In Honor of National Peanut Butter Day!!

Peanut Butter is a necessary staple! Today is National Peanut Butter day! So what better way to celebrate than to make a pan of . . . 


Peanut Butter Brownies!

My granddaughters & I made them tonight and of course we each had to have our own spoonful of Peanut butter! 

So enjoy an evening and make sure you have some Peanut Butter! YUM!

Red Lentil Sauce with pasta & Spinach

Our Valentine Dinner was a delicious sauce a friend of mine posted on FB! Red Lentils do make a wonderfully smooth sauce & so healthy! I used bow tie pasta, but you can use linguine or any kind of pasta for that matter. I left the red onions raw and it gave this delicious crunchy fresh taste. Served it with a steak tenderloin!

White Chili!!

It snowed yesterday. . .not a fan! But it did spur me on to making this White Chili last night for dinner. I made the Black & White version from the recipe. . .it was delish. . . and really warmed our insides.

At least the sun is shining today!

Salmon Salad

Salmon is one of my favorite foods. Love it any way it can be fixed. So, I had some left over from grilling salmon the other night and I wanted to have it on my fav triscuits - Fire Roasted Tomato! YUM! Wanted it to be similar to Tuna Salad. . . Here are the results:

I used to get this salad when we lived in S FL with a Lemon Pommery dressing, it was the best dressing I ever had on a chicken salad. But the owner would not give me the recipe (bummer). So this lemon Mustard dressing is pretty close to it. It is really good on a Baby Spinach salad and really made this salmon taste amazing!

Roasted Pork & Udon Noodles

We found out how much we loved Udon Noodle when we ate at Noodles & Co a while back. They are also called Pad Thai. So, fortunately I found Udon Noodles (see picture below) at the grocery store in the produce section, weirdly enough. This recipe seems complicated but goes together very easy and quick.

Here is the recipe I came up with Roasted Pork & Udon Noodles

As a variation try chicken, shrimp or beef and different veggies

This can be finished off in a wok if you prefer. Another great recipe to be creative with. Let me know what you tried! I love hearing the variations.

Baked Oatmeal w/Fruit

I love having breakfast for dinner! I guess it is comfort food. So tonight I made Baked Oatmeal with Strawberries/Bananas and then baked some bacon on my stone to go with it. Pictured is a doubled recipe so I can put some up for us to take & heat up for breakfast or mid morning snack.

I found this recipe on Pinterest & just had to try it. Of course you know me I did make a few modifications & I will make even more changes the next time (mainly adding more kinds of fruit). The great part of this recipe is you can make so many different variations - Peaches, Apples & Cinnamon or all Berries. So have fun with this one.

Additionally: After cutting up the bananas I put a little lemon juice in the bowl and stirred it around so the bananas wouldn't brown.

Oven Roasted Roast & Potatoes

I love roast! it has always been comfort food for me. In the past I have always used my crockpot to slow cook it, but always felt it was missing something. So here is alternative to crockpotting that will give you that oven roasted crispness on the top and very tender! And if your oven has a cook time you can set it to auto turn off.

This idea came to me after using this Pork Tenderloin recipe. Which by the way is amazing as well.

So here are the modifications for a roast. . .You will follow this recipe but add some cooking time on the end (I seasoned the roast with Garlic Powder & seasoned salt on both sides before browning in the skillet). Slow roasting time will depend on the size of your roast. The roast pictured was very thin so it was much shorter time.

After roasting in the ovenproof skillet @ 400 for 10 minutes, flip your roast and turn the temp down to 275 & let it slow roast: the roast above was about an inch thick 1 1/2 hours was perfect. The roast I cooked the other day was 3 inches thick and it was 3 1/2 hours (turning it halfway through).

For this meal I added some frozen red potatoes that were quartered seasoned with Olive Oil & Parmesean; I added them to the pot 25 minutes prior to the roast being done. I put them under the roast and they soaked up all those wonderful drippings from the roast. You can also add veggies for a healthier meal.

This meat will literally cut with a fork. Very tender!

Be careful with the skillet after coming out of the oven! I have burn markes where I forgot it had been in the oven & grabbed the handle! OUCH!! ;)



Cookie Basics 101

Ever wonder what makes cookies turn out the way they do? I was an instructor at a children's cooking school a few years back and one of our month's curriculum was on just that, Cookie basics. It was actually one of the most fun classes I taught especially with my 5&6 yr old class. We went through the first 3 weeks focusing on each part of what makes a cookie a cookie. Then the 4th week they had to create their own recipe using this method. Can I tell you they were delicious cookies!

Progress of My Sourdough starter!

I have been feeding my Sourdough Starter for almost 2 months now. I am happy to say that it is really getting that great sour taste! Below are the loaves I made of Whole Wheat Sourdough & the recipe. My Husband said these are the best so far with texture & taste. Previously I had either one or the other.

Spinach Tomato Linguini

In my quest to incorporate healthier meals & more veggies, I found & modified this recipe. This is such a wonderful side dish! And it's pretty healthy. You can omit the half & half and sour cream in exchange for plain yogurt or just add part of the juice from the canned tomatoes instead it just won't be creamy.

I served this side dish with roasted Pork Tenderloin & Lentils. It was a hit.

Salsa Variations

Salsa is a great snack when trying to eat healthy (minus the tortilla chips; add whole wheat crackers or even better celery to scoop it up). A good friend of ours made this great Southern Salsa my husband just loves. Of course right now corn is not on our menu so I have made a modified version of it. I have posted both recipes (Southern Salsa Recipe - thanks to Lindsey Staton).

Bean Salsa

If you can't find these specific peas, buy  a can of field peas & add chopped jalapeno peppers to taste. That way you control the level of heat in the salsa. Field peas have a great flavor & are very tiny.

January = Healthy Eating

Healthy Eating

OK so I have once again cleared cabinets & fridge of all the sweets made over the holidays. Seems to have been an annual thing for us. So this year can we do it different? My sister-in-law inspired me to loose 50 before age 50! She is almost there for both, and I must say she looks FAB!

So this blog will be a part of the healthy transformation. Seems like Healthy = no taste, but I know this is not true. . .I have been a fan of the SouthBeach diet & it really opened my eyes to the healthy alternatives. . .now if I can just stick to it! I love bread and seems most diets delete bread. SouthBeach you can have whole grain bread & of course my fav sourdough. It is such a doable life change of eating. . .so here we go with "50 before 50" at least I have a year & a couple months! Maybe I can do 50 before the Hubs turns 50 in May! If you don't set goals, you will never try for them!

I think when you "diet" you deprive yourself & then binge. So healthy eating & getting active needs to be a change in complete lifestyle. I've been very successful with SouthBeach at times, but again it is the "Sticking to it" that I fail at miserably. Going to try it again!!

So, fridge is stalked with celery & veggies, I will be scouring for good healthy recipes. I am pumped! There are so many options now a days with whole wheat pasta & such that you aren't so limited. I will be posting a couple times a week, more if I can, but hopefully I will have a job this month! So, my goal will be twice a week. Thanks for joining me in this journey! 

What are some goals you are setting? (I'm not into resolutions, but I guess that is the same thing LOL!)

Happy Healthy eating!

Happy New Year!!

Hope all of you have a safe & enjoyable time this evening however you ring in 2012!

A couple of ideas for last minute appetisers:

Spinach dip in a bread bowl - buy a bread mound at your local bakery; cut out the middle making sure not to go through the bottom of the mound; scoop spinach dip into the bowl and cut up the bread into bite size pieces. Buy a couple of different kinds of bread to cut up for dipping in it as well makes a beautiful table display!

Rotel Cheese Dip - Velveeta cheese & a can of Rotel tomatoes; put in microwave and melt stirring every minute or so. Serve with tortilla chips!

Lentil & Ham Soup

We love smoked ham. . .it is a favorite for Christmas. Normally I get a spiral cut, this year to save some money I just bought a bone in smoked ham butt. It was so good. I have always heard soup from a Ham bone is amazing. If you know me by now, I had to try it. We were not disappointed. The broth you get from boiling it is very tasty and useful for many different recipes.

So off I went to find a great recipe. I am really liking www.allrecipes.com AND they have an app for my phone. Found a few recipes and settled on one, but in the midst of making it, decided to not add the tomatoes it called for & changed the spices a bit. So, below is my modified version of Lentil & Ham Soup.

Lentils are a wonderful dried bean & source of protein, you don't have to soak them and they cook very fast. If you are not a fan of beans, this is a great one to try as it does not have as much of the bean texture.
 

Tuscan Vegatable Beef Soup

Trying some new soups out for the the winter months! Now that I live up north you need soup to warm your bones! I'm such a spoiled FL girl. 

I've worn out the two recipes I've been using - chili - chicken & wild rice. So here is my newest recipe. . . Tuscan Vegetable Beef Soup!!

Try substituting chicken or smoked sausage for the beef to give more variety to your dish. I wanted to use a smaller pasta than bow tie, but that is what I had. Next time I will use a smaller pasta. Barilla makes a mini version of several kinds of pasta called Piccolini. . .  http://www.barillaus.com/Pages/Products-Landing.aspx

Sheri's Veggie Bake

In my search for new recipes for Christmas dinner,  I actually took some recipes I found and modified them. This Veggie Bake was so delicious & easy it will become a regular side dish. You can cut the veggies to whatever size you like, I prefer them kind of bite size, so I pretty much quartered it if I had to cut it. 

The great thing about this recipe is you can make it your own with the veggies your family likes. Or change it up here & there. The Thyme seasoning is what really brings this dish together! I hardly ever used it before, but it is fantastic with vegetables.

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope you are all enjoying wonderful Food, Friends & Family time today! Thanks for reading my blog hope it helps you feel more courageous to try new things in the kitchen!

Here's to more cooking in 2012!!

Brownie Whoopie Pies

Brownie Whoopie pies. . .what a great idea! Use the recipe in the previous post adding 1/2 cup flour. Then using a cookie scoop for 'uniformness' Scoop onto a cookie sheet, bake for 9-11 minutes. let cool completely and then use this frosting recipe below (or buy some from the store) put a spoonful of frosting on the bottom side of one brownie/cookie and twist press the other cookie to evenly distribute frosting between the brownies. *

* add 1/2 cup cocoa to frosting for chocolate frosting!

Creme De Menthe Brownies! mmmmmm

This is my new favorite Brownie recipe! It is called a torte, but it will work for brownies, it is just a different pan you bake it in. For the holidays I added Andes mint baking chips, what a wonderful taste it gave to the brownies. If you like Andes mints you will LOVE this recipe! YUM!

Click to enlarge

This recipe calls for wax paper - you only need it or foil if you are making the Torte as it is in a spring form pan. I used foil as I did not have wax paper and it turned out fine. As a torte you can add delicious toppings to it for a more elegant dessert such as sweetened berries & whipped cream, I have even put a layer of no bake cheesecake on top with canned cherries over that, talk about yum!

If you do not have any spring form pans, I encourage you to get a set. They are so handy, I use them for my pies instead of a traditional pie pan. Never been a fan of the thick pie crust, and this makes it more like a torte and the crust does not get over done.

Happy Christmas Baking!



Christmas Baking Day!

The chef's outfits were a huge hit! We began our Christamas baking.....

First off we made my version of a family christmas candy my mother always makes called Cobblestone - My version will be called:

Cobbelstone Brickle

1 bag of Semi Sweet choc chips
1 bag of Butterschotch chips
half bag of mini marshmallows

Super easy recipe - sprinkle all chips & marshmallows onto a foil lined baking sheet with at least one inch lip around the side. Bake at 350 till marshmallows begin to puff up apprx 15 - 20 minutes. remove from oven let cool. break into chunks and enjoy!