Comfort for the Weekend

My sweet husband made this delicious warm soup with toasty bread to dip in it! It's been cold here and it was so nice! Mmm!

Bacon Potato Corn Chowder

1/2 lb bacon strips
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
14 3/4 oz cream style corn
12 oz evaporated milk
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

Cook bacon over medium heat until crisp and drain on paper towels. Discard drippings, reserving 1 1/2 tsp in the pan. Add onion to drippings; cook and stir over medium-high heat until tender.

Place potatoes in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup potato water.

Add corn, milk, salt, pepper, and reserved potato water to saucepan; heat through. Stir in bacon and onion.

EAT.

Galway Potato Bread

2 russet potatoes, peeled, divided
1 egg plus 1 egg white
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
3 1/4 cups flour, plus additional for kneading
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil over high heat in a medium saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Cut one potato into eighths and add to pot; cover and steam for 15 minutes or until tender. Mash with a potato masher in a large bowl and set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 375 and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Coarsely grate remaining potato; squeeze out any extra moisture and add to mashed potatoes. Stir in egg, egg white, milk, oil, and caraway seeds until fairly smooth. Add flour, baking powder and salt; stir until mixture forms a soft but sticky dough. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead for 1 minute, adding a little more flour if dough is sticky. Shape into circle and place on prepared baking sheet; flatten slightly, keeping the dough mounded in the center. Using a sharp knife, make an X in the top of the dough. Bake for 55 minutes or until golden brown.

Dip in soup!!

Meal Plan

I have found that meal planning is a great way to save time and money. I try to be somewhat frugal when it comes to our meals, while still making food that is exciting and tasty. One way to do that is plan meals that you already have a lot of the ingredients for. I also try to fix things like pasta with meat, to still get protein but with a smaller amount of meat. Sometimes I even add tofu to the pasta. To make them healthier, I prefer to use whole wheat pasta. 

It also helps to choose recipes with some of the same ingredients. For example, I chose two recipes that use mozzarella so that I can save money by just buying one type of cheese.

Since there are just two of us, I usually make recipes that will have leftovers to take for lunch the next day! That way, we save a lot of cash on lunches because each meal I make really feeds us for two meals. Cheese is probably the most expensive ingredient I end up spending money on... but I just can't live without it!

Sunday

Zucchini Ricotta Gnocchi

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One of Daniel's coworkers brings us huge zucchinis every week so I've been looking for tasty new ways to fix zucchini.

Monday

Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza

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One of my tried-and-true favorites. Sweet potatoes are cheap, my mom grows kale, and the pizza dough is so simple! What could be better?

Tuesday

Tuna Patties

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I LOVE tuna and it is awesome because cans of tuna are just so cheap! 

Wednesday

Healthy Fettuccine Alfredo with Cauliflower Sauce and Peas

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I've never made this before but it looks so tasty! I'm eager to try the cauliflower sauce!

Thursday

Breakfast Burritos

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My hubs is going to love these! We already have most of the ingredients so I really will just need to buy ham for this recipe.

Friday

BLT Chopped Salad

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Goat cheese is expensive, but it is just so good. When I splurge on it, I put it on pretty much every meal I make, so it will be well used. Avocados are typically on sale this time of year and we have a stash of bacon in the fridge already... Yum! 

Saturday

Carne Asada Tacos

I don't have a recipe for this one but I like to throw peppers, onions and carne asada into the skillet with a little olive oil for a tasty taco filling. Sprinkle a little lettuce and leftover cheeses onto 'em and you have an easy little meal.

What's on your meal plan for this week?

Best of 5

One of my favorite Thai dishes is Pad Thai. I have made at LEAST five different Pad Thai recipes, attempting to find one that was similar to the real thing. I have yet to find one... until yesterday. It's not exactly the same, but it was pretty close! So if you love Pad Thai too, you might want to give this recipe a try!

This photo right here is perfect proof of why I will never be a food blogger! Just tell me, how the heck is everyone taking such delicious-looking pictures of their food???

8 oz flat rice noodles, cooked al dente
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 eggs
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup sliced white onion
1/3 cilantro, chopped
** you can also add peanuts, tofu, or bean sprouts!

Sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 TBSP fish sauce
2 TBSP sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp peanut butter
juice from one lime
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (if you don't like spicy, I suggest less!!)
1 tsp soy sauce

Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook in a large pan over medium head until cooked through. Transfer chicken to a bowl and set aside.

Whisk together sauce ingredients. Crack eggs over preheated pan and allow to fry for a minute or so. Break them up with a spoon and add onions. Add chicken, sauce and noodles. Toss to coat. Add green onions and cilantro.

Note: We didn't have green onions or cilantro, so we left that out. The noodles weren't very saucy so I think next time I am going to make 1 1/2 of the sauce. The sauce is the best part!

If you make this, let me know how close you think it is!

Tomato Soup Mac-n-Cheese

This here falls into one of my two favorite food groups: cheese. Pasta that is extra-cheesy, delicious, easy, delicious... did I mention delicious? I changed this recipe up a bit from the original but next time I would like to add some pecorino romano cheese to add some zest, so I would suggest adding some of that. Or basically any kind of cheese that you would like to add!

1/2 pound whole wheat macaroni (or other pasta)
5 oz ricotta cheese
5 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1 10-oz can tomato soup
10-oz fat free milk

Cook pasta and preheat oven to 350. Put ricotta cheese in an 8x8 baking dish and cover with hot pasta. Add soup, milk and cheese and stir together. Bake for 30 minutes. Add extra cheese to the top and broil 2-3 minutes.

Best-Ever Granola

There are tons of granola recipes out there that are the "best", but this one is sure delicious. I don't usually like granola much so this one my mom adapted from our church cookbook seems extra special. I like to eat it for a snack in the afternoons. Enjoy!

4 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup toasted almonds
1/2 cup toasted coconut
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/8 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups dried fruit

Preheat oven to 300. Mix oats, flax seed, almonds, coconut, cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl, mix oils, honey, syrup, vanilla and almond extract and pour over oats. Spread mixture over a large baking sheet and bake 40 minutes. Once cooled, break up granola and mix in dried fruit. Make sure to store it in an airtight container!

My brother, the chef.

My brother, Colton, is 15 years old and he loves to cook. I think his desire to cook is mainly based on his desire to eat delicious food. When he spots something yummy in a magazine, he often tries it out. Here is one of the fanciest ones he has made to date, a Yule Log. Good job Colton!

A heart! How cool

Cake:
6 eggs, divided
1 16-oz box chocolate cake mix
1/4 cup each: water, amaretto and canola oil
Unsweetened cocoa powder

Filling:
12 oz mascarpone cheese, room temp
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp each: whipping cream and amaretto
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

Frosting:
1 10-oz bag dark chocolate chips
1 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp amaretto

Preheat oven to 375 and grease a jelly roll pan.  Beat eggs in large mixer for 5 minutes or until thickened and pale yellow.  Beat together cake mix, water, amaretto, oil and 2 of the eggs for two minutes, then lightly stir in remaining eggs. Spread batter onto prepared baking sheet and bake 11-12 minutes.

Let cake cool 5 minutes. Sprinkle a clean dishtowel with cocoa powder, then carefully invert cake onto towel.  Roll up the cake and the towel starting with the short side. Let cool completely.

For filling, beat mascarpone, powdered sugar and cream in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in amaretto and the extracts.

For frosting, place chocolate in a food processor and pulse on and off to chop. Bring cream, butter and amaretto to simmer in a small saucepan. With the motor running, slowly add cream mixture to chocolate and process until very smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes or until it has the consistency of frosting. 

To assemble, carefully unroll cake. Spread filling over entire surface and roll again.  Place two pieces of waxed paper in the center of a rectangular serving platter, side by side.  Place cake, seam side down, in the center.  Spread frosting over the top and sides, then lightly drag a fork along the surface until the frosting resembles tree bark; carefully pull away paper. Refrigerated until ready to serve. Let stand at room temp for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Colton didn't want to participate in his "interview" or in any picture taking.

My personal favorite

At least we caught him cooking!

Colton spent many hours making this fancy cake. He told me that he didn't want to make it look like a log because that was stupid... so no bark designs on his Yule Log (-:

Colton is always in the kitchen making himself fancy lunches.  He shared one of his favorite creations with me: Cut a hot dog in half lengthwise and marinate it in liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce and oregano for half an hour.  Grill it up and enjoy the best hot dog you've ever had!

As you can see from the cake, one of his favorite things to make is sweet treats. He says the best combo for a milkshake he has come up with is to use chocolate ice cream, banana, Ovaltine powder, milk, shredded coconut, and graham cracker crumbs. Sometimes he shares his milkshakes with me and they sure are delicious.

So someday, when Colton is a world-famous chef: you heard it here first!

Kid Friendly

As you might remember, I've been doing a whole lot of babysitting lately (15 hours yesterday!!) and I've been trying to make some healthy, kid friendly meals. These chicken fingers that my mom makes were a real hit yesterday when I fixed them for the boys!  The great thing about them is that you can change up the ingredients easily (we didn't have saltines, so I just used a mixture of other crackers). 

16 saltine crackers, crushed

1/4 cup pecans, toasted and ground

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp paprika

6-10 chicken breast tenders

1 egg

Honey-horseradish dip

Stir together first 5 ingredients.  Whisk egg and dip chicken strips in egg, then saltine mixture.  Place on a sprayed broiler pan.  Cook 20 minutes on 425.

Honey-horseradish dip

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1/4 cup mustard

1/4 cup honey

2 TBSP horseradish

Mix all ingredients.

Noodle Fun

I made this when Bekka came for dinner the other night and we both thought it was sooo good! I made a full recipe and froze half of it for another week (it makes six servings). Enjoy!

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 lemon juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
12 oz uncooked multigrain spaghetti
1 lb lean ground chicken
1 1/2 cups julienned carrots
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped unsalted peanuts

Whisk first 5 ingredients until blended. Cook spaghetti and drain.

In a large skilled, cook the chicken, carrots, pepper and garlic over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink. Drain if needed.

Stir in peanut butter mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 3-5 minutes or until sauce is thickened.

Serve sauce with spaghetti and chopped peanuts.

Sisters and Treats

The other day, my sweet sister made this lovely treat for us! It was so good I thought I'd share it on here. Thanks, Melissa!

1/2 cup sugar 

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

3 TBSP cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

3 cups 2% milk

3 egg yolks

2 TBSP butter, cubed

2 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped cream and cinnamon

In a saucepan, combine the first five ingredients and stir in milk until smooth.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  Reduce heat to low and stir two minutes longer. Remove from heat.

Then, stir a small amount of the mixture into the egg yolks and return all mixture into the pan.  Bring to a slow boil, stirring constantly and then cook 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.

Stir in butter and vanilla; cool 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Chill.

Serve with whipped cream and cinnamon.

Viva!

I LOVE bread salad and this one is so filling with it's beans that you can serve it as a main dish! 

3/4 lb sourdough bread, cubed (~8 cups)
2 TBSP olive oil
8 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 15-oz can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14-oz can artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
1 cups thinly sliced roasted red peppers
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced
3 TBSP capers, drained
1/4 cup Greek olives, quartered

Dressing:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 TBSP minced fresh parsley
3 TBSP olive oil
3 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 garlic clove, minced

In a large bowl, toss bread with oil and place on baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 8 minutes. Cool.
Combine tomatoes, beans, artichokes, peppers, basil, olives, capers and bread.

Whisk dressing ingredients and drizzle over salad. Toss to coat. ENJOY!

Favorite Meatloaf.

Let me be honest-- I could not get a picture of my meatloaf that didn't look downright disgusting.  So today you are receiving a recipe without a picture.  Sorry! This recipe is just so good and SO easy. 

Favorite Meatloaf
1 cup finely chopped onion (~1 large)
1/4 cup Italian dressing
2 lb extra lean ground beef
3/4 cup ketchup, divided
1 pkg Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 cup water
2 eggs
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Cook onions with Italian dressing in a large skillet for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Combine meet, 1/4 cup ketchup, stuffing, water, eggs, and onions; mix well.  Place meat mixture in a 14x9 baking dish and shape into a 10x5 oval loaf.  Spread with remaining ketchup.

Bake for 1 hour at 375 or until cooked through.  Sprinkle with cheese and cook 2 minutes. 

Weekend Treats

You might have noticed that the recipes I put on here are always super short.  That's because I basically only cook things that are quick and easy.  These rich bars are no exception.  Also-- why are they called Chess Bars? I do not know.

Melt 1 stick butter. Combine with 1 box of yellow cake mix and 1 beaten egg. 

Press mixture into lightly greased 13x9 pan.

Combine an 8 oz package of cream cheese, 2 eggs and 1 box of powdered sugar.  Pour over first layer and cook 25-30 minutes at 325.

One of my all-time favorite meals

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 lbs chicken cutlets
2 TBSP olive oil
1 cup white wine
Linguine Alfredo

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a flat dish and dredge chicken. 

Cook chicken in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, flipping sides until cooked through.  Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.

Add wine to skillet and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half, stirring to loosen particles from skillet.

Arrange on serving platter and drizzle with wine sauce.  Serve with linguine alfredo.

Linguine Alfredo:

10 oz container Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 cup white wine
3 TBSP sour cream
1 garlic clove, sliced
8 oz refrigerated linguine

Process Alfredo sauce, parsley, wine, garlic and sour cream in food blender until smooth.  Serve with cooked linguine.

Enjoy!

The Sweetest Thing

One of my best friends, Joy, just got into nursing school! To celebrate, I made her one of my all time favorite pies... Go Joy!

1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups hot milk
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 TBSP butter

Mix sugar, flour and salt.  Add hot milk and cook until the mixtures is thick.  Add butter and eggs, stirring quickly.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.  Pour into a baked pie shell. 

Pastry

1 cup flour

1/3 cup Spectrum shortening

1/2 tsp salt

3 TBSP ICE water

Mix flour, shortening, salt with a  pastry blender until crumbly.  Add water and mix with your hands, taking care not to overmix.  Roll into the shape of your dish.  Be sure to use plenty of flour when you roll it out!

Crunch-a-licious

My mom used to make this when I was a kid but hadn't made it for a long time... until recently.  We discovered it and I made it for a party.  Best. Side. Ever.  Also, I like to call it a side not a dessert so you can eat it PLUS dessert.  Clever, huh?

2 cups crushed pretzels

3/4 cups melted butter

1 TBSP sugar

Mix and spread in 9x12 pan.  Bake 10 minutes at 350.  Cool.

1 8-oz pkg cream cheese

8-oz Cool Whip

1 cup sugar

Mix cheese and sugar until creamy and fold into cream.  Spread over pretzels.

6-oz strawberry jello

2 cups pineapple juice

1 lb frozen sweetened strawberries

Dissolve jello in heated pineapple juice.  Add strawberries on top of cream cheese mixture.  Set in refrigerator.  Enjoy!

The cream on top

Hi friends! Hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I did!  Friday and Saturday I celebrated the birthday of my lovely friend Joy (who is going away for 3 weeks, boo hoo!) and on Sunday we had a potluck at church.  I made this creamy fruit salad that has been a family tradition for years.  It's perfect for brunches and oh-so-easy to make!

2 (20 oz) cans pineapple chunks, undrained
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges, drained
1  cup maraschino cherries, drained
3 large bananas, sliced
1 (3 1/2 oz) pkg French vanilla instant pudding mix

Drain pineapple, keeping 1 cup of the juice.  Toss all fruit in a large bowl.  Combine pudding and pineapple juice; beat until thick.  Pour pudding mixture over fruit; toss gently. 

Serves 12

Voila! Delicious side in 2 minutes!

Feeling Fishy?

Heeeello, friends! I have been a little boring this week, but hopefully this recipe will spice up your life! I made it for my mom's birthday this week.  Funny story-- the sauce calls for cilantro and I knew we had some growing in our little herb garden.  When I started cooking, I went outside but couldn't find any cilantro, only parsley. I called my mom and asked her where the cilantro was and she insisted that the plant I thought was parsley was actually cilantro.  Despite my misgivings, I decided that I must be confused about what cilantro was and made the sauce with it.  Well, guess what? It was parsley! So this recipe will probably be even better if you use the real ingredients!  



How the heck do you take pictures of tacos?  I am obviously terrible at it.


3 garlic cloves
2 medium tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1/2 medium jalapeno pepper
1/2 cup cilantro stems
3 TBSP mayo
1/2 tsp sugar
3/8 tsp salt, divided
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1 TBSP lime juice
1 TBSP olive oil
4 (6 oz) tilapia filets
1/4 tsp black pepper
8 corn tortillas
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Arrange garlic, tomatillos and jalapeno on a foil lined jelly-roll pan. Broil 3 minutes on each side or until blackened.  Combine tomatillo mixture, cilantro stems, mayo, sugar and 1/8 tsp salt in a food processor; blend until smooth.

Combine cabbage, juice and oil in medium bowl and toss to coat. 

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle fish evenly with remaining 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add fish to pan; cook 2 minutes.  Turn fish and cook 1 minute (or until done!!).

Heat tortillas and fill with fish, cabbage and sauce.  Mmm!

Bad Breath in a Casserole Dish.

Mmm, that sounds enticing doesn't it? :-)  Enjoy a little cheesy bad breath!

 

 

2 large sweet onions, sliced

16 oz cooked penne rigate pasta

Cheese Sauce:

1 TBSP butter

2 TBSP flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 cups skim milk

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded (WARNING: this stuff smells nasty!! I can't stand Gruyere so I substituted cheddar)

3 slices bacon, crumbled

Topping:

1/2 cup panko crispy bread crumbs

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 

Heat a little olive oil in skillet and add onions over medium heat.  Cook 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until tender and starting to brown.  Reduce heat to medium low and cook 35 minutes longer, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown.

Spray 2 quart dish with cooking spray; pour pasta into dish and keep warm.

In 3 quart saucepan, melt butter.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper and mustard with wire whisk. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat.  Gradually stir in milk.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; boil and stir 1 minute.  Remove from heat; stir in onions and remaining cheese sauce ingredients.  

Pour cheese sauce over pasta.  Sprinkle with topping ingredients.  Bake uncovered 10 minutes or until heated through at 400 degrees.

Chocolate Chip Scones

Want an easy, no-fail recipe? This one never fails to impress.  Ever since I got this recipe from my good friend, Katie, I have taken them to tons of school events.  I also make them for Bekka and Joy every year for their birthdays.  Yum, yum!

2 cup flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
10 oz whipping cream (sometimes 12-14 oz needed)

Preheat oven to 425; place 2-3 tablespoons butter in dish and melt.
Combine dry ingredients, stir in cream, knead dough. Do not overmix. Drop onto pan and shape into scones. Place on parchment lined baking sheet or sprayed sheet. Brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 12 min at 425.

Enjoy!!

Something that is Wonderful.

Yes, that is food.  Cause I think food is wonderful.  I tried this out the other night on my family and my friend, Joy, and they seemed to like it.  I certainly did.  It is definitely a bit time consuming but I broke the process up into steps.  The night before I roasted the squash and made the filling, I made the pasta in the afternoon the day of, and I added the sauce that night.  But however you do it, I think it’s worth it cause it is gooooood. 

Butternut Squash Ravioli

1 butternut squash (about 1 ½ pounds)
Cooking  spray
1 TBSP chopped fresh oregano
2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
2.5 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
3/8 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
36 wonton wrappers  (you can find these around the tofu)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 garlic cloves
1 ½ cups fresh baby spinach
½ cup fresh basil
¼ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP vegetable broth
1 tsp lemon juice

Bake squash at 400⁰ (you should definitely put it on a baking pan) for about 30 minutes or until soft enough to cut.  Remove seeds and scrape out pulp into bowl.  Mash.  Combine oregano, squash, and butter in a large bowl.  Stir in 2 ounces (1/2 cup) cheese, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper.  Spoon about 1 ½ tsp of squash mix into wonton center (keep other wonton wrappers under paper towels until using). Moisten edges of wonton with beaten egg and pinch edges to seal in a triangle.  Repeat.

 

Place garlic in food processor and pulse.  Add remaining ½ ounce (2 TBSP) cheese, 1/8 tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, spinach, basil, and 2 TBSP walnuts.  With processor on, slowly pour oil, broth and juice through chute.  Process until well blended.

Bring 6 quarts of water to boil.  Add half ravioli and cook 3 minutes; remove with slotted spoon.  Repeat.  Add to pesto and toss.   

 

 

WARNING: I mistakenly made the ravioli and stuck it in the fridge all afternoon without the sauce.  This made one giant blob of ravioli that could not be pulled apart and had to be cut. It was still delicious!  Enjoy!