Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

My cousin who has savingyoudinero.com blogged about this website a few days ago. If you join, they will give you free samples that you can try and share your feedback on. There are also places on the page to share brands that you like with others. You can get some great information on products that others like and some people even share where you can find coupons.
Check it out!

Cheesy mashed potatoes

This Christmas I got the urge to try a bunch of new and different recipes. I was watching the food network (as always) and Giada De Laurentis was making this recipe for mashed potatoes. They sounded so yummy I knew I had to try them. I know it not a great idea to try new recipes for the first time on a holiday, but when else am I going to make such a decadent dish?
Well I made it, and EVERYONE loved them! My sister told me that my niece never eats mashed potatoes....well she ate her serving and asked for more! I got so many compliments. This may become a family tradition!

Cheesy Baked Mashed Potatoes
Courtesy of Giada De Laurentis
(Printable Recipe)

4 pounds peeled and cut into small pieces (so they boil faster)- I used 5 pounds of Yukon Gold
1 cup whole milk
1 stick butter melted
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated parmesean
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp plain bread crumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 13x9 inch baking pan and set aside.
2. Cook potatoes in salted boiling water until tender. Drain the potatoes and return to same pot. Mash well.
3. Mix in milk and melted butter. Mix in mozzarella and 3/4 cup parmasean cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Transfer potatoes to prepared baking sheet. Mix remaining parmesean cheese and bread crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over potatoes.
5. Bake until golden brown.

Nut Crescents - aka Sand Tarts

These are one of my favorite Christmas cookies. My mom makes them every year. This year, I decided I wanted to make them. This would let me try out the recipe and give my mom some help with the hectic holiday baking. Funny enough, the night before I was going to make them, Paula Deen made them on her cookie swap show. Her recipe is the same, the only difference is she cooks them lower and slower. I will put her recipe here. You may be wondering why they are called sand tarts. The cookie has almost a sand like texture because it crumbles and melts in your mouth. It is SO delicious!

Nut Crescents aka Sand Tarts
Courtesy of Paula Deen
(Printable Recipe)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners sugar (you will need more for dusting the cookies after they bake)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans (almost to consistency of raw sugar)

1. Preheat oven to 270F.
2. Using a mixture on low speed cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the vanilla. Add in the flour. Mix in the pecans with a spatula.
3. Take 1 Tbsp of dough and shape into a crescent. Place 1-2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake 40 minutes.
5. While still warm, dredge cookies in confectioners sugar. (Careful because they break easily when warm) Allow to cool completely on racks. Store in airtight container.

YUM!

Apple Strudel

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving last year and this past Thanksgiving as well. It is always a huge hit. So much easier than pie and just as tasty, if not more tasty. I might make it for my dad for Christmas, because he is asking for pie.

Apple Strudel
Courtesy of Peppridge Farm
(Printable Recipe)

1 sheet of thawed puff pastry (1/2 of a 17.3 ounce package- there are 2 sheets per package)
1 egg
1 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 large apples, cored, peeled and sliced thinly (original recipe calls for Granny Smith, but I used a mixture with Gala and Granny Smith)

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. In a small bowl, beat egg and water. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add sliced apples and toss to coat.
4. On a lightly floured surface, unfold sheet of puff pastry. Roll into 16x12 inch rectangle with the short side closest to you.
5. Spoon the apple mixture onto the edge closest to you. Roll up like a jelly roll. Tuck in edges to seal. Place seam side down on a baking sheet. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture. Cut slits on top of pastry.
6. Bake 35 minutes, or until browned. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving.

This would be SO good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Low Fat Chicken Alfredo and a Contest

Tonight I made a very yummy dinner. Chicken Alfredo. Instead of cream, I used skim milk. In order to have a low carb meal, serve over low carb pasta, or even just eat it alone. My picker eater hubby liked it and so did I!

Low Fat Chicken Alfredo
(Printable Recipe)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese
(I used other cheeses that I had in the fridge and needed to use up)
1 tsp garlic powder
3 cups skim milk (or more or less depending on desired consistency)
Salt and pepper to taste


1. Over medium high heat, cook cubed chicken until no longer pink. Drain any juices.
2. Melt butter in pan with chicken. Add flour. Allow to cook for about 1 minute. Add milk, spices, grated cheeses. Bring to slow boil. Allow to thicken.
3. Enjoy!

Baklava Bars

I made these for Thanksgiving and they were the BIGGEST hit. So delicious! You can use any nut you like. The recipe (I will post the original below with my modifications in parenthesis) called for walnuts, but I wanted to have a pecan dessert, so I used pecans...YUM!

Baklava Bars (courtesy of Betty Crocker)
(Printable Recipe)

Cookie base
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 egg

Filling
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (feel free to substitute any nut you like- I used pecans)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
8 frozen mini fillo shells (I used the whole package)

Glaze
1/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
1 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Spray bottom of 13 x 9 inch pan with cooking spray
2. In large bowl, stir cookie base ingredients until soft dough forms. Press dough into bottom of pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir nuts, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1 tsp cinnamon, and salt with fork until well mixed and crumbly.
4. Sprinkle nut mixture over partially baked crust. With hands, crumble frozen fillo shells evenly over nut mixture. Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Meanwhile, in small microwavable bowl, combine 1/3 cup honey, 2 Tbsp butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Microwave uncovered on High for 1 minute or until bubbly. Stir in vanilla. Drizzle evenly over fillo. Cool completely (about 2 hours).
7. Optional- before serving, drizzle honey over bars, cut and serve. (I didn't use the extra honey).

I will definitley be making this again! It is so delicious. The entire pan was eaten in about 2-3 days.

Money Saving, Alice.com & Giveaway

No recipes in today's blog. Things have been hectic as is usually the case. Today I wanted to share some super great ideas for saving money when buying groceries. I have a subscription to the Sunday paper, so my typical Sunday mornings include looking through sale ads, clipping the coupons. I then visit a few different websites for ideas of how to use these coupons. I check my cousins blog www.savingyoudinero.com which has ideas for coupons for groceries, household items, and the list goes on. Through using her site, I have come across some other truly great blogs which have helped me save money. Some of my favorites are www.fiddledeedeemom.com, www.couponingtodisney.blogspot.com. I use fiddledeedeemom for Publix deals and couponingtodisney for Christmas shopping ideas.
In clipping all of these coupons, I am in dire need of a better organizational tool. I have a plastic thing that holds my coupons, but has no sorter. I tried to design my own by putting small envelopes labeled with different grocer departments. This helps a lot, but I have had more than one occasion where all of my envelopes slid out of the plastic holder all over the floor of the store. Ugh! This brings me to another blog that I enjoy reading for delicious recipes (I spend hours a day looking at food blogs for recipe ideas...lol). http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/. Today, she decided to blog about her money saving advice. Some great ideas I got from reading her blog today include getting 2 newspapers, keeping your coupons with you at all times, and making a plan. I definitley impulse buy especially when I have a good coupon. If I had a plan, I might not be tempted to buy those impulse buys. She also has a link to a website www.alice.com where you can buy household items for much less and with free shipping! Check out her blog http://www.thenovicechefblog.com/2009/11/alicecom-and-giveaway.html. She is also giving away a super cute coupon organizer!
Enjoy!

Pumpkin Scones

I bought a cute little sugar pumpkin at our local fruit stand this year. I used it mostly to decorate, but after Halloween, I started to get antsy that I needed to use it before it rotted into a mushy smelly mess. I knew I didn't want to use it to make a pumpkin pie....I wanted something more interesting. Plus we are going to have pumpkin pie in a few weeks and wanted something different. I looked through tons of blogs and found so many wonderful ideas....pumpkin fudge, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin bars, muffins, cookies, etc. Note- I do not like pumpkin in savory recipes....I came across lots of those too. I finally found something I knew I wanted to try. Pumpkin scones! I had my very first scone at Panera...their orange scone...so these had some big shoes to fill. Panera's scones are soft, slightly sweet, and SO delicious. These came out a great texture, but just a little dry.....I probably didn't put enough liquid though, because I don't have real half and half....so try the recipe below if you like and tweak as you might see fit. YUM!

Pumpkin Scones
From Recipezaar.com

2 cups all purpose flour
7 Tbsp sugar (I used mostly brown sugar)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 Tbsp cold butter (cut into small pieces)
1/2 cup mashed pumpkin
3 Tbsp half and half
1 large egg

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Grease baking pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, spices). Add in butter and combine until resembles crumbles.
3. In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin, half and half, sugar, and the egg.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
5. Turn dough out of bowl onto lightly floured surface. Knead 4-5 times. Shape dough into disc. Cut disc into 8 wedges. Place onto baking pan and bake 15 minutes or until golden.

These would be great with a glaze...yummm!! This link above has recipes for different glazes.

Using up leftover chicken

After I made my chicken and dumplings, I had some shredded chicken left over. I was going to make chicken tacos with it, but the picky eater husband didn't want that. Since I did want tacos, that is what I made for me, but for him I made Buffalo Chicken wraps....super simple and it was quite a hit.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Cooked chicken (enough for 2 burrito wrappers)- we used shredded, but any kind you like will work (baked tenders, fried tenders, cubed chicken breasts, etc)
1/4 cup hot sauce (I used Texas Pete)
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Burrito wrappers (we used low carb)
2 slices of cheese (we used American)

1. In medium saucepan, heat hot sauce and butter over medium heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Add chicken to sauce and stir to combine. Allow to heat through.
3. Spoon 1/2 of the chicken over the middle of 1 burrito, top with american cheese. Repeat for second burrito. Wrap edges up like burrito. Enjoy!

Super easy and only takes a few minutes to make!

Chicken and Dumplings...From Scratch

With the weather cooling down, I wanted to make something hearty. We have both been battling a cold, so I knew some chicken soup would help us start to get better. Well the hubs, as I have mentioned previously, is quite the picky eater. If I was to make a yummy chicken noodle soup, he would only eat the chicken and the noodles and pick out all the vitamin packed veggies. In order to avoid wasting all those yummy veggies, I decided I would make chicken and dumplings. I saw Tyler Florence making his from scratch while watching the Food Network, and I was inspired. The dumplings were way too dense (I used a Paula Deen recipe). They may benefit from adding more water. They were tasty, but still not perfected.

Chicken and Dumplings
(Printable Recipe)

1 whole raw chicken, rinsed
1 whole garlic head
Seasonings to your taste (I used a McCormick Montreal Chicken spice and salt, but feel free to use fresh herbs- which my kitchen lacks currently)
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup flour
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp ice cold water
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. In a large stock pot, place chicken and spices. Cut through equator of garlic head and place in pot (leave skin on). Cover chicken with water. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 1 hour.
2. Remove chicken from the water. Strain stock over large bowl (make sure to reserve stock as this will be the broth part of the gravy). When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove skin and shred chicken.
3. In same large empty stock pot, over medium high heat- melt butter. Add flour and cook for 1 minute. Add stock to pot and bring to a boil. Stir in can of cream of chicken soup and allow boil. If gravy is to thin, you may make a slurry of 1 Tbsp of corstarch and 1/4 cup water and add to pot. Allow this to boil to thicken. Add chicken to gravy. Meanwhile prepare the dumplings.
4. In a medium bowl combine flour, salt and cold water. Mix to combine (will be stiff dough, but you may want to add more water as mine were VERY dense). Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut dough into 2 inch squares. Drop dough into boiling liquid. Stir so all dumplings may sink and cook in the gravy. Allow to cook until dumplings are floating and 2 minutes more.

Now you can add veggies to this recipe if you like. For me, I made a bag of frozen mixed veggies and served my helping over that.
Instead of these dumplings, you can also make a drop dumpling using a biscuit mix. These turn out light and fluffy instead of the doughy dumplings.

A Few of My Favorite Things

The hubby cooked last night and he says his recipe is a "secret," so no recipes today. He made ribs, by the way, and they were fantastic.

Since I am not able to provide a recipe...and since I am TOTALLY bored at work, I thought I would blog about some of my favorite things....snacks, ingredients, tools, etc.

Snacks

So, we have been trying to eat more low carb, high fiber, low fat snacks. Here are some we love.

True North Nut Clusters

These are so delicious! I buy at least 1 large bag at Sams club every week. They are organic and there is only cane syrup as a sweetner. Makes these a low carb snack full of the "good fats."

Fiber One Granola Bars- Oats & Chocolate

My cousin has a blog that helps save you money (savingyoudinero.com). She has posts where you can free samples from time to time. One of the samples I got was a Fiber One kit with this granola bar. Now I am not a huge fan of Fiber One cereal, so I was pretty skeptical. I tried it and was blown away with how delicious it was! I kept dreaming of eating some more of it. Each bar has 9 grams of fiber...so it is a pretty healthy snack, at least I like to think so.

Emerald Cocoa Roasted Almonds
Yes, I know it's another nut snack, but these are just so good. They have a chocolate powder on the outside of the nut and they taste pretty similar to oreo cookies. SO good!

Crystal Light

This just makes water so much more enjoyable. I only use half of the on the go packs for a bottle of water; otherwise it is too strong for me. I truly do find myself drinking more water when I am having Crystal Light. I am trying to get my hubby to switch from soda to crystal light.





Ingredients

There are those ingredients that you turn to almost every time you cook. We have a few choice ones that I would like to share.



Tones Garlic Powder

This ingredient gets used just about every day. I LOVE garlic. My husband likes the flavor, but not the bits of garlic when you use fresh. For a compromise, we use this. This brand is the most flavorful I have ever used. In the past, I have tried other brands, but they lack much flavor and you need to use a lot, but not this product. In fact, on the back it even tells you how much to use in comparison to if you were using real garlic.



Splenda
I use Splenda to sweeten drinks, bake, etc. I am on the fence about how I feel about using artificial sweetners, but switching from regular sodas and sweet teas to those sweetened with Splenda helped me lose a lot of weight.



Hidden Valley Light Ranch
The only Ranch dressing I like (besides from restaurants) is Hidden Valley. The light is so delicious you wouldn't even be able to tell it was light. I use this every day on salads for lunch. I also use it in place of egg when I am breading chicken. I marinate the chicken in the ranch dressing, then bread with seasoned flour and bake. It comes out so delicious. My hubby always asks me to make this for him.



Oven Fry

My husband doesn't each much fish, but he loves fried catfish. I am certainly not going to fry anything because of the extra fat, and the mess. When we found this product, it was a great compromise. The coating comes out so crispy and delicious. It is so easy to use. Just moisten the fish (you can rinse it or use milk or egg), then coat with the seasoning and place on baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes and viola, dinner is done!


Dreamfields Pasta
This pasta is a low carb pasta. You could certainly never tell. It looks, smells, and tastes just like normal pasta. I make so many sides for my hubby using this pasta. According to some websites, you shouldn't cook the pasta in the sauce as it allows it to "release" the carbs. Same thing goes for overcooking.

McCormick Grill Mates Barbecue Seasoning
We love this seasoning. It is so delicious on chicken, ribs, pork chops. I also make barbeque wings at times using this seasoning.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts...Calzone and Buffalo

We have been going to the Land and Sea Market lately after realizing they have pretty good prices on meats. We have tried over half of their stuffed chicken breasts and we love them. I decided to try my hand at it tonight and YUM. They turned out great! We usually get two flavors and split them so we can each taste one. So, in tradition, I made two flavors....Calzone and Buffalo. I have to say, the Buffalo version I made, I prefer over the Land and Sea Market's. The calzone is about equivalent. I can't wait to try different variations!

(Printable Recipes)

Calzone Stuffed Chicken Breast (makes 1, increase ingredients to make more)
(Printable Recipes)

1 chicken breast pounded flat
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 Tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 Tbsp tomato paste
3-4 Pepperoni slices (I used turkey pepperoni)
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, tomato paste. Place mixture in center of flattened chicken breast. Top with pepperoni slices. Roll chicken breast around filling, tucking in sides. Place seam side down in a baking dish. Pour water around chicken breast (until about 1/2 inch up side of chicken). Cover baking dish with foil. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
3. Remove foil and continue baking until cooked through (at least 10 minutes more).


Buffalo Stuffed Chicken Breasts (makes 1, increase ingredients to make more)

1 chicken breast pounded flat
3 oz cream cheese (I used reduced fat)
3 Tbsp shredded cheddar cheese
2 tsp hot sauce (I used Texas Pete- you can add more or less to your taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a bowl combine cream cheese, cheddar, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Place mixture in center of flattened chicken breast. Roll chicken breast around filling, tucking in sides. Place seam side down in a baking dish. Pour water around chicken breast (until about 1/2 inch up side of chicken). Cover baking dish with foil. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
3. Remove foil and continue baking until cooked through (at least 10 minutes more).

Soft, Delicious Oatmeal Cookies

Photo courtesy of http://allrecipes.com/Cook/13222627/Profile.aspx


Well our house is up for sale. We got a call from someone who wanted to look at it. I have heard that one trick when showing your house, is to bake cookies. It makes your house seem comfortable and "homey." I have also heard that using cinnamon in your recipe is good. Being that it is fall, the house should smell like something baking with cinnamon. My husband is the pickiest eater, so apple pie was out, coffee cake was out, gingerbread was out, and the list goes on. I decided to make oatmeal cookies. I looked online for a recipe and came across on on allrecipes.com. It had a 5 star rating, so I thought, it couldn't hurt to try it. When I was making it, I got a little taste of the dough....AMAZING. The BEST cookie dough I have EVER tasted! The cookies come out soft and stay soft....so tasty.



Oatmeal cookies

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

(Printable Recipe)



1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 cups quick cooking oats

Optional add ins- raisins, chocolate chips, toffee bits



1. Cream together sugars and butter. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla.



2. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon. Add mixture into butter/egg/sugar mixture and stir together until well combined. Add oats to mixture and stir until well combined. If you are adding toppings, add them in with the oats.



3. Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.



4. Preheat oven to 375. Grease baking pan. Using a cookie scoop or palms of your hands, roll dough into walnut sized pieces and place 2 inches apart on baking pan. Flatten dough balls (you can use a fork dipped in sugar, the palm of your hand, or the bottom of a glass).



5. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool at least 5 minutes on the baking pan before moving to wire rack to cool.



Next time I make these, I will be adding toffee pieces. I may add chocolate chips too. So yummy. I brought them to work and got rave reviews!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I just love pot roast. With the mornings and evening being cooler, I have been in the mood to make it. In Florida, the afternoons are still pretty warm, so I wanted to make it in the slow cooker to avoid heating the house with the oven.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast
(Printable Recipe)

5 pound boneless beef roast (I like the shoulder roast)
1-2 cans (depending on thickness desired) cream of mushroom soup (I also like roasted garlic cream of mushroom)
32 oz beef broth
Following veggies- use as much or as little as you like
Small red potatoes- halved
Carrots- peeled and cut into large pieces
Celery- cut into large pieces
Onion- diced (I did not use this as my hubby has an aversion to onions)
Garlic powder and salt to taste
Cooked egg noodles

1. Put beef and veggies into slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder.
2. Pour cream soup and broth over beef and veggies.
3. Put slow cooker on low for 6 hours. If you don't have that much time you can also put it on high for about 3-4 hours.
4. Take meat out, slice and then place back in gravy.
5. Serve over egg noodles. Delicious!

Ginger/Garlic Beef Stir Fry

I got this recipe a LONG time ago while watching a show on the Food Network called How To Boil Water. I have made this for myself a Million times. I made it for my family many times and they LOVE it. I cannot make it for my husband, though, because he doesn't eat onions, garlic, ginger, or chunks of tomatoes....all of these ingredients in this DELICIOUS recipe. I changed a few things along the way which I will type in the recipe. I hope you all enjoy it!

Ginger/Garlic Beef Stir Fry- altered recipe from the Food Network's How to Boil Water (their recipe is called Beef with Scallions, Tomato, and Ginger)

1 pound beef cut up into bite sized pieces (original recipe calls for flank steak, I use top round steaks or mock tenders, whatever is on sale)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
Original recipe calso alls for 2 Tbsp dry sherry- I have used it and haven't and don't really miss it
3 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1 bunch of scallions cut into 2 inch pieces- seperate whites and greens
1 Tbsp chopped/grated ginger (I have used garlic as a complete substitution or use half garlic and half ginger)
1 pound of tomatoes cut into large pieces (a little bigger than bite sized)
Original recipe calls for hoison sauce...I don't like it!

1. In a large bowl, mix together soy sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil, cornstarch, sugar and sherry if you are going to use it
2. Put beef into mixture and allow to marinate for a least 10 minutes.
3. Heat pan and add beef mixture with all liquid and scallion whites. Cook without stirring until beef is pink (about 1 minute). Transfer to a bowl
4. Return pan to heat and add 1 tsp sesame oil. Add the ginger/garlic and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. Add the scallion greens and tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are slightly soft.
6. Add beef back to pan and cook until heated through and sauce has thickened.
7. Enjoy!

Original recipe courtesy of Food Network

Pumpkin "Pie"- Low Carb, Low Fat

This weekend, we were at Target and they were giving samples of Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses. My husband decided to give them a try! I couldn't believe it...I have to say he has been more brave about food lately and I am SO proud! Well turns out, he LIKED them! I did too. They tasted like a creamy yummy pumpkin pie. I got inspired to then try to make him a homemade pumpkin pie. The dilemma, we needed it to be low carb for him and low fat for me. Also, I had NO evaporated milk...so we had a substitution. Yummy. Still waiting for him to try it.
This is basically the recipe on the back of Libby's pumpkin can, with a few change ups.

Pumpkin "Pie"

1 15 oz can Libby's Pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs (I used 1 egg and 1 egg white)
3/4 cup Splenda
1/4 cup Vanilla (or any flavor you might venture to try) coffee creamer (I used low sugar)
1/2 cup Skim Milk (Or you could substitute 1 12 oz can evaporated milk or 12 oz cream)

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Beat eggs. Add in spice, Splenda, pumpkin and mix well until combined.
3. Add in milk and creamer and mix well until combined.
4. Pour mixture into pie plate and bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
5. Turn oven heat down to 350 and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Allow to cool and serve!

I made this crustless because the crust is full of butter and sugar (aka fat and carbs). It is so yummy you won't need it!

Twice Baked Sweet Potato

I LOVE sweet potato pie. Obviously, though, it doesn't make the most healthy side dish. I have tried my hand at eating a baked sweet potato plain...blah. I tried baking it, cutting it open and putting butter, cinnamon, marshmallow, etc. This makes it yummy, but only on the cut edges. When you get to the middle, it is plain again. I had this problem....until.....Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes were born. So yummy! Its like a healthy sweet potato pie that you can eat as a pretty healthy side dish.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

2 medium sweet potatoes
2 tsp butter/margarine- I used honey butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2-4 Tbsp milk
Salt to taste
Mini marshmallows

1. Bake sweet potatoes until tender (I made mine in the microwave)
2. Cut sweet potato in half and scoop out flesh. Be sure to leave skin intact and reserve. Put flesh into a bowl and mash.
3. Add butter, cinnamon, salt and milk (use enough milk so it is the consistency of moist mashed potatoes). Put mixture back into skin.
4. Top with mini marshmallows.
5. Place back in oven and bake until warmed through and the marshmallows are toasty.

Mini Turkey Meatloaf

This is a quick and very tasty dinner.

Mini Turkey Meatloaf

1lb ground turkey
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 egg
1 tsp granulated garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cheese stick cut into pieces

1. Combine all ingredients above except for cheese. Make 6 meatballs and place in muffin pan.
2. Push 1 piece of cheese into center of each meatball and cover with meat.
3. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy. So tasty, so simple!

Potato Salad

I used to always make my grandmother's potato salad recipe. It was always my favorite. Then one day, we went to a neighbor's house and she has a potato salad with some herbs mixed in. It was so delicious. So I thought to combine the two and YUM! A great potato salad was born.

Ingredients

3 lbs red creamer potatos boiled, cooled, and peeled (I boil mine then remove the peels when they cool)
1/2 cup mayo
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 bunch parsley
4 green onions (scallions or you could use chives)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut potatos into large pieces (so they won't break apart when mixing, otherwise you will wind up with mashed potato salad)
2. Finely chop green onions and parsley (I use my food processor) and add to the potatoes
3. Add mayo, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper and fold together.

Thats it. It is that easy

Chicken Enchiladas

My mom used to make this for us all the time. I used to love the recipe so much that I would ask her to make it for me on my birthdays. She got the recipe from the back of a Campbells Cream of something soup (either chicken or celery) and adapted it a little bit. The recipe below is the adaptation as I cannot seem to find the original that was close to hers.

Chicken Enchiladas

1 can cream of chicken soup (I use the low fat)
1.5 cups sour cream (I use the low fat)
1 pound cooked chicken breast cubed
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 onion diced
1 can chopped green chiles
Tortillas (you can use low carb to make this a low carb meal)
Shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F

1. Combine soup and sour cream in medium sized bowl
2. Saute diced onions until translucent and soft.
3. Add chili powder to chopped onions and cook for a few seconds until fragrant.
4. Add chopped chiles, chicken and half of the soup/sour cream mixture. Stir to combine and allow to heat through, then remove from heat.
5. Fill tortillas with mixture and place in baking sheet seam side down. Spread the rest of the soup/sour cream mixture over the top. Sprinkle with cheese.
6. Cover pan with tin foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until cheese is melty.

Coconut "Cream Pie" Pudding Parfait

We had the in-laws over for dinner last night. Just like my hubby, they are a family of picky eaters. I had to take this, the fact that my husband is on a low carb diet, and the fact that I didn't have many ingredients in the house into consideration when deciding what to make for a dessert. I checked the pantry and I had a box of Sugar Free Cook and Serve Vanilla Pudding. I had a half bag of coconut, cool whip and graham crackers....and viola...coconut "cream pie" pudding parfaits were born. They were SO delicious. The MIL brought over a cake from Publix and I tasted both and actually preferred the parfait.

Coconut "Cream Pie" Pudding Parfait

1 box cook and serve vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
1/2 bag of sweetened coconut flakes
3 graham crackers smashed into crumbs
Cool whip

1. Combine vanilla pudding and milk in saucepan and prepare per directions on the box
2. When finished heating, add coconut to pudding and stir to combine. Allow to cool
3. In dessert glasses (I used wine glasses, so any pretty glasses you have will be fine) layer ingredients....graham cracker crumbs then pudding, then cool whip, more graham cracker, pudding, cool whip and top with leftover coconut flakes.

Mahi Mahi Tacos

I love tacos and seafood. I have had some pretty good fish tacos at certain restaurants and some not so good ones at others. While I was at my mom's house watching my brothers I thought it would be perfect time to try to make them myself. My brothers love seafood and are not picky eaters at all (unlike my hubby), so I got to make some recipes that I don't usually make at home. These tacos turned out so good. I made a whole bag of Mahi Mahi (frozen from Sams Club) and the entire bag was gone (only 3 people eating). You could certainly substitute your favorite fish, but I prefer a firm white fish like Mahi (yum grouper would be great too). If you are on a low carb diet, you could also use low carb tortillas to make this fit.

Mahi Mahi Tacos

2 lbs Mahi Mahi
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
Tortillas
Shredded cabbage (you can use lettuce instead, the cabbage is a little crunchier)
Shredded cheese (we used cheddar)
Salsa (or you could use tomatoes)
Any other of your favorite taco toppings

1. Preheat oven to 350 (or go by directions on bag). Place Mahi Mahi on baking sheet.
2. Combine spices and olive oil in small bowl. Brush on Mahi Mahi filets
3. Bake Mahi Mahi filets until flaky. Use package instructions for timing.
4. Put Mahi Mahi in tortilla and top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Ice Cream Sundaes

We had some friends over this weekend for a barbeque. I was very short on time (last minute party) but wanted something yummy and easy for dessert. Our friends were bringing their 2 children so I also wanted something appealing to them. I decided to have ice cream sundaes.
I bought 2 different flavors of ice cream (vanilla and chocolate). In one of those divided chip and dip servers I put all different toppings. It was a hit! Everyone had so much fun putting whatever (and however much) toppings they wanted. Here are the toppings I used.

Maraschino cherries
Chocolate Chips
Crumbled oreo cookies
Sliced Strawberries
Toasted Coconut
Brown Sugar Pecans
Whipped cream
Chocolate syrup

I know there is no cooking involved here (I did make the brown sugar pecans, but didn't love the recipe as no brown sugar stuck to the pecans, so I won't bother you with it here), but since it was so easy and everyone loved it...I thought I would share the idea.

Popcorn treats

For the 4th of July festivities, we went to my parent's house for a bbq and some fireworks. We were going to do all of the cooking for the family because my parents had some plans during the day. I tore through my pantry (did I forget to mention it was a last minute party) and decided that I would try to make things with stuff I need to get rid of. I came across a box of popcorn and decided to throw it in the cooler. Next I found a half used jar of marshmallow fluff, a half bag of marshmallows, so I threw them in too. Then I found 1 bag of 100 calorie pack cookies and an almost empty bag of pretzels. When I got to my mom's she had a bag of chocolate chips and a half jar of peanut butter, I decided to put all these together and viola! Popcorn treats.

Popcorn treats

1 normal sized bag of popcorn (I used light butter)
1 bag of marshmallows (I used a half bag and half jar of fluff)
1 Tbsp of butter
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup pretzels
Whatever other creative yummy toppings you like (peanuts, more chocolate, M&Ms, cookie crumbs, etc)

1. Pop bag of popcorn according to directions on bag
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in saucepan over medium high heat. When melted, add in marshmallows and stir frequently while they all melt into a sauce.
3. Put popcorn in large bowl (REMEMBER to remove unpopped kernels), pour marshmallow sauce over. Add in desire toppings and stir all together.
4. Lay out mixture on greased baking sheet.
5. Melt peanut butter over medium heat. When melted, drizzle over popcorn mixture.
6. Melt chocolate (I melt mine in the microwave), and drizzle over popcorn mixture.
7. Break into pieces, enjoy!

Skillet Ravioli "Pizza" courtesy of Publix

My husband and I are huge fans of pasta and pizza. He is a very picky eater (as I may have mentioned in numerous other posts), so when he asked me to make this, I was surprised. He has tasted it at Publix when they do their Aprons recipe samples. I made it at home and it was delicious!

Skillet Ravioli Pizza

1 1/2 cups water
2 (7-ounce) packages refrigerated cheese mini-ravioli
1 tablespoon butter
1 3/4 cups refrigerated marinara sauce (15 ounces)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
20 pepperoni slices

1. Combine water, ravioli, and butter in large saucepan. Cover and bring to boil on high.
2. Remove lid when boiling; reduce to medium-high. Cook 5–6 minutes, stirring often (to avoid pasta sticking), or until most of liquid is absorbed.
3. Stir marinara sauce into ravioli; reduce to low. Cook 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly, or until pasta is hot and tender.
4. Spread ravioli evenly into single layer. Sprinkle with cheese and arrange pepperoni slices over top. Cover and cook 3–4 minutes or until cheese melts.

CALORIES (per 1/6 recipe) 368kcal; FAT 16g; CHOL 50mg; SODIUM 888mg; CARB 38g; FIBER 3g; PROTEIN 19g; VIT A 17%; VIT C 0%; CALC 30%; IRON 8%

My husband loved it. He even went back for a third helping! Thanks Publix!

Chicken Pot Pie....from scratch

I bought a whole raw chicken last week. Well they also had the Publix Mediterranean rotiserrie chickens on sale which we decided to try. YUM! Well after that meal, I was not in the mood to eat another roasted chicken. I talked to my mom who suggested I use the chicken to make broth, then shred the chicken up for a recipe. So I made chicken pot pie. Here is the recipe.



Chicken Pot Pie



Broth

1 whole raw chicken
3-4 carrots
3-4 stalks of celery
1 onion
3 whole cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Water



1. Place all ingredients into large pot. Use enough water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cover and cook for 45 min to 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through.
2. Remove chicken and shred.
3. Strain broth to remove veggies. At this point, I try to skim off some of the fat that will float to the top.

Crust

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp butter
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup milk



1. Cut cold butter into small cubes
2. Put all ingredients into bowl and mix until forms into dough
3. Refrigerate dough

Pie filling

1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
Canned/frozen/fresh veggies of your choice
Shredded cooked chicken

1. Melt butter over medium high heat
2. Add flour to butter and cook for 1 min
3. Add milk and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Mine was very runny and didn't thicken well, so at this point, I had to add some cornstarch. You could also possibly add a can of cream of chicken to make it more creamy
4. Add in veggies and cook through
5. Add in chicken and remove from heat

Putting it all together
Preheat oven to 400 F
1. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out. I chose to only use a top crust and to make it into a lattice pattern.
2. Put pie filling into oven safe baking dish. I used individual sized bowls, but you could make one large one.
3. Cover pie filling with dough.
4. Bake at 400 F until dough is brown and filling is warmed through

This recipe was very time consuming, but it turned out very delicious. I would recommed anothe method to make the sauce creamy, because mine was more soupy.

Swedish Meatballs

A few weeks ago, we went to the new IKEA to check it out. While we were there we had to try the Swedish meatballs that everyone raves about. They were so tasty (and a steal at 4.99 per plate with a large serving!). So I decided to try to make them at home. They came out quite good. I will post the way I made it, but I would definitley advise making more gravy!

Swedish Meatballs

Meatballs
1 lb ground sirloin (you could use ground chuck...if you do, don't add the butter below)
1 egg
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Prehead oven to 350F
2. Combine above ingredients until well mixed
3. Make into any sized meatballs you prefer
4. Heat pan, add meatballs and brown on all sides
5. When meatballs have browned, remove from pan and transfer to oven safe baking sheet (reserve grease)
6. Bake meatballs to finish cooking (cooking time varies depending on size of meatballs)

Gravy
Pan drippings
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup milk

1. If you used ground chuck skip this step. Melt butter in pan with grease.
2. Add flour and cook for 1 minute
3. Add broth and simmer for at least 1 min (to allow thickening)
4. Add milk to desired consistency
5. Add cooked meatballs to gravy and serve

As I said, I would make more gravy next time. I served mine over egg noodles, but they would be great with mashed potatoes or even rice.

BBQ ribs and grilled veggie couscous salad

For Memorial Day we decided to do the typical grilling. We wanted something more than just burgers and hot dogs. So we settled on ribs. I wanted a side that was something not typical, and since the grill was going to be fired up, I decided to grill up some veggies and add them to couscous. So good!

BBQ Ribs

Slab of ribs
Seasonings of choice
BBQ sauce of choice

1. Put ribs in pot and cover with water. Add desired seasonings to water. Bring water to a boil, reduce to medium heat, and boil ribs for 20 minutes with lid on.

2. Meanwhile, preheat grill (not too hot though). When ribs are finished boiling, baste them with desired BBQ sauce and place on bottom rack of grill. Turn every 5 min and baste with more sauce. Cook until sauce has thickened to and you start to see char marks (about 10-15 minutes).


Grilled veggie couscous salad

1 green pepper
1 red onion
1 zuchinni
1 yellow squash
1 tomato
(any other veggies you might like- I tried eggplant and I didn't like it at all)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 box of couscous (any flavor you like- I used whole wheat olive oil and garlic)

1. Prepare couscous according to directions on box and set aside in a serving dish.

2. Dice tomato and set aside- tomato will not be grilled

3. Cut veggies in big enough pieces so they will not fall through grates of grill (I sliced squash and zuchinni long ways and the onions into big rings)

4. Brush grilling veggies with olive oil and sprinkle with salt/pepper and any other desired seasonings.

5. Grill veggies until char marks and to desired tenderness

6. After veggies are cool enough to handle, chop into bite sized pieces and add to couscous.

7. Add tomatoes, stir to combine and enjoy!

So tasty!

Smoky Mac and Cheese

I had so many tasty recipes over the weekend, so I am going to be posting more than one blog today.
Saturday was my 10 year high school reunion which was held at a park. We were having a bbq and asked to bring a side dish. I mulled over it for a while trying to decide what to make that others wouldn't also be making. I ended up choosing to make a mac and cheese, but wanted it to be different. Instead of using typical cheeses (cheddar, american, etc) I used smoked gouda. It was SO good! The entire tray was eaten. Even my picky eater husband enjoyed it.

Smoky Mac and Cheese

1 lb dry pasta
8-10 oz of smoked gouda cheese shredded
4 oz cheddar shredded
2 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp cornstarch
Bacon cooked and chopped

1. Salt water and bring to a boil and cook pasta according to directions on box (salt is important here because the gouda is not a very salty cheese)

2. In a medium saucepan, combine milk, cheeses, paprika, salt and pepper. Bring a boil over medium high heat stirring constantly to avoid scalding milk. Continue to heat until all cheese has melted.

3. My cheese sauce was very thin at this point so I made a slurry of cornstarch and the hot cheese sauce. If yours is not thin, you can skip this step. If you add the cornstarch right into the sauce it is very lumpy. Take a small amount (1 Tbsp) of the cheese sauce and put into a small bowl. Add the cornstarch and mix until combined, then add all of the mixture into the pot of the cheese sauce and continue to heat until thickened.

4. Put pasta in serving dish, pour cheese sauce over and sprinkle with chopped bacon to garnish.

Mac and cheese is very versatile and you could make this with pretty much any cheese you would like.

Yum....I will have to try this....

In my search of recipe blogs, I came across this fabulous looking recipe for Perogi Lasagna on the blog entitled Omnomicon! Here is the link and instructions
http://www.omnomicon.com/pierogi-lasagna
Pierogi Lasagna
1 lb lasagna noodles4 lbs red or white potatoes1/4 c sour cream (optional)1/2 c milk2 c shredded cheddar cheese3/4 c butter (1.5 sticks)1 onion, sliced in rings
Cook the noodles. Chop potatoes into 1″ cubes, place in pot of cold water (enough to cover), and allow to come to a boil. Continue boil until potatoes are soft enough to yield to a fork stab. Drain, mash, blend with a mixer. Toss in the optional sour cream and milk, mix some more. Add salt to taste. Stir in cheddar.
Melt all the butter over medium-high heat, then sautee onion until the rings no longer hold their shape.
Preheat oven to 375. Grease the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with some of the onion-butter. Lay noodles on the bottom of the dish, then spread the potatoes, a dollop at a time, along the length of each noodle. Once done, smooth the potatoes, then spread about a quarter of the onion on top, and drizzle a small amount of butter as well. Repeat this twice (or more if your dish can accommodate), then top with noodles and the remainder of the onions and butter.
Pop in the oven for 20 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Yum...I might just have to try this for Fathers Day because my dad is a huge fan of perogis!

Yummy Frosting

One of my co-workers is going on a prolonged "vacation" and Friday was his last day. I have boxes and boxes of brownie mix (I love brownies and buy them whenever they are BOGO), so I decided I would brownies. Now we have a lady who works with us and she likes to cut herself a piece and then lick the knife and then cut another piece, or she will lick her fingers which are covered in whatever and then touch the food...so I decided I will make them into cupcakes. They were so dense and so chocolatey..I loved them. Of course you can not have a "cupcake" without some type of frosting. I am not a big fan of frosting, but I found a recipe on the back of my box of cocoa and decided to try it out. It was DELICIOUS! So here it is...

Chocolate Lover's Frosting
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Level: Easy Rated:
Source:

Chocolate Lover's Frosting
Estimated Times:Preparation - 5 min Yields - 16 servings (2 Tablespoons per serving)
Ingredients:
3 cups sifted powdered sugar, divided
2/3 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
5 to 6 tablespoons milk, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:BEAT 1 cup powdered sugar, cocoa, butter, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in remaining sugar and milk until smooth. Makes 2 cups total.

Nutritional Info

Nutrition FactsServing Size: 1/16 of recipeServings per Recipe: 16 servings (2 Tablespoons per serving)
Amount per serving
Calories: 150
Calories from Fat: 50
% Daily Value
Total Fat: 6g
10%
Saturated Fat: 3.5g
18%
Cholesterol: 15mg
5%
Sodium: 40mg
2%
Carbohydrates: 25g
8%
Dietary Fiber: 1g
3%
Sugars: 22g
Protein: 1g
Vitamin A
4%
Vitamin C
0%
Calcium
0%
Iron

Panzanella

For Mothers Day this year, my mother wanted to have everyone at her house for pizza. She wanted to something easy so nobody had to cook or clean. To go along with the pizza I decided to make a salad. I searched the web for something different instead of the same old salad or the same old antipasta. I checked out thenest and found a recipe for Panzanella salad. It is basically a salad that you use old stale bread to soak up the juices of the tomatoes and dressing. It was quite good. I used the celestial seasonings italian salad dressing instead of theirs. So here is the recipe...

Panzanella

Ingredients:
1/2 pound Italian bread, 3 to 4 days old, cut into 1-inch thick slices1/2 cup cold water1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1⁄2-inch cubesKosher salt1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar2 cloves garlic, minced1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oilFreshly ground black pepper1 1/2 to 2 pounds ripe tomatoes (about 5), seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes1 medium red onion (4 to 5 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch dice1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn
Directions:
Sprinkle the bread with the water and let stand about 2 minutes. Gently squeeze the bread dry as you tear it into roughly 1-inch pieces. Spread the pieces of torn bread on paper towels to dry slightly, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, spread the cucumber pieces on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Let stand about 20 minutes to extract the bitter juices. Put the cucumbers in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Pat dry.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar, garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, torn basil, and the bread. Toss to combine and let stand until the bread has absorbed some of the vinaigrette, about 20 minutes.
Cooking Right: Reconstitute stale bread by sprinkling it with water. Gently squeeze out any excess water as you tear the bread into pieces. Don’t be too zealous as you squeeze or the bread will fall apart.
Excerpted from Cooking New American by the Editors of Fine Cooking. Copyright © 2004. Reprinted with permission from Taunton Press, Inc. Recipe by Joanne Weir.

Shrimp and Grits

So I did eventually use the rest of the ricotta in a ricotta ice cream that I found a recipe for on Foodnetwork.com. I tried to make it low fat by using low fat ricotta and skim milk, and I came out horrible...I won't bore you with the details. Onto a delicious meal...

I love shrimp and I love grits. I have often heard people dreamily talking about how delicious they are together, but didn't think they made a good pair. One night my hubby and I were out to dinner at Stumps Supper Club in Channelside. I saw they had this dish on their menu, so I thought, why not...I'll try it. It was AMAZING!! One of the best meals I have had a restaurant...really THAT good. I am sure it was quite unhealthy.
I was recently reading the newspaper and came across a shrimp and grits recipe...so I thought I would try it out. I didn't have the recipe in front of me, so I cooked the grits according to the package (get the quick cooking and NOT the instant), added some salt and cheese. Then I cooked the shrimp in a little butter substitute, garlic and a splash of wine. Put them together and viola! Delish!!
Here is the recipe from the St Pete Times article

Cheesy Grits and Shrimp

3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick-cooking grits
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
For the shrimp:
4 or 5 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons sherry or white wine
2 pounds medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
To cook grits, bring water and salt to a boil. Pour in grits, stir and turn the heat to low. Stir regularly for about 7 minutes. Stir in pepper and cheese. Stir until cheese melts and set grits aside while shrimp cooks.
For shrimp, melt butter in medium-hot skillet. Add onion, garlic, jalapeno and salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add sherry or wine and shrimp. Cook until shrimp is mostly pink. Turn off burner and let residual heat cook shrimp the rest of the way through.
In individual bowls, scoop out some grits and ladle shrimp with some of the juice on top.
Serves 4 to 5.

Hope you like it!

More Ricotta

So last night I wanted to try to use up my ricotta....still no success, so check back tomorrow for a new and exciting ricotta recipe.
I was racking my brain of what I could do with that ricotta. My hubby is a picky eater, so it makes it a little harder. I wanted to try to incorporate it into some type of egg dish, but he says he doesn't like eggs. I could only come up with lasagna. Well, by this time it was almost 6 pm and he is on a lower carb diet, so I had to make it healthy and quick. So here goes....

Lower carb quick and dirty "lasagna" (more like a pasta bake)

2-3 oz of Dreamfields low carb pasta per person (so if you have 4 people, make 8-12 oz) cooked according to package directions and drained (I used spaghetti, but any shape would be tasty)
1 pound of ground beef (any ground meat you prefer would work)
3/4 cup of ricotta cheese
1 egg
Dash of oregano
1 can pasta sauce (we use the Hunts that is not seasoned....if you use one that is already seasoned, you don't need the following)
Garlic powder to taste
Salt to taste
1 Cup Mozzerella cheese
Parmesean cheese
You will also need a baking dish (I prefer to use smaller ones to get better portion control, so I used 2 laof pans- 1 per person and we only ate half each)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F

2. Cook the ground meat until almost completely cooked through. Add in sauce and season to taste (we use the garlic powder and salt)

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together ricotta, egg, oregano, salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste.

4. Put a small amount of sauce into bottom of baking dish (to prevent sticking)

5. Put the pasta into the baking dish and put cover with a layer of ricotta cheese.

6. Pour meat sauce over ricotta to cover

7. Put mozzerella on top with a sprinkle of ricotta cheese

8. Bake at 400 F until bubbly-about 15 minutes

It was so tasty...I am not a big fan of lasagna because sometimes there is too much cheese, so here you can put as much as you want. Making into 2 pans is nice too because if someone else likes more cheese, you can make one with less and one with more.

Tonight I plan to use the rest of the ricotta. I found a recipe on Foodnetwork.com that looks interesting. Stay tuned!

Calzones...Yum!

So tonight I tried out a new recipe I found on foodnetwork.com. I bought ricotta about 1 week ago and I had forgotten to use it for the recipe I intended it for. I went online looking for something to use it in and I came across a recipe for Ham Calzones on foodnetwork.com. I LOVE calzones and my hubby loves pizza (he has never had a calzone), so I figured why not! I tried to make it lower in fat by using less mozzerella. They came out tasty, but I would recommend forgoing the diet for one night and using the cheese it calls for....mine was not gooey enough. The dough I found I used less flour than it called for. I also tried to use some whole wheat flour. So instead of all white flour, I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1.5 cups of white flour. I also did not use the wine in the dough...not my thing. I waited to serve so it would set up, but it might be more gooey if served right out of the oven. For sauce, we used Ragu pizza sauce. So here is the original recipe...

Ricotta and Ham Calzone
Recipe courtesy Mario Batali
Prep Time:
20 min
Cook Time:
25 min
Level:
Intermediate
Serves:
4 servings

Ingredients
1 recipe basic bread dough, recipe follows
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
1/3 pound prosciutto cotto or ham, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 eggs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil, for the crust
Pizza paddle

Directions
I recommend buying a prepared tile baking stone for all pizza and bread working at home. They are available at gourmet shops and specialty chef supply stores.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Prepare the bread dough as directed, cutting the dough into 2 pieces.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, prosciutto, mozzarella, 1 egg, and pecorino. Using a wooden spoon, stir the filling until well combined. Set aside.
Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into 2 rounds.
Coat the pizza paddle with the sea salt. Place 1 dough round on the paddle spread with coarse sea salt.
Spoon the filling onto the center of the dough round laid out on the pizza paddle. Using your fingers, dab a little extra-virgin olive oil all around the edge of the dough. Fold each round over itself to make a half-moon shape. Using your fingers, crimp the edges, sealing the calzone.
In a small bowl, use a fork to beat the remaining 1 egg. Using a pastry brush or your fingers, dab the top of the calzone with the egg mixture, which will help the top turn a beautiful golden brown.
Place in the oven and cook until the dough is cooked through and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cut into 4 pieces and serve immediately.

Basic Bread Dough:
1/4 cup light red wine or white wine
3/4 cup warm water
1 package yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
Combine the wine, water, and yeast in a large bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the honey, salt, and the olive oil and mix thoroughly. Add 1 cup of the flour and mix with a wooden spoon to make a loose batter. Add 2 more cups of the flour and stir with the spoon for 2 to 3 minutes to incorporate as much flour as possible.
Bring the dough together by hand and turn out onto a floured board or marble surface. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes, until you have a smooth, firm dough. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Set aside to rise in the warmest part of the kitchen for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes, cut the risen dough into 2 equal pieces and knead each portion into a round. Cover again and let rise for 15 minutes. The dough is now ready to be used.


I still have ricotta left over, so stay tuned for some other use for ricotta cheese.

Kitchen Essentials

The last few days have been pretty boring standard recipes (tacos last night, spaghetti and meatballs the night before last), so instead of recipes, I decided to post my favorite kitche items. These are the things I could not cook without. Of course I need my stove and oven, but besides that, here are the things I use on a very regular basis.

1. Racheal Ray pots and pans- I got myself the hard anodized steel set. They have a silicone rubber grip on the handles and a nonstick surface. They are easy just the right weight for me, heavy enough to cook the food evenly, but not too heavy where I cannot pick them up. Clean up is a breeze with these with the awesome nonstick surface. I also like that I don't have to use too much oil, which means lower fat cooking!

Here is a picture of the pots.....and here is a photo of Rachael Rays saute pan that I hope to add to my collection soon.

One quick thing to remember about these pots...they are oven safe up to 400F, however the silicone handles do hold heat...so you will still need to use an oven mitt!

2. Hand blender- I use this for SO much! Since I have a picky eater husband, I use it to grind stuff up to add to recipes so he won't always know what is in the dish. He likes smooth thin spaghetti sauce, I like mine a little chunkier, so I put 1 can of regular sauce and 1 can of diced tomatoes that I have ground with the hand blender. I use it to grind nuts to make bread crumbs for lower carb dishes. It is so versatile. You can use it as a whisk also.

3. Food scale- This is a great tool for those on a "diet." I have been doing Weight Watchers for over 5 years now. One major change I made was monitoring my portions, and it made a HUGE difference (I have lost over 50 pounds!). We use this to measure pasta so we can use portion control. I also will portion out meats for meals before I freeze them using this scale.

4. Kitchenaid mixer- This is the perfect machine for so many things. You can of course mix together cake mixes, cookie mixes, breads (I used it to make a pizza dough the other day and it came out better than any other I have made), but if you buy the attachments you will have a very versatile machine. I recently purchased the food grinder attachement. This can be used to grind veggies, bread into breadcrumbs, meats, etc. This can be a real money saver. If you have some stale bread, you can use that to make breadcrumbs and save yourself a trip to the store to get some....and lets face it, bread is less expensive than breadcrumbs. We wanted to add some ground veal to our meatballs, but ground veal is SO pricey! So we bought some tougher cut of veal and put it through the grinder. Saved us a lot!

Other attachements that are available- ice cream maker (you can make a lower fat ice cream using fat free half and half or even just milk at a way lower cost), pasta maker, can opener, citrus juicer, slicer/shredder.

5. A good knife set- We have yet to get one of these, I am still in the process of researching to figure out what knives we want. We got a Henckels paring knife free from BBnB for registering for a Henckels knife set. It is so sharp and is the best knife we have ever used! We use it well beyond what it was intended for! Definitley worth an investment.

More to come in the future as I try out new recipes...

Last nights dinner

Sorry no photos just yet. So I mentioned in my previous blog that my hubby is a very picky eater. His palate is sort of like a kids..he likes the basics....mac and cheese, chicken fingers, hamburgers (plain with just cheese), etc. Taking this into consideration (as well as the time constraints.....we went to look at a house last night...YAY) I took to the freezer for something quick and easy. In the freezer currently is frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts, veal cubes, ground sirloin, ground turkey, chicken drumsticks, ham. This is what I have to work with this week.
Last night I decided to make a low carb meal......Lo Carb Oven "Fried" Chicken Fingers
These are so versatile....I have made them with any number of "breadings" and seasonings....I have made them like chicken parm, breaded with nut crust, taco flavored. Yum, all so tasty.
Here is what I did last night

Lo Carb Oven "Fried" Chicken Fingers

3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts thawed and cut into strips
1 Cup Unsalted Mixed Nuts (I buy a huge bag from Sams)
Seasonings to taste- Chili powder, Cumin, Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper
1/4 Cup Flour (you don't need this, but I added it last night to make the nuts go a little further)

1. Grind the nuts and seasonings together to a texture to your liking....we like ours a little crunchier so we leave bigger pieces

2. Put nut and seasoning mixture on a plate and mix in flour

3. Coat chicken strips in the nut/flour/seasoning mixture

4. Place chicken strips on a greased baking sheet

5. Bake 15 min at 400 F (or until the outside is browned and the meat is no longer pink)

6. Enjoy!

We made mac and cheese (I use Dreamfield's low carb pasta for the hubby- it is so tasty) and canned grean beans (just about the only veggie he will eat) to go along with the meal. I put a bunch of condiments out too...ketchup, mustard, bbq sauce.

Easy, healthy and tasty!

Hello

I have been stalking other food blogs and trying out some of the other bloggers recipes. I thought it might be nice for me to share some of my recipes. I love to cook, but due to time constraints and dietary needs I don't always get to make things the way I would like. In this blog I plan to share my daily healthy recipes (low fat, low carb, low cal), party recipes, and essential kitchen items. I will also post any new kitchen items that look interesting that I would like to try.
My husband is a very picky eater (ie- doesn't like to eat his veggies), so I will also try to include any little tricks that may work to get your picky eaters to eat at least something healthy once in a while.
I hope you enjoy!