Would anyone like to guess how the last two weeks have gone? They've been a little crazy, and I've barely cooked anything since my last post - sad, but true. I did, however, have enough left over from the last few recipes that I didn't have to cook for about a week. So, now that those crazy two weeks are over, and before the next crazy one begins, I'm going to do a little cooking...
The two big tries of the week are going to be:
Jalapeno Kettle Chip Crusted Chicken {thank you Pinterest} from this blog.
and
Zero Calorie Strawberry Banana Slushi from this blog {also found via Pinterest}
Have I ever told you how much I love Pinterest! While I know it's a time-sucker for most people (and for me, I'll admit it), it has been so useful to me! I get ideas for food and crafts and work that I actually use - on a regular basis! I will never use everything I pin... but it has definitely been a fantastic way to try things! :)
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili
I tried this recipe a couple of weeks ago with my friend, and wanted more of it, so I made my own tonight! We originally got it from here. When we read the comments, we noticed that many people said that it was REALLY HOT, but we followed the recipe... and it was pretty spicy. :) I like spicy, but I found myself choking quite a bit... so it was spicy. Tonight I put a little less cayenne pepper. Just a thought... consider the spicy. Here it is!
Ingredients:
1 T vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped (made me cry like a baby today)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (4oz) can diced jalapeno peppers
1 (4oz) can chopped green chili peppers
2 t cumin
1 t dried oregano
1 t ground cayenne pepper
2 (14.5oz) cans chicken broth
3 c chopped chicken breast
3 (15oz) cans white beans (we pureed one of the cans of beans)
1 c Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions:
The only other thing to consider is that I didn't add the cheese until served... It's yummy and pretty easy - just watch out for those onions! :)
Ingredients:
1 T vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped (made me cry like a baby today)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (4oz) can diced jalapeno peppers
1 (4oz) can chopped green chili peppers
2 t cumin
1 t dried oregano
1 t ground cayenne pepper
2 (14.5oz) cans chicken broth
3 c chopped chicken breast
3 (15oz) cans white beans (we pureed one of the cans of beans)
1 c Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions:
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic, jalapeno, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the mixture from heat. Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. Serve warm.
The only other thing to consider is that I didn't add the cheese until served... It's yummy and pretty easy - just watch out for those onions! :)
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Pumpkin Choclate Chip Scones
I am pleased to report that I am no longer a scone failure! My friend and I made scones this weekend honor of fall - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip scones... YUM! We got the original recipe from here. We followed the recipe pretty closely, but learned from our previous mistakes and added the chocolate chips - because... well pumpkin and chocolate chips are FANTASTIC together! I'll share the recipe, then share with you what we did:
Ingredients
Scones:
- 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cold butter
- 2 eggs
- 1-1/4 cups canned pumpkin
- 3/4 cup milk, divided
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin and 1/2 cup milk. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
- Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10 times. Divide dough in half. Pat each portion into an 8-in. circle; cut each into eight wedges. Separate wedges and place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Brush with remaining milk.
- Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks; cool for 10 minutes. Combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over scones. Serve warm. Yield: 16 scones.
Nutritional Facts 1 serving (1 each) equals 338 calories, 13 g fat (8 g saturated fat), 59 mg cholesterol, 348 mg sodium, 51 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 5 g protein.
***
(and just to warn you, the rest of these pictures were taken with my computer.. so the quality is not stellar, but you'll get the point!)
(and just to warn you, the rest of these pictures were taken with my computer.. so the quality is not stellar, but you'll get the point!)
We were kind of scared after last time, we were just hoping things would go better...
We mixed the dry ingredients...
Cut in the butter...
Mixed the wet ingredients, and then slowly added them to the dry (last time, we learned (too late) that it's best not to add all of the wet ingredients at once... and also a little trick about measuring the milk with the egg already in the measuring cup. It seemed to work much better this time. Once we'd mixed them completely, we added the chocolate chips.
Because we were actually able to create something that resembled a circle and didn't just stick completely to our hands... this is so much better!
Then we cut it...
and put the first half on a pan (we're so excited that they look so normal!)
While they were baking we made a little of the glaze, and glazed half of them when they came out of the oven - the glaze is yummy. We sugared the second half with sugar in the raw before baking them - they were wonderful as well!
Scones: Take 2!These are the "oh my goodness, we actually made normal-looking scones!" faces. Hooray!
The scones were very tasty... you should try them - but not without reading up on scones... we did that too late the last time and this is what we ended up with...
this...
and this...
tasty, but an atrocious mess and not very pretty to look at...
Monday, October 1, 2012
Chicken Florentine Pasta
{The Pioneer Woman}
Start to Finish: about 30 minutes
Serves: she says 10... I got about 8...
This recipe comes from the wonderful Pioneer Woman! Here's the post if you want to check it out - her's is way prettier than mine! I have copied her ingredients and instructions verbatim because... she already wrote it... and I don't feel like re-typing it!
***
This was pretty easy, and pretty tasty. It's not so good for the "cooking for 1... or 2" part of it, unless you're looking for quite a bit of leftovers. I put a little bit in the freezer - I always like to see how that works out! And I've got more left over to feed me for the rest of the week!
On a personal note... I hate cooking with oil... I very much dislike getting burned... so I may have put a long sleeved sweatshirt on just to cook this... and got really hot over the stove, but only got burned once! So... I did cook the chicken with the oil... and I probably would the next time too (because it's also a part of the "sauce" and I think it would change the flavor), but I so don't want to... stinking popping oil!
Start to Finish: about 30 minutes
Serves: she says 10... I got about 8...
This recipe comes from the wonderful Pioneer Woman! Here's the post if you want to check it out - her's is way prettier than mine! I have copied her ingredients and instructions verbatim because... she already wrote it... and I don't feel like re-typing it!
Ingredients
- 1 pound Penne
- 4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
- 3/4 cups Dry White Wine
- 3/4 cups Low-sodium Broth, More If Needed
- 1 bag Baby Spinach
- 2 cups Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise
- 4 ounces, weight Parmesan Cheese, Shaved With Vegetable Peeler
Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions in lightly salted water. Drain and set aside.
Cut chicken breasts into chunks and sprinkle on salt and pepper.
Heat butter and olive oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken chunks in a single layer and do not stir for a minute or two in order to allow the chicken to brown on the first side {I didn't do this... which is probably why her chicken was so much golder and prettier than mine...}. Turn the chicken and brown on the other side. Cook until done, then remove chicken from the skillet.
Turn heat to medium. Add garlic and quickly stir to avoid burning.
After about 30 seconds, pour in wine and broth {I did all broth... no wine - she said that you could just replace the wine with more broth if you wanted to, and I didn't have wine}, stirring to deglaze the pan. Allow the liquid to bubble up, then continue cooking until it's reduced by at least half (most of the surface of the liquid should be bubbling at this point.)
Turn off the heat. Add spinach,
tomatoes,
chicken,
and cooked pasta to the skillet.
Toss to combine; the spinach will wilt as you toss everything. Add plenty of Parmesan shavings and toss to combine. {I also added more pepper... because I love pepper!}
Serve with extra Parmesan shavings. {First of all... I'm a little annoyed with the focus of this picture... It did not do what I wanted. I also added some more Parmesan and pepper after this photo}
Cut chicken breasts into chunks and sprinkle on salt and pepper.
Heat butter and olive oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken chunks in a single layer and do not stir for a minute or two in order to allow the chicken to brown on the first side {I didn't do this... which is probably why her chicken was so much golder and prettier than mine...}. Turn the chicken and brown on the other side. Cook until done, then remove chicken from the skillet.
Turn heat to medium. Add garlic and quickly stir to avoid burning.
After about 30 seconds, pour in wine and broth {I did all broth... no wine - she said that you could just replace the wine with more broth if you wanted to, and I didn't have wine}, stirring to deglaze the pan. Allow the liquid to bubble up, then continue cooking until it's reduced by at least half (most of the surface of the liquid should be bubbling at this point.)
Turn off the heat. Add spinach,
tomatoes,
chicken,
and cooked pasta to the skillet.
Toss to combine; the spinach will wilt as you toss everything. Add plenty of Parmesan shavings and toss to combine. {I also added more pepper... because I love pepper!}
Serve with extra Parmesan shavings. {First of all... I'm a little annoyed with the focus of this picture... It did not do what I wanted. I also added some more Parmesan and pepper after this photo}
***
This was pretty easy, and pretty tasty. It's not so good for the "cooking for 1... or 2" part of it, unless you're looking for quite a bit of leftovers. I put a little bit in the freezer - I always like to see how that works out! And I've got more left over to feed me for the rest of the week!
On a personal note... I hate cooking with oil... I very much dislike getting burned... so I may have put a long sleeved sweatshirt on just to cook this... and got really hot over the stove, but only got burned once! So... I did cook the chicken with the oil... and I probably would the next time too (because it's also a part of the "sauce" and I think it would change the flavor), but I so don't want to... stinking popping oil!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Chili-Lime Pork Chops
{Pillsbury Fast & Healthy Cookbook}
Start to finish: 15 min
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Seasoning:
1 t chili powder
1/2 t garlic salt
1/8 t cayenne pepper / ground red pepper
1 T lime juice
1 t canola oil
Pork:
4 boneless pork loin chops 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (1 lb)
If Desired:
Chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges
Instructions:
Heat closed contact grill for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix all seasoning ingredients. Brush mixture evenly on both sides of each pork chop.
When grill is heated, place pork chops on the bottom grill surface. Close grill; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until pork is no longer pink in center.
**I flipped them over half-way through, even though the directions did not say to... I thought that would be in the best interest of the meat***
Sprinkle pork with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.
***
This recipe was my first attempt at pork, incredibly simple, and so yummy!! This was sparked by my trying to save money for my Argentina trip, looking at the grocery ads before going to the grocery store, and seeing that pork chops were on sale... I have been wanting to try new things with my grill, and get as much use out of it during this nice weather. This was the perfect opportunity to try something new! Little did I know that the pork chops would come in a package of 10(?)! I knew that it was not in my best (money-saving, food-not-wasting) interest to cook them all... so I took out the four that the recipe called for and froze the rest.
Honestly, I used to think that I hated pork, so I would never make it... but I have found in the last year or so that it's not so bad, and not always as fatty as I remembered (I do not like fatty meat).
This recipe was so quick and easy! And now I'm looking forward to some lunches and dinners this week!
1 Serving: 190 calories; 10g fat; 170mg sodium; 0g carbohydrates; 0g fiber
Start to finish: 15 min
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
Seasoning:
1 t chili powder
1/2 t garlic salt
1/8 t cayenne pepper / ground red pepper
1 T lime juice
1 t canola oil
Pork:
4 boneless pork loin chops 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick (1 lb)
If Desired:
Chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges
Instructions:
Heat closed contact grill for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix all seasoning ingredients. Brush mixture evenly on both sides of each pork chop.
When grill is heated, place pork chops on the bottom grill surface. Close grill; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until pork is no longer pink in center.
**I flipped them over half-way through, even though the directions did not say to... I thought that would be in the best interest of the meat***
Sprinkle pork with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.
***
This recipe was my first attempt at pork, incredibly simple, and so yummy!! This was sparked by my trying to save money for my Argentina trip, looking at the grocery ads before going to the grocery store, and seeing that pork chops were on sale... I have been wanting to try new things with my grill, and get as much use out of it during this nice weather. This was the perfect opportunity to try something new! Little did I know that the pork chops would come in a package of 10(?)! I knew that it was not in my best (money-saving, food-not-wasting) interest to cook them all... so I took out the four that the recipe called for and froze the rest.
Honestly, I used to think that I hated pork, so I would never make it... but I have found in the last year or so that it's not so bad, and not always as fatty as I remembered (I do not like fatty meat).
This recipe was so quick and easy! And now I'm looking forward to some lunches and dinners this week!
1 Serving: 190 calories; 10g fat; 170mg sodium; 0g carbohydrates; 0g fiber
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Fish Fillets with Herbed Tartar Sauce {Pillsbury Fast & Healthy Cookbook}
Start to Finish: 20 min
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 c Italian-style dry bread crumbs
1 T olive oil
1 lb mild-flavored fish fillets (about 4 serving pieces)
1/3 c fat-free tartar sauce
1/4 c chopped tomato
1/2 t dried basil leaves
Instructions:
In a shallow dish, beat egg with wire whisk. In another shallow dish, place bread crumbs.
In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Dip fish into egg, then coat with bread crumbs; place in skillet.
Cook 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until browned on both sides and fish flakes easily with fork.
In a small bowl, mix tartar sauce, tomato and basil, serve with fish.
***
I simplified today... I didn't have tartar sauce or tomatoes, so I skipped that step and those ingredients. I used individually packaged, frozen (and thawed) tilapia. My fish browned pretty quickly, but I think I had the heat on a bit too high. The fish was good on its own, but I'm sure it would have been even better with the tartar sauce - next time!
Simple. Quick. Easy.
Enjoy!
p.s. for you singles and doubles out there, this can easily be altered to make less (or more if you have a large family), and I'm sure would heat up decently - though don't take it to work because we all know how people react to the smell of reheated fish!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 c Italian-style dry bread crumbs
1 T olive oil
1 lb mild-flavored fish fillets (about 4 serving pieces)
1/3 c fat-free tartar sauce
1/4 c chopped tomato
1/2 t dried basil leaves
Instructions:
In a shallow dish, beat egg with wire whisk. In another shallow dish, place bread crumbs.
In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Dip fish into egg, then coat with bread crumbs; place in skillet.
Cook 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until browned on both sides and fish flakes easily with fork.
In a small bowl, mix tartar sauce, tomato and basil, serve with fish.
***
I simplified today... I didn't have tartar sauce or tomatoes, so I skipped that step and those ingredients. I used individually packaged, frozen (and thawed) tilapia. My fish browned pretty quickly, but I think I had the heat on a bit too high. The fish was good on its own, but I'm sure it would have been even better with the tartar sauce - next time!
Simple. Quick. Easy.
Enjoy!
p.s. for you singles and doubles out there, this can easily be altered to make less (or more if you have a large family), and I'm sure would heat up decently - though don't take it to work because we all know how people react to the smell of reheated fish!
Monday, September 24, 2012
[FYI] Goal: Argentina
Ok, friends. I have done some budgeting, and I have a very big goal: a trip to Argentina at Christmas. To be able to afford this, I am going to have to start living very differently... saying goodbye to almost all shopping, eating out, entertainment, coffee(?!), and basically any frivolous spending. The good news is that I think I really can make this happen. The hard news is that... this is going to be very hard! Please be patient with me.
The really good news for this blog is that I'm going to be doing a LOT more cooking and a LOT less eating out... AND, I'm not going to be spending money on outside activities... so I should have more time for blogging all of this food!
Here goes nothing!
The really good news for this blog is that I'm going to be doing a LOT more cooking and a LOT less eating out... AND, I'm not going to be spending money on outside activities... so I should have more time for blogging all of this food!
Here goes nothing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)