Buffalo Fried Goat Cheese

I only need one word to describe these…. AMAZING!  I’ve been so good with my diet lately that I felt it was time to have a bit of indulgence to stay motivated.  I had come across these the other day while browsing recipes and knew I had to try them.  In our house we don’t often have goat cheese because my husband claims he is allergic…. though I am not sure if I believe him or if this is one of those allergies that comes around out of convenience for not wanting to eat a specific food.  I have only had it a handful of times, and always enjoyed it, but one time stands out in my mind as noteworthy and that was the time in Tahiti that I had it deep fried…. OMG!  I have to say these are as good if not better than those were with the addition of the buffalo sauce.  Each gorgeous ball is packed with perfect balance of tang, creaminess, crunch, and heat!

I have a pretty sketchy track record when it comes to breading and frying things…. more often than not I lose all my breading in the pan.  It usually ends up fine, at least as far as taste, but darn it if it doesn’t look terrible!  This is the most successful I have ever been with breading and it was so easy.  I think the cheese is the perfect soft/sticky for the breading to stick, and by double breading it allowed for a nice thick coating.  Because you are frying soft cheese I would recommend getting your oil fairly hot before you start since this is not something you want to cook for very long or you will get cheese escaping out the sides.  I went with medium-high heat, and once I put them in (working with only three at a time so I could really watch them closely) I only needed to fry them for maybe a minute total before they were nice and brown.  I just carefully rolled them around with a slotted spoon so that they cooked evenly and avoided spilling out the sides from staying on one side too long.  My advice is just to watch very closely.  Another bit of advice…. the original recipe which I halved called for me to use a cup of panko crumbs for my breading and I probably used less than half of that which then leaves the rest wasted.  I understand wanting enough to be able to roll them around in, but if you would prefer not to waste so much start with half of it and see how much you can coat before adding the rest to your dish.

These would be a fantastic appetizer to serve for any party, but I am thinking especially for the superbowl.  They really are easy to make, and once you get them all prepped, cook in very little time at all.  I think a fresh veggie tray with ranch would be the perfect accompanying appetizer for these, and with that you also have the perfect vegetarian spread as long as they are ok with the eggs anyway.

Makes : about 12                        Time to make : 15 minutes

Ingredients :

• 4 oz. log of soft goat cheese
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs (see note above)
• 3 cups vegetable oil, for frying (I didn’t measure, but just put about a half inch in the bottom of my skillet and I used canola oil)
• 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot Wings sauce

Directions :

1. Cut off 1/2 inch slices from your goat cheese log and roll them into balls. 
2. Roll cheese ball into egg mixture, taking care to evenly coat the entire thing before then rolling into a dish of the panko very gently pressing into the crumbs to help them stick.  Roll in egg mixture again carefully and then into the crumbs a second time.  Repeat with all the cheese balls before you start frying.
3. Heat oil over medium heat, and test before you start frying your cheese balls by dropping in a piece of breading.  It should float and bubble.  Carefully drop a few balls into the pan and gently roll them around with a spoon for a short time (maybe a minute or so depending on how hot your oil was) until they are a nice even golden brown.  Read above for a more detailed tip on this.
4. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.
5. Toss your fried cheese balls in the wings sauce gently and serve warm on a bed of greens.

Recipe from a Bitter Sweet Wife

Spiced Vanilla Apple Cupcakes with Vanilla Cinnamon Caramel Frosting

Wow, what a mouthful!  And trust me, you are going to want to have a mouth FULL of these!  A while back I made some caramel apple cupcakes, and they turned out good, but I knew they could be better.  After running out of desserts in our house yet again I decided today was the day to play around and see what I could come up with.

Some of the ingredients I used today might not have been my first choice, but I was trying to stick to things I had on hand.  For example, the confetti cake lol…. I would likely use plain white/vanilla next time.  I might also throw in more than the 15 caramels I had on hand, or perhaps even throw in some caramel syrup to really bring the flavor up front and center in the frosting.  Really though, even with the things used everything turned out great, and if I had those things on hand again I would use them in a heartbeat.

These cupcakes don’t rise a whole lot because of the density from the apples  so I recommend filling them fairly full.  When added the cinnamon to the frosting start with a little and add in small increments until you reach your desired amount.  If you are like me and want to save a bit of time, or enjoy a bit of texture in your cupcakes you can leave the apples unpeeled, however I find kids prefer them peeled.  Also, I know most apple desserts call for granny smith apples, but I used some firm golden delicious today and they worked very well, so don’t be afraid to use your apple of choice for this.

Servings : 24 cupcakes                 Time to make : 35-40 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 box cake mix (confetti or white)
• water, eggs according to box directions
• 1/3 cup applesauce (or however much oil the recipe calls for on box)
• 1 1/2-2 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 apples, diced 
• 1 can vanilla frosting
• 15-20 caramels
• 1 T. butter
• cinnamon to taste

Directions :

1. Mix cake mix, water, eggs, and applesauce in a large bowl until moist.  Continue on medium speed for 2 minutes.
2. Add cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, mixing well.
3. Fold in apple pieces.
4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake according to box directions.
5. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
6. To make frosting : melt the caramels and butter in a glass bowl in microwave slowly, stirring every 10-15 seconds until smooth.  Set aside and allow to cool a bit.  Once cooled fold into the frosting until smooth.  Add cinnamon to taste.
7. Fill a piping bag, cut a small hole in the end, and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.  Then sprinkle a tiny bit of cinnamon on top.

Day 96 : Dessert Bananas

Still using up those ripe bananas.  This is a SUPER simple and quick dessert and a great way to use up those bananas.  Sometimes those simple recipes that you can do any day are just what you need to satisfy a craving or have a little fun.  Kids especially love this one and I can see my son wanting sprinkles on his.  I toss a little wheat germ to make me feel slightly better about eating it, but I actually like the flavor and think it has a bit of a nutty taste to it.  I don’t measure, so I’ll just list out the ingredients today and you can be the judge on amounts.

On a side note… almost 100 days!  I can’t believe I’ve gotten this far already.  It’s been fun.

 

Dessert Bananas

Serves : 1            Time to make : 3 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 ripe banana, sliced in half lengthwise
• Peanut butter
• Chocolate syrup
• Wheat germ (just a sprinkling)
• chopped nuts
• sprinkles (optional)
• Whip cream (optional)

Directions :

1. Slice your banana, and then spread on the peanut butter in a thin layer.  Then goes the wheat germ, and chocolate, and nuts and whatever else you like.

 

Day 63 : Raspberry Almond Pizza

Busy day today finally getting caught up on things around the house and going grocery shopping.  For a family that shops once a week going two weeks is crazy and I am so glad to have a full stocked fridge and cupboards again.  Lots of good stuff for recipes to come!

Tonight’s recipe was found on Key Ingredient and OMG is it good!  Definitely use the marscapone if you can find it because it has such a yummy creaminess to it that cream cheese just could never duplicate.  The recipe image that went along with this looked so much prettier than mine turned out with the marscapone spread out in it’s own layer while mine more melted into the jam, but I am quite sure no taste was sacrificed lol.  It didn’t look bad, just not as good as I was aiming for based on the recipe image.  It really is good as is, but if you are feeling adventurous I think the only thing that could make this even better is some nice dark chocolate shaved over the top!

I forgot to put the confectioner’s sugar on top before taking the pics, but did add it afterward.  It is necessary to sweeten the fresh raspberries just a bit.  There wasn’t very exact measurements for a lot of the ingredients to the original recipe, but it’s fine to just eyeball it.  I used a pillsbury crust for this and it worked perfectly.

Raspberry Almond Pizza

Serves : 4                   Time to make : 20 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 pound pizza dough
• melted butter
• sugar
• 1/4 cup raspberry jam
• 1/3 cup marscapone or cream cheese
• confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• raspberries
• toasted almonds

Directions :

1. Preheat a baking sheet in a 450 degree oven.  Roll out 1 pound pizza dough into a 12-inch round.
2. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
3. Bake on the hot baking sheet until golden, about 8 minutes.
4. Brush with the 1/4 cup raspberry jam, then bake 2 more minutes.
5. Cool slightly.  Beat 1/3 cup marscapone or cream cheese with 3 T. confectioner’s sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla.
6. Spread over the pizza and top with raspberries, toasted almonds, and confectioner’s sugar.

 

Day 61 : Huckleberry Muffins

My son has to be THE pickiest eater on the planet!  Even his pediatrician was surprised at the severity of his pickiness.  Most kids go through phases where they will only eat a handful of things, and those things often include things like noodles, hotdogs, mashed potatoes, cookies, cake, ice cream, toast, various other desserts, maybe a basic sandwich etc.  Not my child….. the only things he eats are poptarts, chicken nuggets (ONLY dinosaur shaped or occasionally McDonalds), fruit (the one thing he is not picky about), mac and cheese (again only specific ones), and a very small handful of other things, none of which have a heck of a lot of nutritional value.

Anyway, we worry about the fact that not only are those the only things he likes, but he also has an insane irrational fear of trying new foods.  It seriously goes beyond the average child who won’t try something.  He acts like we are trying to give him poison.  We are constantly on the look-out for new things he might agree to try because we want him to get a more balanced diet.  The trouble is he SAYS he will try something and then we make it and he won’t even eat a crumb’s worth.

In trying to find a new breakfast option for him I decided to make some muffins.  He will occasionally try a cupcake so I figure I could convince him that these weren’t much different.  He said he’d try…..  Well he did try one little bite and CLAIMS he liked them, but then wouldn’t eat any more. (This is also a major struggle with him)  We know he likes things, or would but the few times he tries something he says he likes it before it barely touches his tongue and then says he’s done lol.

We however felt these were pretty good.  They aren’t really the best muffins I have ever had, but they were easy to make, I had the stuff on hand, and they did taste good.  I just prefer my muffins a bit more moist, and I am not sure I liked the sugar and nutmeg topping much.  The original recipe calls for blueberries which I did add a few of, but I had huckleberries so used those instead.  I figure they are pretty similar.  I liked the berry to muffin ratio of these.  Every bite had plenty of berry in it!

 

Huckleberry Muffins

Serves : 12                 Time to make : 40 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup butter, at room temp
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups huckleberries
• 1 T. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions :

1. Beat butter with a mixer in a large bowl until creamy.
2. Add in the sugar and mix until pale and fluffy.
3. Add one egg at a time and beat until well incorporated.
4. Beat in the vanilla, baking powder, and salt.
5. Using a large spoon or spatula fold in half the flour and then half the milk.  Repeat with remaining flour and milk.
6. Fold in the berries.
7. Spoon into a greased muffin pan using an ice cream scoop.
8. Sprinkle the mixed sugar and nutmeg on top of each muffin and bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and springy in texture.

 

Day 60 : Braided Chili Dog Parcel

Finally!  A day and night have gone by without anyone in my house puking!  In order to celebrate I decided to make something a little fun for dinner.  Chili and hotdogs is such a comfort dish for many families.  I thought why not give them something they are comfortable with in a new way?!  I honestly wasn’t sure it would even work, or that it was the best method, but it turned out fairly well even despite a few mistakes on my part that I was able to learn from.  There may be other ways to incorporate the idea of the puff pastry…. perhaps in ramekins as individual pies…. but it was worth the trouble when I saw the surprised look on my family’s faces when they realized the chili was inside the pastry!

I really enjoyed the added texture of the somewhat doughy and somewhat crisp pastry.  I also liked the addition of the chili powder and cumin to canned chili which is pretty mild in flavor I find.  I used nitrate free hotdogs for ours, but feel free to use whatever you like.  I also used velveeta since I had it on hand and it melts fast and creamy, but any cheese you want is fine.

 

Braided Chili Dog Parcel

Serves : 3              Time to make : 35 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
• flour, for rolling out pastry
• 3 hotdogs
• 1 can chili
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 4 oz velveeta cheese, cubed
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 egg
• cheddar cheese

Directions :

1. If you haven’t done so already, thaw out the pastry sheet.  It takes 30 minutes or so.
2. Slice hotdogs and fry in a skillet for a couple of minutes.  Add onions and fry a minute or so more.
3. Add the chili, cumin, chili powder, and heat through.  Add the velveeta and heat until melted in.
4. Turn off burner and set aside.
5. Flour your counter surface and rolling pin liberally and then roll out your pastry sheet to about a 13 inch x 15 inch rectangle.
6. Put foil on a cookie sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray.
7. Move your pastry onto the sheet before doing this next step because it is nearly impossible to move aftewards as I learned the hard way lol.
8. Leaving a 4 inch wide strip down the center (the long way) cut strips on both sides about an inch wide.
9. Spoon your chili mixture into the center, taking care to keep it in the solid section as best you can.
10. Alternating sides, pull the side strips up and over the mixture in an X pattern, and pinch the ends sealed.
11. Beat egg with a splash of water in a bowl and then brush over the top of your pastry parcel.
12. Bake in a 400 degree oven about 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.  Sprinkle a bit of cheddar cheese on top the last minute or so if you want.
13. To remove to a platter, lift up the foil and slide it off with a spatula very slowly.

 

Day 45 : Kung Pao Chicken

So Jeff and I enjoy Chinese food from time to time, and used to have a favorite restaurant here in town that we would always go to.  They not only had good food, but they delivered!  Well, that restaurant unfortunately closed, but we soon enough found another that we liked in town, though it didn’t deliver.  At that time there seemed to be so many Chinese restaurants in our area.  After a while that one also went out of business, and suddenly there was really only one left that we would go to.  Honestly the food there is not so great, and their prices are a bit outrageous if you ask me.

Luckily for us, it is SO easy to make Chinese cuisine at home!  Not only that, but it is SO much better because you control the quality of the ingredients.  That is one of my biggest pet peeves about Chinese restaurants…. the chicken!  I am VERY picky about my chicken pieces.  Anyway, we have been able to recreate many of our favorites Chinese dishes and even improve upon them in most cases.  Now if only I had my access to some of the more rare ingredients in my area……  Another great thing about Chinese Cuisine is that it is typically pretty healthy and low in fat.  They don’t really use dairy in their recipes and this is the one time I don’t miss it!

Tonight’s recipe comes from Smuckers, and we really enjoyed it!  It had a great flavor from the ginger, soy, garlic, and marmalade.  And the peanuts and peppers gave it some nice crunch!  The red pepper flakes were an optional addition and normally when a recipe says that I find it to be a tad on the spicy side for us, but even with the full amount listed we felt it didn’t really have much heat and actually would maybe double it next time.

Kung Pao Chicken

Serves : 4             Time to make : 25 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 T. cornstarch
• 3 T. pure peanut oil, divided
• 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 4 green onions, sliced on a diagonal
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup Smucker’s sweet orange marmalade
• 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 1 tsp. dark sesame oil
• hot cooked rice

Directions :

1. Toss together chicken and cornstarch in  a small bowl.  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet or wok on medium-high heat.  Add half the chicken, stir fry 3 to 5 minutes or until no longer pink in center.  Remove from skillet, repeat with remaining chicken.
2. Add remaining oil, red and green peppers to skillet, stir frying 30-45 seconds.  Add green onions, garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper flakes, cooking 15 seconds more.  Remove pan from heat.
3. Add soy sauce, orange marmalade, chicken, peanuts, and sesame oil to pan.  Cook and stir until heated through.  Serve with steamed white or fried rice.

 

 

Day 43 : Salmon-Cilantro Burgers

Until fairly recently I would never have imagined that fish could make a good burger.  The very idea of ground up fish grossed me out for some reason.  I decided to put my fears behind me one day and not only try a tuna burger, but to create my own for my introduction to the fish burger.  Luckily for me it turned out great and I was hooked on the idea!  To my surprise it did not get dried out and nasty like I thought, but rather stays soft and holds flavor very well.  My husband LOVES burgers and though I enjoy them as well, I like to mix things up a bit and the idea of different fish burgers makes that very easy.  They really are so versatile.

Tonight’s came from the Key Ingredients site that goes along with my Demy (digital recipe device I mentioned in an earlier post).  From that site it is credited back to Cooking Light, which is even better because I love not feeling guilty about what I am eating when it tastes so great!  These burgers pack a lot of flavor, and are ones you are going to want to make over and over again.  Thinking back to a post I made a couple days ago about how food should LOOK good as well as taste good these fit the bill nicely with such a pretty pink color, and all speckled with the cilantro and peppers.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, but left out the cucumbers just because Jeff doesn’t like them and I didn’t want to get a whole cucumber just for a couple slices.  One thing I did differently was to just make 2 big patties, because it did seem a bit skimpy as 4.  So if you are wanting to make these for guests you might keep that in mind and just increase the ingredients and get a little more salmon.  I also threw in the zest of one of the limes to the mayo because I hate wasting all that yummy flavor!  For the breadcrumbs I used an Italian blend and felt it went along well with the other flavors.  And last, instead of using the grill (or foreman usually in my case) I decided to cook these up in the skillet which worked very well.

 

Salmon-Cilantro Burgers

Serves : 2-4                           Time to make : 20 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1/4 cup reduced fat mayo
• 1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 T. fresh lime juice
• 1/8 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• 1 (1 pound) salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 2 T. cilantro leaves
• 2 T. chopped green onions
• 1 T. chopped, seeded jalapeno pepper
• 2 T. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• cooking spray
• 4 burger buns with sesame seeds, toasted
• 12 slices english cucumber
• 4 lettuce leaves

Directions :

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl, cover and chill.
2. Place salmon in a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped.  Add breadcrumbs and next 6 ingredients; pulse 4 times or until well blended. Divide into 4 equal portions, shaping into patties.
3. Heat grill pan over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add patties to pan; cook 2 minutes.  Carefully turn patties over ; cook 2 minutes or until done.
4. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the mayo mixture over bottom half of each bun.  Top each serving with 1 salmon patty, 3 cucumber slices, 1 lettuce leaf, and top half of bun.

 

Day 42 : Italian Paninis

These little pieces of heaven are my own creations.  I don’t want to “toot my own horn” but they really are that good lol.  My husband is constantly trying to take the credit for these, but that man doesn’t have a culinary bone in his entire body.  I was watching a Paula Deen episode one day where they made some type of panini that sounded really good but I knew I had never seen most of the ingredients in my area so was forced to get creative and come up with my own.  I have since then published it on Food.com and received glowing reviews.

When I originally made it I used a package of various thin-cut italian meats that I haven’t been able to find lately.  It had hot calabrese, pepper salame, and capocollo in it.  Tonight I was forced to use one that had the capocollo and salame, but pepperoni for the third meat, and though I felt it was still very good, Jeff said he preferred the other meat.  So if you can find that, I would go with the original meats.  You really don’t want to leave anything out of this sandwich or substitute.  Each ingredient really has it’s place in this to create the most delicious blend of flavors, and a balance of sweet/salty/fresh/juicy/savory all at once.  I used to just toast the rolls, and put the cheese on afterward, but I really enjoyed the creaminess of the melted cheese and will do it that way from now on.

Italian Paninis

Serves : 4                Time to make : 15 minutes

Ingredients :

• 3 oz. hot calabrese, thinly sliced
• 3 oz. pepper salame, thinly sliced
• 3 oz. hot capocollo, thinly sliced
• 6 oz. prosciutto
• 8 slices smoked gouda (enough to cover each roll from end to end)
• 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 ts. balsamic vinegar
• 4 romaine lettuce leaves
• olive oil cooking spray
• italian seasoning (to taste)
• 1/3 cup roasted red peppers
• red onion slices
• fresh parmesan, shaved
• parsley (about a tablespoon minced)
• 4 asiago cheese rolls

Directions :

1. Start by cooking your meats for a short time in a medium-high heat skillet.  You just want to do it for about a minute each to get them warmed up, and the juices flowing…. also to get some of the FAT out!  Once done place on paper towels and pat dry to remove more of the grease.
2. Arrange cut rolls onto a baking sheet and spray with olive oil cooking spray.  Season with the italian seasoning to taste, and arrange gouda slices on 4 of the 8 pieces.  Place under the broiler for a couple of minutes until bread is toasted and cheese is starting to melt.
3. Divide the meats evenly between the 4 sandwiches and then layer the onions, roasted re peppers, 1/2 tsp of each oil and vinegar per sandwich, parsley, parmesan, and then lettuce before topping off with the other half of the roll.
4. ENJOY!

Day 41 : Deviled Egg Salad Sandwiches

Do looks matter?  I think so…. and of course I am talking about food here lol.  One thing I enjoy, yet sometimes struggle with is finding ways to arrange boring or ugly foods in a way that makes them look interesting and gourmet.  A good portion of our enjoyment of a dish comes from it’s appearance after all and especially for a photograph that is meant to draw you in to wanting to try it yourself, the way you plate or prepare your food can mean a world of difference.  There are many foods that are tough to photograph, casseroles being one the bigger battles off the top of my head, but tonight’s recipe also falls under that ugly category.  Egg salad is far from beautiful, and the basic egg salad on bread is even more boring.  By getting a bit creative I was able to arrange things without compromising the taste of the dish in a much more pleasing way that I hope will better catch your eye because this one really is worth trying!

I discovered this recipe about a year ago, while on Weight Watchers also, and it is seriously probably the best egg sandwich you will ever taste!  It has SO much flavor and the bite from the vinegar really just makes you say WOW!  You can make this on whatever kind of bread you prefer…. I have made it on english muffins, toast, and tonight on just some un-toasted 9 grain bread and every time it is just fantastic.  The best thing for me is the fact that the ingredients are things I ALWAYS have on hand.  The added bonus that it works with weight watchers is like the cherry on top!

These are great for breakfast, or even for dinner like we had them tonight, but I think if done sort of like I did tonight, only in smaller portions they would make great appetizers for like a brunch or maybe a tea party.  What I did was rather than chop up the eggs, I sliced them.  Then I cut out a circular piece of bread with a pastry tool I have that crimps the edges.  I then layered about 6-7 slices of egg on top of each circle of bread, topped it with some of the sauce and onions, then sprinkled salt and pepper to taste on each.  For garnish I used a little parsley leaf, but I felt it actually lent a nice depth of flavor as well.

 

Deviled Egg Salad Sandwiches

Serves : 4                   Time to make : 10 minutes

Ingredients :

• 8 hard boiled eggs
• 8 slices of bread, or 4 buns of some sort
• 1/3 cup reduced fat mayo
• 2 T. prepared yellow mustard
• 2 tsp. cider vinegar
• 2 green onions, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions :

1. Place eggs, and green onion in a mixing bowl, and set aside.
2. In a second small mixing bowl stir together mayo, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper until smooth.
3. Pour sauce over the eggs and onions and gently toss to combine.
4. Place about 1/2 cup of mixture on each of four slices of bread and top with remaining four slices.

 

Day 40 : Triple Berry Parfait

Normally our lives are not so hectic, but with Jeff busy at work again today I was left with no time to plan a meal, let alone cook one.  I promise that in the future there won’t be QUITE so many desserts or drinks, but of course there will always be some as those are two of my favorite things!

Tonight’s recipe is one I discovered while on Weight Watchers and it instantly became a favorite!  It’s great as a dessert, but filling enough to be a healthy breakfast as well.  With so many flavors of yogurt out there to choose from and fruit to pick from, the possibilities for this are pretty endless.  My husband actually likes to make his with the shredded wheat cereal, but I really like the fiber one myself.  My favorite mix of berries are the raspberries, blueberries, and huckleberries, but of course you could use whatever you had on hand.  Also I prefer my berries still somewhat frozen, but Jeff likes his thawed.  It just depends on your personal tastes.

With such a beautiful presentation, these would be the perfect things to whip up for a special breakfast with your loved ones, for guests, or as a romantic dessert.  For those watching their weight this would be a great dessert for Valentines Day even.

 

Triple Berry Parfait

Serves : 1                      Time to make : 3 minutes

Ingredients :

• 3/4 cup mixed berries of your choice
• 1 container low fat yogurt (I prefer white chocolate but it’s up to you)
• 1/2 cup fiber one cereal (the original kind)

Directions :

1. In a dessert type glass layer in the following order… yogurt, berries, cereal, yogurt, berries, cereal, yogurt.

 

 

Day 39 : Grapes Elizabeth

What a day!  It started earlier than usual because my 11 month old is teething and has decided sleep is overrated… then I had a fridge delivered and installed this afternoon (YAY I finally have more room for all the food I buy and make lol).  With things now off schedule the day went the exact opposite of smoothly and of course today of all days Jeff was stuck at work late and we just finished our take-out dinner at about 8:30!  This meant yet another day I needed something quick, and LIGHT after all the calories of dinner.  This is where a well stocked refrigerator comes in handy!

I have had these once before and that time I did use green grapes as it calls for, but for my own personal tastes I think I prefer the red grapes.  I am just not a fan of the bitter tartness of the green.  You really can’t get more simple than this and it is surprisingly good!  The sour cream takes on such a smooth and sweet quality which when paired with the sweet/tart grape just tastes so fresh and vibrant.  You will think you are being indulgent but this treat is pretty guilt free in my book!  It’s also a great way to use up left over sour cream which I am sure most of us have in our refrigerator.

 

Grapes Elizabeth

Serves : 2         Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 cup green grapes, halved
• 2 T. fat free sour cream
• 1 T. brown sugar

Directions :

1. Mix brown sugar and sour cream together in a small bowl until smooth, then stir in the grapes and enjoy!

 

Day 37 : Penne with Asparagus and Mushrooms in a Gorgonzola Sauce

I hope you have been enjoying my blog so far.  I obviously have been enjoying everything a little too much given the fact that I am up about 2.5 lbs from the start!  Looks like it’s about time to start picking more healthy dishes lol.  Anyway, tonight’s dish was great, and in my opinion not too UN-healthy either!

I used a multi-grain penne, which tends to be a little dryer in flavor so I really think next time I would make twice the sauce because it was SO good.  I did already double the mushrooms (crimini) because I didn’t want to waste any, and also doubled the garlic because I pretty much always do.  I didn’t measure the gorgonzola, but I am sure I used more than an ounce of that too, but I figured that would be better since I had used more mushrooms.  Really the only thing I hadn’t doubled was the milk and cream but will for sure next time.

I took the asparagus out at the start so once that had thawed a bit I cut it and then sauteed it shortly over medium heat in a  little bit of oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper with a small squeeze of lemon juice.  I love how it mimics the penne in size and shape.  It just makes it look so pretty!  If you love asparagus and want to get in more veggies feel free to throw a few more spears into this too.

Not being a wine connoisseur I am not really sure what passes as a DRY white wine, and so decided to just try a moscato for this which I think went very well.  It added a little sweetness that made the mushrooms burst with flavor in your mouth.  It was also a nice wine to drink along with the meal.

Penne w/ Apsaragus & Mushrooms in a Gorgonzola Sauce

Serves : 4                 Time to make : 25 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 T. butter
• 4 oz. mushrooms (sliced)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 lb. penne
• 1 clove garlic (chopped)
• 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme (chopped)
• 1 splash dry white wine
• 1/4 C. milk
• 2 T. heavy cream
• 1 oz. gorgonzola (crumbled)
• 1/2 lb. asparagus (cleaned, trimmed and cut into 1-in. slices like penne)

Directions :

1. Melt the butter in a pan.
2. Add the mushrooms, saute until tender (about 10 minutes), then season with salt and pepper at the end.
3. Add the pasta to boiling water, and cook until al dente, about 7-10 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and thyme to the pan of mushrooms and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Add the white wine and deglaze the pan.
6. Add the milk,  heavy cream and gorgonzola.
7. Place asparagus into a primed steamer until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
8. Simmer the sauce until it thicken, several minutes.
9. Drain the pasta and toss in the gorgonzola sauce along with the asparagus.

 

Day 36 : Buffalo Chicken Dip & Award Winning Chili

Are you ready for some football?!

Even though this post is likely going to go through after the game is over, and in our house it was just a quiet evening at home watching the game by ourselves I figured I would get in the spirit of things and choose some game day traditional foods for my blog.  What could be more synonymous with the Superbowl than Chili and Buffalo Chicken Wings?!

I am not a wings kind of gal, but have been wanting to try a buffalo chicken dip for quite some time now.  There are many versions out there, but this one sounded great to me and I am so glad I chose it.  I’d say it was PERFECT for us!  So creamy, the flavors are just right and not too spicy, and so simple to make!  I can easily see this one becoming my new go-to dip for gatherings.  The recipe suggested serving it with some toasted baguette slices, but I have a cut in my mouth and didn’t want to deal with the sharp crusty bread.  So along with my UN-toasted baquette slices I  chose to serve it with some fritos as suggested by reviewers and felt they were great with it also.  Myself, I think I prefer the baguette though.

Today I used low fat ranch, and would have also chosen to use low fat cream cheese if the store had not been completely sold out, and I feel that it didn’t take away from the flavor at all.  I also decided to make my life easier, and my dish load less (or rather Jeff’s dish load) by just putting it all in the crockpot from the start.  I let it cook on high for about an hour until all the cheeses were melted and then on low for another 50-60 minutes.  Then switch it over to warm and dish out as much as you want to at a time.  You might even want to have the recipe already typed out and copied onto cards to hand out because I guarantee you will be asked for this one by a lot of people!

Now for the chili….. I grew up eating chili soup, which is a brothy sort of chili with noodles and I love it.  The only “real” chili we ever had was from a can on occasion, which I also enjoy.  I have tried a couple of recipes myself since then, and though they were ok, I haven’t found one I love yet.  This recipe wears the title “Award Winning”, which upon reading the notes I realized was just from some guy’s work cook-off , but I decided to give it a shot anyway because the ingredients listed sounded good to me.  Mostly I was just excited to try out my new dutch oven lol.

I am sorry to say that I just thought it was ok as with all the rest…. however Jeff did give it 5 stars!  I think it must be me…. maybe I prefer a more mellow chili flavor or a sweeter flavor.  I will find one someday!  Anyway, it really was good, and did remind me a lot of the canned chili with some added heat from the jalapeno and spices.  The only change I made was to use half ground beef and half ground turkey per my husband’s request.  It sure made my house smell good anyway!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Serves : 20           Time to make : 20 minutes (2 hours if done in crockpot)

Ingredients :

• 2 (10 ounce) cans chicken
• 2 (8 ounce) packets cream cheese
• 3/4 cup hot sauce (I use Frank’s wing sauce)
• 1 cup ranch dressing
• 2 cups mild cheddar cheese
• 2 loaves baguette

Day 35 : Tuna & Artichoke Paninis

These are probably my all time favorite way to eat tuna!  I have made this recipe SO many times since first discovering it a couple years ago.  For me it’s a no brainer because I like all the ingredients used in this (well minus the tomatoes I guess), but even my husband who dislikes artichokes, kalamata olives, and tomatoes gives these sandwiches 5 stars!  The olive spread really is amazing and is what MAKES this great.  With that in mind I often do about one and a half batches of the spread and just eyeball the amounts beyond what is already listed.  I like to have a generous smear of each sandwich, and maybe even a little left over for use on other things because it’s THAT good.

I know when you think of tuna, and especially from a can, it doesn’t really bring to mind dinner guests.  However, this panini is gourmet enough that I think even dinner guests would be impressed.  It’s not every day that you pair tuna, artichokes and kalamata olives together afterall.  We have made these on both the recommended ciabatta rolls and some asiago cheese rolls (which are pictured here tonight) and either works really well for this.  Back when we were on all sorts of diet restrictions because of my son’s allergies I even made these with Veganaise and it was still good!   Best of all there is no cooking involved!  These are great for a busy night or a hot summer night when you can’t bear the thought of cooking in a hot kitchen!

Tuna & Artichoke Paninis

Serves : 4                     Time to make : 15 minutes

Ingredients :

• 3/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tuna in olive oil, drained
• 1 (12 ounce) jar marinated artichokes, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 (16 ounce) ciabatta, halved horizontally
• 1 tomato, diced

Directions :

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  I find that roughly chopping your garlic before adding allows it to mix in better since pieces can tend to get caught under your blade.
2. In a medium bowl combine your artichokes, tuna, lemon juice and pepper.
3. Spread some of your olive spread onto both the tops and bottoms of each roll.  Then divide tuna mixture between them and top with the chopped tomatoes.  (I really like a generous amount of the spread on each sandwich)