• 1/4tsp garlic powder
• 8oz (1c) low fat ricotta cheese
• 1c. (4oz) part-skim mozzarella, grated, divided
• 1 large egg
• 1/2c. basil, cut into medium strips
• 1/4tsp thyme
• 1/8tsp oregano
• 1/4tsp pepper
• 1 (15-oz) can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 (8-oz) can no salt added tomato sauce
• 1/4c (1oz) Parmesan cheese, finely grated 
•  
•  
• 1. Preheat oven to 425. Spray 2 or 3 baking sheets with cooking spray.  Lay out egglant slices in a single layer on one tray (or two, if needed) Spread the zucchini, yellow squash, and onion on the other. Spray veggies lightly with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp salt on eggplant; sprinkle 1/4 tsp garlic powder on the squash mixture.  2. Remove husks from corn, wrap whole ears of corn in aluminum foil. Put ALL the veggies in the hot oven for 10 minutes. Flip the egglplant, and stir the squash, then put back in the oven for another 10 minutes, or until tender.  Leave the corn in the oven for an additional 15 minutes. 3. Turn the oven down to 325. When cool enough the handle, cut the kernels off the corn cobs. Mix into squash mixture. 4. In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, 1/2c  mozzarella, egg, basil, thyme, oregano, and pepper. Set it aside. 5. In a different bowl, combine the fire roasted tomatoes and the tomato sauce.  6. LAYER-o'clock! (This is the most fun part)  The casserole will have 3 layers. .
                 Layer 1: First, a little tomato mixture to coat the bottom of the dish, then eggplant. Spread on a little ricotta, then squash. Then a bit more tomato.
                Layer 2:  More eggplant, more ricotta,  a bit of tomato, some squash, and a bit of tomato.
                Layer 3: The rest of the eggplant,  remaining squash, remaining sauce, then the remaining cheese on the top. (I sprinkled on some extra spices at this point...I had a "Mediterranean" spice mix that was great) Sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella and the Parmesan.  7. Bake 375 for 40 minutes. ( I covered mine for most of the cook time) 
    Dig in!!!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I've been waaaay slacking on posting my latest recipes. But this one was amazing, definitely a keeper! The original recipe did not include the peppers and onion, but I thought it made a nice addition :-)

 

Here's what you need:

1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon chicken broth ( I just sprinkle a little bouillon into warm water)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 can pineapple chunks (20 oz can--in juice)

2 Tablepoons plus 1/4 cup cornstarch

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup ketchup

1 Tablespoon canola oil

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1/4 sweet onion

Step 1: Cut chicken into cubes. Then combine 1 TBSP soy sauce, broth, garlic and ginger; add chicken and marinate at least 30 minutes.Chop peppers and onion into chunks.

 Step 2: Drain pineapple, reserve juice. Add enough water to juice to measure 1 cup. In a bowl, mix 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, sugar and pineapple juice. Then add in the vinegar, ketchup and 2 tsp soy sauce.

Step 3: Discard any remaining marinade from chicken. Coat chicken in remaining cornstarch. Stir-fry in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Meanwhile, stir-fry the peppers and onion. (Or of course you could just wait till the chicken is done and re-use the same skillet...). When chicken/veggies are done, set aside.

Step 4: Stir pineapple juice mixture, add to the skillet that the chicken was in. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken, veggies, pineapple. Heat through. Serve with rice, if desired. 

Rich Chocolate Cake Bars

 (Picture and recipe taken from allrecipes)

 
This week I've had the wonderful problem of needing to use up all the chocolate in the house before we move in a few days. I found a recipe that uses up 16oz of chocolate syrup and FOUR eggs. Considering we still have almost 2 dozen eggs this recipe made a good dent in my stash. I also doubled the butter called for, quite by accident. But since the idea here is to use EVERYTHING up, it was probably a good idea in retrospect. The recipe posted is for the original amount of butter. These came out great and were extremely fast and easy to make. I wasn't sure we could eat this much chocolate cake... but with the stress of moving we seem to be making good headway :D

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (16 ounce) chocolate syrup
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• GLAZE:
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large mixing, cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in syrup. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture an mix well. Stir in nuts. Pour in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. For glaze, combine the sugar, milk and butter in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 1 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat. Add chips and vanilla; beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Spread over warm bars. Cool on a wire rack before cutting.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Happy Tuesday! Every week I welcome Tuesday, my day off, as a chance to catch up on laundry, errands, and...cooking!! Most importantly, I have time to try out new recipes. Today I followed my usual series of events called Dinner Planning Adventure...which usually goes something like this:

 1) Inspect the cupboard and raid the fridge to analyze the ingredients I have on hand.
 2) Look for recipes that utilize those things.
 3) Improvise/adjust/tweak/healthify the recipe to my heart's content.
4) Consider if hubby will like it
5) Apply apron to self, and start cooking!

Today's result was worth sharing. The basis of this recipe was borrowed from fellow blogger Cynthia Matzat .

 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 and 1/4 cups skim milk
1 packet Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix
2 Tbsp flour
1 bunch broccoli
8 oz whole-wheat pasta (I used Penne)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to taste.

(Next time I make this, I'm going to add in 1/4 cup chopped onion and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes)

Cut chicken into cubes and cook in skillet with onion until barely browned.Sprinkle flour and dressing mix over chicken, stir to coat. Add milk and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture becomes thickened and bubbly.  Meanwhile, boil pasta in a separate pot. Add broccoli to boiling pasta for the last 8-10 minutes of pasta-boiling time. Drain pasta/broccoli. Combine with chicken/sauce mixture. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, red pepper and/or Parmesan cheese

Impossible Peanut Butter Banana Bread

This original version of this recipe came from JIF, the king of peanut butter. Seeing as this is a brand sponsored recipe you would think that they would have tested this recipe a few times before publishing it. I have made this 5 times now and FINALLY seem to have it adjusted. However it still has a few minor issues. It makes a large amount of batter, but not quite enough to bake 2 loves. I solved this by using my over-sized glass Pyrex bread pan and cooking it low and slow to get the inside to bake before the outside burns.

You can also bake it in a bundt pan which works better as a bundt pan accommodates more batter. You could also pour into a typical sized bread pan make 1/2 a dozen muffins with the extra batter. The recipe that follows is for the xtra large bread pan. This really is a fantastic recipe... just a bit annoying. If you don't want to risk a raw middle and burned outside opt for the bundt pan and call it cake ;)

• 2 cups PILLSBURY BEST® All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
• 1 cup JIF® Crunchy or Creamy Peanut Butter
• 3/4-1 cup milk (if your eggs are small you might need closer to 1 cup so batter isn't too thick)
• 1/4 cup CRISCO® Canola Oil
• 2 large eggs

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add banana, peanut butter, milk, canola oil, and egg. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Mix just until blended.
3. Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour. 
4. Reduce heat to 300 and cover with aluminum foil, bake about 10-20 minutes longer until toothpick inserted comes out clean
5. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Remove to cooling rack. 
6. If you chose a bundt pan bake it on 325 for about 50-60 minutes. No need to cover it

Baked Potato Fries

I found this recipe here. The original recipe has the potatoes quartered, but I decided to cut them into fries and reduce the cooking time a bit. We had them with the chicken nugget recipe below :)

• 1 1/4 pounds potatoes scrubbed and rinsed
• 2tablespoons olive oil
• 1tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed fine
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Cut each half in half again. Add the potato wedges to a large mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients. (or cut into fries!!) Toss meticulously to coat the potatoes evenly.

Line a sheet pan with foil. Place the potato wedges, skin side down, on the foil. Be sure to space evenly, so they cook uniformly. Bake for 35 minutes, or until well browned, crusty edged, and tender. Serve immediately, sprinkled with more salt if desired.If you are making fries reduce the heat to 410 degrees and bake 30 minutes. I took them out twice to stir around with a spatula.

Baked Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard.

Wow these are good! They aren't heavily breaded like the ones from the freezer and are so good. I made a honey mustard dipping sauce to go with. The blend of seasoning in the chicken is really nice and not something I ever would have though of.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pound, boneless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 tbsp warmed milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch sized pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put melted butter in a bowl with milk for dipping.
3. Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. 
4. Turn on the broiler and bake for 3-5 more minutes until the tops are golden brown

Honey Mustard Sauce (3 servings)

Ingredients

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

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, and lemon juice. Store covered in the refrigerator.

 

Pooh Cookies

I have lots of fond memories of cut out cookies! Sitting at the kitchen table "painting" cookies at Christmas, Easter, and sometimes Halloween. Luke isn't quite ready to help decorate but he definitely liked eating the Pooh Bear cookies I made him for his birthday.

This is a great recipe. I always have trouble rolling out dough and especially getting it up with a spatula. I always work with cold dough, but still end up wrecking a lot of cookies. I started putting the cold dough between two sheets of aluminum or wax paper to roll them out. Much easier!!

I made these at Easter with a lemon glaze. For Winnie the Pooh though I used a little almond and vanilla extracts in the glaze. I think I am partial to the lemon though!


Sugar Cut out Cookies (yield 60)
(Allrecipes)

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 minutes for a soft cookies, 8 minutes for a crispy cookie in preheated oven. Remove from tray right away.  Cool completely before frosting.  

Glaze:

 2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tsp of any extract (I like lemon, or 1/2 tsp almond plus 1/2 tsp vanilla)

A few tablespoons of milk

Food coloring

 Mix together using enough milk to get a consistency somewhere between a glaze and a frosting. You don't want it too thin. Divide the icing into bowls depending on how many colors you are making. Add food coloring as needed.  Frost your cookies! Give them a good 24 hours to dry before stacking them in a container. 

Sandy's Chocolate Cake

Sandy was the winner of the Hershey's Chocolate Cake challenge a few years ago at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. I think she should just re-submit this cake every year as I can't imagine any could top this recipe! If you don't want a giant seven pound three layer cake you could cut back the recipe 1/3 for a 2 layer cake or in half for a 13x9. It's best with ice cream of course. Oh, and if you don't use all the frosting called for you really ought to add more ;) A certain lucky little boy had this cake for his second birthday.

• 3 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream
• 1 1/3 cups boiling water
• FROSTING:
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
• 3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
• 5 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, cream brown sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add alternately with sour cream to creamed mixture. Mix on low just until combined. Stir in water until blended. Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. For frosting, in a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Cool several minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Frost cooled cake. 

EDIT: I've made this cake three times now. Most recently it baked in only 25 minutes. I'm not sure if the oven was just running hot that day or if I made a mistake setting the timer, but you might want to check the cake 10 minutes early just in case.

 This is also good with a vanilla whoopie filling in between the layers, like the filling found here...

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/whoopie-pies-vii/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=whoopie%20filling&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e13=A%3aSearch%20Results-List%28control%29&e7=Recipe

Spinach and Ham Quiche

Spring showers bring May flowers, and May brings mothers day, (and for my family, it also brings  my mom's birthday!) My mom is an incredible lady. Not only did she manage to homeschool us 5 crazy kids, she is a perfect cook, a great listener, and a wealth of wisdom.  This mother's day, I wanted to make a nice family brunch. Something healthy and delicious, and a bit outside the box. Quiche seemed to fit the bill, but after looking at kajillions of recipes, I couldn't quite find one that I liked. Fortunately, I was able to use them as a guide to create my own. Ecce ("behold!") healtified ham and spinach quiche!

4 oz chopped ham (I just ordered a hunk of it from the deli counter, then chopped it)

1 cup shredded cheese (I used reduced fat cheddar)

16 oz cottage cheese (I used 2% fat)

4 eggs, beaten

pepper to taste 

1 10oz package frozen chopped spinach,  thawed

Roughly 1/3 cup chopped onion (I used 1/4 of a large vidalia)

Brown onion in skillet coated lightly in cooking spray/oil.  In another skillet, cook spinach until soft, drain off water. (I just drained it, didn't squeeze it dry) In a separate bowl, combine all other ingredients. Add in spinach and onion. Pour into pie plate coated with cooking spray.  Bake on 350 for about 50-60 minutes or until golden brown

My family loved this! The flavor was great, and it reheated just as well the next day. (And the day after that..)

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Once upon a time, I was browsing through our discount grocery store, past bargain boxes of dented cereal and outdated condiments. When I came across a giant bag of whole-wheat flour for 50 cents, I couldn't resist. Since then, the bag has been sitting in my kitchen, only to be pulled out handful of times for kitchen experiments--some turning out well, others...um..not so much. (think dry peanut butter bread, but tasty pizza dough) Anyways, I decided not to give up on such a healthy, cheap ingredient. Behold: whole wheat pancakes. I was pleased out how light and tasty they turned out! This is gonna be a keeper recipe for me.

2c. whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1.5 - 2 c. milk (use the lesser amount if you like them thicker)
4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
4 Tbsp oil

Mix together dry ingredients. Beat eggs in separate bowl, then add to dry ingredients, along with the milk and oil.  Stir together, but  don't over-mix, or they will turn out flat, not fluffy)

Homemade Oreos

The next time you find yourself with some extra time (and butter!) on your hands you must make this. Wow do they taste like the real thing! I often have a hard time with cookies that have to be cut out, but these roll out very easily! I placed the dough in between two sheets of aluminum foil for rolling. They didn't stick to the counter or the rolling pin.

Recipe adapted (by me!) from the Smitten Kitchen and Bless This Mess

Dough
1 1/4 cups butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa  powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour

Filling
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (crisco)
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract  


Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add the flour and mix until you get a pretty dry dough. You don't want the dough to be sticky at all and it might even crumble just a little.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Roll your dough out between two pieces of parchment paper or aluminum foil.. Roll the dough thin, 1/4 inch to an 1/8 inch thick. Use a 2 inch circle cutter to cut out the cookies. (I used the top of a baby bottle!) Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 8. Take off pan after two minutes.

To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. (or use a ziplock baggie with a corner cut out) Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

Banana Scramble

Best quick, easy, and delicious breakfast ever! When I first saw recipes for something called "banana scramble", I was quite skeptical. Who puts bananas in their scrambled eggs?? Fortunately, I continued on to read the recipe more thoroughly, and I discovered that the bananas are combined not with eggs, but with a fantastic combination of oats and peanut butter. The result? A warm, gooey cookie-like creation that is also super nutrition-packed. I found the idea on Food Doodles and Edible Perspective, which, by the way, are cool blogs to check out.
 

• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 2-3 tbsp milk
• 1/2-1 tsp spices(cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, etc)
• 1 tbsp ground flax (or other dry ingredients such as oat bran, ground nuts, wheat germ, etc)
• 3 tbsp rolled oats
• optional--1 tbsp nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mush them all together.  It will form a slightly sloppy mess-- wet, but not runny.  Form into a patty shape, and place in a skillet (I coated with mine cooking spray, just in case), over medium heat.  Cook for a few minutes on each side. I considered mine "done" when it was browned slightly on the outside, but still gooey on the inside. It was delicious with fresh fruit, but you can also top it with yogurt, jelly, peanut butter, syrup, etc!! 

Butter Chicken

This one was so good we ate it before I took any pictures. Same goes for the leftovers! It's an Indian dish, a type of cuisine I am completely unfamiliar with. It calls for a spice blend called garam masala which I have never heard of. Allrecipe's came to the rescue with a substitute blend of spices I could use instead. We ate it with brown rice, so good! I did skip the 1/4 cup of heavy cream at the end. It seemed creamy enough with the yogurt.

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup plain yogurt (not nonfat)
• 2 teaspoons garam masala or substitute (1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cloves)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, optional

Preparation

1. 1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape into slow cooker. Place chicken pieces on top.
2. 2. Combine ginger, garlic, almonds, yogurt, garam masala and salt in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula as necessary. Add tomatoes and pulse once to combine. Pour mixture over chicken. Cover and cook in crockpot on low until chicken is tender, 4 to 5 hours. Stir in heavy cream, cover and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro just before serving, if desired.

Italian Pork Chops

I love AllRecipes ingredient search. I had sausage in the fridge and lots of pork chops in the freezer. I plugged in my ingredients and out came this little beauty. Andy said it gets 9 1/2 stars. He kindly clarified that only pepperoni pizza can get 10 stars.

• 4 thick cut pork chops
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 1 onion, slivered
• 1/4 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan, brown well in olive oil. Remove chops from pan and set aside. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon pan drippings.
3. Remove casing from sausage and crumble meat into same pan. Mix in onions and mushrooms. Cook, stirring until onions and sausage brown slightly. Mix in garlic. Place pork chops in casserole dish, spooning sausage mixture over them. Pour tomato sauce over the meat. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
4. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Really good!!! They also happen to be the perfect vehicle for ice cream sandwiches should you have any peanut butter fudge ice cream in the freezer.... which fortunately we did!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together shortening, margarine, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats until just combined. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until just light brown. Don't over-bake. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Orange Beef (or Chicken!)

I love stir fry, and this one was amazing. It calls for top sirloin which can be a bit pricey, about 5.39/lb here. Well it just so happened to be on sale this week, and since I only needed one pound I didn't mind buying it. Did I mention our grocery store is attached to an open to the public meat processing plant? Don't feel like butchering your own deer or turkey? Well just drop it off here and pick it up later! The meat case is also stocked with interesting things like gizzards, fresh pig feet, and other things I'd prefer not to eat.

I never used fresh ginger before but it was really easy and smells great. You could probably substitute dried ginger. Rice vinegar is worth picking up. Its cheap and has a mild almost nutty smell. It isn't nearly as acidic as other vinegars.

• 1 pound beef top sirloin, thinly sliced (or chicken)
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup oil for frying

Directions

1. Cut beef into small inch pieces. Allow to sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 
2. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, rice vinegar, orange juice concentrate, salt and soy sauce. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok  or large skillet over medium-high heat. Toss beef in flour to coat. Fry in the hot oil until crispy and golden brown; set aside.
4. Add orange zest, ginger and garlic to the remaining oil, and cook briefly until fragrant. Add the soy sauce mixture to the wok, bring to a boil, and simmer till thickens, about 5 minutes. Add beef, and heat through, stirring to coat. Serve immediately over steamed rice, and garnish with broccoli.

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

A typical Friday night for us usually entails a large group of buddies crowding into our little living room, enjoying some party tunes and rowdy board games. Snacks are always well-received, but this special recipe was a true hit. They were DEVOURED. And the best part is--this recipe is super quick to put together!

No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies (all due credit here)
Yield: 2 to 3 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cooling Time: 30 minutes

½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats

1. Add the first four ingredients (through the cocoa powder) to a 4-quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the oats.
5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper-lined baking sheets.
6. Let cool until set.

Sketti and Meatballs

I was so proud of myself the first time I made meatballs. Sorta like having your second child makes you feel like a 'real mom,' the first time I made meatballs from scratch I felt like a real cook. The second time I made this I placed the meatball mixture into the fridge before forming the balls.  This turned out to be a mistake. The cold meat was harder to get into balls and fell apart in the sauce. It was still good, just turned into meat sauce instead of meatballs. 

Anyway this is a really tasty make again recipe.

 

 

Ingredients

• MEATBALLS
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 egg, beaten

• SAUCE
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 (28 ounce) cans diced  tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12-20 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed. 
•  
•  In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent.  Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve.

Luke's stamp of approval