Tuesday, March 30, 2010

perfect pot roast

I am a huge fan of all in one meals. It is the best to do for a Friday night meal before going out to do something. I also love using my slowcooker to create these glorious meals. The best part of a slowcooker is the protective bags you can use when cooking. Once you are done and you have packed away your leftovers you can take one of end of the bag and tie it up with the other end and throw it right into the trash.

This recipe is beyond easy and so unbelievably delicious !!!

Toss the following ingredients into your slowcooker
- 2 lbs of bottom round roast or any beef that you think would be a great pot roast
- 5 carrots chopped up
- 2 onions sliced into halfmoons
- 4 potatoes
- 2 cans of golden mushroom soup
- 1 box of golden onion dried soup mix
- 2 cup of water

Set it to 10 hours on low and just wait until you get home. You are going to be amazed trust me !!!



Enjoy !!!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Peanut Butter Cookie Pies

I made these delicious cookies as a surprise for my husband on his birthday this past January. I have been holding on to this post for awhile for some reason. I'm not sure why really. It could be that just until a few moments ago did I organize the pictures so the recipe would make sense. Then as I was looking through my stored posts I figured hey why not now. No time like the present!

These cookies are a richer slightly more dense version of a whoopie pie. Being Maine folks we are quite familiar with the delicious Whoopie Pies Maine is known for. Although these aren't fantastic for you they are certainly an approved version of what they could be.

Start by combining 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp of baking powder, and 1/4 tsp of salt.


Then melt 1 1/3 cups of dark chocolate and 1/2 stick unsalted butter in a small saucepan.


Then in a separate pan combine 2 eggs and 3/4 cup of sugar with 1 tsp of vanilla.



Then stir in the melted dark chocolate. Quickly mix it so that the eggs that are in there don't begin to cook a little.



Then stir in the flour mixture.


Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.


Then spoon small balls of the dough on parchment paper.


Now to the peanut butter frosting. Combine 1/3 cup of butter that is softened with 1 cup of powdered sugar and 4 tbs of natural peanut butter.



Allow your cookies to cool at least ten minutes.


Add in some peanut butter frosting and add a top to your sandwich cookie pie.


These are so good they make me teary....

Enjoy !!!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

insane macaroni and cheese

I think every person who has some affection for cooking/baking/ or spending any kind of time in the kitchen has one dish. One dish that they try to perfect over the course of their adulthood. My dish has been macaroni and cheese. Since I was a small girl, I have always adored macaroni and cheese - what kid doesn't I ask you? The only problem that as I have grown into an almost 30 year old woman I still love the stuff.

So as I said my dish is macaroni and cheese. It is still this way because I am on and endless search to perfect it. I am also on an endless search to make it as healthy, perfectly balanced, lower in fat all the while staying true to its original glory.

This is seriously one of the best mac n' cheese recipes I have found. You will have to excuse my lack of noting where it came from. I was sorting through some recipes my mom had and found it in the mix. There was no source on it.

First you start off by processing 1 cup of fat free cottage cheese, 2 tsp of yellow mustard, 1/2 tsp of pepper, 1 tsp of salt, and 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper.


Then, in a small saucepan combine 2 cups of skim milk, 1/4 cup of chopped onion, 1 tsp of garlic, and a pinch of nutmeg. Then whisk in 3 tbs of flour to thicken up the mixture.


Give the cottage cheese mixture another good whirl to make sure it is super smooth.


Then grate 2 cups of lowfat cheddar cheese.


Add the cottage cheese mixture and the grated cheese into the saucepan. Begin to stir slowly until all the cheese is melted and it is a completely smooth sauce.



Then stir in 2 cups of frozen spinach.


Then mix the cheese sauce with some cooked elbows.


Add it to a 9 x 13 baking pan. Sprinkle on some plain bread crumbs that have been mixed with a little olive oil and basil. Then bake it off at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes.


Enjoy !!!

Friday, March 26, 2010

blueberry coconut coffee cake

Adapted from: Week of Menus

I love bringing treats into work. It can sometimes turn a person's day around. I know that I am certainly not a morning person, but when I have something that is so simple to enjoy with my coffee it makes sitting at my desk at 8:00am that much easier.

I also love to bake, but don't like to have the bake goods stay in my house for fear that they will be totally consumed. Usually I hang onto a recipe until I have collected all the items in my pantry or freezer then I bake away. Its wonderful. Baking is one of my favorite things to do because its so simple because all you need to do is take the recipe one step at a time.

This Blueberry Coconut Coffee cake is light, fluffy, and full of the right amount of sweetness. Start off by getting the topping together.

Topping
1. 1/3 cup of flour
2. 1/4 cup of butter at room temperature
3. 1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut
4. 1.2 cup of brown sugar
5. 1 tsp of cinnamon


Then combine the 2 cups of all purpose flour in a separate bowl. Add in 2 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt.


Then mixture 1/2 cup of softened butter with 1 cup of sugar and 2 eggs. Add in 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 cup of milk.


Then butter and flour a 9 x 13 baking pan.


Then pour 1/2 of the cake batter into the pan.


Sprinkle a layer of thawed out frozen blueberries.


Then sprinkle half of the topping mixture on top of the blueberries.



Then pour the rest of the cake batter over the top. Then the rest of the topping mixture. Set your oven to 375 degrees and bake it for 40 minutes.



Slice it up, toss it into a container, and get ready to make your friends at work happy campers.


Enjoy !!!

Monday, March 22, 2010

SUPER CUTE !!

I want to cook with this little guy. Nothing more today, back tomorrow with a full recipe. But I had to share this with you today. I am not sure where it came from, but I just received an email with it today. I love it. It is super cute. I just hope this little guy didn't get sick from the eggs in the batter.





Enjoy !!!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

artichoke chicken and parmsan orzo

Recipes that come the heart in a rush/furry in the kitchen are the best. When you come home not even sure how you are going to make it through the rest of the day and take a look in the fridge and find exactly what you need to make a great meal it is truly a beautiful thing.

I came home from a hellish day at work not even interested in making a single darn thing for dinner. I managed enough energy to stumble into the kitchen and see what was available.

I came across the following items...

2 chicken breasts
orzo
fresh parsley
1 can of artichokes
cream
wine
honey
and white wine vinegar

Grab your 2 chicken breasts and dust them with flour, salt and pepper.


Melt 2 tbs of butter and 2 tbs of evoo in a frypan.


Add your chicken when the frypan is nice and hot. That way you get nice color on it.


Then mix 1 1/2 cup of white wine, 2 tbs of white wine vinegar and 2 tbs of honey together.


Then crack open a can of artichoke hearts.



Then cook your orzo like normal. Make sure you have about 2 1/2 cups cooked orzo just follow the directions on the box so you can find out the right amount. Add in 1/2 cup of Parmesan, 2 tbs of cream and a handful of fresh parsley. Be sure to add in salt and pepper to enhance the flavor.


Add the wine and artichoke hearts to the cooked chicken. Allow it to simmer for 10 minutes or so until the sauce thickens.


Serve it up with a hearty salad and you have yourself a meal !!!


Enjoy !!!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

shrimp and corn chowder

I am absolutely in love with making soups, stews, stocks, and anything I can hide plentiful amounts of vegetables in it. I feel like with proper preparation and the right balance of ingredients you can make any soup taste wonderful. Soups and stews are also great because if prepared properly it can be a complete wholesome all in one pot. I just wished I could get away with cooking them all year round. There is nothing I like more than using my crockpot every week during the fall and winter to create a chili, soup, stew or bisque.

This is a recipe I create after taking a little look in my cabinets, refrigerator and freezer. It was a perfect way to use up the leftover veg, canned goods and frozen protein I had hanging around. When this works our perfectly like it did tonight I get a supreme sense of satisfaction just because it is so gratifying.

I had some leftover leeks and fennel left over. I chopped them up and threw them into a large pot with a dribble of olive oil. I also added some of the green bits from the top of the fennel bulb for some extra flavor.


Then I chopped up one large onion and threw that into the mix. Soups are also amazing to make at the end of the week because frequently some of those things your not sure what to do with would be fantastic in soup. Plus, who doesn't always have things like onions, potatoes, carrots and celery??



Then grab a few red potatoes or whatever kind of potatoes you have lying around. Chop them up into pieces that are just big enough for a spoonful.


Then grab a bottle of clam juice. You can find this near the tuna in the grocery store. It adds an insane amount of flavor to any soup that has fish or shrimp in it.


Then add enough water to cover the top of the vegetables. Add just enough milk so it gets the chowder look without being full of cream.


Then add a bit of chopped parsley and 1 1/2 cup of frozen corn.


Add in some cooked shrimp. Let it heat completely through. Serve in a crazy huge bowl with a grilled cheese and you will certainly be a happy camper.


Shrimp and Corn Chowder
- 1 fennel bulb
- 2 leeks
- 1 onion
- 3-4 red potatoes
- 1 bottle of clam juice
- 1 lb of cooked shrimp
- 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley

1. Chop up the leeks, fennel, and onion.
2. Add to a large pot.
3. Chop up 3-4 red potatoes and add to the pot.
4. Pour in one bottle of clam juice.
5. Add in 1/2 cup of milk.
6. Add in 1 lb of cooked shrimp and the corn.
7. Heat completely through.
8. Serve it up with a tasty grilled cheese.

Enjoy !!!

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