Crepes and Buttermilk Syrup

Crepes:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp oil
pinch salt


Mix all ingredients in blender (we doubled, and it could have been tripled).  Heat pan so it's hot, spray with baking oil or add butter to pan.  Pour batter in by 1/4 cup increments, swirl pan around until batter evenly coats pan.  When sides start to bubble and peel away from pan, take out of pan and stack crepes on plate.


Buttermilk Syrup
1 cube butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. corn syrup
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Bring first five ingredients to a boil. Remove from heat immediately and add Baking Soda. To avoid boil over I use a fairly deep, heavy pan

White Chili

3 (15oz) cans great northern beans with juice
3 (4oz) cans diced green chilies
1 pkg frozen shoepeg white corn
1/2 tsp cumin
2 Tbs lime juice
1/2 Tbs salt
1 tsp pepper
1-2 Tbs brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Add sour cream and grated cheese in separate serving bowls.

Lettuce Wraps

I've been looking for a good lettuce wrap recipe for a long, long time.  I finally found one that I think I'll keep using.  It seemed like a bit of work the first time, but I think from here on out it will be a lot easier (it's really not that complicated though).  I found the recipe on AllRecipes.com, and it's supposed to be the P.F. Chang's recipe.  It did taste very similar too!

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup diced water chestnut
2/3 cup diced mushroom
(3 Tablespoons chopped onion-- I omitted these)
2-3 cloves minced garlic
head of iceberg lettuce

SPECIAL SAUCE:

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar (i substituted with 1Tbs white vinegar and 1Tbs water)
2 Tbs ketchup
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/8 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs red chili paste

STIR FRY SAUCE:

2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar (i used 1/4 tsp white vinegar and 1/4 tsp water)

First, dice your vegetables-- mushrooms and water chesnuts (and onions if you used them) into pea sized cubes.  Then, cook your chicken in a pan with some olive oil until cooked through.  Dice chicken as you did the veggies-- small pieces.  Add a bit of oil, the chicken, veggies, and stir fry sauce (mixed together beforehand), and minced garlic back to the pan.  Stir to coat with sauce and let simmer.

Then, make the special sauce.  You can also make it ahead of time and refrigerate it until you are ready to serve.  To make the sauce, first dissolve the sugar into the water by stirring until the mixture is clear.  Then add the soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil and mix (whisk) well.  Wait to add the chili paste before serving and mix well.

Lastly, clean your head of lettuce- pat it dry, and then layer everything in.  We ate this with rice and fruit.

Zucchini Cookies

i made a batch of these this afternoon and they were quite a hit with the whole family!  the best part is they are definitely healthier than the typical chocolate chip cookie-- but, i have to make sure to give some away before i eat the entire tray!

1/2 cup butter, softened.
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup zucchini, (i used my magic bullet to puree it- you can grate it too)
2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350, spray cookie sheets with non stick spray.

2. Cream butter and sugar together

3. Add egg, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and flour into the butter mixture, mix well

5. Stir in zucchini

6. Fold in chocolate chips

7. Drop by tablespoons, about 12 cookies per cookie sheet. 

8. Bake 15-18 min until golden brown. Do not over bake.

*after you make the batter, it may be a little runny due to the wetness of the pureed zucchini.  i put mine in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to harden a bit.

*next time i am going to try using brown sugar instead of white to get a different kind of sweet in them.

Roquefort Pear Salad

via google images

i've made this numerous times for events, and it's so yummy that i decided i need it in my archives for future reference.  most times i just left the dressing on the side, but this last time that i made it i mixed it in and i think it made it better because all the flavors were able to mix together.  i obviously changed it up a bit, especially because i'm not a fan of green onions, so here is what i did:

head of romaine lettuce
1-2 green pears
2-3 avocados
bleu cheese
pecans (+ sugar/cinnamon)
craisins

shred lettuce, thinly slice pears, dice avocado, crumble bleu cheese, and candy the pecans.  (to candy the pecans i put a very small amount of olive oil in a skillet. add 1 cup pecans and 1/2 cup white sugar + dash of cinnamon.  keep the heat on medium and stir constantly until the sugar starts to diminish (melt), then pour pecans onto a plate to cool).

next make the dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
1.5 tsp white sugar
1.5 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

combine all ingredients and mix in blender.  pour over shredded lettuce and mix well.  add pears, avocado, pecans and craisins and mix.  add bleu cheese on top and mix slightly. and then, eat... and eat.... and eat... because it's divine!

Cookie Bars (copy-cat)

I copied my friend Camille and made these cookie bars that she posted a while back.  Of course I changed it up a bit, as I usually do.  Thanks Camille for the great idea-- they were SO good, I easily could have eaten the entire pan!  Click here for the original recipe.

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup brown-sugar
*you can add 1/4 cup white sugar to make them sweeter
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 cup whole wheat flour
1.5 cup oats
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
2 cup chocolate chips

combine butter, sugar, an applesauce.  next add eggs, vanilla, salt, baking soda.  then flour, oats, flaxseed.  stir in chocolate chips.  bake in 8x8 dish at 325 for about 35min.

*basically i just substituted applesauce for butter, took out the white sugar, and added flaxseed.  these ones needed to bake longer, as the applesauce made the batter less thick. try them out! yum!
*next time i make these i am going to try using no butter and all applesauce to see how it works out.  i think it will work out fine! i'll let you know!

Spaghetti Squash Vegetable Goolash

do you like the name of this one? :)  that's what it basically is... only, the word goolash does make it less appealing.  i first saw this idea on mckensie's blog (i mentioned her in the previous post as well) and then i saw it on one of my favorite blogs, The Body of Mother.  they both had different ways of making it, and i made my own as well.  basically, the main idea is-- spaghetti squash substituted for pasta is divine (and healthy!).  this is what i did..

1 spaghetti squash
1 jar marinara sauce
2-4 cloves garlic
chicken

1 green pepper
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
broccoli (cut into small pieces)

first, cut the spaghetti squash in half (take out the guts),  lay it flat side down on a cookie sheet and bake for 45min- hour at 350.  when it's done, scoop out all the noodles and put into a bowl.  i added some butter and salt and pepper and let it sit.

while the squash is cooking in the oven, dice chicken and cook in frying pan until cooked through.  add diced/sliced veggies to pan with olive oil and a few cloves of minced garlic.  cook until veggies are tender.

finally, layer the "noodles", veggies/chicken, and top with marinara sauce.  now that i think back to it, we should have put some cheese on top- we'll have to add that next time!  :)   this is a delicious meal, and we were SO full afterwards!  definitely got our share of veggies for the day!

*sorry no picture

Beet Tacos.

one of my very best friends posted this on her blog awhile ago and i knew i needed to try them.  i finally made them last week and they are SO GOOD!  kens always has the best meal ideas- so thanks a million kens!! (i'll be posting a knock off of another one of her meals later this week as well).  i changed them up a little bit, but the theory is the same. :)  for the original recipe click here.

beets (fresh or canned... i used fresh, but i think i might try canned next time because i decided i like my beets pickled better, but kens prefers fresh. so you choose)
corn tortillas (they are small)
black beans
avocados
sour cream
queso fresca
hot sauce

first you peel the beets and grate them.  then, i boiled mine for about 10minutes in a small amount of water.  next add some lime juice and salt.

meanwhile, cook black beans on the stove until they are soft and mushy.  then, use a fork to mash them up.

while you have those two going, heat up the corn tortillas on the stove- browning them slightly on each side.

next, i just mashed up straight avocado with some garlic salt, but you can make your favorite quac if you would like.

then, i mixed the sour cream and hot sauce together (kens uses mexican sour cream called crema mexicana).  and crumble the queso fresca.

and then you put it all together....

tortilla, layer of black beans, layer of avocado, layer of beets, drizzle sour cream/hot sauce mixture, and top it with the crumbled queso.  they are AMAZING! i served these with some spanish rice and fresh cherries.



now everyone go check out mckensie's blog and thank her for all the goodness she posts! :)

stir fry.

for some reason stir fry always sounds good to me, and then when i make it- it's just not.  i think i finally found a recipe worth keeping around though, because this time i really did like it.  plus, it has gobs of veggies so win, win.

chicken
olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced

cut chicken into strips or cubes.  cook in frying pan with olive oil and garlic until chicken is done.  meanwhile, steam some broccoli.

1 Tbs hoisin sauce
1 Tbs chili paste
1 Tbs soy sauce

add all three to the pan and mix well.

yellow squash
zucchini
green pepper
carrots

slice all veggies and add to pan + broccoli. coat well with sauce.

water chestnuts
baby corn
1/8 cup chicken stock

drain chestnuts and corn and add to pan along with the chicken stock.

Let everything simmer on medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Ranch Burgers

we've been summer grillin' at our house and it's yum yum every time!  my husband found our most recent recipe for burgers- ranch burgers!  they're really easy, and really yummy too!  (even if you're not a ranch lover- because dallin definitely isn't)

2lbs ground beef

1 packet of hidden valley ranch
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs
onion (didn't use this)

combine everything and form into a patty!  then, make your husband grill them because you don't know how to use a grill. :)

toppings include:

spinach, avocado slices, mayo, mustard, ketchup. (and BBQ sauce if you're dallin)
we also use a healthier alternative for the buns.  i know they don't look all that wonderful, but they really taste fabulous!  dallin was a little weary, but even he likes them... and if he likes them, most likely you will too.  (he likes to toast his too).  they're called sandwich thins and they are found by the bagels (at least in my store they are).

now eat up!

Green Smoothies.

our new late night treat is green smoothies.  so far i have found two variations that we enjoy (well, dallin only enjoys the chocolate one).

1-
handful of spinach
ground flax seeds
1 banana (frozen)
chocolate almond milk

2-
handful of spinach
ground flax seeds
1 banana (frozen)
blueberries, strawberries, raspberries (or whatever you want)
vanilla almond milk





put everything in blender, blend and enjoy.  (i use a magic bullet, and i've heard the spinach doesn't blend in a regular blender- so keep that in mind)

shredded wheat bars

because, lets face it-- who doesn't need a healthy treat idea?

3 cups (crushed) shredded wheat
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut-butter (crunchy is better)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
raisons (or semi-sweet chocolate chips if you're a choco-holic like me)

mix honey, peanut-butter, and brown sugar.  melt in microwave for 1- 1.5 minutes. blend well.  add shredded wheat and mix until coated evenly.  add chocolate chips or raisons and mix again.  press into a greased 8-inch baking dish.  cool in refrigerator.  cut into square bars and enjoy.

BBQ Pasta

We aren't huge fans of marinara sauce in our home, so this pasta is perfect! Especially because my husband is obsessed with BBQ sauce.  (We once had a debate about if it was normal (and in my case, HUMANE) to eat BBQ sauce on pot-stickers. Unfortunately I think I lost that battle after taking a poll on facebook, but I'm still sticking to the fact that it's absolutely disgusting and a major insult to the asian culture!) ANYWAY!  This pasta is good!  It sounds a little iffy- I know, but just trust me on this one.  The smell of it cooking in the oven is quite divine as well!

26oz Marinara sauce (I'm pretty sure mine was 24oz)
1.5- 2.5 BBQ sauce (I used slightly more)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. Penne Pasta (I used 70% wheat pasta, 30% white)
shredded mozzarella cheese
chicken

Cook and shred chicken.  Combine Marinara and BBQ sauce, and then the minced garlic.  Add cooked noodles, and then the shredded chicken.  Pour into 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20minutes.

cleaning chicken

i hate chicken. i mean, i HATE touching, cleaning, dealing with uncooked chicken, period!  my sisters are all kind of freaked out by raw chicken, and therefore, i have developed quite a phobia of it myself.  unfortunately, we eat chicken at least twice a week, if not more.  we figured out a chicken solution shortly after we were married.  it makes cooking dinner for me 10x easier, and it makes my husband 10x happier that he doesn't have to clean the chicken for me every time!

whenever we buy chicken, we buy it in bulk.  my husband will clean all the chicken and cut it into about 3 ounce pieces.  we then put two- four pieces of the cleaned chicken in a freezer zip-lock bag.  then you throw it all in the freezer! whenever i need chicken for a meal, all i have to do it pull a bag out of the freezer and put it either directly into a baking dish, or directly into a frying pan.  it dramatically minimizes the amount of raw chicken i have to touch!  it also cuts down prep time for dinner in half! (okay maybe not half, but a lot!)

and ta-da!
it works perfect for us!

Caramel Brownies

1 pkg. german chocolate cake
1/2 c. margarine
1 can of canned (evaporated) milk
1 pkg. caramel squares
1 8oz. pack milk chocolate chips (i used more.. of course)

Mix cake, margarine, 1/2 can milk.  Put half of the cake batter into a 9x13 greased and floured pan.  Cook for 6 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, melt caramel with 1/3 c. milk.  (cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly) Set to "cool" (just for a short while)

Sprinkle chocolate chips and caramel over the "cooked" portion of the cake.  Spoon the remainder of the cake batter on top by heaping teaspoons.  (the batter is quite thick)  Cook for 18 more minutes.  Allow time to cool before eating.

*I think they taste best the next day after they have had time to cool in the refrigerator. (make sure to cut them before refrigerating though)

Chicken "Nuggets"

2 cups of bite-size shredded wheat cereal (crushed to 1 cup)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 Tbs. honey
2 tsp. prepared mustard
chicken- cut into bite-size pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine cereal, parmesan cheese, salt, paprika, and garlic powder.  In a separate dish combine mayo, honey and mustard.  Stir chicken into mayo mixture and then roll in cereal mixture- coat evenly.  Place in shallow baking dish and bake for 15-20minutes.  (ours took 30min because i did bigger pieces of chicken)

Pulkokee

Yeah... I'm not sure how to pronounce the name of this meal either, BUT it is absolutely divine.  It's definitely one of my top 5 favorite meals.  My sister in-law gave my mom this recipe, and now I have possession of it!  It's REALLY easy to make, which makes it all the better!

1 lb. beef, cut in thin strips (we use top sirloin steak)
4 T. brown sugar
2 T. sesame oil
6 T. soy sauce
crushed red pepper (however much you would like- we used 1/4 T)
1 green onion (or not..)
1 glove minced garlic
4 T. sesame seeds
1 T. flour

Add beef, brown sugar, sesame oil, and soy sauce and mix well in large frying pan.  Add remainder of ingredients and mix again.  Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes.  Fry in pan on medium to medium-high heat until meat is brown and cooked through.  Add 1/2- 1 cup of water and mix.  Cover and simmer on low heat until tender. (about 20- 30 minutes)  Serve over rice.

my menu planning

I was just reading on "Sister's Cafe" about menu planners.  I've been meaning to share how I do my menu planning as well, so now that I'm thinking about it, here we go..

I'm going to assume most women (or MEN) plan their menus by the week.  I'm definitely not a natural at cooking, I was definitely not raised in a family that ate a home-cooked meal together every night, and I definitely don't always stick to my "menu plan", BUT- this is what I've found to be the easiest for me.  I plan by the MONTH! yes.... it's true.

At the beginning of every month, or, like this month, on the 16th of the month... :), I print out a calendar for the whole month.  Then I sit down with all my cookbooks and my laptop and I find a whole months worth of dinners.  I fill in each day (minus Saturday's (left-over day) and Sunday's (we mooch off the parents on this day)) with just the main course.  We have a few staple sides at our house... things like broccoli, bananas, asparagus, etc. so I just add those to the list.  Every Monday I make the grocery list, going off of the meals for the week, add in the staples and the regulars (milk, eggs, cheese, etc.) and meal planning is complete.

It's the only way I cook even somewhat often.  Some weeks I am really ambitious and cook Monday-Friday (okay... maybe that has only happened a handful of times), and some weeks I don't cook anything on the menu (that's okay though... then I can add it to the next month!)

Anyway, if you are like me, and you lack in the cooking genre, hopefully this will help.  I had a little jumpstart this week and I'm trying out some new recipes.  I will try my best to post them!

Ta-ta!

Chicken Pillows

I know the name of this doesn't sound all that appetizing, but they really are good.  They turned out better than I though, and actually tasted even better as leftovers the next day! (just make sure to bake them to re-heat so they don't go soggy)

This recipe came from our family cookbook, but I modified it- as usual.

1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded
1 pkg. refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 (80oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp. salt and pepper
1/4 cup butter
1 cup crushed cornflakes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
(also calls for 1/2 cup chopped onion, but i left it out)

Combine chicken, cream cheese, (onion) lemon juice, mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper.  Divid into eight equal portions.  Roll dough out (like a small pizza dough). Place a heaping Tablespoon of filling in center of dough.  Form crescent dough around each portion and seal edges.  Roll chicken ball in melted butter and then crushed cornflakes.  Place in baking dish.  Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350.  Combine soup and milk to pour on top.  (I know this sounds kind of gross, but we put spicy ranch dressing on top instead- and it was good).

Serve with rice, veggies, and bread.

Vermont Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

this recipe came from prudence-pennywise.

4 tablespoons yellow mustard

4 tablespoons maple syrup

8 slices sourdough bread (i used regular white bread)

softened butter

deli sliced ham or turkey (i used ham)

thin slices of apple-any variety

sharp cheddar cheese (i used medium, though sharp would have been better)

In a small bowl, combine mustard and maple. Spread just a dab very thinly on insides of two slices of bread. Stack one slice of bread with cheese, apples and meat. Top with other slice of bread, mustard side in. Butter outsides of bread and cook in preheated frying pan over medium heat for two minutes. Flip, reduce heat to low and cover and cook an additional three minutes, or until bread is toasted. Serve with extra maple mustard dipping sauce.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I got this recipe from the cooking blog, The Sisters Cafe.  They are incredibly delicious! Of course I made a few modifications, but you can refer to the original recipe if you'd like to as well.


8 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup green salsa
2 Tb fresh lime juice 
2.5 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 cups shredded chicken
1.5 cup grated pepperjack cheese
small flour tortillas 
cooking spray
salt 

Soften cream cheese in microwave for 20-30 seconds. Stir in green salsa, lime juice and spices until well mixed. Stir in shredded chicken and pepperjack cheese and combine well. **this can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line cookie sheet with  tin foil, lightly sprayed with cooking oil.

Working with 3-4 tortillas at a time, briefly heat in microwave so they are easier to work with. Spoon 2-3 Tb of mixture in a row across the bottom third of tortilla, keeping 1/2 inch away from edge. This makes it possible to roll it up very tightly. Place taquitos seam side down on cookie sheet, making sure they are not touching. Lightly spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with a small amount of salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and edges start to turn golden brown.

Serve with your favorite salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.

Inside Out Cordon Bleu

My sister in-law made this for us once... it was a long time ago, and so when I made it again I kind of made it up from what I could remember.  I am not sure if it's how the recipe really goes, but it tasted good anyway.

1-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (i used 1.5 big breasts and cut them into ~3oz pieces)
deli ham (i used 2 slices of ham on each 'breast' so however much you think you need)
swiss cheese (one slice for each)
1 box stove top chicken stuffing
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can milk

Place chicken in baking dish.  Layer ham slices (folded in half) on chicken.  Next comes the swiss cheese (also folded in half, if your chicken pieces are small).  Then spoon the already prepared stuffing on top (I basically just filled the dish with the stuffing).  Cover and bake at 375 for 1 hour.  Meanwhile heat the soup and milk on the stove to pour on top of chicken.  The smell of this alone is absolutely divine! yum yum!

Lucky you... I even took a picture this time (even though it's terrible quality)

served with bread and broccoli

Hogie Sandwiches

This is a favorite of mine that my mom always makes. Hers always tastes better for some reason (actually my sister Heather's is the absolute best.. she uses some kind of pepper on it that i love) anyway....

1 loaf french bread
1/2 lb. deli turkey
1/4 lb. deli ham
havarti cheese (or whatever you would like)
lettuce
tomato
mayo/mustard

Slice french bread horizontally (making a top and bottom).  I like to mix the mayo and mustard together first, and then spread it on both sides.  Layer ham, turkey, cheese, lettuce and tomato.  Easiest/quickest meal ever-- and quite yummy I might add! :)  Serve with chips and fruit.

Ritzy Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (I used S.C.)
10 Ritz crackers (I used bread crumbs instead ~1 c.)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder (I did about 1.5 tsp)
1 Tbsp. parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup canned milk (I just used regular skim milk)


Mix crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, parsley, salt and pepper.  Pour mixture in ziplock bag or shallow dish.  Dip chicken in sour cream and then in the crumb mixture to coat chicken.  Place chicken in baking dish.  Bake at 425 for 50-60 minutes or until chicken is crisp and golden brown.  Mix soup and milk on stove top and pour over chicken.

*this recipe came from Cooking For Two by Debbie G. Harman

BBQ Meatballs

1-1.5lbs lean Ground Beef
3/4 cup Oats
2 Eggs
1/2 chopped onion or 2 TBS dried onions (i didn't use these)
1/2 cup Milk
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

Mix together and make into 12 balls
Place in glass baking dish


Sauce:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp ground mustard
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

(i doubled the sauce... cause we like it saucy) :)

Mix together and simmer 5 minutes
Pour sauce over meatballs and bake 30-45 minutes at 350


We ate these with rice, broccoli, and i wish i would have thought of getting some french bread- or some kind of bread.

DEEEEEEELISH!