GoLo Kitchen

We've MOVED!!

2010-09-19T08:32:00.001-07:00

We are no longer at golokitchen!

Check us out at

www.laurenslatest.com

Sweet & Spicy Salsa with Homemade Whole Wheat Chips

2010-09-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

It's Friday! I don't know about you but I am so ready for a break! And, here's to hoping that everything for my new site will be ready to go soon! I've been just waiting for this day to come and slowly but surely we're getting there! Hooray!

So, here's a quick, cheap and healthy snack that everyone is sure to love. Instead of making my usual fresh salsa the other day, I decided to make some restaurant style salsa that would store much longer and take the place of store bought salsa. Truth be told, snack cravings hit me hard and we ran out of our usual salsa we buy! But, after making this kind of salsa at home, I don't know if I even want to buy it from the store anymore! (1) It's cheap to make at home (2) you know what you're putting into it which therefore means no preservatives (3) you can make it how you like it (4) it's mighty tasty (5) because I said so. Don't know if that last one will work for you but works like a charm on Gord! Haha!

All you need is a food processor, some fresh ingredients, electricity and 5 minutes or so. This recipe is suited for my taste and is only slightly spicy and pretty sweet. I like the sweetness paired with the salty chips. I'm a quirky salty sweet kinda girl. But, maybe start with half the amount of sugar and go from there. I was totally prepared to put a whole jalapeno into this salsa too, but I clearly used my better judgement and started with half. Holy momma did I pick a HOT pepper! It was pretty big for a jalapeno, but yikes! I got a nice little kick in the back of the throat--still tasty though! So, beware of those huge hot jalapenos on sterroids at your local grocer! Start with less than you think! You never know when one is mild or when one will set your mouth ablaze.

Do you like things spicy? (This question could be interpreted in a very wrong way) Let me rephrase: Do you like your food spicy? Am I just a sissy and play it safe on the mild side? Let me know in the comments below.

Now for these chips--yup, you guessed it! We ran out of these too! We were coming to the end of a week and we were desperate for tortilla chips! I mean, hello! I JUST made salsa. So, I grabbed some leftover whole wheat tortillas from the fridge, cut them into wedges and baked them until crispy. Very simple to do. You can add some salt or other seasonings if you'd like, but I just did mine plain with a light mist of olive oil. (If you don't have one of those self pump spray bottles, you should get one! They are great!--olive oil sprays from the store are fine too) So there you have it! Chips and salsa from a stingy budget friendly kitchen. Now, please excuse me while I go grocery shopping.

PS- Check out my Guacamole too! It's pretty tasty stuff!

Sweet & Spicy Salsayield:1 1/2 cups of salsa (approx.)

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons chopped yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro, washed
1/2 large jalapeno pepper, seeded & ribs removed
1-15 oz. can organic diced tomatoes (you aren't cooking this so use good quality ingredients)
2 teaspoons sugar (start with 1 if you're hesitant about the sweet)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
pinch of dried Oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients into bowl of food processor. Pulse until desired consistency is reached. Refrigerate in an air tight container until ready to serve. Serve with chips.

Homemade Whole Wheat Chipsyield: 2 servings

Ingredients:
4 whole wheat flour tortillas, cut into wedges (I used trader joes)
olive oil spray
salt and other spices (if desired)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Arrange tortillas onto sheet tray. Spray lightly with olive oil and sprinkle over any desired seasonings. Bake 10-15 minutes or until brown and crunchy. Serve with salsa or guacamole!

Banana Bran Muffins with Oats

2010-09-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

What did you eat for breakfast today? Was it healthy? Leave a comment! I had these Banana Bran Muffins with Oats! Here's where this recipe idea came from:

I've been trying to implement healthier things here and there into my diet and bran popped into my brain a few days ago. After thinking of some exotic and untraditional things to do with it, I opted to first try a simple bran muffin with a few healthy additions: bananas and oats. I was fully expecting to bite into a dry tasteless muffin and was planning on a recipe redo. But one bite in, I knew it was a winner. These were moist and sweet muffins with a great texture! I thought the oats and bran together would really make it chewy and cardboard-like, but it was surprisingly smooth and delightful! People seem to associate bran muffins with something dry and gross. I mean, I've had my fair share of bran muffins gone bad, but could it be possible to make a moist and delicious bran muffin?

HECK YES IT'S POSSIBLE because I did it!

Delicious and healthy BRAN muffins! You can feel good eating them because they are high in fiber, low in fat, only 175 calories per muffin. (I calculated it myself!)

The bananas and sour cream keep the muffins moist and the cinnamon and vanilla enhances the flavor. In this recipe, I call for 1/2 cup of wheat germ. Wheat germ is not a common ingredient to have on hand, so you can substitute it out for ground flax or more all purpose flour. Also, the molasses is optional.

These muffins are great to make late one evening for a snack and then serving the rest for breakfast the next morning. They also freeze well as long as they are stored correctly. Just microwave until warm. It's a quick and easy breakfast!

Make these muffins and start your day off right!

Banana Bran Muffins with Oats
yield: 18 muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup Bran Cereal (such As All Bran)
1 cup Whole Milk
½ cups Melted Butter
1 cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 whole Large Egg
1-½ teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Molasses
⅓ cups Light Sour Cream
2 whole Ripe Bananas, Mashed
½ cups Whole Grain Quick Oats
1-½ cup All-purpose, Unbleached Flour
½ cups Wheat Germ
½ teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1-½ teaspoon Cinnamon
More Whole Grain Quick Oats For the tops

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 18 muffin tin cups with non stick cooking spray and set aside.

In small bowl, mix bran cereal with milk. Set aside to soak.

In large bowl, whip melted butter and brown sugar together. Stir in egg, vanilla extract, molasses, sour cream and mashed bananas.

In medium bowl, stir together all of the dry ingredients (everything else except the final listing for the 5 dashes of quick oats, which you’ll use for garnish). * Note: You can substitute more all purpose flour for wheat germ if you prefer.

Into the creamed mixture, alternate stirring in some of the dry ingredients with some of the bran cereal/milk mixture until all is incorporated.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 way full. Sprinkle more oats over the top and bake 15-20 minutes, checking after 15. Be sure not to over bake! Remove from oven, cool 5 minutes and remove from tins.

Serve warm with butter and jam.

Stuffed Peppers

2010-09-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, my friend, Machel, asked me if I had a stuffed peppers recipe. "Do I ever!" is what I responded with...and then I got to thinking--do I really have a recipe for this? These stuffed peppers fall under the 'make it until it tastes right' family recipe category. Meaning there are no measurements--just ingredients. So for all of you wanting to make my Mom's stuffed peppers in the near future, give this recipe a try. It's just delicious and will stick to your ribs. Good food for the upcoming months.

Side note--after I had my baby, my Mom came into town for a good two weeks to help with the little one and fill my fridge and freezer to the brim with prepared meals. This was one of the things she made and my husband (and my brother in law) went crazy over them! They both were puzzled as to why we (my sister and I) had never made them before. I didn't really have an answer. So now he requests them, and I make them.

Hope you all are in the mood for some German food tonight! Or maybe it's Hungarian. (My ancestors are from both places, so we eat food from both places and things get confusing!) Either way, these are mighty tasty.

Stuffed Peppers

yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef (80/20)

1 lb. ground pork

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 cup long grain white rice

salt

pepper

6 green bell peppers*

1 large can tomato juice

1/2 cup water

------------------

1/4 cup lard or shortening

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

salt

pepper

Directions:

Prepare bell peppers by cutting the tops off and removing the seeds and the ribs. Wash and set aside. In large bowl, mix together beef, pork, onion, rice, salt and pepper. Stuff bell peppers with meat mixture.

*If you do not have enough green peppers, then form meatballs with the remaining stuffing--this is a great way to get your kids to eat this meal, too!*

In a large pot, pour in the entire can of tomato juice. Rinse can out with 1/2 cup water. Place stuffed peppers and any meatballs into the pot. Try to submerge them as best as possible. Cover with lid and heat pot over medium high heat. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer lightly for 1-2 hours.

In a large skillet, melt shortening over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk until smooth. Cook roux until it deepens in color to be a medium brown. Stir frequently to make sure it doesn't burn.

Using a slotted spoon, remove stuffed peppers and meatballs from pot leaving the hot cooking liquid. Pour browned roux into remaining tomato juice (it will bubble violently for a few seconds at first, so just be aware that it is totally normal). Stir well. After a few minutes, the tomato juice should thicken and become more of a sauce. Stir in sugar and more salt and pepper. It will be sweet--as it should be :) Serve with rye bread--or any other bread you have around, but really, rye is the best.

Recipe TIPS

-You can use all ground beef if you don't have/can't find ground pork.

Announcement!

2010-09-12T22:42:00.000-07:00

Hello, friends! Hope you all have had a good weekend! The highlight for me was giving my little one pop rocks! Talk about hilarious! She didn't know what to do with herself! What a sight to see!

Anyways, I wanted to tell you all that I'm switching over to wordpress and I'm switching the url on you too! Sorry! I know I do that a lot. So, in the next few days if you get re-directed over to a new site that looks a little unfamiliar but much prettier and user friendly, then you'll know why. If you manage to get to my usual golokitchen.com, then be sure to click on the link saying where we've all moved!

My new site has been a work in progress and has taken me a lot longer than expected. (Darn html!) I'm still trying to make it more 'me' if that makes any sense. It will still have all of my recipes and a few more fancy features. So, I hope you guys will join me for a walk on the wild side and bear with me while I work out the last few kinks!

Have I mentioned that I appreciate you all? Well, I really do and I love the feedback and the comments I receive. So, thanks a million!

Hope you all have a GREAT day and look forward to a new recipe on Tuesday!

--Lauren :)

The Ultimate Garlic Cheesy Bread

2010-09-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

I take full responsibility for this fabulous recipe....and all the calories you will consume.

I really don't have a whole lot to say about this bread....except that is it utterly addicting and too good to be true. The last day my sister was in town, we went all out and made a huge spaghetti dinner with salad, this garlic cheesy bread and some double chocolate cookies for dessert. (I'm still working my butt of from from eating so much from this meal!) I totally ate half of this bread but it was soooo worth it and so delicious.

I was feeling over ambitious and made this bread totally from scratch. What a difference it made! Even though you do have to knead it and wait for it to rise, please please oh please do your self a favor, take one for the team and make this. You get a chewy yet fluffy french bread loaf that you slice down the middle and fill with garlic butter and sharp cheddar cheese. Stick it under the broiler and you are set.

I also substituted garlic salt for regular plain salt in the bread dough which added a nice extra garlic jolt. If you wanted to make plain french bread, then keep the regular salt and disregard all the other directions and ingredients.

Again, I urge you to make this, especially if you love carbs and are making spaghetti and/or lasagna for dinner. Go make this right now and report back. Thank you and you're welcome.

Garlic Cheesy Bread
yield: 2 servings if you like carbs, realistically though, 6-8 servings for you normal folk.

Ingredients:
1 packet instant rise yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon garlic salt
4 cups all purpose flour
drizzle of olive oil
-------------
1/4 cup salted butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp)
parsley flakes for garnish (optional)

Directions:
In large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Proof 5 minutes. Stir in garlic salt and 3 cups of flour. Once dough becomes kneadable, remove from bowl and knead in remaining cup of flour. (You may or may not need the remaining cup of flour, so add it slowly. On the flip side, you may need more, so beware!) You want dough to feel slightly sticky. Grease ball of dough with small drizzle of oil and place into a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or clean kitchen towel and let rise 1 - 11/2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

While dough is rising, mix softened butter with minced garlic. Set aside.

Punch dough down and remove onto clean work surface. Punch dough out into a free form rectangle about 12x16 inches (or about the size of your cookie sheet). You can use a rolling pin if you like. Roll dough up lengthwise (jelly roll style) so you have a long skinny log. Place on greased cookie sheet seam side down and tuck the ends under. Cut 4 diagonal slats in the top of the dough about 1/4 inch deep and brush top with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap or clean kitchen towel and let rise 30-60 more minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool at least 15 minutes.

Turn oven on to broil. Slice loaf down the center lengthwise. Spread garlic butter equally on both loaf halves. Top with grated cheese. Place under the broiler until cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with parsley flakes if desired. Cut into pieces and serve hot.

Simple Chili

2010-09-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

I cannot tell you how good it feels to be home and back into the daily grind. Don't get me wrong, I love being on vacation but sometimes it's good to be home!

Yesterday for dinner, I decided to make some plain ol' chili--not my usual white chicken chili (which is my husband's favorite). Well, this chili was absolutely delicious and such a nice change from out usual not to mention pretty healthful. You can have this done and ready to go after 30 minutes or so, but the longer you let this cook the better it gets and the deeper the flavors. I let mine cook about 2 hours on low. Anyways, this recipe is pretty basic and on my 'go to' list for ease. You do have to chop a few veggies, but after that, you just open a few cans and dump them into your pot. Super simple!

So make sure to add a few ingredients to your grocery list and make this soon! You'll be glad you did!

Simple Chili
yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 lb. ground beef (93% lean)
1 cup beef stock
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.)
1 can tomato sauce (14.5 oz.)
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed (15 oz.)
1 can pinto beans, drained & rinsed (15 oz.)
1 1/4 cup frozen corn
salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder (or more if you like it spicy)
-----------
grated cheddar cheese
chopped cilantro
sour cream
diced tomatoes
avocados
lime juice

Directions:
In large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onions, garlic, carrots and celery until slightly softened, 5 minutes. Drop meat into pot and break apart using a wooden spoon. Cook until meat is cooked thoroughly and browned. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer at least 20 minutes but up to 3 hours. Serve with desired toppings and cornbread.

Mom's No-Fail Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

2010-09-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

So please excuse this lame post! We are tired, all vacationed out and driving back from the coast probably as you are reading this. Our schedule has been completely thrown off and we've had little time at all to cook let alone take pictures of the food!

But, I'm leaving you with a tried and true family recipe that my Mom, sister and I swear by. Whenever we had people come over to our house for dinner or whenever we had leftover bananas, this is what we would make. It is so simple, really delicious and honestly only takes 10 minutes or less to mix together. Everyone LOVES this cake.

Happy Labor Day! Enjoy your day off! :)

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

yield: 18 pieces

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup milk + 1 teaspoon vinegar
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x12 glass dish and set aside. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, vanilla and mashed banana. In a small bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Alternate dry ingredients with milk and vinegar. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared dish and bake 35-40 minutes, but check after 30.

Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies

2010-09-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

We are vacationing at the Oregon coast for the long labor day weekend so I'll leave you with a delicious treat for your long weekend!

I was wandering through the bulk foods section the other day and came across all these different kinds of chocolate chips and thought to myself "surely I can make something with these". And so I bought 4 different kinds of chocolate chips. My husband thought I was insane.

A few days later he tried these brownies and quickly changed his mind. These are decadent beyond belief and just so ridiculously good. We had them right out of the oven and oh baby did we die and go to heaven!

The next day, I topped them with white chocolate cream cheese frosting and ate them cold--another delicious application! Gordon didn't like them with the frosting, but my sister and I totally did! They were definitely sweet enough without the frosting, but added a nice little vanilla-y tang. Anyways, hope you all are going to do something fun for the long weekend and make up a batch of these! They will make for a very memorable holiday!

Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies (with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting)
yield: 18 pieces

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
-----------
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 pan with non stick cooking spray and set aside.

In large pot, melt butter completely. With pot of melted butter on medium low heat, add in dark and semi sweet chocolate chips and cocoa until fully melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract and eggs, 1 at a time, stirring vigorously before the next addition. Add in the remaining dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined. Fold in milk chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth the top and bake 30-35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes, cut and serve. Or, cool completely and frost with white chocolate cream cheese frosting.

For frosting, whip all ingredients together until well combined and smooth. Scrape edges of bowl and whip again 1-2 minutes. Frost top of brownies and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza

2010-09-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!
Hope you all are having a great week. Over at our place, we have been going head over heels for our charcoal grill! Everything we make has been on this thing--including these individual pizzas. Wow, are they good! My husband and I were skeptical at first because we've never done anything like it before. Well, after we threw the first one on we knew we were witnessing something delicious in the making! The crust puffed up and then once we flipped it over and topped it with the chicken and cheese, we were drooling! We couldn't get them off the grill and into our mouths fast enough! Seriously--amazingly good. So good that we'll be making them again for dinner tomorrow night!

Now, don't think you can't do this because you can. Dare I say it's easy{?!} The hardest part is making the dough and making sure you don't kill the yeast. After that, it's so easy a monkey could do it. Divide your dough into 4, roll them out to be about 1/4 inch thick and place them on the grill. Turn once they get grill marks and start to get all puffy. Onto the cooked side, add your toppings, cover, and let the cheese melt. Remove, cut and serve! THAT'S IT! See! Easy!

Wouldn't this be such a fun dinner party idea? Let everyone grill their own pizza with their own toppings they want! It's easy for the host and fun for the guests!

Before Autumn is completely upon us with those chilly nights, make sure you make these at least once! You won't be sorry!

Individual Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizzas
yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 lb. pizza dough
1 cup good quality BBQ sauce (such as KC Masterpiece)
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping (if you're into that kind of thing)

Directions:
Preheat BBQ grill to medium high heat. In large bowl, mix half BBQ sauce with shredded chicken until coated. Set aside. Divide pizza dough into 4 equal portions and roll into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. Place on baking sheet until ready to cook.
Place pizza dough onto hot, greased grill. Cover and cook about 2 minutes or until grill marks are visible and dough has puffed up slightly. Turn pizzas and top with remaining BBQ sauce, chicken, onions and cheese. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until cheese is melted and bottom crust is cooked, 2-5 minutes. Remove from grill and top with cilantro. Serve with more BBQ sauce, ranch and/or blue cheese dressing.

For homemade Pizza Dough:
My pizza dough recipe is pretty easy! In large bowl, combine 1 cup hot water with 2 1/4 teaspoons quick rising yeast (1 packet) and 1 teaspoon sugar or honey. Proof yeast 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 2 1/2-3 cups all purpose flour (start with 2 cups and work your way up). Knead dough 5 minutes. It should be slightly sticky and smooth. Coat in olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot in your kitchen and let dough rise 1-1 1/2 hours until doubled in size. Use as desired.

Green Onion, Swiss & Parmesan Scones

2010-08-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

First off, THANK YOU ALL who entered my contest! There were over 100 comments! You all are wonderful and I really do appreciate your feedback! If you are wondering who won, look below!

So, my sister visiting me has been so much fun! We have been cooking up a storm!

On Friday afternoon, we wanted to make something easy and delicious to go along with our lunches. So, we looked in the fridge and came up with these Green Onion, Swiss & Parmesan scones. They are so light and fluffy, with a hint of onion! Delicious just with butter or turned into itty bitty sandwiches. We made a bunch of small scones and thought they were too cute....and just the right size--probably 3 Lauren bites, 1 Gordon bite.

I know these sound fancy, but believe me they are so easy to make. It's just like a typical biscuit method: combine the dry ingredients, cut in the butter and then mix with milk and other add in's. I cut mine out into circles because I picked up some cute little cutters I wanted to try, but feel free to drop them on the pan with two spoons if you don't have the time. Seriously, cute little scones for 10 minutes of work! Pop them in the oven and that's it! So, next time you want a snack, or are having a baby shower or some guests over, try these out and see what they think! They are sure to please! Happy Baking!

Green Onion, Swiss & Parmesan Scones
yield: 24 small, 12 large

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup chopped green onions (about 2 whole)
1 cup grated swiss cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut butter into dry ingredients until it is similar to coarse meal. Stir in cheeses, green onions and milk until moist. Flour board, and roll dough out to be 1-1 1/2 inches thick--it will be sticky if you don't use enough flour. Cut into small circles and place onto prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with cream and bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Serve with butter or make little sandwiches. Store in air tight container for up to 3 days.

WINNER!

2010-08-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for entering! I wish I could have gift cards for all of you! However, I had to choose one winner. So, after combining the comments from both my food blog and my giveaway blog, I went to random.org to choose a winner. Drumroll....................

Congratulations to Charlene Canfield

who wrote "I would like to try the Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Filled Muffins."
(You all should try those muffins because they are to die for!)

Please email me at wastelessfood@gmail.com to claim your prize!

Thanks, again everyone! I look forward to lots more comments and hopefully lots more giveaways in the future!

Kebobs!

2010-08-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

Hey friends! Don't forget to sign up for my $40 gift card giveaway. Go HERE to find out about all the details!

Now, lately I've been getting feedback about not posting meals that are healthy, inexpensive, easy and fast. So, here is my first recipe that falls under every one of those categories.

Kebobs are so delicious and so easy that it should be a crime. It takes about 10 minutes to prep everything and skewer these little babies. Then once they hit the grill, it's another 10 minutes (or less) to cook the steak how you like. Pull them off and enjoy! Seriously simple!

If you wanted to be super stellar, then you could make these way ahead of time and marinate the steak (chicken or pork work well too!). If you are in a rush to get dinner on the table, then a little steak seasoning will do! I used a Kansas City Style steak seasoning but plain old Montreal steak spice would work too.

And, I know this isn't much of a recipe, but it's been a life saver and one of my family's favorites for the past few weeks! So, find yourself some skewers and get cooking!

Steak Kebobs

yield: 6 kebobs

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. Sirloin or Tri Tip Steak, cut into 1 1/2-2 inch cubes

1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into chunks

1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into chunks

1 small onion, cut into chunks

any other vegetables you'd like to add such as:

mushrooms

cherry tomatoes

zucchini

squash

Kansas City Style Steak Seasoning, or any other seasonings you'd like

Directions:

Preheat your outdoor grill to medium high heat. Soak wooden skewers in water for about 10 minutes while you prep your vegetables and meat. Sprinkle desired amount of steak seasoning over meat. Skewer vegetables and meat until all ingredients have been stabbed (for lack of a better word). Place on hot grill and cook 3-4 minutes. Turn and cook another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and serve with rice and salad. My kind of meal!

Coconut Curry Chicken Salad and GIVEAWAY!

2010-08-25T06:46:00.000-07:00

If you are wondering about the GIVEAWAY, click here to get over to my new giveaways page!

It's a $40 gift card to some pretty cool online stores.

So, read up and be sure to come back to this post to leave all your comments!

My little sister got into town yesterday and we have just been having a ball! It is SO MUCH FUN having her here. We are bound to stay up late, eat too much and laugh A LOT. Once we got back from the airport it was lunch time and this is what we came up with!

I am so impressed with this lunch, I can't even wait to tell you all about it! I always get sick of the same old lunches and this certainly fit the bill of out of the ordinary. I loved ALL the tastes and textures in this dish and so did my sister: the creamy coconut milk, the spicy curry, the fresh vegetables, the sweet toasted coconut, and the crunchy almonds. YUM. All the flavors I love. Actually, I tend to love ALL flavors so my opinion shouldn't count a whole lot. But my sister and my husband loved this. And, after you cook your chicken, this all comes together in about 10 minutes. How about that! A really great lunch that everyone will love!

Don't forget to check out the giveaway and follow me on google, twitter and facebook!

Coconut Curry Chicken Salad

yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut milk (mix it well before measuring)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 tablespoon vinegar

2 teaspoons splenda (or sugar)

3/4 teaspoon curry powder (any kind)

salt & pepper, to taste

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

1 large celery stalk, chopped

2 green onions, chopped (all the white and most of the green parts)

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

2 tablespoons toasted chopped almonds

Directions:

In large bowl, whisk together coconut milk, mayonnaise, vinegar, splenda, curry powder, salt and peper until smooth. Pour cubed chicken, celery, onion and cilantro into bowl and stir to coat in sauce. Divide into two portions and top with coconut and almonds. Serve with bread or crackers.

Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Filled Muffins

2010-08-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this whole post by saying I do not take any responsibility for the weight you may gain from eating these muffins uncontrollably. You're welcome.

That's right. You read this correctly. Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Filled Muffins. Talk about a good back to school breakfast your kids would be willing to wake up for! Sometimes you just have to splurge, especially when it is to bribe your friends/husband/kids (on the dreaded first day of school perhaps?)

Last Friday I wanted to splurge....BIG TIME. I was thinking unhealthy and fattening thoughts and had half a package of cream cheese that I didn't know what to do with. Typically I use the whole package, but for some reason, I only hadn't and had some remaining. Because it was the end of the week, things were sparse and on the verge of expiration. Since I HATE wasting food, I was determined to use it, even if it meant running an extra 3 miles.

And behold, the double chocolate pieces of sweet creamy heaven were born.

Again, you're welcome. I ate two right out of the oven and they really are dreamy, creamy and delicious!

Essentially, these muffins are a little bite of cheesecake encased in a cakey, soft chocolate muffin with morsels of melted chocolate chips. So good.

A few things to be aware of: (1) I first tried to make these with whole wheat flour to at least get a little nutrition in my muffins--I initially had good intentions of making these healthy. DO NOT DO IT. You won't like them. Go with all-purpose unbleached flour. They will taste much better. (2) Whatever you do, do not over bake these! You want them moist as can be! I first over baked mine and they were awful! Keep in mind that the center is cream cheese and the muffin batter around the edges will cook quite quickly. After 20 minutes, I'd pull them out and test. Mine were done after 22 minutes. Every oven is different, so keep a watchful eye!

So, if you know what is good for you (or not good for you.....which ever way you want to look at this) you'll jump into your kitchen and whip up a batch of these sweet little devils. They are family tested and sure to please everyone!

Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Filled Muffins
yield: 12

Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened good quality Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
------------------------
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon flour

powdered sugar for decoration

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray well with non stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In large bowl, whip oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, sour cream and milk until well combined and light in color, 3 minutes or so. Fold in remaining ingredients until just combined. In small bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar and flour together until smooth. Set aside.

Scoop 1 large spoonful of muffin batter into prepared muffin tins to be 1/3 way full. Drop small spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture into middle of muffin batter (should be about 1 1/2-2 teaspoons per muffin). Scoop another large spoonful of muffin batter and pour overtop cream cheese mixture. Muffin tins should be filled 2/3-3/4 way full. Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes before removing from tins. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. Once cooled, store in air tight containers, ideally in the fridge.

Wild Rice & Chicken Casserole

2010-08-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when it's the end of the week and you are left with very few options about dinner, you just have to make a casserole. They are quick, easy and taste good, no matter what you put in them. Whether it be leftovers or just a mishmash of frozen vegetables and rice, they always ALWAYS seem to turn out.

Well, I had one of those days where I had nothing planned for dinner and nothing in my fridge. "Surely..." I thought "there must be something I can make!" I scoured my freezer and pantry and came up with this quick casserole. Lucky for me I had a box of Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice and a can of cream of mushroom soup. If you have those two ingredients on hand, you will live to see another day, and your kids will get fed. After you have your basics down, you can change the rest of the recipe how you like. We tend to gravitate towards rice, chicken and broccoli a lot. It's a pretty common and classic combination. However, this time, there was NO broccoli. (*Side note--I hate frozen broccoli. It is the only vegetable I hate to eat after thawing. It always tastes freezer burnt to me. Am I paranoid or do you guys taste that, too?)
Speaking of frozen vegetables, what a great deal! You get a lot of food for a little price and all those vegetables are typically harvested and frozen within the same day so you know they are fresh. I love having them on hand and throw them into anything and everything when I'm feeling spunky or when I'm in a pinch. Seriously, frozen vegetables are where it's at.

For this particular recipe, I used my handy dandy frozen peas and carrots. They worked so well and tasted great with all the other ingredients even before it all was baked. But, use what you have on hand! I also topped my casserole with some swiss cheese and toasted almonds for a creamy crunchy bite. After the first bite my husband said "Wow....this is good!" in a surprised tone. He was skeptical at first, but the casserole won him over and he ate the rest for lunch the next day! How do you like that, Gordon? Haha!

I love using the random ingredients I'm left with at the end of the week to make great food my family will eat. It saves money and gives me a sense of accomplishment. So, don't be afraid to experiment these next few days with the food you think you can't make anything with. You'll be surprised at what you'll come up with! Happy Cooking!

Wild Rice & Chicken Casserole
yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed (or any other meat)
1 1/2 cups frozen vegetables
1/2 cup cream or milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 stalk celery, diced
salt
pepper
5 slices swiss cheese (from the deli; or use about 1 cup grated cheese, any kind you have)
1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds

Directions:
Cook box of rice according to packaged directions. In skillet, melt butter and sautee onion and celery over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Once cooked, spoon rice into large bowl. To the rice, add cream of mushroom soup, chicken, vegetables, cream, cooked onion and celery, and salt and pepper. Spread into a casserole dish. Top with cheese and almonds. Cover with foil and warm thoroughly at 300 degrees for at least 30 minutes (and up to 60). Serve with a side salad.

Pizza Stuffed Zucchini

2010-08-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

(sorry if this photo looks white and grainy! Blogger is being ridiculous and uploading my photos weird!)

Guess what, friends! I have ANOTHER giveaway coming up next week! Stay tuned for that! It's a good one you're not going to want to miss!

Well, summer is coming to a close which means I am up to my eyeballs in fresh zucchini. In an attempt to eat a little healthier and lower my carb intake, I created this handy dandy little 20-minute dinner. Seriously! Only 20 minutes from start to finish. And, I used up my extra large garden zucchini. If you don't have access to any jumbo zucchinis or friend's with gardens full of them, pick up some small ones from the store. About 1 per person, or in my husband's case, 2.

To road map this recipe for you, I sliced my huge zucchini down the center and then in half again. I scooped out the seeds so I was left with 4 skinny zucchini boats--perfect for fillings! Before I filled them, I cooked them in a skillet 5 minutes per side, covered; this gives them a little needed flavor and color. I cooked them enough to be crisp-tender--how I like it. (See recipe tips for softer zucchinis) Then I filled them up with loads of pizza toppings and stuck them under the broiler! Thats it! I did happen to have some cherry tomatoes from my garden around too, so I made a little tomato basil mix for the top. So simple, and so good. It's like the taste of summer in your mouth. I loved these and so did my husband. My daughter just ate all the cheese off the top! :)

Hope you all are enjoying these last few days of Summer before we're into Fall! (PS- I've got some GREAT pumpkin recipes that I'm dying to share with you so fall can't get here fast enough!)

Pizza Stuffed Zucchini
yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 extra large zucchini from the garden or 4-6 small
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large garlic clove, crushed
salt
pepper
2/3 cup pizza sauce
1/2 cup sliced pepperoni
4 slices deli ham, julienned
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
1/4 onion, sliced thin
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
any other pizza toppings you'd like
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
10 fresh basil leaves, torn (if desired)
salt
pepper

Directions:
Preheat skillet over medium heat with olive oil and garlic. Slice ends off of zucchini and slice down the center lengthwise. Scoop all the seeds out so you are left with a skinny boat shape, about 1/3-1/2 inch thick. (*If you are using large zucchinis, slice in half, this time width-wise so you have 4 'boats' per zucchini. If you are using small zucchinis from the store, you can forgo this step) Sprinkle salt and pepper over prepared zucchinis. Remove garlic from pan. Place zucchinis cut side down in pan and cover. Cook 5 minutes and turn. Edges should be brown. Cover and cook another 5 minutes. Transfer cooked zucchini to a sheet pan. Fill with pizza sauce, desired toppings and cheese. Sprinkle with oregano. Bake under the broiler until cheese has browned. Remove from oven. In small bowl, combine tomatoes with basil, salt and pepper. Top cooked pizza stuffed zucchinis with tomato mixture, if desired.

Recipe TIPS
-I like my zucchini crisp-tender. Meaning it is still a little firm but not crunchy like a totally uncooked zucchini would be. If you would like a softer pizza stuffed zucchini, all you need to do is bake the pizza stuffed zucchinis at 375 for 10-15 minutes (as opposed to broiling). This should soften things up!

Let's Make WHOOPIE!

2010-08-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

Whoopie pies, that is! Haha....couldn't resist the title!

The stars started to align a few months ago for me to make these when I experimented with an oatmeal cookie recipe. I started from scratch and took a few guesses with the measurements. Well, after a few months of experimenting, I finally got my delicious, soft and chewy oatmeal cookies down! Man are oatmeal cookies good! They are some of our favorites!

They really are delicious on their own, but I wanted to shake things up. So I went a little crazy and filled these babies with cream cheese filling....thus creating the super awesome over the top whoopie pie.

These cookies have got it all! Soft, sweet, chewy and a slight tang from the filling! I love them cold and they taste even better than the store bought oatmeal cream pies (sorry little debbie!) I might even go as far as to say that they are healthier! And by healthy I mean no crazy unpronounceable preservatives. Ok, healthy is NOT a good word to describe these, but man are they tasty!

Just like making regular cookies, you make your dough and bake them pan by pan. You let them cool a little and then remove them from off the baking sheet. Then you cool them completely and fill them chock full of fluffy cream cheese filling. It's really an easy recipe but takes a little waiting time. So, if you have the patience, then dive right in. If you don't, you can make the cookies today, store them in an airtight container and finish them tomorrow. OR (can you see where this is going?) you can make the cookie dough today, bake them tomorrow and fill them the next day. But, I'll tell you right now the cookies won't make it to day 3 because they really are that good and you WILL eat them all. Happy Baking, friends!

Oatmeal Cream Whoopie Pies
yield: 48 cookies, 24 pies

for the cookies-
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
dash nutmeg (optional)
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups rolled oats
(1 cup chocolate chips if you like!)

for the filling-
1-8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons cream
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
dash salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray light colored baking sheet (*see recipe tips) with non stick cooking spray. Set aside.
In large bowl, cream margarine, shortening and sugars together until light and creamy. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Scrape sides of bowl and whip 1-2 minutes until light in color. Stir in remaining ingredients until well incorporated. Scoop small balls of dough onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes until cookies aren't shiny anymore and they look slightly underdone. Cool 3-4 minutes on baking sheet and then remove to waxed paper (*see recipe tips) to cool completely.

For the filling, whip cream cheese with vanilla, cream and salt until smooth. Slowly whip powdered sugar into cream cheese until all combined and smooth. Scrap down the sides and whip again.

To assemble, take 1 oatmeal cookie and spread 1-2 tablespoons of filling across the bottom evenly. Top with another cookie. Repeat until all cookies are filled.

Recipe TIPS
-I use a lighter colored baking sheet because the bottoms don't brown as quickly or become as hard as they would using a non stick sheet.
-I like to put my cookies on waxed paper because it somehow keeps the cookies really soft.
-If you are planning on assembling the cookies at a later date after they have been cooked, place them gently into an airtight container while the cookies are luke warm--this will keep them moist until you're ready to use them!

Parmesan Pretzel Bites

2010-08-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

Even before I received my samples, I knew exactly what I wanted to make-- pretzels to dip in some wonderful mustard. I am a big fan of mustard, especially some smokey garlic mustard. After one bite, I couldn't stop craving a hot dog because after all, hot dogs and mustard are meant to be together. I'm kind of still craving a hot dog.....interesting....

Anyways, previous to this post, I did a pretzel stick recipe to go along with some soup. These are very similar to those except quite possibly the lazier version. I'm always opting for the easy way out. So, I defrosted a few dinner rolls for 2 hours or so, cut them in half, dipped them in a baking soda and water solution and then sprinkled on some salt, pepper, parsley and parmesan cheese. How ridiculously simple is that? I realize that they didn't get as dark as my last pretzel recipe or even pretzels you'd buy at the ball game, but that's because most of the dough is covered by cheese so they aren't going to get as dark. Feel free to make these without anything but salt to get the dark color. Both are delicious with mustard, especially gourmet smokey garlic mustard! Yum.

Parmesan Pretzel Bites

yield: 12 bites

Ingredients:

6 frozen dinner rolls

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 cup hot tap water

1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda

salt

pepper

parsley flakes

parmesan cheese

Directions:

Defrost rolls for about 2 hours until dough is completely thawed. Cut dough balls into two even pieces. Form into small pillow shapes, if desired. (I was too lazy to do that!) Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Dip dough pieces into baking soda solution and place on greased baking sheet. Brush dough with melted butter and more baking soda solution. Sprinkle salt, pepper, parsley flakes and parmesan cheese over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Serve with mustard.

Island Shrimp Lettuce Cups

2010-08-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

I know you all are dying to know about the giveaway, so let me quickly tell you about this recipe. Basically in a nut shell, there's a cup of butter lettuce full of sweet coconut almond rice, fresh pineapple, jalapenos, cilantro, coconut & cornmeal encrusted shrimp topped with a coconut milk & lime sauce. They are sweet and savory and are sure to please everyone! My 18 month old absolutely adored the sweet rice and my husband had at least 7 of these cups. And, I'm not even joking.

About the shrimp: I marinated them for about an hour in a Lime Chipotle Marinade. Man, is that stuff packed full of flavor! After I marinated them, I coated half in a cornmeal coconut mixture and kept half plain. The breaded shrimp took a nice hot bath in some canola oil and the plain shrimp were quickly seared in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Both were tasty, but we preferred the cornmeal coconut ones. Try them both out and see which you prefer!

Overall, this dinner was pretty easy to put together and absolutely perfect for summer! (Side Note: there are a lot of parts to this that you could break up over the course of your day if you're busy! That's what I did!)

Island Shrimp Lettuce Cups
yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
for the shrimp-
1-1 1/4 lbs shrimp (21-25 count), peeled & deveined
1 cup Lime Chipotle Marinade
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
salt
pepper
oil of choice for frying (canola, vegetable, peanut, any light colored oil)

for the rice-
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup long grain white rice
1 1/2 cups good quality chicken stock
1 large bay leaf
salt
pepper
2 heaping tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/4 cup toasted sweetened shredded coconut

for the coconut lime sauce-
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar
zest of 1/2 lime

1 head butter lettuce, leaves removed and washed
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1-2 cups diced fresh pineapple
1-2 fresh jalapenos, seeded & chopped
2 limes, cut into wedges

Directions:
In an air tight container, mix shrimp with Lime Chipotle Marinade. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the rice-
Preheat large pot over medium high heat. Melt butter and stir in rice to coat. Stir in salt, pepper, sugar and bay leaf. Pour stock into pot and bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low until rice has softened completely, 20-30 minutes. Once cooked, remove from heat, stir in almonds and coconut. Keep rice covered to stay warm until service.

To cook the shrimp without breading-
Preheat large skillet to medium high heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Place shrimp into hot pan in one even layer. Cook about 2-3 minutes per side or until shrimp turn pink and opaque. Remove from heat and keep warm.

To cook shrimp with breading-
Preheat large deep skillet to medium high to high heat with 3/4 inch oil. In shallow dish, combine cornmeal, coconut, salt and pepper together. Dip shrimp into mixture, being sure to coat well. (The marinade acts as a really great glue for the breading so be sure to not wipe any of it off!) Place coated shrimp into hot oil and cook 2-3 minutes per side until shrimp are pink and opaque and breading is golden brown. (*You're going to want to have the oil hot enough for the shrimp to sizzle when they hit the pan, but not so hot that they burn before they cook. You can test one shrimp at first and adjust your stove accordingly.) Remove shrimp to paper towels, sprinkle with salt and keep warm.

To make the coconut sauce-
Mix coconut milk with sugar and lime zest. That's it!

For assembly-
Scoop desired amount of rice into bottom of a butter lettuce leaf. Top with pineapple, jalapenos, cilantro, shrimp, sauce and more lime juice if desired.

Mini Peach Galettes

2010-08-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

Well, hello friends! Hope you had a great weekend! We tried to stay cool and definitely ate some killer food at our weekly family get together. (I made minty squares for everyone- dessert that everyone loves!)

Because it is summer and we reside in Oregon, there is delicious fruit galore! Today on the menu: peaches- and lots of 'em! Gordon and I had a slight moment of insanity and picked 20 pounds of peaches the other day! Let me tell you we are all sick of peaches! But out of everything I made, these mini peach galettes and my peach cobbler were our favorites. (Typical, since they are both desserts!)

Now, don't let the fancy name throw you off. A galette is a french word that simply means freeform and flat crusty cakes. It is similar to a pie but is baked on a cookie sheet instead of a pie plate. It is an easy dessert that sounds and looks impressive, but takes no time and hardly any effort to put together. The more rustic the better! We gobbled these up fast! And, I didn't have any vanilla ice cream on hand, so fresh whipped cream had to do. But, do me a favor and serve these warm with ice cream! You'll be glad you did!

Mini Peach Galettes
yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
pastry for 1 pie, chilled
2 large ripe peaches
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon flour (you may need more depending how juicy your fruit is)
dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon cold butter, cut into 4 chunks
vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream

Directions:
For the filling-
If desired, blanch peaches to remove skins (see recipe tips for how to do this). If you don't mind the skin, then skip this step. Cut peaches into 1/4 inch dice and pour into bowl. Stir gently with sugar, flour, salt. cinnamon and orange juice. Set aside.
For assembly-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut dough into four equal pieces. Flour board and rolling pin. Roll one piece of dough into a 5-6 inch circle (roughly). Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. Spoon peach filling into center of dough rounds, dividing equally and leaving a 1 inch border. Fold sides of dough up over filling. Brush edges of dough with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Place one piece of butter in the center on top of the peach filling. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 and continue baking for 20-25 minutes until pastry is brown and peaches are soft. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan and serve with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.

Recipe TIPS:
How to blanch peaches: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Cut a small 'x' in the bottom of each peach. Gently drop peaches into hot water for 30 seconds, remove and submerge into ice cold water immediately. Skins should peel right off. Easy!

Mediterranean Chicken & Rice

2010-08-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

Here is some interesting information that I need your opinion on: I am thinking of switching URL's to something easier to remember like "lauren's lifestyle" or something along those lines. I'm just so indecisive that I can't decide what to do or when to do it, so tell me what you think of the name, if you like or don't like it better than golokitchen, etc. etc. It would really help!

Also, don't forget to see what I'm up to on twitter (@golokitchen) and make sure you check out the GoLoKitchen facebook fan page!

Now, onto this delicious chicken! I have been meaning to post this recipe for a while now, but I kept forgetting. It wasn't until today that I found all these photos that I took a few weeks ago for this recipe. So, without further ado, I give you a delicious and healthy dinner that I call simply Mediterranean Chicken & Rice.

I don't remember this dish as vividly as other ones because it's been a while, but my husband certainly does. He scarfed this one down and then took the leftovers to work the next day for lunch. Mediterranean cuisine is very different from our go-to day in and day out meals. We usually go for Southwest and Italian. I wanted a change from the 'norm' and this was the ticket! The kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes and lemon juice were just delicious together and made a great addition to the sauce. I like acidity, so I squirted in lots more lemon juice. The fresh parsley was a nice touch to round out the dish. All in all, a fabulous meal that came together in about 30 minutes. A great summer meal and a great way to switch things up!

*I didn't have any artichoke hearts on hand to toss in, but they would be a perfect addition. (I actually meant to pick some up from the store and completely overlooked it, even though it was on my list! How crazy am I?)

Mediterranean Chicken & Rice

yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 large chicken breasts (sliced in half or pounded out and cut in two--you want 4 cutlets)

salt

pepper

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 small onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil & herbs, chopped

1/4 cup kalamata olives, halved
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon oregano
lemon juice, to taste
1/2 cup chicken stock or white wine
splash of cream (1/4-1/2 cup)
fresh parsley
more salt and pepper to taste
cooked white rice

Directions:
In large skillet, preheat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Stir salt and pepper into flour. Coat chicken in flour and cook in hot oil until browned but not necessarily cooked. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Pour in remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in same pan and reduce heat to medium. Saute onions, garlic, green pepper and sun dried tomatoes until onions have softened, 5 minutes. Stir in olives, bay leaf, oregano, lemon juice and white wine or stock. Place chicken breasts back in to pan. Cover and cook 5-10 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in cream, parsley and more salt and pepper. Serve over warm rice with lemon slices.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup & Buttermilk Biscuits

2010-08-04T07:22:00.000-07:00

Guess what everyone! I finally figured out how to link the GoLoKitchen Facebook fan page to my site! I'm really not all that technically savvy. Can you tell? It is located right under my wonderful followers (thanks, guys! :) ) Anyways, check it out and do me a favor: press that pretty little 'like' button. It would do my heart good. Thank you.

This soup is a classic recipe-one I remember my Mom making on cold rainy days. Growing up, I always walked to school, so when it was bad weather, I most likely braved the storm and froze all the way home. But, on those awful days, when I walked in the door, I always smelled onions and butter cooking or onions and olive oil cooking. It is one of those memories that I will always remember, one I automatically link to home. I love my Canadian home and all the people that live there. I also love it here too. So, either way I look at it, I can't win. However, I can do what I can to get the best of both worlds. And if that means making a bunch of my Mom's recipes, then so be it.

To be quite honest with you, there is no recipe for this soup--at least one I've never seen. And to be frank, I don't remember everything my Mom put into this. So, I was flying by the seat of my pants come dinner time. Lucky for me that's when good things and good ideas pop into my head. Now, this didn't quite taste like the original, but it was still delightful. The flavor was creamy and mild and didn't really taste a whole lot like cauliflower. My daughter ate it up and so did my husband (a man who is very hesitant around cauliflower). So, for all you cauliflower haters out there, give this soup a chance. And, for you other folk, make this and be excited for October when I share my Grandma's cauliflower recipe (it's very simple and involved a lot of cheese). Seriously, you should be excited because cauliflower really can be that good. Just in time for the holidays, you lucky people!

Now, the biscuits were just something I whipped up to have on the side of the soup. Because it's been a hot summer I hadn't made biscuits in a very long time, (meaning I was too hot in my un-air-conditioned apartment to even think of turning on the oven) so when I sunk my teeth into a fresh one, it was almost like a reunion of sorts. "Wow, I have missed you old friend."

Note to self: make more biscuits.

They are pretty little devils that are just delicious and full of carbs. My favorite. Add a little butter and I'm happy as a clam.

Moral of the story: Soup = good. Biscuits = good. Soup + Biscuits = one happy full family!

Enjoy!

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

yield: 4 entree portions

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

1/4 cup all purpose flour

5 cups good quality chicken stock

1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets

1 bay leaf

salt

pepper

1 cup cream or half & half

Directions:

In large pot, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over onions and stir to create a paste. Cook 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken stock and increase heat to high. Soup should thicken slightly. Stir in cauliflower, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Simmer lightly with lid cracked for 30 minutes or until cauliflower is soft. Reduce heat to low, remove bay leaf, stir in cream and adjust seasonings to your taste. Top with parsley if desired. Serve with biscuits.

Recipe TIPS

-I've told you this many times before, but once you add in your cream or half & half, be sure not to boil the soup! Bad things will happen.

-I had to add in quite a bit of salt to my pot of soup to make it taste great, so don't be afraid to sprinkle in more!

Buttermilk Biscuits

yield: 12 biscuits

*this is my cinnamon buttermilk biscuit recipe minus the cinnamon

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup cold butter, cubed

1 cup cold buttermilk or 3/4 cup whole milk

Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl. Cut in cold butter until its the size of small peas. Stir in buttermilk until batter is all moist. Cut into 12 biscuits or drop onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

My New Favorite Salad & Dressing

2010-08-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hi, friends! Did you guys have a good weekend? I sure did! Complete with more celebrations and fattening food. Sunday was a little anniversary of sorts: August 1st is the day that my husband asked me to marry him! (So glad I said yes! He's wonderful!) Anyways, we were eating pretty rotten stuff over the weekend so to lighten things up, I'll be making this salad today and probably tomorrow! Last week, I ate this salad three times for lunch. It's so easy and delicious.

Don't let the apples fool you. Their sweet taste and crunchy texture are perfect with the rest of these ingredients. I used to be an apple in salad hater once upon a time, but I took a bold move a few weeks ago and tried it and ended up loving it! Also, this salad ends up being a great option for those hot muggy days and it's very low in carbs so it's good for your waist line.

Give it a whirl and let me know what you think! And, don't forget to check out my updated links/pages above!

New Favorite Salad
yield: for 1 person

Ingredients:
for the salad-
2 cups lettuce or baby spinach
2 slices garlic & herb deli turkey
2 tablespoons toasted, chopped pecans
1/3 fuji apple, diced
1-2 tablespoons shaved parmesan cheese

for the dressing-
makes enough for large dinner salad
1 clove garlic, finely minced (if I was making this for my husband, I'd do half a clove--its garlicy stuff)
2 tablespoons maple syrup, honey or something sweet
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup light flavored olive oil or canola oil
salt
pepper

Directions:
Pour all ingredients for dressing into a leak proof container or into the bottom of a bowl. Shake or whisk until dressing has emulsified. Set aside.
Make salad by placing all ingredients into a bowl or onto a large plate. Top with desired amount of dressing.

Blueberries galore! Two for one!

2010-07-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

First things first: I updated my pages with different photos and newer information and even added an extra one, so go check it out! Also, my formatting is all screwed up for this post and I don't know how to fix it! Anyone know how to fix it?

A few days ago, my mother-in-law purchased a rather large pack of fresh blueberries and didn't know what to do with them. She asked me if I'd like some and I happily took them off her hands! What did I make with them? Of course a bazillion batches of my favorite blueberry muffins and then two blueberry lemon streusel cakes. And I still have some blueberries left! Into the freezer for them.

The muffin recipe is adapted from Ina Garten's Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins. When I first tried this recipe, I fell in love because never before have I tasted such delicate and moist muffins. Like, they were unbelievably moist and tender. Then after a while, I started adding in lemon zest and juice to the batter and then sprinkled on a sugary topping before baking. Lo and behold the delicious blueberry muffins got better. So, that's how I make them now and they are a favorite at my house. As a matter of fact, the first batch I made for some of my nieces and nephews was gone within 24 hours. Thats over 24 muffins devoured by four kids and two adults. They have been converted and asked for the recipe.

The Blueberry Lemon Streusel Cakes is another adaption, this time from the Pioneer Woman. Just a few days ago she posted a recipe for Blueberry Crumb Cake and I thought "It's a sign! Something else to make to get rid of all these blueberries!" This recipe is delicious just on it's own, but I just had to make a few changes and add in the lemon. I don't know why I have this uncontrollable urge to add lemon into blueberry recipes I just do! It's really a match made in heaven, lemon and blueberries. Similar to peas and carrots. Or rice and beans. Or Lauren and Gordon! (Haha! Precious.)

Anyways, I added in the lemon as well as made a streusel topping instead of just a 'crumb' topping. AND, just to be fancy, I topped the cake with the blueberries instead of mixing them into the batter and then baked them in two round cake pans. Well, one cake pan and one pie plate to be exact. But, they turned out beautifully and most importantly delicious.

So, if you happen to run into some blueberries, snatch them up and make some of these yummy treats! They are sure to please!

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake Muffins

adapted slightly from Ina Garten's Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffinsyield: 18 muffins (I got about 24)

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream

1/4 cup milk
1 lemon, zested and juiced

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stems

for the topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 lemon, zested

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners in muffin pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk. Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup 3/4 way full. Sprinkle the topping over the batter and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

Blueberry Lemon Streusel Cake
adapted from Ree Drummond's Blueberry Crumb Cake
yield: 1-9x13 cake or 2-9 inch round cakes

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons butter
¾ cups granulated sugar
½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-¼ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons salt
¾ cups whole milk
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups fresh blueberries

for the topping:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup oats
zest of 1/2 lemon
dash cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (I used 325 because the original recipe didn't have a temperature listed until recently. Both will work!) Combine flour, baking powder, and a salt. Stir and set aside.

Cream butter with cinnamon and sugar. Add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until totally incorporated. Do not overbeat.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. (I used 2-9 inch rounds) Pour in batter and smooth the top. Sprinkle fresh blueberries over the top of the cake.

In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. (Mine was done after 45 at 325 degrees in my oven). Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top, if desired. Cut into slices and serve.

Shortcut Pierogies

2010-07-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a pierogi before? My Mom would rarely buy them and make them, but when she did--boy oh boy were we in for a treat! Now, I'm not Polish or Ukrainian so I don't know how to make these correctly. So I purposely made them incorrectly! That's right! You heard me. This is the untraditional pierogi recipe that takes half the time to make (or less!) than regular traditional ones. This is my kind of cooking. If you are a hardcore Polish or Ukrainian traditionalist, then you may want to avert your eyes and not read any further.

Now, pierogies are like little dumplings or pillows that are filled with mashed potato, cheese and onion that you boil in water and then fry in bacon grease and onion. At least, thats how my Mom did it. So, that's how I do it too and these are to die for! Of course it's a little labor intensive but I took a shortcut by using store bought wonton wrappers. A wonderful time saver!

If you have an hour or so, then you can whip out a bunch of these! Once you fill the wonton skins, you can freeze them on a baking sheet and then transfer them to some freezer bags and portion them out accordingly. I got a lot of pierogies made during my daughter's nap one day! And, they make for a quick dinner when you're in a pinch. Once you start boiling the pierogies, they only take about 3 minutes to cook and then its a matter of browning them up in a frying pan with some bacon and onions. I like mine with lots of cold sour cream and a side salad. I had dinner done within 20 minutes! And, we all loved them! Gordon has never tried or had even heard of a pierogi before, but after we finished dinner, he cooked up some more for a second helping! Love at first bite!

So if you are like Gordon and have never heard of these little devils before or you have any want to try to make your own untraditional kind, then give these ones a whirl! The flavors are out of this world!

Shortcut Pierogies

yield: about 36

Ingredients:

1-12 oz. package round wonton skins (you won't use the whole thing unless you're feeling ambitious)

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

2 large Idaho potatoes

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

a few splashes whole milk

salt

pepper

--------------------

for frying about 12 pierogies, I would use

4 slices bacon, chopped

1/2 small onion, diced

for garnish:

cheddar cheese

green onions

sour cream

Directions:

Scrub potatoes clean under cold water and prick deeply with a fork or knife. Microwave potatoes until completely soft (about 9 minutes for me). You could also bake them in your oven or use some left over baked potatoes.

Cut cooked potatoes in half and scoop out the insides into a large bowl. Mash potato with butter, sour cream, salt and pepper. Stir in milk to get a smooth consistency. Stir in cheese. Set aside. **You could also use left over mashed potatoes! Just be sure to stir in the cheese and more milk or cream to get a smooth consistency**

In small bowl, whisk egg with water. To assemble pierogies, take one wonton wrapper and brush the edges with the egg. Place 2-3 teaspoons worth of potato filling into the center. Fold wrapper in half to create a half moon shape and press edges together keeping the potato filling inside and removing any excess air. Repeat this process until no more filling remains. Depending on how much or little you fill your pierogies, you could end up with more or less than my 36 I got.

Place pierogies on baking sheet in a single layer. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until solid, about 2 hours. Transfer to freezer bags until ready to cook.

To cook, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, start rendering the chopped bacon. After about 3 minutes of cooking the bacon, add in chopped onion. Once water has come to boil, drop in pierogies and stir. After 2-3 minutes, pierogies should be finished cooking and should float to the top. Using a slotted spoon, drain pierogies and drop into skillet with bacon and onions. Fry pierogies until golden brown on either side or until cooked to your liking. Bacon and onions should be completely finished cooking by this point. Serve warm with sour cream, more cheddar cheese and/or chopped green onions.

Reese's Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake

2010-07-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends! We've had a busy last few days because lots of family were in town AND we were celebrating Gordon's birthday! So, of course I had to make him a cake! After hounding him for a week trying to figure out what to make him, I just gave him options and this is what he chose, except with very specific specifications. He loves Reese's Peanut Butter Cups but not frozen! How do you make an ice cream cake without freezing it? That made it a little challenging, but we came to a compromise and here's what we got: no Reese's in the actual cake, just on the cake as decoration. So, that's that! And believe it or not this ice cream cake actually tasted just like a huge frozen Reese's Peanut Butter Cup without having any of the candy on the inside!

It was so delicious and got rave reviews from every single person who had a piece. That's almost 20 people! You will want to have a party and share this cake because it is so huge and decadent. It looks impressive and everyone will think you bought it from a store! A few of my nieces actually asked me what store I got it from! When I told them I made it from scratch, they just responded with a "WHOA!" (Haha!)

And, even though this cake takes a while to make, all the steps are very simple and I use a lot of short cuts, like using a store bought brownie mix. Ice cream cake shouldn't be the least bit intimidating to you to make and you can customize the ice cream flavors to your liking. Super simple dessert that everyone will love! Its a win win situation! So, if you have a birthday coming up or even another kind of celebration, give this ice cream cake a whirl! You'll be glad you did!

Reese's Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake

yield: 16 slices, at least!

Ingredients:

1 family sized box brownie mix (18.3 oz.)

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

-------------------------------------

2 - 1.5 quarts vanilla ice cream
1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter
-------------------------------------
1 12 oz. package mini Reese's peanut butter cups, wrappings removed
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
cocoa for garnish

Directions:
Part I- Make brownie batter according to packaged directions. Pour into greased 10 inch spring form pan. Melt peanut butter in microwave for 30 seconds or so. Drop by the spoonful onto brownie batter. Using a butter knife, swirl peanut butter into brownie batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-55 minutes. Let cool completely.

Part II- Scoop vanilla ice cream into large bowl and break apart as best as possible. Microwave ice cream for 30 second intervals, stirring until ice cream is easier to stir and is smooth. Microwave peanut butter for 30 seconds to melt slightly. Stir peanut butter into ice cream until incorporated. Pour over top of cooled brownie and smooth the top. It should be filled completely to the top of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until solid, at least 2 hours.

Part III- Whip cream with sugar and vanilla until firm peaks form. Chop up mini Reese's peanut butter cups into smaller pieces being sure to reserve 5 whole peanut butter cups for the top. Remove ice cream cake from freezer. Run a long skinny knife along edges of cake to loosen and then unlatch and remove sides of springform pan. Frost cake with whipped cream, reserving 1/2 cup. Press chopped Reese's into the sides of the cake. Pipe 5 rosettes onto top of cake with reserved whipped cream. Sprinkle cocoa over top the entire cake. Place 5 whole mini Reese's into rosettes. Store in freezer until ready to serve.

To serve, remove cake from freezer 5-10 minutes before serving. Dip your large knife into a cup of very hot water to help cut through the cake easier. The first piece will be tough to remove, but after that, it should get much easier.

Turkey Meatball & Mozzarella Sandwiches

2010-07-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

Do I have a great dinner for your families tonight! This is a quick and easy meal that could probably be on your table under 30 minutes! (It was for me a few nights ago.) It was kind of a default dinner because I was missing a few ingredients for what I had originally scheduled....oops! It happens to the best of us. Anyways, I got creative and picked a few things from my garden. Then I defrosted the ground turkey I had, mixed in a few things and that was it! Even though it stresses me out to realize I'm missing an ingredient or two 30 minutes before Gordon gets home from work, it's at these times that I create some of the tastiest meals!

**Side note: Let me just take a minute to say that I LOVE my garden--especially the herbs! It is SO much cheaper than buying them from the store. When I originally was purchasing my plants, all the organic ones ended up being cheaper than the non-organic ones! Bonus! Plus, because it's a garden the herbs keep rejuvenating themselves! Duh! Of course they keep growing! Come fall, I'll be moving them inside so I can have fresh herbs through winter too. So, moral of the story: growing your own herb garden will save you money and will make all your food taste fresher and therefore more delicious! I am a garden advocate. Ok. The end.**

For this recipe I used fresh basil and parsley as well as a few green onions straight from my garden. Just rinse and chop! Regular yellow or white onions and dried herbs would be fine as well, just don't use as much! They should be just as moist and delicious. I also baked up some frozen dinner rolls and jazzed them up with some melted butter and garlic salt. Fresh garlic rolls out of the oven is heaven! Plus it makes your house smell great! Those frozen dinner rolls are a life saver sometimes!

Anyways, these Italian sandwiches are delicious and we all cleaned our plates! It is a meal that will please your entire family and should keep you happy because you'll only have to spend about 15 minutes at your stove. Also, don't feel you need to be limited to these sandwiches. Heat up some marinara and have spaghetti & turkey meatballs! They would be delicious as an appetizer too, but I would limit the cheese because things tend to get stringy once the mozzarella is melted. So, enjoy this healthy and fast dinner! Your kids are sure to love it!

Turkey Meatball & Mozzarella Sandwiches

yield: 15-20 meatballs, enough to feed 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons milk

1 slice bread

1/2 lb. ground turkey

1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely minced

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely minced

2 green onions, chopped (use all the white and most of the green part)

1 clove garlic, finely minced

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

2 cups prepared good quality marinara

8-10 frozen dinner rolls, defrosted

1 tablespoon melted butter

garlic salt

Directions:

Break apart slice of bread into small pieces into a large bowl. Pour milk over bread and let soak 1-2 minutes. Stir to break bread apart more. Stir in turkey, basil, parsley, onion, salt, pepper and garlic until well combined. Form mixture into 15-20 small meatballs (I use a cookie scoop). Preheat large skillet to medium-medium high heat. Pour in olive oil. Fry meatballs 3-4 minutes per side until deep brown. Reduce heat and pour marinara over meatballs. Stir to coat. At this point, the meatballs probably are not cooked thoroughly. So, be sure to simmer covered at least 10 minutes before serving to ensure doneness. (You can simmer this longer until you are ready to serve--just be sure to add splashes of water here and there to keep the sauce at a consistency you like) Two minutes before serving, top meatballs with grated cheese and cover to melt.

For the rolls, before baking, brush with melted butter and sprinkle garlic salt over the tops. Bake according to packaged directions. Brush hot rolls with any remaining butter.

To serve, cut rolls in half and fill with 2-3 mozzarella covered meatballs.

Citrus Cream Cheese Pull-Apart Rolls

2010-07-20T05:53:00.000-07:00

Today's recipe comes to us from the wonderful Barbara from Barbarabakes.com. I emailed her a few weeks back about doing a recipe swap because I love trying new recipes and blogging about them! After she agreed to do it with me, the search was on. I browsed her site for at least two hours trying to find the perfect recipe! Well, jokes on me because they are all awesome! After narrowing it down and getting Barbara's input, I decided to make her Citrus Cream Cheese Pull-Apart Rolls.

These little devils are so tasty it's ridiculous! After tasting these, I totally understood why these turned into a tradition over at Barbara's house! These pull-aparts are just the right amount of chewy, sweet and tang. I love a good sweet bread, but you probably already knew that. I also love baking with citrus because it makes the whole kitchen smell clean and fresh! If you take a look at the ingredients list, it's really just a lot of easy to find plain jane things. But then you put them all together and magic happens. And then you continue to eat the entire pan two or three more!

Here's an interesting/out of place/random/get to know Lo fact: I prefer citrus and/or vanilla over anything chocolate (much to my husband's dismay). I still really like chocolate, but just not as much as lemon or orange.....like these rolls!

(Image courtesy of Barbara Bakes. Don't these look so much better than mine? Barbara is a pro!)

Anyways, the process of making these is really REALLY simple. Most of the work is done for you if you use the frozen dinner rolls! Honestly, the hard part is waiting, but you'll probably see what I mean. A few things you shouldn't do would be to over bake these puppies. I kind of did, but they still turned out great. Also, I got sleepy and let my rolls rise too much which sort of threw the texture off slightly. But, even with these slight mishaps, they turned out beautifully! I brought them to a family dinner Sunday evening, meant to be eaten for dessert. Well my family couldn't resist, and they ended up becoming the appetizers and the pan was devoured in 4 minutes flat! (And they ALL loved them! All 9 of them!)

So, thanks again Barbara for allowing me to share one of your delicious recipes! Your rolls are delicious and I love your site! Go check out her recipes and her post today where she tested my favorite sandwich! You'll be glad you did! Happy eating, friends!

Citrus Cream Cheese Pull Apart Rolls
From: Cooking Light Magazine, December 1999 via Barbara Bakes
Yield: 4 dozen

1 package frozen roll dough -- (25-ounce)
(I usually use 18 Rhodes rolls) Cooking spray
1/4 cup butter or margarine -- melted
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries -- (such as Craisins)
OR 1/2 cup dried apricots -- chopped
1 cup granulated sugar -- divided
2/3 cup 1/3-less-fat cream cheese -- (6 ounces) softened (I usually just use 8 ounces) 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 cup powdered sugar
5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Thaw roll dough at room temperature 30 minutes. (It usually takes much longer for them to be soft enough to cut.)
Cut rolls in half. Place 24 halves, cut sides down, in bottom of each of 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray. Brush butter evenly over rolls. Cover; let rise in a warm place (85º), free from drafts, 30 minutes. Sprinkle with dried cranberries. Combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cream cheese, orange juice, and egg; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Pour cream cheese mixture evenly over rolls. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and rinds. Sprinkle evenly over rolls. Cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size. (It usually takes much longer to double in size.)
Preheat oven to 350º.Bake at 350º for 20 minutes. Cover with foil. Bake an additional 5 mintues or until rolls in center are done. Remove from oven; cool 15 minutes. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over rolls.

OVERNIGHT VARIATION: After pouring the cream cheese mixture over rolls, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 12 hours. Gently remove plastic wrap from rolls; sprinkle with rind mixture. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. (It usually takes much longer to double in size.)Proceed with recipe as directed.

Per serving (two rolls): 174 Calories---->can you believe that? Amazing!

What to do with Fresh Raspberries (Part II)

2010-07-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

(photo courtesy of Savory Reviews.com- My photos aren't available to me at the moment)

Make some Raspberry Chipotle BBQ sauce!

Thats right. You heard me. Raspberry and Chipotle mixed together to create magic in your mouth. I know it sounds a little strange but the spicy and smokey tasting chipotles work really well with the sweet raspberries to come together to make a terrific sauce. AND, its really quite simple to throw together too.

The first time I made this stuff, it was WAY too hot for me.....and my husband.....and my in-laws. Funny that I tested that recipe on them, not thinking it would be as hot as it was. Oops. But I made it again with success. Just the right amount of heat and sweet. I have totally fallen in love with this stuff. I love it on burgers, I love it with chicken and today, we were dipping grilled cheese sandwiches in it too!

Of course you can increase or decrease the heat level with the amount of chipotles you add. This recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of chipotles in adobo that are chopped. For me, that's the perfect amount. Taste it and add more to your discretion and if you dare! Chipotles are spicy little devils.

Again, this sauce is delicious with anything and everything! Give it a whirl and tell me what you think!

*As a side note, I will be posting a special blog post with a new recipe tomorrow, so be sure to come back and see!*

Raspberry Chipotle BBQ sauce
yield: about 3/4 cup of sauce

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chipotles in adobo, chopped
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In large skillet over medium heat sauté onions in oil until they start turning translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook another minute. Stir in remaining ingredients and lightly simmer for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and strain sauce to remove seeds and chopped onions. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

What to do with Fresh Raspberries (Part I)

2010-07-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

It's almost the weekend. Hallelujah! Do you all have plans? I plan on relaxing and finally getting rid of this slight cold I've had for the past three days.

So, first of all, let me explain this post. On Wednesday evening, my cute little family went to go pick some raspberries at my in-laws. I got a little ambitious and we came home with two big bowls full. Then, the next day, some sweet ladies from my church came by for a visit and brought me more raspberries! If you know anything about super sweet super fresh just picked raspberries, you know that they are best when eaten right away. I love fresh raspberries so I had to think of what I could do with all of them....and fast. So, this marks the beginning of my 'what to do with fresh raspberries' series. We'll see how many raspberry recipes I can pop out.

First up: Raspberry Cobbler Pie. Since I had a pie crust left over from my previous post, I thought it only fitting that I make a pie. I usually hate baked fruit, so I thought I would broaden my horizons and give this pie a whirl. Growing up, my parents or grandparents had never made raspberry pie before, so I thought it was a pretty uncommon thing to make because it may not be the most favorite kind of pie. Well, after you make this, you may end up changing your mind. I was surprised at how delicious and flavorful it was! If you don't mind a few seeds, then this pie is for you. The buttery crust worked well with the berries and the topping added a nice little touch because of the cinnamon. I wasn't sure if I wanted to use cinnamon because I thought it might be weird/gross but I did and it was fabulous!

This pie is pretty easy to make too. The filling is just fresh berries mixed with a few ingredients and the topping is just a matter of measuring and crumbling. Simple! I'd say the hardest part is waiting for the pie to cool completely. I guess technically you don't have to, but if you want it to keep it's shape then you will. Also, make sure you have ice cream or fresh whipped cream--it only makes it better! Yum.

Raspberry Cobbler Pie
Yield-1-9 inch pie, or 8-10 servings

Ingredients:
1-9 inch pie shell, unbaked

for the filling-
5 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar (more or less-depending how sweet your fruit is)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
dash of salt

for the topping-
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed

whipped cream
vanilla ice cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour all ingredients for the pie filling into a large bowl. Gently stir to coat raspberries in flour and sugar mixture without breaking them as best as you can. Pour into unbaked pie shell and even out the top.
Combine all ingredients for the topping together. Using a pastry cutter, a fork or your fingers, mix butter into flour mixture and break it into small pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle evenly over raspberries. Place pie into preheated oven on middle rack with a baking sheet placed below to catch any drips. Bake for 30 minutes then reduce the heat to 325 and bake another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

My FAVORITE Pie Crust

2010-07-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

Well, happy Wednesday, friends! I've enjoyed a few days of cool weather but today, it's going back into the 80's which means I'll probably be sweating by 11 am and the oven won't be turning on until September. Over these last few days, I've taken advantage of having a cooler than normal apartment and did a little baking.

Do you like pie? I LOVE pie.....and pie crust. It is just so irresistibly flaky, buttery and delicious. All pie crusts are not created equal, however. Some are made with all lard, some all butter, and some are just combinations of the two. The recipe my mom uses (the one from the tenderflake box) calls for an egg and vinegar which isn't uncommon in the least. That is the one I grew up with and it is pretty tasty, except there's no butter in it. I like love butter, so I went on a quest to find/create a better pie crust recipe that better suited my butter needs and my taste buds. Well, I found the recipes that called for all butter were a little much and the ones that had a few tablespoons of butter just weren't enough. But then, it happened. The universe smiled down upon me and brought the crisco pie crust recipe into my life. With a few tweaks, I made one of the best pie crusts I've ever tasted. (The quiche I made with it was pretty divine too, by the way.) I didn't end up having to add in a whole lot of butter either to get the taste I wanted because I used.....are you ready for this...... butter flavored crisco!! Smart, right? For some of you, this is probably old news, but I thought it was genius! I had never heard of using it before especially for pie crust! But, I did, and it was goo-ood.

Of course when making ANY pie crust, you're going to want to use cold products--cold butter, cold crisco, and cold water. Cold=flaky. Also, you're going to want to work fast with your cold dough and flour your work surface well. If you do that, then rolling out pie crust shouldn't be any trouble at all! And if for some reason your dough falls apart, no fear! Just press it together in the pie plate. You're going to fill it anyways, so no one will know!

Classic Pie Crust

(for double-crust 9-inch pie)

*adapted from Crisco*

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter flavored Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening

1/4 cup cold butter

4-8 tablespoons ice cold water

Directions:

Blend flour and salt in mixing bowl. Cut cubed chilled shortening into flour mixture using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces remaining. Sprinkle half the maximum amount of ice water over flour mixture; mix gently with fork. Add more water by the tablespoon, mixing until dough holds together. Divide dough into two, with one ball slightly larger than the other. Flatten dough into 1/2-inch thick round disks, wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Place larger disk of dough on lightly floured surface. With floured rolling pin, roll dough outward from center into circle 2-inches wider than pie plate. Ease bottom crust into pie plate and trim evenly around plate. Fill unbaked pie crust according to recipe directions. Roll top pie crust; lift onto filled pie. Trim dough with 3/4 inch overhang. fold top edge under bottom crust. Press edges together and flute. Cut slits in top crust. Bake according to recipe directions.

Lime Sheet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-07-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

So, first things first--I didn't die on my run! It was tough and really hot, but I finished it in my best time yet! I somehow managed to keep a pretty fast pace throughout and beat my previous time by 5 minutes! HOT DOG. The best part of this whole 24 hour quick trip was not just the run but the restaurants! Oh, how I miss fast food chain restaurants. Sonic onion rings and their diet cherry limeade are at the top of my list and I had them both after the race! The joys of running--eating really fattening foods with no guilt. Moving away to college to a small town with a lot of restaurants opened up my culinary world like never before. Hence the 'freshman fifteen' that happened in 2005 and me now being addicted to Sonic. It's a good thing there aren't any Sonic drive in's nearby because I'd seriously have to kick up my training! Anyways, it was overall, a great experience!

Now, about this cake. It is perfect (and I repeat) PERFECT for summer. It's light and fluffy but still slightly decadent because of the frosting. Ohhhhh the frosting.......I love cream cheese a lot more than your average joe, so I use it a lot......and by use I mean I tend to mix in some kind of chocolate and slather it over some cake. It's kind of a problem. BUT, I'm being good and trying to only make one sweet treat a week because for a while there I was going over board (and my running was not keeping up with my ever growing waist line). And I realize there was a lot of random information in there that you probably didn't care about. Oh well.

So this cake was our treat for the week and it was a good one. I made it a sheet cake because they take about half the time to bake and our apartment doesn't have air conditioning. See where I'm going with this? I didn't want the oven to be on very long because it's hot enough as is. Hence the 12-15 minute bake time. If you wanted to make cupcakes or a thicker 9x13 cake, feel free to do so. I also used a cake mix to save time, but made it my own with the lime juice, zest and sour cream. Those ingredients really make it taste like its from scratch. Plus, odds are if the frosting is made from scratch, everyone will think the entire cake was too.

Lately I've been seeing a lot of coconut lime cake recipes floating out there in cyber space, so I wanted to make one too. Except without the coconut because everyone I've talked to about this HATES coconut! Can you believe that? I love the stuff, but used my better judgement and omitted it for this cake so I wouldn't have to eat the whole thing myself. Don't think I didn't think about it though. So, if you are a coconut lover, feel free to add a little in. It would add a nice touch.

Also, make sure you keep this cake in the fridge! The texture of the frosting is better cold, plus, there's DAIRY in it so it belongs in chill chest. Ok? Ok! Now, lets get baking! And by the way, you can have this baked and frosted in under 30 minutes if you had a craving and really wanted to. :)

Lime Sheet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
yield: 12-18 servings

Ingredients:
for the cake-
1 18.25 oz. box french vanilla cake mix (I used betty crocker)
1 cup cold water
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup light sour cream
2 limes, juiced and zested

for the frosting-
1 8 oz. package light cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted slowly in a double boiler or microwave
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease sheet pan with 1 tablespoon melted butter or non stick cooking spray. Set aside. In large bowl, combine all ingredients together until just mixed. Pour into prepared pan and smooth. Bake 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

For the frosting, whip all ingredients together until well combined and smooth. Scrape edges of bowl and whip again 1-2 minutes. Frost top of cake and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Garlic Hummus

2010-07-09T06:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I needed a fast and healthy lunch. After a quick scan of my fridge and pantry, the realization that I needed to go grocery shopping was evident. So, not a lot of options, however, in the very back of one cupboard I found garbanzo beans! Eureka! And thus the hummus was born! I love hummus, especially with lots of lemon juice and garlic. I have a little garlic obsession. If you don't know what I'm talking about, refer to this post about guacamole. You'll see what I mean. Anyways, I love the stuff and since Gordon HATES hummus, I decided I'd make a small batch and eat it myself before I leave tomorrow for a race! (Did I mention I'm running a race Saturday? Yup, I am! Another half marathon! Wahoo! I'll give details on Monday...)

Anyways, part of the reason my wonderful husband hates my hummus so much is because of all the garlic. All I say to that is more for me! Haha! Maybe subconsciously I realize I want to eat it all myself so I put more garlic in to repel him more. Maybe I should see a therapist for that..... Hmm.

Very few ingredients are needed for this recipe, so be sure to use the best stuff you can find. I used organic garbanzo beans, fresh lemon juice, the best tahini paste I could find and fresh gahlic. Don't forget that you can adjust flavors and seasonings to your liking. I use a lot of garlic--if you are like my husband and hate the stuff then leave it out. Simple as that.

Also, this stuff is really healthy. High in fiber and low in fat. Plus if you serve it with some vegetables and whole grain pita or bagel, then it becomes a super healthy yet light lunch. Perfect for summer!

Have a great weekend, folks! If I don't die running, then I'll be seeing you bright and early Monday morning with a new post!

Garlic Hummus
yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1-15 oz. can garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
2 heaping tablespoons tahini paste
1 lemon, juiced (about 1/4 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon light flavored oil such as light olive oil or canola oil
salt
pepper
____________
vegetables
pita
bagel chips
anything else you want to dip

Directions:
Pour all ingredients into food processor. Pulse until desired consistency is reached. (I like mine thick with a little texture, so it didn't take me long to get there. If you want more of a smooth consistency, add in 1-2 more tablespoons oil and keep processing!) Serve with vegetables, or pita. Store in refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

Recipe TIPS
The garlic flavor becomes stronger the longer the hummus sits. So, at first when you make this, you may not taste a strong flavor, however, the next day you will, so beware! Don't be like me and think there isn't enough and add in 2 extra garlic cloves!

Grandma's Butter Horns

2010-07-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

Oh my gravy do I have a wonderful recipe for you all today! My Grandma is the best baker EVER. Pretty sure all grandma's everywhere know how to whip out amazing dishes flawlessly. It comes with being a grandma, I suppose. I'm working on getting copies of all her recipes and slowly I'm getting them one by one. Anyways, this is one straight out of her recipe box and one of my all time favorites that she makes. I grew up eating these and I'm pretty sure she grew up eating these too. Old family recipe right here.

Here's a little get to know you trivia about me and my family: every Sunday, my Grandparents were invited over to my family's house for dinner if they brought dessert. And just about every Sunday they would come, dessert in toe. It would always be coconut cream pie, chocolate chip walnut cookies, sponge cake with the BEST chocolate icing, cinnamon rolls, zucchini bread, horseshoe shortbread cookies or these butter horns. (There were more then this--these were some of my favorites off the top of my head.) After dinner, we'd do the dishes and eat dessert while playing cards. And, just like clockwork, someone other then my Grandpa would win and he would start swearing up a storm. Those were the days. Then I moved to Idaho for school....then met Gordon and.....you know the rest of the story.

So, about these butter horns....my first few attempts weren't so successful, meaning they were good but just didn't quite taste like hers. So, after some trial and error, I got it down! All that hard work (and extra 3 pounds I gained) was well worth it and you are going to be thanking me later. I promise. These are melt in your mouth little pieces of heaven and the whole batch makes 48 cookies! It does take a few steps to make these, but SO worth it. And don't be scared--the steps are easy! Butter Horns are filled with cinnamon, sugar and ground walnuts and are tender, moist, tasty little gems that will find a place in your heart (and quite possibly on your behind). I absolutely LOVE these, partly because they're good and partly because they will forever be linked to home and my grandparents, whom I absolutely love to death. A little bit of a sentimental post, but this recipe is sure to please!

Grandma's Butter Horns
yield: 48 small cookies

Ingredients:
for the dough-
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 lb. cold butter (1 cup or 2 sticks)
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt

for the filling-
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup walnuts
3/4 cup granulated sugar

powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:
In large bowl, combine flour, salt, and butter until coarse crumbs form. Stir in sour cream and egg yolk until dough comes together--you may want to use your hands. Form into a fat disc shape, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate 2-3 hours.

To form cookies, remove dough from fridge and let it warm up for 5-10 minutes while you make the filling. In food processor, combine sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. Pulse the mixture until the nuts have practically become almost as small as the sugar granules. Something similar to this:

Next, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Flour your board liberally and roll out one piece of dough into a circle that is 12-14 inches across and 1/8 inch thick. You want the circle to be pretty even, but it doesn't doesn't have to be perfect. Sprinkle on 1/4th of the sugar walnut mixture over entire circle. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 12 even triangular pieces (just like you're cutting a pie). And, I have no clue why I didn't take any photos of this. Sorry. Roll up each triangle tightly, starting at the wide end to form crescent shapes. Place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Continue this process with remaining dough and filling.

Bake Butter Horns at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes. I cooked mine for 32 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, they shouldn't be shiny and the dough should be pretty much dry to the touch. At 25 minutes, I could still see a little butter in the dough that was making the dough moist still, so after a few minutes more in the oven, that went away and they looked cooked. As a reminder, if you are using a non-stick darker cookie sheet, these are going to cook faster. You want the bottoms of the cookies to be light brown, not dark brown! So be careful.

After 5 minutes on the baking sheet, remove to a cooking rack.

Dust all the Butter Horns with powdered sugar and enjoy!

I decided to give some away and pack them in these cute little glassine bags! Adorable!

Greek Turkey Burgers

2010-07-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a great 4th of July! We did a little too much partying and ate way too much but had lots of fun being with family and watching the fireworks! It was a great time.

Anyways, I thought I'd post a relatively healthy recipe since I'm sure I'm not the only one that ate a little much yesterday (and who woke up with a sore throat). This burger came about from some left over ingredients from the previous post Bacon, Spinach and Feta Pizza with Sun Dried Tomato Sauce. Once these were all cooked they reminded me of greek souvlaki. Yum! They were garlicky and moist. So delicious.

When I am short on time I usually resort to burgers. They are some of the easiest and fastest things to make. Get everything into a bowl, mix it up and form your patties. Simple! You can cook them right away or keep them into the fridge until you're ready. For these Greek burgers, I'd recommend making them in advance and letting them sit in the fridge for 2-3 hours to let that garlic make friends with all the other ingredients. Plus now a days, ground turkey and ground beef is inexpensive (I got 1 lb. ground turkey for $2.34). And with it being summer, who wouldn't want to grill outside? All signs point to burgers!

Greek Turkey Burgers

yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

1/4 cup finely minced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 1/2-2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil & herbs)

salt

pepper

4 slices mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup feta cheese

4 whole wheat buns

mayonnaise

spinach

Directions

In large bowl, mix all ingredients together, excluding the cheese. Form into 4 large patties, place onto plate and cover in plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator for 2 hours or so before cooking (ideally). You can cook these right away, but the garlic flavor won't be as strong. To cook the burgers, grease grill rack or skillet with oil or non stick cooking spray. Heat grill or skillet to medium heat. Place burgers into pan/onto grill and cook about 6 minutes per side or until there is no more pink meat! If you're unsure, cut one of those babies open just to double check. Turn heat down to low and top with mozzarella and feta cheese. Cook patties another minute or until cheese has melted. Place patties onto buns and top with spinach and mayonnaise and/or any other desired toppings.

Recipe TIPS

You don't want your grill to be super hot because odds are you will char the outside and have a raw inside. Thats why I use a moderate heat. If you want, you can char the outside to get nice grill marks and then finish cooking them in the oven.

If you choose to cook the burgers completely on the grill, the once you place them on, cover them up and leave them alone! If you keep moving them around, they probably are going to fall apart! So resist the urge and don't touch!

Spinach, Bacon & Feta Pizza with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce

2010-07-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Two or three weeks ago, I became friends with a girl named Natalie who happened to be a featured member on Tasty Kitchen. After reading her blog, Perry's Plate, and emailing her a few times, we realized that we went to the same college, are part of the same church and know some of the same people! Such a small world! By the way, she is super friendly and nice and has two little rug-rats of her own. If you have never heard of her, I recommend stopping by her site and taking a look around (but only when you're done here!) Her photos are gorgeous and she showcases the best of the best recipes.

Anyways, I suggested doing a recipe swap where I try a recipe of hers and she tries a recipe of mine and we blog about it. Well, it took me a few days and countless hours looking through all her recipes to finally just choose one to try. I actually lost track of time on several occasions.....thats how into her site I was! Well my friends, I finally chose her Spinach, Bacon & Feta Pizza with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce. This is one of her original creations and it will not disappoint. All of the flavors really work together to make a uniquely delicious pizza. I really liked being able to taste the sun dried tomato pesto along with everything else. Did I mention that this pizza is chock full of bacon, too? Good gravy is bacon good! (It was my husband's favorite part of this dish!) Anyways, I could go on and on but I need to discuss other matters.

If you don't already have your sun-dried tomato pesto made and you're planning on making your own pizza dough (which is what I opted to do) then this is going to take a little time to make. But if you break it up in stages throughout the day or do things in advance (like the day before) then it should be a breeze to come together. All the steps are easy so don't feel you need to be intimidated by this multi-step recipe. It's a cinch. Anyways, have fun in the kitchen with this one! It's great! Thanks for letting me share it, Natalie!

Spinach, Bacon & Feta Pizza with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
By: Natalie from Perry's Plate
yield: 1 large pizza (about 6 servings)

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh pizza dough or enough to make a large pizza
12 slices of bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled
1/3 cup homemade sun-dried tomato pesto (see recipe below)
1/3 cup pizza sauce
2 or 3 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (about 8 oz)
2/3 cup feta cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Spread pizza dough out into a rimmed cookie sheet (or round pizza pan, stone, peel or whatever you usually use). Combine pesto and pizza sauce in a small bowl. Spread over stretched pizza dough. Top with fresh spinach, then mozzarella.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the crust is firmed up, but not yet golden brown. Remove pizza from oven and top with crumbled bacon and feta cheese. Return pizza to the oven and bake for another 5-8 minutes or so until crust is golden brown underneath and the cheese is bubbly and browning.

Remove and serve.

Easy Homemade Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
By: Natalie from Perry's Plate
yield: 2 1/2 - 3 cups

2 cups oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced thinly (I bought mine julienne)
1 cup shredded fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed

Combine tomatoes, cheese, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse/blend until thoroughly combined. Drizzle a little oil in if it gets to thick to proc ess.

Strawberry Cheesecake Tart

2010-06-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

Good Wednesday, friends! Well, Canada Day and 4th of July festivities are going to be upon us very soon and I thought about making something that was red and white to celebrate. I wanted something that would be easy and fast to whip up for all those parties we all will be attending. I took inspiration from my strawberry cheesecake cookies. I made a few changes and additions and voila! A fancy looking dessert that is inexpensive and so simple! It tastes pretty darn good too. Cold strawberries transport me instantly to summer, no matter what their application is.

AND, here's an interesting fact: I used to HATE strawberries growing up! I remember going with my family to strawberry farms to pick our own fruit, but would never eat the jam or the desserts that my mom made from them. It was only after I had my baby that I started craving strawberries (probably because I'd have a colic-ie baby on my hands if I ate chocolate and certain other foods I used to indulge in therefore, I was very limited in my food choices). I'm strange like that.

Anyways, my family gobbled this up in no time. I tested it Monday and I had the last piece for breakfast today! It's delicious stuff and probably took me less than 20 minutes to put together. You could serve it right after you assemble it, but I would recommend refrigerating it at least an hour so the crust can harden up a bit to make slicing easier. Also, feel free to switch the fruit up on top. If you want to do red, white and blue, add in some blackberries and/or blueberries. If you live in a place that grows lots of fruit (like Oregon) you can pick up some fresh peaches, nectarines and/or cherries. Now that would be tasty!

I used a 10-inch tart pan, but a pie plate would work just fine. I was going to post this on Friday, but I'll be posting a special recipe from Perry's Plate that you're going to want to see! Happy Canada Day to all my friends and family in the motherland! And, Happy 4th of July to all my American friends too!

Strawberry Cheesecake Tart

yield: 1-10 inch tart/6 servings

Ingredients:

for the crust-

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/3 cup melted butter or margarine

for the filling-

1-8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon milk (give or take)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

top with-

1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

Directions:

For the crust, mix all ingredients together until moist. Press into a 10-inch tart pan or a pie plate. Set aside.

For the filling, whip cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Stir in milk and vanilla. Spread carefully over crust.

Top with prepared strawberries or any other fruits you desire.

Peppermint Fudge Brownies

2010-06-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, friends! I have to tell you about this debate I've been having in my head for the last 2 hours or so. After examining two recipes and their corresponding photos, I couldn't decide which one to share with you today. Do I pick the recipe I liked second best because I have better photos or do I pick the better recipe with the not so good photos? Well, despite my valiant efforts and lacking camera skills, I've decided to go with door number two: the better recipe with the not so great photos. And by not so great photos, I mean out of focus and awful. So, no photos today. Sorry. I'm a bad blogger in that sense BUT I am supplying you with an amazing,"let me eat half the pan"treat. So, you're welcome!

Let me just say that these are incredible! I love peppermint and chocolate together and the texture of this fudgy brownie with the smooth and cool frosting is SO GOOD!

Now, let me preface this recipe by telling you that this is not a new and ground breaking discovery. Duh. Obviously. Peppermint brownies have been done before.....a few times over. This idea for me making these started yesterday when I made some brownies for a movie night. I wanted a sweet treat and I had just run a bazillion miles that morning, so I needed the calories (PS-can you believe that? NEEDING calories? It's the one great thing about running!) So, after having 3 or maybe......cough cough.....7 pieces of brownie, I wanted more. I wanted to bring these brownies over the top to pure decadence land. Enter peppermint frosting. I don't know what to say. They were good. Really good. Maybe I hadn't had the peppermint-chocolate mix in a while hence the HUGE party in my mouth OR maybe it was all that chocolate luring me into the depths of a (rather delightful) sugar coma that made me lose the very little will power I had to begin with. Whatever it was, I got to the point where I had to get them out of the house. I end up doing this a lot. Perhaps my addiction to food is to blame? Anyways, we gave them away to some friends that are moving away to Utah. My precious brownies, now being enjoyed by others. I suppose it's the way it's supposed to be.

Now, on to more practical stuff. My brownie recipe is made completely in one pot with very common ingredients. It's a simple recipe and turns out beautifully every time as long as you use good quality ingredients and don't over bake. Easy enough, right? Also, making recipes from scratch saves you money and gives you peace of mind because you know (and can pronounce) all the ingredients you use. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of recipes on here using a boxed cake mix because they are so darn fast and convenient, however, I like to balance that out with great 100% scratch recipes like this one. So, are you craving something chocolate? You should be after this long post! So, do yourself a favor and whip these up for a fun family night! And maybe drop some off at the neighbors house too! You'll be glad you did! Happy eating!

Peppermint Fudge Brownies
yield: 24 servings (or in my case 2)

Ingredients:
for the brownies-

1 cup butter or margarine

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

4 heaping tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

for the frosting-

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1-2 drops green food coloring (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9 x 13 pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper leaving a 2 inch overhang (for easy removal later). In large pot, melt butter completely. Generously grease foil or parchment paper using about 1-2 tablespoons of the melted butter and a pastry brush. Set pan aside.

With pot of melted butter still on the burner, add in chocolate chips and cocoa until fully melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract and eggs, 1 at a time, stirring vigorously before the next addition. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir gently until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth the top and bake 30-35 minutes. Cool at least 15 minutes before removing brownies from pan (here's where the extra overhang of parchment paper comes in handy!).

To make frosting, whip butter, sugar, milk, peppermint extract and food coloring together until smooth and creamy. Spread over cooled brownies and cut into 24.

Recipe TIPS:
I forgot to post this tip with everything else! Sorry! But, these tasted a million times better once I refrigerated them! So, pop yours in the fridge! It'll make a world of difference.

If you liked this recipe, then you probably are going to like these ones:

Heart Shaped Candy Coated Brownies

Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirled Brownies

Minty Squares

Mom's Potato Rolls

2010-06-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

I love carbs. Especially warm out of the oven. If you've been following along with this blog, then you know that I am addicted to food, specifically any form of bread product. These rolls are no exception. I lovelovelovelove them. I like regular rolls fine, but there's something about the potato addition to this recipe that makes me weak at the knees and immediately ravenously hungry. This last time I made these rolls was to have some extra bread lying around because the tortillas, 9-grain load and french baguette just weren't enough. Also, these little rolls make the best snacking sandwiches! I love them.

This recipe I have from my Mom is at least 25 years old and been made hundreds of times. I've made these more than enough times to switch a few things in the recipe around to makes them turn out the very best. Also, here are a few tips that are just as important, so read very closely! You'll be glad you did.

1. Use glass baking dishes. You do not want hard dark brown bottoms like you would get with the non stick metal kind. And make sure you grease your glass bakeware with plenty of butter! It makes a small, yet noticeable difference.

2. When you think they're done rising, wait another 30 minutes. If after an hour or so your rolls haven't risen as much as you'd like, leave them alone until they have! Letting them sit and rise is another very important step to getting a soft, chewy and pillowy texture. The potato sometimes tends to weight the dough down, so give the rolls time.

3. DO NOT over bake! This may take a little trial and error because everyone's oven is different, but check them 5 minutes before you think you should. Better to be safe than sorry!

Another thing that I quickly wanted to mention too was that your leftover mashed potatoes can go right into this dough! I love using leftovers! Potatoes are inexpensive as is, but when you have some cold mashed potatoes that you don't know what to do with and you're sick of making hashbrowns, then these rolls turn into a wonderful alternative! Making your own bread is not only economical but also healthier for your family! In turn, it just takes a little extra time out of your day. In my opinion, these little bad boys worth it! So try them out and tell me what you think!

Mom's Potato Rolls

yield: 24 rolls

Ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water

2-0.25 oz. packets quick rise yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

2/3 cup butter, melted (& cooled slightly)

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup warm milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed potatoes, warmed

2 eggs

4 1/2-5 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Directions:

In large bowl, sprinkle yeast and sugar onto warm water. Let stand until yeast bubbles form, about 5 minutes. Stir in butter, sugar, warm milk and salt. Add in mashed potatoes, eggs and 3 cups flour. Stir until dough becomes thick and hard to mix. Knead dough adding in more flour as needed until dough is slightly sticky but won't stick to your hands (for me, its between 4 1/2-5 cups). Grease large bowl with a little oil or melted butter, place dough into bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1-1 1/2 hours until doubled in size. Punch down dough and divide into 24 equal pieces. Roll into small balls and place into greased glass baking dishes. Cover rolls with plastic wrap and let rise another 1-1 1/2 hours until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake rolls 15 minutes (except, check them after 10!) Rolls are best served warm, but are still great at room temperature. Store in air tight containers.

Homemade Crunch n' Munch

2010-06-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

You all know what crunch n' munch is, right? Well, I asked my husband and he had no clue! So, if you are like him, let me explain--crunch n' munch is a store bought caramel corn with peanuts. Its pretty tasty stuff, but it gets much tastier if you make it yourself....and add in some pretzels. One of my all time favorite combinations in snacks or desserts is sweet and salty--I just can't get enough....which is probably why I ate the ENTIRE recipe over the course of 3 days. I did give my little one a few pieces here and there, so I guess technically I didn't eat the whole thing.....but it was close.

This snack tasted the crunchiest and the freshest during the first two days, so make sure to crunch n' munch away! Haha.....get it?! Crunch.....n'munch?! I'm so lame.....

Anyways, overall, this makes a pretty good amount of snacking food and it's relatively inexpensive too. Peanuts are some of the cheapest nuts you can buy and popcorn along with pretzels really don't break the bank either. You could even just make caramel corn too without all the mix in's and call it a day. It's good any way you make it. And, done in twenty minutes or so. Another reason to cook up some crunch n' munch today!

*Side note: Check out my food blogging friends in the side bar! My newest addition, Natalie Perry from Perrysplate.com is now one of my FAVORITES! I love her site, so go check it out.....but only after you finish up here!*

Homemade Crunch n' Munch
yield: 4-6 snacking portions

Ingredients:
1 microwave bag of kettle corn
1 cup pretzel sticks, broken up
1/2 cup lightly salted peanuts

for the caramel:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease baking sheet and set aside. Pop popcorn and pour into large bowl, being sure to sort out any unpopped kernels. Add in pretzels and peanuts. In large measuring cup, stir together butter, sugars, corn syrup and salt. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes until everything has melted together and bubbled. Make sure you stop and stir every 30 seconds or so! (You'll have to watch it carefully so it doesn't bubble over the top!) Once all the sugar crystals have melted and everything is uniform in color, stir in vanilla extract and baking soda well-at this point the baking soda will make the sugar mixture double in volume and almost become similar to a melted marshmallow. At this point, pour sugar mixture over popcorn, peanuts and preztels and stir well. Pour coated mixture onto prepared baking sheet and spread out evenly. Bake 10 minutes and remove from oven. Stir with spatula to break larger pieces apart and let cool completely. Scrape crunch n' munch off baking sheet and break any large pieces into smaller ones. Store in air tight containers.

Recipe TIPS:
For a more caramely flavor, use 1/2 cup of brown sugar and no granulated sugar. (I ran out of brown sugar, so I had to use some white)
Don't let this recipe limit you! Add in whatever you want to this recipe, like cereal, other kinds of nuts, coconut, or even raisins! Yum!

Easy BBQ Pulled Pork

2010-06-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, I experimented with some pork and made delicious BBQ pulled pork. I always knew the general way to make it, but had never attempted it before. Well, pork shoulders went on sale, so I bought one and made some of the most tender and flavorful meat! And it was SO simple too! Crock pots are awesome inventions, let me tell you. I heard on tv that crock pots are super efficient and use only $0.04 per hour! Another reason to own a slow cooker! Hello money saver.

So, for this recipe, I used very basic ingredients that usually everyone has on hand: BBQ sauce, onions, garlic, brown sugar, water, mustard, salt and pepper. Use a really good BBQ sauce that you love! If you're going to love this meat, then you need to use the stuff that you and your family likes. Now, a quick word about my garlic addition-I was surprised how delicious the garlic made this meat! It's tender and very flavorful to begin with, but the garlic really takes it over the top into knock your socks off territory. My husband LOVED it. He loves typically any kind of meat, but this was a huge hit. We invited some people over for dinner when we were having this and after one bite, my husband said "can we un invite them? I don't want to share this". Haha! He really liked it.

The only thing that you need for this is time--and lots of it! Probably 10-12 hours. I put my meat in partially frozen and it was done after 12 hours, so that should be the max amount of time it should take to cook. Of course you can make this in advance and keep it warm until you're ready to serve. The beauty of a crock pot--it's so versatile! Makes my life easy. Great for a party, too!

When pork shoulders (also called pork butts) go on sale, pick up one or two and make this easy meal for your family. They'll love it!

Easy BBQ Pulled Pork

yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

3 lb. pork shoulder

1 cup water

1/2 bottle BBQ sauce

salt & pepper

1/2 onion diced

------------------------

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 bottle BBQ sauce

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

salt & pepper

Directions:

In a crock pot, place pork, water, bbq sauce, salt, pepper and onion. Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours until very tender. Remove all meat from crock pot. Spoon off fat from remaining liquid in crock pot and discard about half the liquid as well (you want it to be moist but not too watery--mine was a little on the watery side, so remove more then you think and you can always add more back in). Shred pork removing all excess fat. Return to crock pot and stir in garlic, bbq sauce, brown sugar, mustard and more salt and pepper. Cook another hour or so until all flavors blend and the garlic taste mellows out a little. Serve with fresh rolls and coleslaw.

Recipes for DAD!

2010-06-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Happy early Father's Day to everyone celebrating the different Dad's in your lives! As many of you know, I post my recipes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Well, its Thursday and here's a new post for you! I decided to do this blog post early because I wanted to give all of you ample time to plan out a special food filled day.

So, without further ado, here are some of our male-friendly favorite meals that all Dad's are sure to love!

Do you do the breakfast in bed thing? Well, if you do, then these are sure to please! Clockwise from the top: Southwest Steak and Egg Breakfast Burritos (one of Go's favorites!), Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes for the healthier eater, Blueberry Lemon Rolls, Cheesy Mini Puffs to go along your eggs and bacon, or Healthy Whole Wheat Waffles with Oats.

Do you celebrate around Dinner time, too?! We do! Clockwise from the top: Delicious and easy Pan seared Steak, one of my Husband's all time favorite dinners White Chicken Chili, the fabulous and light Sesame Noodle Salad, Blue Cheese Bacon Burgers (to die for!!), and Garlic and Herb Encrusted Pork Roast with Pregravied Potatoes (a family favorite at my house).

Of course there has to be dessert! My husband is a chocolate lover so all these desserts contain chocolate! In my opinion, chocolate is one of those things that everyone should eat on a daily basis! Haha! It's not the most healthy advice, but its good for your psyche! Clockwise from the top: Chocolate MONSTER Cakes (so easy and SO delicious!), Mini S'more Pies--one of my first food blog posts, Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes--eat them hot with vanilla ice cream while they are still ooey gooey, Minty Squares-one of my Mom's go to desserts, Heart Shaped Candy Coated Brownies (or skip the candy part and just make a pan of the soft chewy brownies), Chocolate Cream Cheese Peppermint Bars--so easy and so good.

Hope that helps! Happy Cooking! New recipes to come on Monday!

Minestrone Soup

2010-06-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

Hello, friends! Is it finally summer where you are? We got a glimpse of it over the weekend, but now we're back to temperatures in the 50's and 60's. I think the crazy temperature changes is what is making me feel awful-- stuffy nose and a cough. Yuck. So I made some soup to make me feel better. It's not really the time of year for soup, but sometimes you just have make it.
Minestrone is one of those great soups that is delicious, vegetarian and packed full of nutrition. I personally love the stuff and could eat the entire pot. Its warm, satisfying and one bowl will fill you up! I put dark kidney beans, garbanzo beans and whole wheat pasta for added protein and onions, celery, carrots, tomatoes and cabbage for vitamins and minerals. Overall, its a pretty healthy meal! If you don't like certain vegetables in here, then you can omit them or substitute them for other ones. For example, if you don't like cabbage then substitute it for zucchini. Zucchini is a pretty traditional ingredient for Minestrone--I didn't have any on hand but feel free to add it in. Like lots of other dishes, the longer it cooks the better it tastes. I'd recommend lightly simmering this soup for as long as you can and then 10 minutes before serving, put in the pasta to cook OR just cook it separately and serve it along side. Top the whole dish with some parmesan cheese and crusty bread and thats dinner!

Minestrone Soup
yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, washed and chopped
4 cups water
2 chicken bouillon cubes (I use Knorr)
1-15 oz. can Dark Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 oz. can Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 oz. can tomato sauce
1-14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano or marjoram
lots of salt and pepper
1/2 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1/4 lb. whole wheat pasta
parmesan cheese
1 loaf crusty good quality bread

Directions:
In large pot, sauté onions, carrots and celery in butter and oil over medium heat for 7-10 minutes. Stir in water, bouillon, beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, spices and cabbage. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer at least 20 minutes. 10 minutes before serving, pour in pasta to cook or boil it separately. Serve with parmesan cheese and good quality crusty bread.

Lemon Cranberry Scones

2010-06-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

If you've been following this food blog then you know that my husband and I are fully addicted to carbs. I am not ashamed to admit this at all because everyone needs carbohydrates to live. Its the largest food group you are supposed to consume. Plus, if you are training for a marathon (which I am.....gasp!) you need even more carbs in your system for energy.
The difference between good carbs and bad ones usually comes down to sugar content, fat content, and fiber. For example- if you are eating whole wheat bread made with whole wheat flour, the fiber content is higher than the white bread made with bleached all purpose flour. Now, I'm not sure what made me go off on a little 'carbs are great' tangent.....hmm.....I guess I'm trying to say don't feel guilty for eating carbs because your body needs them to function.
Speaking of carbs, here's a great recipe that is delicious! These Lemon Cranberry Scones are a great light snack or would be a great addition to any breakfast. I ate probably 3 of these the day I made them and then gave the rest away because I couldn't get enough. The glaze makes these more of a sweet treat, but I also have made these without the glaze and instead made a citrus honey butter. It's still sweet, but not over the top sweet. It's a great addition to these scones, especially right out of the oven. Or if you're feeling risky, top them with glaze as well as the citrus honey butter. Yum. Anyways, that recipe is under the recipe tips at the bottom of this post. Let me know if you're a glaze person or a honey butter person! I think I qualify as both!

Lemon Cranberry Scones
yield: 12

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons sugar
zest of 1 lemon, divided
1/3 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup cold milk
1/3 cup craisins

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2-1 tablespoon water
1/8 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non stick cooking spray and set aside. In large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and lemon zest. Stir in butter and break apart into small pieces the size of peas using a fork or pastry cutter. Stir in milk and craisins. Dough will be very sticky. Spread dough out onto well floured board and dust top with more flour to make it easy to work with. Roll dough out to be 1 inch in thickness. Cut out into squares or circles. Place onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Remove from oven and place scones onto cooling rack. For the glaze, whisk all ingredients together until runny and smooth. Spoon over the tops of the warm scones and let the excess drip through the cooling rack. Store in air tight containers for up to 4 days.

Recipe TIPS:
-When I top any baked good with a glaze of some sort, I like to put waxed paper underneath my cooling rack to make for easy clean up.
-Sometimes instead of topping these with a glaze, I make a citrus honey butter--its DELICIOUS. To make it, you simply whip together 1/2 cup softened butter, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1/2 tablespoon orange zest.
-Instead of rolling the dough out, you can do the drop biscuit method. Its a time saver and is probably easier too.
-When and if you roll out the dough use lots of flour! You don't want it sticking to your board!
-Don't feel you are limited to lemon zest in this recipe. Try orange, lime or grapefruit to switch it up! Yum!

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

2010-06-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

Originally, I was going to post a different recipe today but then I made this for dinner last night and changed my mind because it was too good not to share! Caesar Salad is my husband's favorite salad and I figured as long as I kept the same flavors there, then the pasta salad version would be just as good, plus I wanted to make it more filling and more satisfying as a dinner. Well, everything came together perfectly and we both loved it. The flavor of everything in this complete meal was just awesome! The bacon really took it over the top for me and the extra squirts of lemon juice made the parsley and tomatoes pop as well as adding a little extra zing which I love. Final Results: I loved it and my husband loved it and we are glad there are plenty of leftovers in the fridge! (So excited for lunch!)

This meal is pretty similar to a Chicken Caesar Salad, except it's made with pasta and a lot less lettuce. I also added in tomatoes and parsley for extra nutrients and color. This pasta salad would be great without the chicken (if you want) and perfect for a potluck or BBQ. I took a few shortcuts by buying pre grated parmesan cheese and a roasted whole chicken because I was running out of time last night to get dinner on the table. You can roast or grill the chicken yourself to save yourself some money, but I have to say, I love those roasted chickens! They are so convenient! Also, you can also substitute all the pasta for a head of romaine lettuce and once everything is tossed, eat as is or get some tortillas and turn them into chicken caesar salad wraps! TO DIE FOR! I made my own caesar dressing (recipe below), but you can use your favorite store bought one-just make sure to add in a little lemon juice because it makes a huge difference. AND, in the photo above, you can see that I toasted some french bread and spread it with garlic basil butter! Never done that before but oh my good gravy! So good. That recipe is below as well. Happy Weekend Friends!

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. pasta, cooked to al dente (I used farfalle)

2 tomatoes, chopped

8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

2 cups cubed chicken-roasted or grilled

1 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

3/4 cup good quality caesar dressing + a few squirts lemon juice (or recipe below)

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

lemon wedges for an extra zing

salt

pepper

Directions:

Toss all ingredients together in large bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with lemon wedges.

Recipe TIPS:

-If you are going to make this meal in advance, toss everything together leaving the lettuce out until you are ready to serve. The lettuce will wilt if you toss it with dressing!

Caesar Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

3/4 cup good quality mayonnaise

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 lemon juiced

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together and toss with pasta salad or caesar salad. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Garlic Basil Butter

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

1 large clove garlic, finely minced

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and let sit 10-20 minutes before using. Spread on warm, freshly toasted french bread.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

2010-06-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

Good Wednesday everyone! After two days of incredible sunny weather, we are back to the rain! I am so unimpressed with this darn weather. But, when I'm feeling blah for some reason or another, there is nothing like a nice little pick me up and today it's going to be these chocolate peanut butter bars. Chocolate and peanut butter is like a match made in heaven. Its SO good--probably one of my all time favorite combinations. Sweet from the chocolate, salty from the peanut butter. I really like the salty sweet thing. Like kettle corn. Yum.

So, lets get technical for a minute. There are two layers to these little babies: the bottom chocolate layer and the top peanut butter crumble layer.....and then you top the whole thing off with plenty of chocolate chunks. The chocolate layer is similar to a brownie but made from a cake mix. If you don't have a cake mix, then use a brownie mix or brownie recipe you have and follow those cooking instructions. They should turn out with that little variation. The top peanut butter crumble is.......well.....almost my favorite part of this recipe. It's sweet, salty, has texture from the oats and gets a little crunchy after you bake it. It's pure bliss together with the soft and chewy chocolate layer underneath. I just about ate the whole pan when it came out of the oven. They are SO SO delicious warm. Confession: you know when you eat something and you start laughing after the first bite because it's so good? I totally did that with these! And, I couldn't get enough! The smell alone of them cooking is what really got me all worked up and ready to dig in. My husband too! He had to leave and go for a run while they were baking because he knew the smell would make him crazy and he'd help me eat the entire pan! Haha! He worked off a couple hundred calories and then came back and indulged. Oh my gravy, these are good. How many times have I said that already? Wow. OK. I'm done talking about these because if I keep re-living this experience I'll have a whole other pan whipped up in no time and then I'll be sunk. And by the way, these really don't take a whole lot of time to make at all. Maybe 10 minutes tops.

SO, if you know what is good for you, then you'll make a pan of these chocolate peanut butter bars and eat them warm and then hide them so you don't have to share! Leave some comments if you end up making these because I like hearing feedback! And even if you don't make them, comments are still appreciated! Happy baking!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

yield: 24 bars

Ingredients:

for the chocolate layer

1-18.25 oz. box chocolate fudge cake mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 egg

for the peanut butter crumble:

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup oats

2 tablespoons flour

2 oz. semi sweet chocolate, chopped into chunks (or just use some chocolate chips)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 baking dish with foil or parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In large bowl, mix cake mix, butter and egg together until well combined. Press into an even layer into prepared pan. Set aside.

Melt peanut butter and butter together in microwave safe bowl until butter has melted completely and peanut butter has softened. Stir in remaining ingredients until oats and flour have been incorporated. Sprinkle over chocolate layer and gently press peanut butter crumble into the chocolate layer.

Top with chocolate chunks and bake 25-30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Enjoy warm or cool completely, remove bars from pan and cut into 24 even squares. Store in air tight container.

Recipe TIPS:

-I forgot to mention above that the cake mix I used isn't all that sweet and together with the peanut butter topping doesn't end up being this over the top sweet dessert. Its delicious and I really enjoy my desserts not too sweet. However, if you do like them sweet, use a brownie mix! You'll thank me!

Healthy Whole Wheat Waffles with Oats

2010-06-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

Did you guys have a good weekend? I certainly did! On Saturday, I went on a very long run and completed a goal of mine which felt great AND I went fishing for the first time. I snagged one but the little rascal got away. I love the weekends so much! Now that our schedules are much busier during the week, it's so nice to relax over the weekend and enjoy being together as a family. Usually, Gordon and I have enough time to make one big breakfast on Saturday or Sunday. This past week, it was on Sunday morning and we had waffles! I have a good waffles recipe after I did some experimenting but it was time for a change so I revamped it and made it a little healthier with whole wheat flour and oats. Add some fresh fruit and a little syrup and you've got a delicious healthy breakfast. Now, I'm going to get on my soap box for a minute and say that homemade waffles are SO much better than the skinny frozen store bought ones and even though they take a little more effort, it's worth the extra 15 minutes. There. I said it.

If you do have extra time on the weekends or one evening during the week, you could make a few extras and freeze them so you have a stash that only needs reheating! (I do this with my pancakes as well)

About the waffles themselves: this recipe calls for whole wheat flour only. If your family is not used to the textures of whole wheat flour, then I'd recommend using half all purpose and half whole wheat to ease them into it. The all purpose flour gives a softer lighter texture while the whole wheat flour makes the waffles more dense. Also, the oats add a little extra kick of fiber which is good for your G.I. tract and keeps you full longer. If you're following a low calorie diet, then these would be a great choice for a breakfast option because they really do keep you full until lunch--at least they did for me. If you have a waffle with a little fruit and a scrambled egg, then you have a healthy, balanced breakfast! You're welcome. So, get your waffle on and make your family happy (and healthy!)

Healthy Whole Wheat Waffles with Oats
yield: about 7 large waffles

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour (or half all purpose half whole wheat)
1/4 cup quick oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
dash nutmeg (optional)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Gently stir in all wet ingredients until just combined. Pour batter onto a preheated and greased waffle iron. Serve hot with syrup and fruit.

Recipe TIPS:
-I used a waffle iron similar to this one, however, this is the one I wish I had had because its bigger and it flips! How cool is that?

Double Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes

2010-06-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

Talk about a summery and delicious treat! These double chocolate strawberry shortcakes were just the right amount of sweet, creamy and soft heavenly goodness. I love different textures in my food, so the light and fluffy cream with the juicy cold strawberries on top of the soft and chewy chocolate biscuit was perfect for me. Not over the top sweet either-how I like my desserts....except when I'm pregnant.
When it comes to chocolate, my husband wants it to be super sweet no matter what the context. These chocolate beds weren't very sweet at all, so my husband thought that by themselves they were a little strange but the whipped cream and strawberries on top made a nice treat. It was a definite delicious change from the same old strawberry shortcakes!
If you are looking for a plain strawberry shortcake recipe, make my cinnamon buttermilk biscuits without the cinnamon. Top it just like these ones and thats it! Plain strawberry shortcakes! Equally delicious and just as easy to make.
Also, if you're making these for a party or summer cook out, you can make everything in advance. You'd have to store the prepared and cooled biscuits in an air tight container and the strawberries in the fridge. Here's a great tip too: if you pre whip your cream, it can sometimes deflate, leaving you with a big fat mess. You still can whip it in advance, just sprinkle in some corn starch! About 1 tablespoon for every cup of cream. Store it in the fridge until you're ready to serve! I've done this so many times and it works like a charm. Oh! And a quick side note about the strawberries- I like mine plain, but if you stir in a little sugar then you end up getting a strawberry syrup along with your fruit. So, if you like the syrup with your strawberry shortcakes, then add a little sugar.

Double Chocolate Strawberry Shortcakes
yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cold butter
1 oz. semi sweet chocolate, cut into chunks
2/3 cup cold whole milk

1 cup heavy cream
4-6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)

1 pint strawberries, washed and sliced
a few sprinkles of sugar (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with non stick cooking spray and set aside. In large bowl, stir all dry ingredients together. Using a pastry cutter or fork, break up butter until coarse texture forms and there are little chunks of butter throughout. Stir in chocolate chunks and milk. Drop by the spoonful onto prepared pan. (I used a cookie scoop and made mini ones, but this should make 8 regular). Bake 8-10 minutes for mini ones and 10-14 minutes for the larger ones. Cool completely before topping with strawberries and cream.
For the cream, whip heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and cornstarch together until firm peaks form. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Cut chocolate biscuits in half horizontally and fill with cream and sliced strawberries. Top with more cream and strawberries and serve! YUM.

Grandma's Potato Salad

2010-06-02T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hope you guys all had a great day off on Monday! My husband's family got together for Memorial day and had a BBQ! The weather was a little chilly, but it was still a lot of fun! My daughter waited by the sliding glass door into the backyard for someone to take her out to jump on the trampoline. That girl of mine is a daredevil! Eventually I gave in.....and so did my husband......and her grandpa.....and a few of her cousins! She just can't get enough of the trampoline. I think its turning into a slight addiction.
Anyways, this is truly one of the best recipes I have for potato salad-its a classic in my book. It's not your typical same ol' potato salad and because this is my Grandma's recipe! There are a few things that make this recipe unique: (1) you marinate the potatoes in a vinegar mixture for a good long time, 12-24 hours is best (2) there is no egg or mustard or pickles in this recipe (3) you add in the mayonnaise typically right before serving and (4) you boil the potatoes whole and then peel and cut them afterwards....maybe this one should have been number one.....oh well.
The technique for making this potato salad is really quite simple--it just takes a while to make, but it is well worth the wait! Typically, thats how most homemade 'from scratch' recipes work--yes, they take a while, but you can feel good about feeding them to your family because they aren't processed. And, buying all the separate ingredients as opposed to a mix or a pre made meal is less expensive and will get you a lot more for food your buck. So you spend a little more time making it in exchange for healthier unprocessed meals. I think its worth it most days.

For this potato salad, I used Idaho potatoes, onions, celery, parsley flakes, vinegar, salt, sugar, water and real mayonnaise--inexpensive ingredients that most of us have on hand at all times. My kind of recipe! And as long as you store it properly in the fridge, the potato salad should last at least a week! No wasting food today! Its like a win win win recipe. I love that. Also, I've been in contact with Audrey from tightwadinutah.com and her tips for saving money and finding coupons have helped me keep grocery bills lower! So, check her site out sometime! Its great!

So, back to this recipe: I copied this recipe from my Grandma and it consisted of ingredients with no measurements! I said "Grandma! How is it possible that you have no measurements on here?" and she said "I don't know.....I just make it until it tastes right!" Haha! Thats how most of my Grandma's recipes are so this is the best I could do getting as close to the original recipe as possible. I think its pretty darn close, too, so hooray! I was pretty happy with the result and everyone at the BBQ loved it too. Next time you have a get together, give this a whirl and see how many compliments you get because there are bound to be a few!

Grandma's Potato Salad
yield: 12 servings or so

Ingredients:
12 Idaho potatoes
1/3 cup cold water
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes (if you use fresh, add it in right before serving)
1/2 large onion, diced finely
5 ribs celery, washed and diced
1 1/4 cups real mayonnaise (use a full fat good quality one)

Directions:
Boil (whole) potatoes until soft- a knife should be able to be inserted easily. Drain potatoes and let cool 20 minutes or so. In large bowl, combine water, vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, parsley, onion and celery together. Set aside. Peel warm potatoes (skin should come off really easily using a butter knife or spoon), cut into large cubes and place into vinegar mixture in bowl. Stir to coat warm potatoes in marinating liquid. Cover and refrigerate 12-24 hours. Before serving, stir in mayonnaise. Keep cool until ready to serve.

Homemade Ranch Dip

2010-05-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

Move over hidden valley ranch packets! I have got an easy and fresh 100% homemade ranch dip recipe for you guys! Perfect accompaniment for your Memorial Day BBQ's! And, all the ingredients are extremely common, so you are more likely to whip this up without having to go to the store to get that one last ingredient that you inevitably forgot. I love recipes like this!

Took me about 10 minutes to make this dip and prep all the vegetables for this veggie tray I ended up bringing to a birthday party on Saturday afternoon. I placed it down with the rest of the food buffet style and everyone helped themselves. A few hour into the party, the host came up to me and asked me specifics about the dip. I explained everything I put into it and to her surprise she responsed "its not one of those ranch dip packets?" NOPE!! She then said "fresh ranch is always so much better than store bought stuff" to which I totally agreed! There aren't any random ingredients that you can't pronounce in this recipe! All fresh and all 100% natural! My favorite quote from the party was "I could drink that stuff" (referring to my dip!) Needless to say, it was a hit.

I was planning on posting a different recipe today, but since this dip got rave reviews, I decided to post this instead! Hope you guys like it! And, you can add in some buttermilk or plain milk to thin it out and have homemade ranch dressing too! Two in one! Have a great day off!

Homemade Ranch Dip
yield: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
1 cup low fat sour cream
1/2 cup real good quality mayonnaise (I use Real Foods brand-yellow and blue label)
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup finely minced onion

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in bowl. Serve with cold fresh vegetables, or thin out dip with a few splashes of buttermilk to make ranch dressing.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

2010-05-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

GUESS WHAT? I was bored with the old website, so I quickly put together a NEW AND IMPROVED golokitchen.com site during my daughters nap time yesterday! I tried to make it more user friendly and more functional. I have a more obvious search bar and labels column to search through the site for effectively. Also, you still can become a follower and even see what I'm up to day to day on twitter! You can be as involved as you want. I appreciate every comment, every follower and every tweet! If you're interested, you can check out the golokitchen store and see some kitchen items that I can't live without! And with that, here's what I have to say about today's recipe!

Well, here's another video for you guys, as per request! Please excuse the 'um's'! I was a little nervous (and I clearly hadn't looked in the mirror before filming, but thats a whole other story...) Oh well! Its all about the food anyways, right? RIGHT?!?!

Anyways, I wanted to do a more summery recipe because its Memorial Day weekend and most of you will probably be outside grilling up your steaks and eating lots of fresh fruit.....
or something like that. As for me and my gang, we are still stuck inside because of this awful weather! Boo to the rain. Well, at least my garden seems to be thriving! I am pretty excited for all my tomatoes and peppers and green beans and everything else to grow and ripen so I can eat it all! But, don't get me wrong- I'm still unimpressed with this weather. I'm supposed to run 12 miles tomorrow! TWELVE! Most likely in this cold rainy weather. I'll let you know how that goes.....

So all that weather banter was supposed to lead me to why I made these sweet and sour meatballs tonight- they are stick to your ribs good eats and are ready to eat in 30 minutes or less! So easy a monkey could make 'em! I didn't have breadcrumbs on hand so I did without, but I did write them into the recipe because I usually do add them in. The first time I made these for Gordon, we had already been married a year and a half. I don't know why I didn't ever make them before then....hmm....anyways in a nutshell he basically said 'why have you neglected to make these for me until NOW?' meaning: 'these are so good how could you have forgotten about them?' My response was: "I don't know...I just did" (I was pregnant at the time and blame it on that--did you know that a woman's brain SHRINKS in size 3-5% during pregnancy? I just read that today. Shocker!) I am all over the map tonight. Sorry folks. I digress.

Back to these cute little meatballs--they are so good! Like I said in the video, its the sauce that makes these little babies great. My mom used to make these in a crock pot and take them to parties as an appetizer! All you need are toothpicks! Also, she's used this sauce to coat chicken wings in which is also equally delicious. Try it sometime! Just FYI, I've tweaked my mom's recipe a touch to make it better according to my palate and I hope you all will do the same! If you don't like something in a recipe, change it! Don't be a wimp! Ok, after that pep talk, get ready for a fun few minutes of cooking in your kitchen! Hope you like video #2!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs
yield:15 small meatballs; enough for 2 or 3

Ingredients:
for the meatballs-
1/2 lb. ground beef (80/20)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
salt
pepper
1 egg
1/3-1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil

for the sauce-
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
pepper

Directions:
In deep skillet, heat oil. In large bowl, mix together ingredients for meatballs. Scoop into small meat balls and roll in between palms to form. Fry little meatballs until browned. In bowl or measuring cup, mix together all ingredients for sweet and sour sauce. Pour sauce into hot pan to cover cooked meatballs. Cover and simmer on low heat for at least 15-20 minutes. Serve over hot with rice or cooked barley if you're feeling extra healthy and adventurous. Barley has more fiber and protein and rice! Give it a whirl!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

2010-05-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Its been raining here a lot and there seems to be NO END in sight. It will occasionally stop from time to time but then it just picks right back up again. I don't know why I feel the need to make soup when the weather gets bad, but there you have it. Maybe its something my Mom did OR maybe its engrained in my DNA or something! That would be cool. Either way, I made a huge pot of delicious soup and you lucky people get the recipe!

It takes around 1 hour to get all the ingredients prepped and cooked. The hardest part is chopping and waiting. And, to keep the calories low, I used fat free half and half, but who am I to tell you to use the fat free stuff. If you need a little pick me up, then use the good stuff OR the even better stuff: cream! You'll have to take a few things up with your hiney, but its well worth the confrontation.

Also, this recipe calls for a specific kind of wild rice: Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice Original Flavor (6 oz. box that is skinny and orange) It is very important that you use that kind because it comes with a special spice packet that flavors the soup. Well, I don't want to force you to buy this, but in my opinion you need it to get the same result that I did. It was only $2 or so. That plus chicken stock, carrots, celery and onions doesn't end up being all that expensive. Splurging on a little rice never hurt anyone! Plus this particular rice in this soup is amazing! After taking his first bite, my husband said "wow....this is delicious!" So, there you have it folks! Get cooking!

Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

yield: 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup onion, diced

4 ribs celery, chopped

4 large carrots, peeled and cubed

6 cups good quality chicken broth

3/4 lbs. chicken breasts, cubed

1-6 oz. box Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice

1 1/2 cups half and half (I used fat free)

1/3 cup all purpose flour

plenty of salt and pepper

Directions:

In large pot, heat butter and olive oil. Sautee onions, celery and carrots on medium low heat for 10 minutes to soften. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. Pour in chicken broth and cubed raw chicken. Raise temperature to medium high heat to poach chicken in cooking liquid. Once chicken has cooked and become opaque, pour in rice and seasoning packet that came with the rice. Cover and reduce heat to simmer lightly for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. In small bowl, whisk cold half and half with flour until smooth. Pour into soup pot and reduce heat completely to low. Cook 10 minutes or until rice is softened completely and soup has thickened slightly. Taste and season accordingly. Serve hot.

Carrot Cake Mini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-05-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

The idea for me to make these mini cupcakes has been rolling around in my mind for a while now and today was the day that I tested them out! Holy hannah are these babies good! I used a boxed spice cake mix and added in grated carrot and crushed pineapple! The carrot adds texture and the pineapple helps keep the little cakes moist. I'm pretty sure pineapple is in every classic carrot cake--at least it's in all the carrot cake recipes I've ever made in the past from scratch......it's totally optional though! I used to hate carrot cake because there was pineapple in it, but now I love the textures and all the spicy goodness. I certainly hope you are a carrot cake lover because in my opinion, this stuff is GOOD. I know the cake on its own isn't THAT special, but that is where the cream cheese frosting comes in. Give me a bowl of the stuff and a spoon and I would be one happy camper. My cream cheese frosting is just like the chocolate cream cheese frosting I make minus the cocoa (NO BUTTER!) Why add in extra calories when you don't have to? Plus, I like the tangier taste. This cake + this frosting = magic! Such a delicious combination. I love it. Did I mention I've already eaten 6 of these little guys? Ok ok......7.

Now for some practical talk--

Carrots and cake mixes are some of the most inexpensive things you can buy at the grocery store. I usually always have carrots on hand and wait for cake mixes to go on super sale and then I stock up! I also am in love with my mini muffin pan. If you don't have one, get one. They are inexpensive and turn anything into a cute, bite-sized portion.
Makes for great party food! Think bridal or baby showers. Too cute! Making these mini is also an optional choice--you can make regular sized cupcakes, bake it in a 9 x 13 or in a bundt. It's really up to you. This recipe doesn't take a lot of effort especially when trying to impress your friends and neighbors. Now, find someone you love and get baking!

Carrot Cake Mini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

yield: 48 mini cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 boxed cake mix in spice flavor (plus the water, oil and eggs)

2 cups grated carrot

1/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained (optional)

for the frosting:

1-8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2 lb. powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons milk

cinnamon & nuts for decoration (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325. Prepare mini muffin pan by lining with paper liners or spraying with non stick cooking spray. Set aside. In large bowl, mix cake mix with water, oil and eggs according to packaged directions. If your recipe calls for 3 eggs, only use two. Gently stir in carrot and pineapple. Fill mini muffin tins to be 3/4 full. Bake 12-15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For frosting, whip cream cheese with vanilla extract until smooth. Stir in powdered sugar and mix as best as possible. Whip in milk until the consistency smooths out and becomes thick and viscous. You want the frosting to hold its shape--not too runny. The amount of milk will vary so start with 1 tablespoon and work your way up. Frost cupcakes and store in airtight containers. If you are going to pipe the frosting on, I'd recommend doubling the frosting recipe.

Beaver Tails Recipe - A Taste of Ottawa!

2010-05-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

Before you think I went out and hunted a bunch of beavers, cut off their tails and then fried them up, let me explain:

I was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada -- the nation's capitol. Isn't it purdy?

In Ottawa and other select Canadian cities (and the Canadian Pavilion at Disney World), there are restaurants called Beavertails that only sell beaver tails--a fried dough shaped like a beaver tail and then coated in cinnamon and sugar or other decadently sweet things. I only ever ate them once or maybe twice a year if I was lucky. It is a definite treat and a real taste of home. I hear they are similar to elephant ears, but I've never had one or seen one being sold here in the states.

Now, let me put some things in perspective for you: I went away to school in 2004 to Idaho where I met my husband. That's SIX years, people! We just recently moved to Oregon.

I've been away from home for a while. Of course we visit from time to time, but there's nothing like food to bring you back to the comfort of home. Beaver tails are one of those foods for me. Warm, comforting and reminds me of home. I remember going skating on the canal with my family and getting hot chocolate and beaver tails. By the way, the canal is the longest outdoor skating rink in the world, pictured below.

So for whatever reason, I was in the reminiscing mood and decided to make some beaver tails today. They are just so tasty and satisfying to eat. I've never met anyone who didn't like a fried piece of dough. Its just so good. There are very few recipes for beaver tails online and the ones I did find were for a huge crowd so I just made up my own recipe that only makes 8. You can store the dough you don't use in the fridge and fry them up another day. So, lets get frying! Its worth the wait!

Beaver Tails

yield: 8

Ingredients:

1/4 cup hot tap water

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons butter

1 package quick rise yeast (.25 oz.)

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

2-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

any light colored oil for frying (such as canola, vegetable or peanut oil)

sweet toppings:

sugar

cinnamon

lemon juice

nutella

Directions:

1. In large bowl pour in hot water and 1 teaspoon of the measured sugar. Sprinkle yeast over top and stir. Set aside to proof, about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in microwave safe bowl, heat milk, butter and remaining sugar to melt butter and dissolve sugar. Stir to cool--you want it to be a little warmer than room temperature, but not scalding to kill the yeast.

3. Pour butter liquid into yeast mixture and stir. Whisk in egg and salt. Stir in flour using 1/2 cup increments until it forms a dough. Knead dough 2-3 minutes until a slightly sticky dough has formed, adding more flour when necessary.

4. Place dough into bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Store in a draft free, warm spot in your kitchen for an hour or so to let dough rise. Punch dough down and cut into 8 equal pieces.

5. Preheat oil in fryer or deep skillet to 350 degrees, or medium heat on the stove top. Roll dough out to be long ovals that are 1/4-1/8 inch thick...or should I say thin. And, they don't have to be perfect looking either. Mine weren't:

Carefully place in hot oil and fry 20-30 seconds per side. (See recipe tips at bottom)

6. Once beaver tail has finished cooking remove from oil and hold the beaver tail over the pan to let the excess oil drip off of it. Then immediately coat in cinnamon sugar--a classic combination for a beaver tail. You could also place on paper towels and then spread on nutella as well. Another favorite way to eat a beaver tail is coating it in sugar and then adding a little lemon juice. So tasty! Be sure to serve these warm and fresh!

Recipe TIPS:

Your oil should be hot enough to get a medium to lightly dark brown color on them within 30 seconds. The dough will puff up, so you may want to cut a slit in the middle to cook the dough evenly. You could also press the middle down into the oil using tongs.

Garlic Bread & Spaghetti Pizza

2010-05-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Oh my good gravy I have created a big delicious monster of a meal for you today! I know what you're thinking : "Really?! Spaghetti on a pizza?! Are you kidding me?" No, I am definitely not kidding you. I was thinking that we all love garlic bread with our spaghetti so why not just skip a middle step and combine the two?! I know that this is like carb city on a plate, but once in a while you've got to indulge. My little family has been sick and it was rainy outside so I wanted something deliciously warm and filling. Plus our bodies are currently fighting off some viruses so we need all the extra calories we can get.......at least thats what we tell ourselves.............anyways.............about this pizza..........

Its pizza dough covered in melted butter and garlic salt and then topped with a healthy mountain of tomato sauce covered spaghetti and lots of mozzarella for good measure! Are you salivating yet? You just think about the combination in your mouth for a second while I continue--

I made everything from scratch because I had the time but if you're in a pinch, pick up some prepared dough from the market along with some Bolognese or marinara and some pre-shredded mozzarella. That will cut your prep work in half at least!

Also, as some of you may know, I really like to hide vegetables in my spaghetti sauce and drain my ground beef to decrease the fat and increase the nutrients. Spaghetti sauce is the best place to sneak in some grated carrot, zucchini or any other vegetables you happen to have in your fridge. I also like to use low sodium V8 in place of just plain tomato sauce to increase the servings of vegetables. I tell you, these little changes make the world of difference!

Oh, did I mention its a buttery garlicy bread like crust topped with spaghetti and cheese? This meal is as kid friendly as it gets! Pizza AND spaghetti in one! Incredible! And you don't have to feel so bad about serving this to your kids either, especially if you were sneaky and added in some extra vegetables!

Anyways, this should definitely make your dinner menu in the near future because yes, it really is that good!

Love you all like carbs,

Loface

Garlic Bread & Spaghetti Pizza

yield:6

Ingredients:

1 lb. pizza dough (my recipe is found below)

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon garlic salt

2 1/2 cups prepared marinara or bolgonese (make sure its a good one!)

1/2 lb. spaghetti or spaghettini, cooked to al dente

1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

parsley for garnish

extra marinara for dipping those crusts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Spray pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spread pizza dough out to be 16-18'' across. Place on prepared pizza pan. Brush crust with half melted butter and all the garlic salt, concentrating on the edges. Bake crust for 8 minutes. Mix cooked spaghetti with 2 cups of prepared sauce. Once crust comes out of the oven, brush edges with remaining melted butter. Top with coated spaghetti and spoon on remaining 1/2 cup of sauce to keep pasta moist. Top with grated cheese and bake 2-3 minutes more until cheese has completely melted. Remove from oven and cool 5-10 minutes. Top with parsley if desired. Cut into pieces and enjoy!

Recipe TIPS:

-My pizza dough recipe is pretty easy! In large bowl, combine 1 cup hot water with 2 1/4 teaspoons quick rising yeast (1 packet) and 1 teaspoon sugar or honey. Proof yeast 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 2 1/2-3 cups all purpose flour (start with 2 cups and work your way up). Knead dough 5 minutes. It should be slightly sticky and smooth. Coat in olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot in your kitchen and let dough rise 1-1 1/2 hours until doubled in size. Use as desired.

Grilled Vegetarian Burritos!

2010-05-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or am I posting a lot of Southwest/Mexican recipes lately? Its just so easy to do because we usually have all the fixings! We also love all the flavor combinations between guacamole, salsa, cilantro, lime.... the list goes on!

Anyways, I never was a burrito lover or eater before I met my husband. He made fried burritos all the time growing up (which probably explained the excessive weight back then--I didn't believe it at first either!) Anyways, one day he made them for me/told me how to make them and then I proceeded to assemble and fry me some burritos. I'm such a good wife, aren't I?! The conclusion from that day was earth shattering, mind blowing and life changing. Fried burritos are the bomb.com and I don't care how many calories they are! Except for today because I felt like switching it up and making them vegetarian and grilling them. I promise you won't miss the meat! I'm a meat eater and lover and these burritos were totally satisfying (and under 300 calories!) The semi crunchy semi soft outer shell is pretty stellar on its own, but then when you add in all the other goodies, its just incredible. My daughter ate these suckers up...and she's 15 months old. I'd recommend putting all the goodies/fillings on the table and letting your family assemble their own burritos and then......use a panini press to cook them all at once!! GENIUS! I was pretty excited about that idea....but if you're a plain jane traditional type then you can use your skillet. But seriously though, pick yourself up a panini press--now THAT invention was life changing....much like these burritos.

**Side Note: This post reminded me that I used to sometimes call my husband Gordito.....I should do that more often. Haha.

If you have picky eaters at your table, then use the fillings they'd like. These were all the ones I had in my fridge today! Burritos are really easy to assemble and you can make it to 'order'--just how you like it--my kind of recipe!

Grilled Vegetarian Burritos

Ingredients:

flour tortillas

grated cheddar cheese

black beans

rice pilaf (Plain rice would work but see recipe tips at bottom for recipe)

sauteed Vidalia onions (you want them to be soft and have brown crispy edges)

good salsa

avocado

diced tomato

cilantro

butter for the pan or panini press

Directions:

Heat skillet or panini press to medium to medium high heat. Steam or microwave tortillas so they are soft and easy to work with. Starting with grated cheese, fill your burrito with desired fillings. Top your mountain of fillings with more cheese and fold into a burrito, tucking the edges as you go. Brush hot panini press or skillet with butter (don't be stingy!) Place burritos seam side down and cook until golden in color and crispy. Serve warm.

Recipe TIPS:

-For easy rice pilaf, sautee rice in 1-2 tablespoons butter. Stir in correct amount of chicken broth, 1 large bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and then reduce heat until rice is completely cooked, about 20 minutes.

My FAVORITE Sandwich

2010-05-15T22:00:00.001-07:00

So, here I am in my new apartment with some very unripe hard avocados and all I want to do is make (and eat) this sandwich. I was reminded of it as I was looking through some pictures from my guacamole post. I made this fabulous sandwich with some remaining guac and it was absolutely delicious. Basically, its a california club but better because its full of garlicy guacamole! That plus bacon, turkey, mayo and tomatoes and voila! Pure bliss in my mouth. I really really like food. I know its a problem.....and I know I say this about every recipe I make, BUT.....gomakethisrightnow!!!!!! You will thank me!

You're welcome, America.( and Canada :) )

My super awesome totally stellarly delicious California Club Sandwich

(sorry guys, not much of a recipe!)

Ingredients:

2 pieces of good quality bread

mayonnaise

MY GUAC

bacon and lots of it

tomato slices

deli turkey slices

cheese is optional

Directions:

Build a sandwich using the ingredients above. Easy, right pumpkin?!

Gardening!!

2010-05-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

This is a little bit of a different post today, but it is still food related! I love vegetable gardens! I just planted my garden today and I am so excited to see everything grow! I am all for growing my own (organic) vegetables and it is SO worth it come harvest time! I heard this author on NPR say that for every $1 you put into your garden you will get $10 in return of produce. Plus, any extra vegetables you have, you can cook into something for later, or just jar it and store it in your pantry. Come August, there will be lots of recipes involving yummy produce!

Do you have a garden? Are you all for gardening like me?

Cinnamon Buttermilk Biscuits

2010-05-11T19:34:00.001-07:00

For the time being, I am internetless :( BUT, only until the end of the week! We are just about all unpacked into our beautiful cozy new apartment. We love it, especially the location. I am half a block to the park and only 3 blocks to downtown! I love just about everything--except our road is on a hill and coming home pushing a stroller kind of sucks. Besides that, its GREAT!

Now, about these biscuits: My husband and I are carboholics. We can down this entire recipe between the two of us. I was experimenting 10ish months ago with biscuit recipes and this is what came of it! I've been making these ever since that experimental day. I dropped some by to my neighbor at the time who had just had a little girl. She absolutely loved them and now makes them all the time for her friends and family. Moral of the story: these are delicious and comforting. I love 'em. Just like any biscuit recipe, you'll want to use cold butter and cold buttermilk. Also, you can roll these out and cut them into circles or do the drop method. Either way, you'll get around 12. Make these for someone you love and they are sure to love you back!

Cinnamon Buttermilk Biscuits

yield: 12

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup cold butter

1 cup buttermilk (plus 1 or 2 tablespoons)

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl. Cut in cold butter until its the size of small peas. Stir in buttermilk until batter is all moist. Cut into 12 biscuits or drop onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Mother's Day Recipe : Lemon Cream filled Crepes with Strawberries

2010-05-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

Happy early Mother's Day for all of my faithful followers and other friends that read my blog! I appreciate you guys so much and will show it in giveaways! I'm trying to get some together soon for you guys because I love ya! Really, I do!

So, onto a great recipe.....man oh man is this an awesome recipe for any day of the week, but making it for a Mother's Day Breakfast in bed would be killer! You would knock it out of the park and get major brownie points for this one! You can't tell from the picture, but for this breakfast you just make regular crepes and then fill them with this 5 minute lemon cream that is really simple to make. AND THEN, to win them over and impress their socks off, top them off with fresh strawberries! So delicious!

Lemon and strawberries make a great flavor combination but wrapping them all up in a crepe just brings it over the top.

By the way, you have my permission to eat the entire bowl of lemon cream on its own--its that good! YUM.

So, a quick update about us--finally Gordon comes home tonight from his ten day business trip! Hooray! And, we move into our new apartment tomorrow morning! It seems like it has been a long time coming, so we are just thrilled. I'll have to give you more updates as the weekend progresses or something!

Lemon Cream filled Crepes with Strawberries

yield: 6 large servings

The crepe recipe is found HERE.

Lemon Cream Filling:

1 1/2 packages cream cheese, softened (12 ounces)

1 cup cold whipping cream

1 lemon zested

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 lb. fresh strawberries, washed and sliced

Directions:

In a stand mixer, whip cream cheese to soften. With mixer on low, stream in cream. Increase speed and whip 20-30 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl and whip again. Stir in rest of ingredients and whip 2-3 minutes until thick and thoroughly combined. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Fill crepes with fresh strawberries and lemon cream.

Pomegranate Lime Margaritas! Its Cinco de Mayo!

2010-05-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I decided to do a drink post! Just because my margarita glasses are packed doesn't mean I can't drink them! Anyways, this combination of the sweet pomegranate juice, the tart lime juice and the fizzy sprite really makes for an interesting and delicious drink. This recipe doesn't include any alcohol, but feel free to add it how you like.

By the way, we are going to be moving into our new apartment on Saturday! FINALLY, we'll be able to get settled! I'm so excited.

Also, on Friday I'll post a great mothers day recipe that you'll have to get your special someone to make for you as a breakfast in bed gift! I promise it will be delicious, elegant and easy even my husband could do it! Thats saying a lot...

Pomegranate Lime Margaritas

Yield: 1 large serving

Ingredients:

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/3 cup pomegranate juice

1 1/2 cups ice

a few spashes of Sprite

Salt & Lime slices for the glass rims

Directions:

In blender, pour lime juice, pomegranate juice and ice. Blend until smooth and frothy. Add sprite to make it as sweet as you like. I liked mine with about 1/4 cup!

Recipe TIPS:

-You might need to add more ice to get the consistency you want after the sprite is added.

My Favorite Shortbread

2010-05-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

This recipe is an old family favorite. I remember making these for my elementary school teachers around Christmas time. There are 6 kids in my family and when we all were in school, my Mom would always opt for this shortbread or her microwave chocolate fudge to make. After I made this a few times, I then understood that she made this shortbread because its quick and easy, takes very few ingredients and looks fancy.

The thing about this shortbread is that you form the dough into long skinny logs, bake them and then fill them with melted chocolate or jam. Then you drizzle some icing over the top and voila! A fancy dessert! Usually we use strawberry or raspberry jam, but I didn't have any, so I used apricot pineapple! Really, any flavor would work well. Let me know if you venture out and try something new!

Just as a side note, me and the little one are doing a walk through of the apartment we totally have fallen in love with. Gordon is still on his business trip, sadly. He'll be home by the end of the week! Wahoo! Maybe I'll make more shortbread to celebrate....

Shortbread Logs

yield: 16-24

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened (DO NOT use margarine)

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

melted chocolate, jam, anything you want to fill the shortbread with

1/2 cup powdered sugar

a few splashes milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In large bowl, mix butter, sugar, vanilla and flour until combined-it will be crumbly but will stay together when formed into shapes. Divide dough into 4 equal balls. Form each ball into a log the length of the cookie sheet with a depression in the centre. They will be long and skinny, about 1 inch wide. Bake 12-15 minutes. When warm, fill with desired fillings. Mix powdered sugar and milk together to create a runny icing. Using a spoon, drizzle icing over filled shortbread logs. Cut on the diagonal into pieces once cooled.

Guacamole!

2010-05-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

I love Guacamole. Absolutely love the stuff. I could eat it all day, but only when it is made correctly. And by correctly I mean how I like it. My husband doesn't like it how I like it, so while he's been gone, I've been eating my wonderfully fresh and garlicy guacamole.....by the bowl full. You should experiment and see what you like in yours.

This brings me to a funny story. I was in college (probably my junior year) and I was making something that required raw garlic--probably guacamole or hummus. Anyways, I had a cold so I kept adding more and more garlic to it because I couldn't taste it at all. Finally, 4 cloves later, I could finally taste the garlic. I offered some to my roommates and after one bite they started coughing and turning red--couldn't handle the garlic! My poor roommates! Haha. Smart me! By the way, I ate the entire bowl, perfectly content. Good times!

Ok, back to the recipe--

Here are the basic ingredients of guacamole that you will absolutely need:

ripe avocados (slightly soft and dark brown--not hard and green)

fresh lime juice (or lemon juice)

salt

pepper

These are the variational ingredients that you can use or not use to make it how you like it:

cilantro

jalapenos

garlic

hot sauce

red onion

tomatoes

I've tried a lot of different ways, but today, I'm sharing with you my favorite. If you don't like garlic, switch it out for something you would like. Its super simple and requires absolutely NO cooking. 5 minutes of chopping and mashing and voila! Mexican heaven in your mouth.

Guacamole

yield: 4 servings, but probably just 1 for me

Ingredients:

2 ripe Haas avocados

1 lime, juiced

1 garlic clove, finely minced (I use a pretty big one)

salt

pepper

1 small roma tomato, diced

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (I use it when I have it and when I'm feeling peppy)

Directions:

Open ripe avocados, remove the seed and scoop out the flesh into a large bowl. Squeeze lime juice over avocados and mash slightly. Stir in remaining ingredients and serve! I find it is best when you let the guacamole sit in the fridge 20-30 minutes to let the garlic work its magic...I usually can't wait that long.

Garlic and Herb Encrusted Pork Roast with Pregravied Potatoes

2010-04-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, friends! Here's a wonderful and easy meal to whip up when you have a little time on your hands. It falls more under the Sunday night dinner category, however, I made this mid week and it was great! This pork roast dish is very similar to the one I grew up eating with a few tweaks. I actually was forced to tweak it because my recipe box is in a storage unit 15 minutes away and my Mom wasn't picking up her phone. I'm glad I didn't have access to it all because it made me make a new version which was equally as delicious.

This roast isn't just a plain jane roast. No, sir! You first cut thin slits in the meat and poke little julienned pieces of garlic into it and then rub it down with oil, salt, pepper and thyme (and/or rosemary if you're feeling dangerous.) You cook it about an hour and then add some potatoes to the roasting pan so ......are you ready for this......they cook in the liquid and become smothered in the gravy! Its so ridiculously good. Of course there are a few more ingredients than just that, but thats basically the blue print of this meal. It takes around 2 hours to cook (give or take half an hour depending how big your roast is) start to finish. After you have the meat in the oven its just a matter of cutting potatoes and waiting on the roast. Really simple!

Now, before you get cooking, let me give a few pointers about the pork you're going to want to buy. Your roast should be:

(a) boneless

(b) 2-4 pounds (the bigger it is, the longer you need to cook it)

Garlic & Herb Encrusted Pork Roast with Pre-gravied Potatoes

yield:4-6

Ingredients:

1 3-lb. pork roast (see guidelines above)

1 glove garlic, thinly julienned

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground thyme

1/4 teaspoon rosemary (optional)

6 large starchy potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

1/2 yellow onion, diced small

1 1/4 cups chicken stock (or water and chicken bouillon cubes)

1/4 cup butter, melted

salt

pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon dried parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare roast by cutting small 1 inch deep slits into meat. Fill slits with julienned garlic pieces. Rub entire roast with olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary (if applicable). Place into roasting pan (or large baking dish) and bake 1 hour.

While roast is baking, melt butter and chicken stock together and finish preparing potatoes if you have not yet done so. After an hour of baking, remove roast. Pour about 1/4 cup of warm butter liquid onto roast and around the pan. Shingle potatoes around roast to create two layers of potatoes. Sprinkle on a few diced onions and pour on more butter liquid. Repeat this process until all ingredients are layered around pork roast. Sprinkle paprika and parsley over the whole thing. Return to oven and bake 45 minutes to an hour more. The dish is done once the potatoes are soft and the roast is cooked. Remove from oven and place roast onto a separate place to rest. Cover with foil and set aside. Keeping the potatoes in the roasting pan, stir to coat potatoes in the gravy. If it seems too runny, keep stirring. The starch from the potatoes will thicken the sauce. Taste potatoes and adjust seasonings accordingly. After 10 minutes, slice the pork roast thinly and serve with potatoes.

Recipe TIPS:

- The longer the potatoes cook, the better they become! Also, using a good quality chicken stock will make a HUGE difference in the taste.

-If your gravy for your potatoes is still too runny for your liking, mash a few pieces of the potatoes and stir. That should help thicken it up.

-Applesauce is good with pork, so give that a whirl.

-Use a meat thermometer for best results! You can always remove the meat if its cooked and keep the potatoes cooking! Dry meat is not bueno.

-If you are using a loin top roast with the string around it, DO NOT remove the string until after the meat has finished cooking!

No Bake Cookies

2010-04-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

So, we're still on the apartment hunt. Its a little stressful (which probably explains why I've just been posting desserts lately) and time consuming. And guess what! After my race which was 9 days ago, I realized that I forgot my running shoes in Utah! They are in the mail now but I haven't been able to run at all these last few days! How smart am I?! Don't worry though, I've been eating plenty of desserts to give me motivation to run once I get those shoes. Grumble grumble. I am so unimpressed with myself.

I digress.

Anyways, these are the perfect dessert when you're short on time. You just need a stove top to boil these suckers and voila--10 minutes to a whole huge batch of awesome delectable cookies. The flavor of these is to die for- chocolate and peanut butter, my friends! A deadly combination, in my opinion. And the oats add a great texture as well. YUM.

My husband grew up eating these and they probably are his all time favorites. I usually make regular sized petite cookies and then one huge cookie just for him. I'm such a good wife, aren't I? I suppose it makes him feel good because he could say "yeah, I only ate one!" HAHA. He doesn't tell anyone that the cookie was the size of his face. Wow. Anyways, you all really should make these because they are 1. delicious 2. easy 3. fast 4. delicious. Yup! Super good any way you look at it!

No Bake Cookies

yield: at least 30

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margerine

1/2 cup milk

2 cups sugar

3 cups oats

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In large pot, bring butter, milk and sugar to boil. Stir while boiling 1 minute. Remove from heat. Quickly stir in remaining ingredients until combined. Immediately scoop into cookies and place on waxed paper or aluminum foil. Allow 5-10 minutes to set and cool.

Recipe TIPS:

-Its a good idea to have all the ingredients you stir into the boiled mixture pre measured, so the process is quick and the cookie 'batter' comes together properly.

Banoffee Pie turned into a cake!

2010-04-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

(photo to come shortly!)

Wow, is it hard to find a decent, clean and affordable apartment! We've been scouring at least 4 different small towns and we've only found 1 absolutely perfect place. We'll have to wait and see if our application is chosen, but until then, how about making another MONSTER cake? This time with all the flavors and ingredients from a Banoffee pie! This is so good and so easy to make! I just can't believe it. Just like the chocolate version, you'll need cake, pudding, cream cheese, and whipped cream. The fillings are just about up to you, but to make it the banoffee way, I added in sliced bananas, crumbled shortbread cookies and toffee bits. A little different from the traditional English pie, but still the same flavors and a little more fun to eat! Give it a try sometime and impress your friends after having spent 10 minutes putting these little cakes together! I take full responsibility for any weight you may gain from consuming this dessert. You're welcome.

Banoffee MONSTER Cakes

yield: 12 at least

Ingredients:

1 white or yellow cake mix

1 small box chocolate pudding

1 1/2 cups cold milk

1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped

1-8 oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature

3-4 bananas, sliced

1 cup prepared toffee bits (I used heath bar bits found in the baking section at the store)

12-15 shortbread cookies, crumbled

Directions:

Prepare cake mix according to packaged directions. Bake on greased cookie sheet with high sides for half the time the directions say (for me that was 15 minutes at 350, but check your instructions). Cool and set aside.

For the chocolate cream cheese mousse: In large bowl, whisk milk and pudding together until smooth. Set aside to thicken. In stand mixer, whip cream cheese until light and fluffy. Slowly add in pudding to cream cheese to combine. Turn machine off, scrape sides of bowl and whip again to ensure no lumps are in the mixture. Continue the scrape-mix method until the chocolate pudding mix is smooth, creamy and lump free. Fold in whipped cream. Store in fridge until ready to assemble.

For assembly: Cut cake into 3-4 inch squares. Cut each individual square in half horizontally to create 2 skinny pieces of cake. Top with sliced bananas, creamy chocolate filling, crumbled shortbread cookies and toffee bits. Repeat this process again to create 2 layers. You can make as many layers as you want, hence they become MONSTERS. So good!

Recipe TIPS:

- You could turn this recipe into cupcakes, a trifle or even a frozen cake! Try it! You'll like it!

- If your cream cheese isn't at room temperature, you'll have a lumpy creamy filling. If you don't mind it lumpy then disregard this tip!

Southwest Cod Cakes with Mexican Sweet Rice

2010-04-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

This is what I made for dinner tonight! Looks yummy, right?! Well, the recipe is below!

BUT FIRST......

After a looooooong drive in a car packed tight.....

and after I ran my race......

WE MADE IT! It was a long few days, but we're here and getting settled now. Never before have I been so happy to arrive at any given destination.

Anyways, as I said before, this is what we had for dinner tonight and they were a big hit! My mother-in-law wanted me to make dinner and I (of course) agreed to. This is what I came up with and everyone ate it all up (except for my daughter who decided her food was better suited on the floor). Her loss. So, these little cod cakes are really healthy and full of flavor, especially when you eat them with a few extra things like warm black beans, sweet rice (recipe below!), and avocado salsa. YUM! A huge hit in this house.....it didn't even taste or smell like fish, either! Now THAT is a big accomplishment. So, if you find cod is on sale, pick up a lot and make these! It'll be worth it!

Southwest Cod Cakes

yield: 12 large

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup onion, diced

1 clove garlic

1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely diced

2 1/2 lbs. cod filet, cooked and flaked

1/4 cups cilantro, chopped

1 Tablespoon cumin

1/2 Tablespoon chili powder

salt

pepper

2 eggs

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Directions:

Heat large skillet to medium heat. Melt butter and sauté onions, garlic, and red pepper until soft, 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. In large bowl, combine remaining ingredients and cooked vegetables together. Form palm-sized patties by pressing mixture in between hands. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Serve with sweet rice, black beans and/or avocado tomato salsa.

Mexican Sweet Rice

Yield:4-6

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup onion, diced

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice

1 chicken bouillon cube (I used Knorr)

3 cups water

1 bay leaf

salt

pepper

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions:

In large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Sautee onions until soft, 5-7 minutes. Stir in rice to coat grains in butter. Increase temperature to high and stir in bouillon cube, water, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Once rice has come to a boil, reduce heat and stir in sugar. Cook covered on low heat 20 minutes or until rice has softened completely. Stir in chopped cilantro right before serving.

Guess what!

2010-04-18T22:54:00.000-07:00

We're in the middle of a move.....AGAIN! Right now we're staying with some friends in Utah and tomorrow morning we're driving the 12 hours to Oregon. I can't believe its TWELVE hours.....in a car......with a one year old.

I hope we make it.

In other news, I ran my half marathon yesterday morning with my sister! We did great, but I'm still SO SORE. Anyone know how to get rid of the pain real quick?! PS- I've tried some hardcore drugs and stretches.

MORE RECIPES (and photos of this crazy excursion) TO COME!

Chocolate MONSTER Cakes

2010-04-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

Guess what guys! I finally submitted my FIRST video to the Paula Deen contest! Thank you all so much for the confidence and the feedback! I appreciate it all so much! Love you guys like carbs! Anyways, these next few days are going to be a little crazy for me and my family: we are traveling to Salt Lake City for a race I'm running on Saturday with my sister and then after that, we are officially moving to Oregon! So exciting! I'm very sad to leave this small town where I met some of my best friends and my husband too! We met here, got engaged here, started our life here and had our little girl here. Lots of memories, but still lots more to be had else where. Its very bitter sweet, but we all are excited for what the future holds!

So, moving on to this amazingly delicious and easy recipe.......my friend Brittnae named these little babies for me! So delicious and easy are these little cakes to make (and eat!). You only need a few ingredients to whip these baby cakes up. AND, guess what! This will be the next recipe I submit for the Paula Deen recipe search! Test it out and tell me what you think!

Chocolate MONSTER Cakes

yield: 12 servings (or like 2 of my sized servings)

Ingredients:

1 boxed chocolate cake mix (german chocolate, devils food, any kind!)

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups milk

1 small package vanilla pudding

1-8 oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature

24 Oreos, crushed

Directions:

Make cake mix batter according to packaged directions. (Instead of oil, I used low fat sour cream and it was delicious!) Spread melted butter to coat cookie sheet (with high sides). Pour prepared batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, give or take 3 minutes until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool 10-15 minutes at least. The cake can be made in advance!

For the creamy filling: In a large bowl, whip vanilla pudding with milk until smooth and set aside to set. In large stand mixer, whip heavy cream until firm peaks form. Scrape out of bowl and set aside. Using same bowl, whip room temperature cream cheese about 1 minute to smooth out. With machine on, slowly pour vanilla pudding into cream cheese. Once all pudding is in the bowl, scrape down the sides and whip again until smooth. Fold whipped cream into pudding cream cheese mixture until incorporated.

For assembly: Cut cake into 3-4 inch squares. Cut each individual square in half horizontally to create 2 skinny pieces of cake. Spoon some creamy filling onto one half of cake. Top with Oreo crumbs and remaining piece of cake. Top cake with more cream and Oreo crumbs.

Recipe TIPS:

- You could turn this recipe into cupcakes, a trifle or even a frozen cake! Try it! You'll like it!

- If your cream cheese isn't at room temperature, you'll have a lumpy creamy filling. If you don't mind it lumpy then disregard this tip!

Jalapeno Popper Pizza

2010-04-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

This is one of the BEST original recipes I have ever made. I LOVE it so much.....so much so that I submitted it to a Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Paula Deen contest, hence the video! I was so nervous filming it and I'm still trying to figure out how to edit my 3 videos together (I'm still learning!) but here is the first one that actually shows you how to make it! Tell me what you think and definitely make this pizza right now! Its so ridiculously good. Over the top delicious!! PROMISE!

Jalapeno Popper Pizza

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb. pizza dough

1 cup prepared alfredo sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 large onion, sliced

1 large jalapeno, seeded and sliced

1 1/2 cups cubed prepared breaded chicken (store bought or home made)

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

4 oz. philadelphia cream cheese

1/2 lb. grated mozzarella cheese

1/4 lb. grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

WATCH THE VIDEO! SUPER SIMPLE!

PS- do you like the video idea? Should I make more?!

An Oldie but a Goodie!

2010-04-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, guys! I've been busy packing up my apartment, running miles and miles, testing recipes, packing some more, spending time with the in laws, etc. etc. BECAUSE.....

GORDON GRADUATED! Hooray! So, we're packing up and moving a few states over to Oregon for some employment! Its pretty exciting. This all means that we've been a little busy these days.....

SO, here is one of my first recipes I ever posted on my food blog that made it to the finals in the Pillsbury monthly bake-off late last year. Its one of my family's favorite recipes and its honestly SO easy! I have a few brand new recipes I'll be posting some time next week! (pie and pizza recipes!) Something to look forward to! Until then, here's my SOUTHWEST CHICKEN FLAT PIE recipe! Enjoy! Talk with you all soon!

(Image courtesy of pillsbury.com)

Not only is this a delicious meal, it comes together in a snap and its a great way to get rid of some leftover chicken in your fridge. When I made this, the feedback from my family was 'you didn't make enough!'. So, be sure to make 2 if you have some hungry people to feed! And, this recipe is one I entered into the Pillsbury Monthly Bake-off for October, and its now being voted on in the finals, so you know its going to be good! You can check it out HERE.

Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust (from 15-oz box)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1/2 cup salsa

2 green onions, chopped

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup canned black beans, drained, rinsed

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)

1 egg, beaten

Toppings:

Avocado slices

Chopped tomato

Shredded lettuce

Shredded Cheddar cheese

Chopped fresh cilantro

Sliced limes

Sour cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Remove pie crust from refrigerator. Unroll and place flat on ungreased cookie sheet.

2. In large bowl, toss together chicken, salsa, onions, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Spoon chicken mixture onto center of crust spreading to within 1 1/2 inches of edge. Top chicken mixture with beans and 1 cup cheese.

3. Fold crust edge over filling to form 1 1/2 -inch border, pleating crust as necessary. Brush crust edge with beaten egg.

4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. If necessary, during last 10 minutes of baking cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes. To serve, top with avocado slices, tomato, lettuce, cheese, cilantro, limes or sour cream then cut into wedges. Or, cut into wedges and top each individual serving as desired.