Mommy Lunches : Baked Shrimp and Asian Slaw Egg Rolls

So right now I'm doing the Weight Watchers thing.  Some weeks are better than others.  But I've found that if I actually eat a substantial (yet healthy) lunch, I'm less likely to snack endlessly in the afternoon.  It turns out that endless snacking can actually impede your weight loss success.  Who knew?  :o)

For a couple of weeks I was on a big panini kick.  I got a panini press for free (yay credit card points!) and for awhile, there was nothing I wouldn't press between two pieces of bread.  But lately I've been craving egg rolls.  My husband isn't a fan of Chinese food so I haven't had any in a long time.  I remembered a baked egg roll recipe I kind of made up a few years ago so I gave it a try again today.  Yum!

I'm not a great food blogger so I didn't take pictures of every step.  Hopefully my directions are clear enough!  For some of the ingredients, I did a range of measurements (like 1-2 tablespoons).  It all depends on your taste.  Start with a little bit and then add more if you think it needs it.  I was okay using 1 tablespoon each of the rice cooking wine and soy sauce.  I also used nonstick cooking spray for everything since I'm trying to keep my WW points at a minimum.  I got 9 egg rolls out of this recipe...it all depends on how much filling you put in each one.

2 cups of bagged broccoli slaw (plain)
12-16 frozen shrimp, thawed and cut into small pieces
1-2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
1-2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
Pinch of onion powder
Pinch of garlic powder
Egg roll wrappers
Olive oil OR nonstick spray for pan (you could also use canola oil, grapeseed oil, whatever you like)

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray (or cover with parchment paper).
2.  Heat oil/spray in a medium-sized skillet.  Add the slaw and move it around until it's moistened by the oil and starts to wilt.  Add the rice cooking wine, soy sauce, onion powder, and garlic powder.  Saute further until slaw is softened.
3.  Add shrimp and continue to saute until the shrimp turns pink (this only takes two or three minutes).  Add more rice cooking wine, soy sauce, seasonings, etc. if desired.
4.  Take skillet of heat and set out the egg roll wrappers and a small bowl of water.  Place a wrapper on a plate and moisten all the sides with a little water.  Put a couple of tablespoons of the mixture into the center of the egg roll and wrap it up according to the directions on the back of the package.  Place each egg roll seam-side-down on the baking sheet.
5.  Spray the egg rolls with nonstick spray (or brush with oil), then sprinkle a little salt on top.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before eating (these suckers are HOT inside!).

Yum!  While these are pretty yummy on their own, a good dipping sauce wouldn't hurt.  And keep in mind that an egg roll wrapper is basically a blank canvas.  You can use cabbage instead of the broccoli slaw, or add more veggies and leave out the shrimp, or use other sauces or oils you find in the Asian cooking aisle of the grocery store, or go crazy and fry them as nature intended.  Have fun with it! :o)

Note:  According to my calculations, each egg roll is 2 WW points.  This is based on a yield of 9 egg rolls.  Keep in mind that using oil instead of nonstick cooking spray and/or altering the ingredients will affect the nutrition and points value.

fun with veggies

In an effort to eat more vegetables, I tried a few new recipes over the past week and I loved every one of them.  I even have high hopes that maybe one day my husband will also partake in one or two of these.  :o)

First, baked zucchini sticks with sweet onion dip.  This one is a bit more labor-intensive than what I normally do, but totally worth it.  The dip tastes better after at least an hour in the fridge, too.  The recipe for this can be found here.

Next, roasted green beans with parmesan.  This recipe is SO simple.  Roasting the green beans makes them nice and crispy, and really, not so much like green beans anymore.  And even parmesan cheese from a can is crazy-delicious after it gets all browned in the oven.  I ate these with leftover sweet onion dip and it was almost like eating a snack version of green bean casserole.  YUM.  You can find the green bean recipe here.

Finally, baked squash chips.  No kidding.  A friend at church has a garden, so yesterday a bag of yellow squash was up for grabs.  I got three small ones and decided to try this recipe today.  The trick is to use a cooler oven (200 degrees) and just leave them in there for 2 or 3 hours (mine took around 2 and a half).  So they're super simple to prepare, it's just a waiting game until they're done.  They're worth the wait though because they really do get crispy like normal chips.  They just shrink a lot, so the amount you see in that picture was seriously from three squashes (and of course I ate all of them!).  Next time I'm going to season them better; I was paranoid about putting TOO much salt on them, but I don't think I put enough on there.  I might try some pepper or garlic powder next time too!  You can find the recipe here.

I'm very excited about these new recipes and how well they turned out.  Even if they take a little work beforehand, they're worth it if only to help me eat a little better.  Enjoy!

in the kitchen: peachy-green smoothie

I've been making smoothies for me and my son a lot lately.  They make the perfect post-nap snack without ruining his appetite for dinner, and they provide an excellent opportunity to hide stuff he wouldn't normally eat.  He would drink strawberry smoothies all day long, but you can't get him to eat an actual strawberry on its own.  Go figure.

Recently I've been adding spinach to pretty much every smoothie we eat.  You can't taste the spinach at all, and the green color doesn't seem to bother my son either.  Then again, he normally eats cooked spinach with gusto.  Either way, smoothies are an easy way to get some veggies in his diet (and mine!).

Here's a favorite of ours.  It's enough for two servings, thereabouts.  Keep in mind that I estimate the measurements of everything....feel free to increase or decrease wherever you want. 


Peachy-Green Smoothie

The Ingredients.

1 cup frozen sliced peaches
1 cup frozen cubed mango
1/2 to 3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
Optional:  2 tablespoons wheat germ and/or 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

The Method.

Put the frozen peaches and mango in a bowl and microwave on high for 45 seconds.  You want the fruit to only get partially thawed out, that way you don't have to add ice to the smoothie (that just waters it down).  Put the partially thawed fruit in the blender, and follow with 1/2 cup orange juice, the yogurt, and the wheat germ/flaxseed (if using).  Blend on high for a few seconds to make sure everything starts incorporating.  Add additional orange juice if needed.  Then add the spinach leaves and blend for 30 seconds or so.  If the spinach gets hung up, use a spoon to work it down a bit.  Pour into two glasses (or in our case, one glass and one sippy cup with straw) and enjoy!

All you taste is peach and mango goodness, I promise.  And the spinach can be added to other smoothie combinations too; just keep in mind that adding it with darker colored fruit (like berries) will result in a brownish-colored smoothie, not the pretty vibrant green of this particular smoothie.  :o)

So throw in some spinach next time you mix up a smoothie....work it in for St. Patrick's Day, and then keep that fun tradition going year-round.  :o)

in the kitchen: chai tea muffins

Here's a recipe I tried this afternoon to get rid of some extra tea bags.  I love chai lattes from Starbucks but can't come close to replicating them at home, so when I found this recipe for "chai breakfast cupcakes" I decided to give it a go.  I didn't add the icing (although it sounds delicious!) in an effort to be able to legitimately call these "muffins" instead of "cupcakes" (because it just makes me feel better about eating them!).  I also used a ripe avocado instead of butter because I wanted to use it before it went really bad.  I have GOT to start eating those things faster.  :o)



Chai Muffins
(adapted from Lady Behind the Curtain)

The Ingredients.
1 1/4 cups milk
4 chai tea bags
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granola (I used apple-blueberry because that's all I had on hand!)

The Method.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a couple of muffin tins with nonstick spray or else use baking liners (heads up...the yield for this recipe is 24 muffins.  Mine only made 18.  Not sure why.  No biggie though).  In a small saucepan, heat up the milk until it's just barely simmering (be careful not to scald it).  Remove from heat and add the tea bags; allow to steep for 5 minutes.  Remove tea bags, pressing them to release the liquid back into the saucepan.  Set aside.
In a bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, and salt.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, beat the butter with a handheld mixer until fluffy.  Add the vanilla and sugar; beat until well-mixed.  Add the eggs one at a time, and mix well after each addition.  Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk-tea mixture to the beaten mixture (beat on low speed and do not overmix or else the muffins will be tough!).
Fill muffin cups two-thirds of the way full and sprinkle the tops with granola.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Pretty yummy!  You can taste the tea but it's not overpowering at all.  I used vanilla chai tea because that's what I had, and that extra bit of vanilla really made it tasty.  Check out the original recipe at the link above if you want to make the yummy icing to drizzle on the top.  Maybe I'll do that next time.  :o)

in the kitchen: butternut squash and apple soup

This past week I've been going through the huge piles of recipes I've clipped from magazines for the past couple of years and have resolved to try at least two of them a week.  If they're winners, they'll get a spot in my huge recipes binder.  Here's one that made the cut!

It's from Cooking Light magazine, but it's certainly not lacking in yumminess.  It's also very easy to put together, especially if you take advantage of the pre-chopped veggies in the produce section; sure, you pay a little extra for the convenience, but have you ever actually cut into a huge butternut squash?  It's incredibly difficult to cut through that rind, and once you do, there's all those slippery seeds to deal with.  And chopping onions doesn't just make me cry...my eyes literally burn and my vision becomes really blurry until the job's done (and I'm thinking blurry vision + sharp knife = BAD IDEA).  :o)

I adapted it a little to include some chopped apple; I had seen that with another squash soup recipe and thought it sounded interesting.  Here's my adapted version!

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
(adapted from Cooking Light)

The Ingredients.
1 tablespoon butter
3 1/2 cups cubed and peeled butternut squash (I used a 12-oz. bag of cubed squash from Walmart's produce section)
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped and peeled apple (I used Gala)
2 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fat-free half-and-half
Salt and pepper to taste

The Method.
1.  Melt butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the squash, carrot, onion, and apple; season with salt and pepper and saute for 12 minutes or until tender.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
2.  Remove from heat and stir in half-and-half; add more seasoning if desired.  Puree in blender in batches until it reaches a smooth consistency (remove center piece of blender lid to let steam escape, and place a towel over the opening when blending to prevent splattering).  I used my immersion blender at this point.  Love that thing.

This soup yields four servings, but they're a bit on the smallish side so doubling the recipe might be a good idea (soup always freezes really well so that's always an option if you have leftovers).  The carrots and apples really accentuate the sweetness of the squash without being overpowering.  I think the only thing I might try next time is maybe add a bay leaf to the mix while it's simmering on the stove to add another level of flavor.  Perfectly delicious either way!  :o)

Linking up to Creations by Kara and A Little Tipsy!

when life hands you an avocado...

So I have a goal for 2012....try NOT to waste food.  Produce is particular is a problem in our house.  I tend to overbuy, thinking we'll eat it all up before it wastes away in the fruit bowl or fridge.  But I often forget I'm the only person in the house who eats certain kinds of produce, so all too often I find a moldy zucchini or rotting kiwi that I had forgotten about.  So the last time I went to the grocery store, I made a conscious effort to only buy produce I knew for a fact would get eaten within the week (or less, since they say the more days that go by, the more nutrients your produce loses).

But I had a problem.  I had a very ripe avocado sitting on the counter this week.  I love avocados, but seldom buy them since they're so expensive.  Recently Publix had them for $1 each so I bought three, but the third somehow got forgotten.  I hated the thought of throwing it away, but it was really mushy so I'm sure it wouldn't look too appetizing inside. 

Something else happened this week.  I saw a recipe on Betty Crocker's website where they suggested substituting a very ripe avocado for the butter or oil while making muffins from a mix.  Hey, I had a very ripe avocado.  And I was sure I could try this when making muffins from scratch (which is what I normally do now).  My husband loves banana-chocolate-chip muffins, and they're a treat I make just for him since I don't like them, so I decided to give the great avocado switcharoo a go.

And they turned out great!  My husband didn't notice a difference in the taste at all (in fact, I didn't tell him what I had done so he wouldn't eat them with a biased opinion!).  I didn't take a photo of the muffins only because I was so distracted by my whiny toddler when I made them, I forgot to put baking powder in them!  So while they still tasted good to my husband, they were kinda flat and not very picture-worthy.  :o)

So here's the recipe I used:

Banana Chocolate-Chip Muffins
The Ingredients.
1 very ripe avocado
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 or 3 very ripe bananas
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all-purpose)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

The Method.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 12-cup muffin pan or else use cupcake liners.  Remove avocado flesh and beat with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and bananas and mix until smooth.  Add the flour and baking powder and combine with a wooden spoon until incorporated (don't overmix or the muffins will be tough; I usually don't use a mixer at this point or else I'll have flour flying everywhere!).  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 of the way and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into one comes out clean.

So there you go.  While butter is still often cheaper than avocados, this is a great healthy option if you have one laying around and aren't in the mood for guacamole!

in the kitchen: pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls

 About a month ago, I came across this recipe for cinnamon rolls that had squash in them.  I was intrigued so I decided to give it a go.  And wouldn't you know it, the things were actually really tasty.  The squash was a great substitute for butter or oil, and they didn't affect the taste of the rolls at all.  However, I wasn't as impressed with the "glaze" the recipe called for to go on top.  Call me old-fashioned, but all cinnamon rolls require icing of some kind.  I hope you agree.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve.  I decided to try this recipe again, only using pumpkin instead of squash and making an icing to go on top instead.  The result:  deliciousness.  My husband and in-laws loved eating these on Christmas morning (though strangely enough, my toddler wasn't interested in partaking in gooey, cinnamon goodness so his opinion is unavailable at this time...weirdo!).

Here's my updated recipe.  I used my bread machine to knead the dough, so if you don't have one of these wonderful appliances I'd suggest looking at the original recipe and follow the directions to knead it by hand.  Either way, you can do most of the work the night before and then bake them off in the morning, so that's a bonus.  Who wants to get up at the buttcrack of dawn to make cinnamon rolls?  Not me.

A friendly word of caution...this dough is REALLY sticky.  Make sure you really flour your hands, your rolling pin, your counter, EVERYTHING.  I might try adding another 1/2 cup of flour to the dough next time to see if that does anything.  Either way, it'll roll out okay as long as you make sure all your surfaces are floured (if that's even a word...okay, it is now).  Okay, on to the recipe.

Anne's Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls
(adapted from Cooking Light and Money-Saving Mom)

The Rolls.
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Dash of ground cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon canola oil

Combine first 3 ingredients in your bread machine's baking pan and let sit for 10 minutes.  In a separate bowl, combine both flours, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, stirring with a whisk.  Once the 10 minutes are up, add the pumpkin puree and the oil to the baking pan, followed by the flour mixture.  Put the baking pan in the machine and choose the "dough" setting.  {At one point while the machine was kneading the dough, I realized it was really sticky and not really incorporating well.  So I added about 1/2 cup all-purpose flour to the pan and helped the dough along with a spoon.  Still experimenting with this part!}

The Filling.
3-4 tablespoons melted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Once the dough has finished rising in the machine, take the pan out and punch the dough down.  Let it sit for five minutes then turn it out onto a floured surface.  Use a rolling pin coated in flour to roll the dough into a rectangle (roughly 12 X 20 inches, doesn't have to be exact or anything).  Combine the 3 ingredients listed above in a small bowl and then rub all over the dough rectangle, leaving a 1/4 inch border on all sides.  {In hindsight, it may have been easier to brush the melted butter on the dough first, then sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar and rub it in that way.  Just a thought.}  Roll the dough up, starting with one of the long sides.

Now you're ready to cut.  I used the tutorial found here.  It's the easiest, cleanest, and fastest way to do it.  Dental floss, who knew??  :o)  Anyway, first I used the floss to make little hash-marks in the dough to divide it into about 16 rolls, then followed the directions on the tutorial to cut the rolls out.

Place the rolls cut-side-down in a 13 X 9 glass or ceramic baking dish coated with nonstick spray.

Now, if you've done all this the night before, all you have to do now is cover the dish with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.  I did leave mine out for about half an hour just to let them rise a little more before going in the fridge, but I really don't know if it made a difference or not since they were still even bigger by the next morning.

Anyway, whenever you want to eat them, bake them at 350 degrees for around 20 to 25 minutes.  Just watch them and once they look golden brown, take them out and IMMEDIATELY spread the following ooey gooey goodness all over them.

The Icing.
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice coffee creamer (or milk with a little cinnamon mixed in if that's easier)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients in a bowl using a whisk or handheld electric mixer.  Spread evenly on freshly baked cinnamon rolls.  Enjoy!

YUM.  These rolls are softer than traditional cinnamon rolls but are just as delicious.  I used the coffee creamer in the icing on a whim since I had it on hand, and I'm so glad I did.  Since you just use a teaspoon, it's not overkill at all.  Just enough flavor to complement the pumpkin and spices in the rolls.

Obviously this recipe is still somewhat of a work in progress (hence all the sidenotes and stuff).  But this preliminary version has already exceeded my expectations so I don't think I'll tweak it all that much.  I'm just thrilled and amazed that this instance of recipe-morphing actually worked!  :o)

Linked up to Creations by Kara!

in the kitchen: four egg cake

My husband turned 30 yesterday, and in honor of that occasion I thought I'd share a yummy cake recipe that my mom gave to me a long time ago.  It's really simple to make, and separating the eggs makes all the difference.  Trust me.  :o)


{Four Egg Cake}

The Ingredients.

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk

The Method.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Separate the eggs and set the egg whites aside.  Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together, then add the vanilla, almond extract, and egg yolks.  Then add the flour and baking powder alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with flour.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until fluffy and soft peaks form.  Fold the beaten whites into the batter.  Pour into greased pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool before frosting.

I frosted this cake with chocolate frosting using the recipe on the can of cocoa powder.  It's a favorite in our house and really goes well with this cake.  A word of caution:  for some reason when I made this cake yesterday it decided to stick to the bottom of the pans for the first time ever.  I'm not sure if my store-brand nonstick spray was the culprit or what.  Next time I might line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper just to ensure it doesn't happen again.  At least chocolate frosting makes a good glue!  Can't even tell that both layers came out in pieces, huh?  :o)

in the kitchen: easiest enchiladas ever

I can't remember where I found this recipe.  Somewhere online, I think.

But it's turned into one of our favorite meals around here.  I mean, how can you go wrong with meat, rice, and beans all smothered with cheese??

Please note that the enchiladas in the picture were made with soft-taco-sized tortillas because that's all I had on hand at the time.  I normally use burrito-sized, but I think any size will work if you want to go smaller.  Okay, here goes.


The Ingredients.

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 box black beans and rice mix (such as Zatarain's)
1 10-oz. can enchilada sauce
1 package burrito-sized tortillas
1 8-oz. bag Mexican-blend cheese

The Method.

Prepare the black beans and rice according to the directions on the package, leaving out the fat if desired (I don't add the oil that the directions call for, and it turns out fine).  Meanwhile, brown the ground beef or turkey and then drain.  Once the black beans and rice are done, stir in the cooked meat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9X13 pan with nonstick spray.  Drizzle half the enchilada sauce along the bottom of the pan, and tilt the pan from side to side to get the whole bottom covered.

Take a tortilla and fill a line down the middle with the meat mixture.  Roll it up (be sure to tuck in the ends halfway through to prevent the filling from leaking out!) and place in the prepared pan, seam-side down.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas and meat mixture.  Depending on how big your tortillas are and how thick they end up being, you can probably fit six to eight enchiladas in the pan.  There's usually leftover tortillas with mine, and I always have some filling left, which I save to give to my toddler or maybe just make a quesadilla with it for tomorrow's lunch.  There's usually not enough leftover to make an additional smaller pan of enchiladas, in my experience anyway.  Maybe it's just the way I fill them!

Anyway, once all your rolled-up enchiladas are in the pan, drizzle the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top, and top with the cheese.  And though the original recipe calls for it, I don't use the entire bag of cheese.  I think it's overkill.  But do what you want. :o)

Cover the pan with foil and bake covered for 15 minutes, then uncovered for 10 additional minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Linked up to Creations by Kara!

in the kitchen: banana "ice cream"

So if you're like me, you love ice cream but hate the calories that go with it.  Or maybe I'm the only one who remains incredulous that a mini-sized Blizzard still has over 400 calories.  Hello, it's a MINI!!!

I tried making fake banana ice cream last summer after reading about it in a magazine, and while it was tasty, it wasn't really a satisfying substitute for me.  I missed that creamy, smooth texture you can only get from ice cream.

Then the other day, I saw Rachael Ray make fake banana ice cream on TV, and it turns out all you have to do is add a little milk to the bananas.  Duh.  Why didn't I think of that?  So tonight I tried it, and the outcome looked exactly like Rachael's.  Score.

What was really amazing was that I only used one banana and maybe 1/4 cup of lowfat milk, and I got a bowlful of "ice cream."  Way more of a serving than I was expecting, and it completely satisfied my ice cream craving for a fraction of the calories (along some healthy doses of potassium and calcium, for that matter!).

Interested?  Here's the recipe.  This one's real easy to adjust according to the number of servings...I'd figure about a banana per person.  A few words of caution though...

• Your food processor WILL jump around the counter for the first 20 or 30 seconds of pureeing.  Just be brave and ride it out, and maybe add a little more milk to soften those rock-hard banana pieces.  It might also help to cut the banana into smaller chunks before you freeze it, but I think either way it packs a punch in the beginning.
• It really does take about two minutes of pureeing and adding small amounts of milk before it gets creamy.  Totally worth it though. 
• And finally, obviously the riper the banana is before you stick it in the freezer, the more "banana-y" your ice cream will taste.  Since I don't like a really strong banana flavor, I chose a banana that was just starting to get its spots, and the result wasn't at all overpowering.  A light drizzle of chocolate syrup doesn't hurt either.  :o)

Enjoy!

Linked up to Creations by Kara and A Little Tipsy!

in the kitchen: strawberry pie smoothie

I read in a recent issue of Food Network magazine that a lot of restaurants and diners are starting to make milkshakes with slices of pie in them!  Throw a slice of pie in a blender with some ice cream and maybe a little milk, and you have an authentic pie-shake.  Um, I have one question.  Why did it take so long for this idea to catch on???  YUM.

I love pies, but rarely do we have actual pie in the house!  And if we do, we're probably more likely to eat it as nature intended...on a plate, with a fork, and maybe a la mode.  :o)

I'm a big smoothie fan, so I thought I would try to replicate this idea but make it a little healthier, and with ingredients I often have on hand.  I didn't really measure stuff as I went, but tried to estimate the amounts for the recipe.  As always, you can add more or less milk and yogurt depending on preference.

The Ingredients.

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup lowfat milk
1/2 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
2 graham cracker sheets, broken into several pieces

The Method.

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Add a little ice if desired.

This recipe is enough for one person.  The graham crackers blend into the smoothie completely, and give it a smooth, creamy texture that reminds me of a milkshake in a way.  Using half-thawed frozen strawberries would also give it a milkshake effect. This would also be good with other kinds of berries or peaches. And be prepared to have a spoon on hand in case your toddler wants you to share.  :o)

Linked up to Creations by Kara!

in the kitchen: chocolate-chip banana bread

I have a confession to make.  I hate banana bread.  I love the way it smells when it's cooking, and will even lick the spoon when I'm done mixing up the batter, but for some reason once it takes on loaf-form I can't stand it.  I have a theory that just might explain this phenomenon though.  Back when my mom would pack my lunch for school, I quickly learned that sandwich + banana [divided by a factor of being in the same paper bag] = sandwich bread that tastes like bananas.  Some people may not mind this.  But I guess it bothered me enough to create a permanent aversion to banana bread.

Then one day early on in our marriage, my husband casually mentioned that he liked banana bread.  I snagged the recipe from my mom, added a personal touch of chocolate chips, and just like that banana bread was back in my life again.  I still don't like it, but according to my husband, it's pretty yummy.  So here you go.

The Ingredients.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 or 3 very ripe bananas)
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips

The Method.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray.  In a large bowl, use a handheld mixer to cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the eggs and bananas and mix until combined.  Stir in the flour and baking powder using a wooden spoon (you could still use the mixer at this point, but that usually makes a very nice flour mist all over your counter so I just opt to do this part by hand!), and then mix in the chocolate chips.  Spoon batter into the loaf pan, smooth the top, and then bake for 40-50 minutes.  I usually stick a butter knife in the center, and if it comes out mostly clean, it's done!  :o)

Hope you like it!

in the kitchen: chip-crusted chicken

Um, no I didn't die.  Let's just say I was in a funk last week, and really didn't do anything that creative.  :o)

To ease me back into posting, here's a really simple, really yummy chicken recipe.  Because chicken is good for you, but can get boring real quick if you're not careful.  This recipe is enough for two people but can easily be doubled...just figure a chicken breast and maybe a half cup more of chips per person.

The Ingredients.
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
1 to 1 1/2 cups crushed baked potato chips (barbecue flavor is fantastic, but use whatever you have on hand!)

The Method.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.
Place chicken breasts in a ziploc bag and pound them until they are half an inch thick.  Take them out of the bag and cut them against the grain into 1 inch strips.  Set aside.
Put crushed chips in a shallow container (such as a pie plate).  {To crush the chips, put them in a ziploc bag and roll a rolling pin back and forth until they look like breadcrumbs.}  In another container, lightly beat the egg.
Dip each chicken strip in the egg, let the excess drip off, and then roll in the crushed chips until all edges are covered.  Lay on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the chicken.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is done.

As you can see, the chicken doesn't take that long at all to bake since it's in small strips and the oven temperature is high.  And while you can experiment with the flavor of chips (sour cream and onion might be good too!), I would recommend that you stick to the baked variety.  I tried regular chips one time, and they made the chicken kind of greasy.  I could hear the fat on the them sizzling in the oven, and it just didn't result in the crispy texture that the baked chips do.  One thing I might try next time is to place a wire rack on top of the baking sheet and then bake the chicken strips that way; maybe that will prevent soggy-bottomed chicken.  Which happens a little bit with this recipe, but doesn't really affect the taste of the chicken overall.  Which is good, because it's yummy if I do say so myself.  :o)

Enjoy!

in the kitchen: cookies 'n cream pudding pops

Here's something for all you Oreo fans out there.

I'm sure I'm not the first one to come up with this, but I think it's pretty tasty nonetheless.   A couple of weeks ago I made these mint-chocolate-oreo pudding pops from Our Best Bites, and they were SO good.  {Incidentally, the strawberries and cream pudding pops on that same site are unreal.  Give those a try too.  Trust me.}  My husband and I are both fans of cookies 'n cream ice cream, so I adapted the recipe to try to get that classic taste in a pudding pop.  And the finished product did not disappoint!

The Ingredients.

1 small (1.7 oz) box of instant vanilla pudding mix
1 and 3/4 cups of half-and-half
10 crushed Oreo cookies

The Method.

Pour the half-and-half in a blender, and then add the vanilla pudding mix.  Blend until combined, and then stir in the crushed Oreos.  Immediately pour into popsicle molds and freeze until set.  This recipe made 6 popsicles for me; it just depends on the size of your molds.

Helpful hints:  I found it definitely works better to put the half-and-half in the blender and THEN the pudding mix on top of that; if you put the pudding in first, some of it gets stuck in the bottom of the blender and doesn't get incorporated as well.  And, since we're working with instant pudding, the faster you get the mixture in the molds, the better, since after it actually becomes more "pudding-like" (is that a word?) it's harder to pour in there.  Also, you can also use milk instead of the half-and-half, but it won't make as creamy of a pudding pop.  I actually used fat-free half-and-half for these since that's what I had on hand, and it worked great, but the regular stuff might be even better.

Enjoy!  :o)

Linking up to Creations by Kara!

in the kitchen: barbecue chicken calzones

Mmmmm.  Isn't pretty much anything better when totally encased in pizza dough? 

Well, I'm sure there's exceptions to what I just said, but these beauties are still pretty awesome.  And they're a great way to use up leftover chicken.

This recipe makes two huge calzones, so if you wanted to make four smaller ones that would probably work too (just adjust the baking time as needed).  Or else just make the two huge calzones, and cut them down the middle after they're finished baking to make four servings.  Either way works.  Ready to give them a go?

The Ingredients.

1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
2-4 slices of bacon
2/3 cup barbecue sauce
10-oz. can of pizza dough
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

The Method.

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (trust me, you'll thank me later).  Cook the bacon until crisp, either on the stovetop or the microwave if you're pressed for time, and then crumble it.  
• Put the chicken pieces and the barbecue sauce in a small bowl and mix until everything is combined, and then add the crumbled bacon to it.  
• Unroll the pizza dough onto the parchment paper until you have a big rectangle, and then gently press with your fingers to make it about a quarter inch thick.  Use a knife to gently cut a vertical line down the center of the dough to make two smaller rectangles (and if you're making four calzones, go ahead and cut a horizontal line too so you end up with four rectangles of dough).  
• Divide the chicken and bacon mixture among the rectangles, being careful to only put it on one half of each rectangle and to maintain at least a half-inch border from the edge of the dough.  Top each one with cheese.
• Fold the uncovered half of each rectangle over the filling and use your fingers to pinch the dough together.  It also helps to fold the excess dough over and press with your fingers that way.
• Cut a small slit in the top of each calzone, and if desired, brush olive oil or butter on the top to help make a nice golden crust (you can also just spray the tops with nonstick spray!).
• Bake the calzones for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.  When they look like this, they're ready:

{And yes, those are two ginormous calzones.  My hubby and I were hungry, and I shared some of mine with my kid, so don't judge...haha.}  And it's best if you let them cool for about five minutes before you attempt to eat them (unless you like the feeling of burnt tastebuds.  No?  Okay, then let them cool).

You can also play around with this recipe.  Might be yummy to saute some onions to mix in with the chicken, or maybe use some parmesan cheese in addition to the mozzerella.  Definitely a great alternative to the traditional calzone.  And didn't we all learn from The Calzone episode of Seinfeld that "there's nothing more satisfying than looking down after lunch and seeing nothing but a table"?

And yes, I looked up that quote to make sure I got it right.  There's a site with Seinfeld scripts on it, who knew?  :o)

in the kitchen: quick crispy ravioli

Is there anything yummier than ravioli?  Um yeah there is.  Ravioli coated in breadcrumbs and then lightly pan-fried.  YUM.  My only regret is that I don't have a picture to show you, because this stuff rocks.

The original recipe is here, but I served it with jarred pasta sauce instead since fresh tomatoes are so expensive right now and my hubby's not so much a fan (unless they've been pureed to a completely chunk-free sauce).  This is also a great recipe to try this week, since I noticed at Publix yesterday that Bertolli pasta sauce is on BOGO right now.  And you can substitute an 8-oz. package of Monterey Pasta Company whole wheat ravioli, also on sale at Publix this week.  And Betty Crocker's website has a $1 off coupon for the breadcrumbs you need for this recipe.  And you can also get Fresh Express bagged salad on BOGO this week, and grab a $1 loaf of French bread at Walmart to round out the meal.  So yeah, this dinner is some cheap eats.  Here's my adapted version:

The Ingredients.
2 tablespoons water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (yes, the stuff in the can is fine)
1 9-oz. package of fresh ravioli (though you could probably use frozen if you thaw it out first)
3 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
Around 2 cups of jarred pasta sauce for serving

The Method.
1.  Combine the water and beaten egg in a shallow dish, and stir to combine.  Combine the panko and the cheese in another shallow dish, and stir to combine.  Dip each ravioli in the egg mixture, then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture.  {Tip:  I noticed that my panko got kind of soggy the more ravioli I dipped in it, and by the end it was very hard to get it to stick.  It's probably better to go ahead and mix the panko and cheese as directed, but only add a few tablespoons at a time as you're coating the ravioli so you're always working with dry crumbs.  Make sense?}
2.  Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of the oil, swirling to coat.  Also, begin to warm up the pasta sauce in a separate pot on another burner (or else warm it up in the microwave when you're about to serve the ravioli).  Add one-third to one-half the ravioli (depending on the size of your skillet; it's best not to overcrowd the pan so the ravioli will brown like it's supposed to) in a single layer.  Saute a minute or two on each side or until golden.  Remove from pan and drain on paper towels (even if you don't use a ton of oil, this step really helps).  Repeat procedure with remaining ravioli and olive oil.  Serve with the pasta sauce either on top, or on the side as a dipping sauce.

Mmmmm.  Delicious.  This would also work as a fun appetizer for a party!  That layer of breadcrumbs packs a huge amount of flavor for very little additional bucks.  :o)  Enjoy.

in the kitchen: peanut butter granola bars

They look pretty good, huh?

Wanna make them?

Get ready, because your house is about to smell amazing.  I baked these a couple hours ago and my house still smells like peanut butter.  In a good way.

I got this recipe from my sister, who got it from someone in her Bible study.  So yeah, can't take credit for it, although I want to.  The only thing I did differently was add chocolate chips!  I also baked these at 325 degrees instead of 300 degrees, but it just depends on your oven.  These bars come out firm around the edges but also very moist and chewy (in case you're not a fan of those granola bars that break your teeth).  :o)

The Ingredients.
Dry~
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/3 to 2/3 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you like your granola bars
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional: 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Wet~
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup water

The Method.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, combine the wet ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well (clean hands work better than a spoon!).  The mixture should start clumping together pretty well.
Spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray and fill each cup about half-full with the mixture, using a scoop or two spoons.  Press firmly with your fingers so the mixture is more like a solid cake (it helps if you wet your fingers with water since the mixture is kind of sticky).  Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown (just watch them to make sure they don't get overdone).  Let them cool completely in the pans before you take them out.
This recipe is enough for 24 bars, so if you have two 12-cup muffin pans you can bake them all at once.  Or, if you're like me and only have one muffin pan, you'll have to wait for the first batch to cool completely before you can use the pan again.  :o)


You can also add other nuts or some dried fruit to these....feel free to experiment!  I used creamy peanut butter but crunchy would also be really good.


Now go make them.  And enjoy some peanut buttery goodness.  :o)

Linking up to Creations by Kara!

in the kitchen: strawberry-peach popsicles

Let me start off by saying that this recipe makes four popsicles, not two as pictured above.  Guess this photo indicates that these are pretty tasty, since my hubby and I each had one before I snapped a picture of all of them!

I found these popsicle molds at Walmart yesterday and got really excited.

Almost too excited.  I've been wanting some for awhile but they were hard to find since they're a seasonal thing, and I didn't want anything super-fancy off of Amazon.  I bought two of these molds for around five dollars.  Not bad.

I decided for my first batch I'd just mix up a smoothie recipe and pour it in the molds.  This recipe is enough for four popsicles:

Strawberry-Peach Popsicles

Ingredients:
1 cup sliced peaches
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt

You can use frozen fruit, or fresh, or a combination.  If you used frozen fruit, just put some in a bowl and thaw it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so.  Also, play around with the amounts of orange juice and yogurt if you want.  They're not set in stone.

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Pour into the popsicle mold, place the tops on, and freeze for a few hours.  I mixed mine up around 2:00 yesterday afternoon and we ate them around 9:00 last night, but I'm sure they were ready before then.  Probably doesn't take that long at all.

Now that I have these, I'm already thinking of other combinations.  Peach-raspberry, strawberry-blueberry, lemon-blueberry, banana-peanut butter?  :o)

Enjoy!

in the kitchen: loaded potato soup

So I have a monster cold right now.  And so does my son.  Yuck.  Don't really feel like sewing anything right now.

Until I get over this cold and feel inspired to be crafty again, let me share a super-yummy soup recipe with you.  I made this last week for dinner, and my husband and I both loved it (not so much our son...he still gets picky with potatoes sometimes). 

I modified the recipe a little, since I think it needed more cheese (come on, don't most recipes need more cheese?).  Plus the recipe called for sauteing onions for the base of the soup, but my hubby isn't crazy about chunks of onions in his soup, so next time I'm just going to use a little onion powder instead.  You can find the original recipe here, but I'll go ahead and give you my somewhat adapted version below.

Loaded Potato Soup
(adapted from Cooking Light)

4 (6 ounce) red-skinned potatoes
1/2 to 1 teaspoon onion powder (to taste)
1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 turkey bacon slices
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Thinly sliced green onions (optional)


1. Pierce potatoes with a fork and microwave on HIGH 10-12 minutes or until tender.  Allow to cool slightly and cut in half.
2.  While potatoes cook, heat the chicken broth in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour and 1/2 cup of the milk.  Add this and the onion powder to the broth, as well as the remaining 1 1/2 cups of milk.  Bring to a boil, stirring often, and cook for one minute.
3. Cook bacon in the microwave for 3-4 minutes while doing step 2.  Allow to cool and then crumble it.
4. Remove the soup from the heat, then add the sour cream, salt, and pepper.  Remove the potato flesh from the skins.  Coarsely mash the potatoes into the soup.  Stir in 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the cheese (personal preference), and then top with remaining cheese, bacon, and onions.

Mmmm...enjoy!

in the kitchen: mint chocolate chip cookies

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Usually wearing something green is all I do to commemorate this holiday, but when I came across this mint chocolate chip cookie recipe from Betty Crocker I decided some green cookies couldn't hurt.  Plus I'm a fan of any cookie recipe that starts with sugar cookie mix; sometimes making things totally from scratch is overrated, especially when you have a toddler hanging all over you and you just want to take the easy way!  :o)

I modified the recipe just a little.  The recipe calls for 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract and 6 to 8 drops of green food coloring, so I put the smaller amount of each ingredient in first, figuring I could add more later.  For me, these amounts were perfect, which is good since I was nervous about my cookies either a) tasting like toothpaste, or b) coming out yucky neon green.  Neither sounds appetizing, right?

Plus I only added 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips since the one cup of creme de menthe chips already seemed like plenty for the amount of dough I had.  Again, just personal preference.

So go check out this recipe and make these cookies.  They're super yummy.  Trust me, I've already eaten one.  :o)