Thursday, June 30, 2011

Philadelphia Cooking Creme

Ok so tonight I just threw something together.....and every time I use the cooking cremes, it turns out great.  If you haven't tried them yet, DO IT!!!!!!!

I currently have the savory garlic flavor.  I sauteed some onions and mushrooms in olive oil, boiled some pasta, and threw it all together.  Then I added 2 tbsp of the cooking creme and heated through.....It is amazing.

Because I threw it together, no pics.

But it's almost time for MARGARITAS on the deck with my friend!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Random Cooking from the weekend

So I had a really busy weekend and I did incorporate some food....I even cooked tonight, but forgot to take pics of the chicken..... oh well, let's journey through my weekend via food!


First up FRIED PICKLES.  Not gonna lie, ever since I had them at Hooter's, I've been slightly addicted.  If it wasn't for the fact making them destroyed every inch of my kitchen, I might make them more often.  However, I have yet to find the right consistency/mixture for the breading. And ever since I introduced my sister to this awesomeness, every time we get together, we make them (we if her kids allow her to help me)

You will need: (for this batch)
Jar of dill pickle slices (bread and butter slices will work too)
Flour
Cornmeal
Paprika
Buttermilk
Oil for frying....


First drain your pickles and cover in buttermilk.  I let mine soak for about an hour, but that's not a requirement.


 Mix your flour, cornmeal, paprika and other seasonings together for dredging.


 Take pickles from buttermilk and dredge in flour mixture. Set aside to prepare for frying.



Fry til golden.


 Make dipping sauce by combining ranch dressing and hot sauce to your liking. 

 We made so many we couldn't eat them all!

Next up was Spiking a watermelon for a girls only PAR-TAY.  It's really self- explanatory.....look at the pictures.  My only recommendation, start this at least 36 hours prior to consumption.


 Eat and enjoy.  I used flavored vodka (watermelon) but you can use plain as well.  Great treat for hot summer days.

For the same party I also tempted fate by making lemon bars. This is also kinda time consuming but worth it, especially if you love lemons!!!! I found this recipe at food network They were a hit! Not posting recipe because you can follow the link.





Tonight I made Corn Pudding and Rosemary Chicken (forgot to take pics of the chicken, I had guests)

Corn pudding (takes a bit but worth it) 
1 can creamed corn 14-15 oz
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 Cup cheddar cheese
1/4 Cup cornmeal
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used red)
4 oz softened cream cheese
2/3 c milk
3 tbsp melted butter
1 beaten egg
1 Tbsp sugar
In a bowl, beat cream cheese, creamed corn, corn kernels, onion an cornmeal. 



Stir in milk, butter, egg, sugar, and cheese



Butter a baking dish, dump mixture in.  Cook for 50 min. at 350.  When you take it out, let it sit for at least 10 minutes so it can set.

This was delicious! I will doctor it up in the future with more cream cheese on top of the mixture (recommendation of a friend) and I would probably put some jalapenos in the batter as well.  This is sure to be a staple in my kitchen.

So this is a picture of the rosemary mixture for the chicken.  I also got the recipe from food network, but it's late, and I'm too lazy to go look for it.



 Food is fun, food is yummy, food belongs in my tummy!!!!!!





Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Smashed Potatoes and another stuffed Chicken Breast

I was in the mood to cook tonight.  I had to be.  It took forever!!!!!!

Let's start with the lengthy culprit....Smashed Potatoes

potatoes (I like red skin)
Garlic Salt
Cheddar cheese
Sour cream

Rinse potatoes will. Sprinkle with garlic salt.



Wrap in foil, poke lots of holes in foil and potatoes.  Bake at 350 for 60 min.




After the 60 min (or potatoes are softish) smash with a pan to make a cake like creation.


Drizzle with olive oil, more garlic salt. Bake an additional 10 min.

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bake til melted.  Top with sour cream.




Arugula, Goat Cheese, and Apple stuffed Balsamic Marinated Chicken Breast

Chicken breast
Balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove
Red onion chopped
1 granny smith apple
Goat cheese
baby arugula
bacon

Marinate chicken in balsamic vinegar, garlic (chopped) and red onion for at least 1 hour.







Remove chicken from marinade and cut either in half or butterfly the breast. (I butterflied it but ended up cutting it in half.)






Place a layer of baby arugula, then apples (thinly sliced) and top with goat cheese.



Close the breast and wrap tightly with desired amount of bacon. Top with marinade that remained.




Bake for 20 min at 350.  Enjoy!!!!



Dinner was delicious and filling....Now to clean it all up and do my workout!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

It's been awhile

Life has been crazy! I haven't cooked much recently.....Last  night I made pasta (no special surprises) and a pineapple blueberry salad. I'll post pics and everything anyway.

I can't wait for my garden to give me veggies.  My plants are outgrowing the box and I want veggies.  I am spending a ton at the grocery store! This is mostly because I recently decided that I don't really care for a lot of processed foods.

So for the pasta....I used 1 cup of Ronzoni's Quick Cook pasta.  If you haven't used this stuff it's amazing. Pasta cooks in 3 minutes. I added about a tablespoon of butter to the hot pasta for the buttery taste.

I added 1 diced plum tomato, 6 sundried tomatoes sliced, 1/4 of a red onion diced, 1/4 c of baby arugula, and 4 pepperocini peppers diced.

I then topped everything with the juice of a lemon.  After I tossed it.  I added about a tablespoon and a half total of crumbled goat cheese and crumbled blue cheese.  I then shaved a little parmesean cheese on top.  It was delicious.


At the farmers market last weekend, I bought a beautiful fresh pineapple and a pint of local blueberries. I wanted some way to use them together.

I skinned, cored and chopped the pineapple.


I threw it in a container with it's juices.  This thing was so ripe I had puddles of juices. I then rinsed the blueberries and tossed half the pint in with the pineapples.  I then topped the combination with 2 tablespoons of honey. I tasted the concoction and it needed more sweetness so I added 1 Tbsp of brown sugar.  I tossed it all together and it was delicious!!!!


So today I will have to cook, just not sure what I have in the house. So stay tuned!!!!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Stuffed Steak

So if anyone knows me, I have a strange obsession with goat cheese.  I can never have enough of it.  It's my favorite snack food, condiment, cheese, everything. It's delicious and creamy and heaven.  But enough of my "I LOVE GOAT CHEESE" rant.  Let's get down to dinner.

Tonight's dinner-Stuffed steak, baked onion rings (from a bag) and steamed zucchini (I can't wait til the ones in my garden are ripe).

I had a small steak in the freezer (I am not a huge steak fan) and I recently replenished my stash of goat cheese, so of course I must have goat cheese.

You'll need:
A steak
Goat cheese log
Pineapple salsa (Salsa recipe here)
1 zucchini
goat cheese crumbles
Tbps of fresh grated parmesan cheese

FYI Onion rings= Alexia's.  They are in the natural/organic freezer section and worth every penny.

Take your steak and cut in in half creating a top and bottom


place desired amount of pineapple salsa and goat cheese on one half of the steak

Place the other half of the steak on top and secure it in place with toothpicks (I trimmed mine because I was using a George Foreman Grill)


Cook until done to desired preference.






So I forgot to take pics of the zucchini but it's simple.

Clean and peel the zucchini.  Cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper.  I steamed the zucchini in a microwave steamer I bought from Tupperware.  It takes between 4-7 min to steam any veggies.

When the zucchini comes out and is still hot, sprinkle the desired amount of goat cheese crumbles and parmesan, I seasoned again with salt and pepper.




Dinner was delicious and I have a clean kitchen!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Scrumptious Sunday

I got up this morning ready to cook.

For breakfast, I made a buffalo bleu cheese omlet.....if you didn't get it, I love HOT SAUCE

2 Egg Whites
1 Egg
3 Tbsp hot sauce
3 Tbsp Bleu Cheese

Scramble eggs with hot sauce. Put in a hot BUTTERED (not margarine) pan

When eggs set add 2 Tbsp of bleu cheese and fold into omelet shape.


When done, add hot sauce on top and the remaining bleu cheese. Yummy!






So for dinner I made eggplant, asparagus, and chicken napoleon's.....well sort of

You need
1 eggplant
1 bunch of fresh asparagus
1 15oz part skim ricotta
1 lemon (zested and juiced)
3 Tbsp fresh basil chooped
1/2 cup cheeses (I used Pecorino Reggiano and fresh parmesan)
A little precooked chicken breast shredded.


Drizzle olive oil over eggplant and asparagus (I cut mine down the stalk because they were so fat) then season with salt and pepper.  Put on hot grill for about 4 minutes a side. 


In a bowl combine the ricotta, basil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and various cheeses. 


Preheat oven to 200.  On a baking sheet assemble napoleons..... eggplant, ricotta mixture, asparagus, eggplant, ricotta, aspargus, chicken, eggplant. Bake for about 10 min or until ricotta mixture is heated through.



With these, I would definately not keep the skin on again, even though that's what the recipe said. The skin made it too chewy and retained a charred flavor.  These were good, but not add them to the menu good.  Not enough substance for me.

So as I was watching Food Network this morning (during breakfast), Hungry Girl was on.  She takes classics and makes them better for you and today she did mini apple pies.  Hungry Girl Awesome Apple Pielets

I made some substitutions to the recipe
I used granny smith apples (they are my fave) and empanada wrappers instead of egg roll wrappers because that's all the grocery store had.  I am also not going to repost the entire recipe because I linked it.

The apples were super easy to make and yummy.


Stuff them into empanada wrappers.....

 Bake for 18 min at 350.


These were ok.  If I were to do these again with empanada wrappers I would coat the inside in a sugar mixture.  It was doughy in places. It does suit the apple pie craving and I wanted a second one.  They only have about 250 calories and 3 g of fat.

But now my sink is full of dishes I won't do until tomorrow and I need to sleep.....stay tuned and stay hungry.