Crispy Ginger Snaps

These are so amazing! I got this recipe from foodnetwork.com and man are they addicting!

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup sugar in a shallow bowl, for finishing
2 or 3 cookie sheets or jelly roll pans covered with parchment or foil

Directions

Beat the butter, sugar and eggs until fluffy. Add in all the spices, molasses, salt, and baking soda, then half the flour. Mix until well combined. Add in the rest of the flour, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Bake for 15 minutes at 350.


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Brownie Pudding

This is my version of Ina Garten's brownie pudding recipe.

2 sticks salted butter, melted
5 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325.

Beat sugar and eggs on high speed until they are thick and creamy, lightly yellow (I have a Bosch mixer and it only takes about 30 seconds:)). Reduce speed to low and add in cocoa powder and flour. Then add vanilla and while still mixing on low drizzle in melted butter just until combined.

Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish, and place in oven to cook for 50 mins. My cake test always comes out clean even though you can still make this and have it come out mostly clean.

These are the best brownies in the world!!! Enjoy!


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Black Bean Soup

We just discovered this and we LOVE it!!! I will definitely be making this a lot this winter because it is so satisfying! It is based off of Dave Lieberman's recipe from the food network, I just make it with dry beans so that the beans don't cause gassy problems ;). 1 lb black beans 5 slices of bacon 1 medium onion 3 cloves garlic 1 tbsp ketchup 1 tsp worchestershire sauce 1 1/2 tsp chili powder 1 medium/large tomato diced 4 cups water 4 chicken bullion cubes 2 tsp lime juice 1/2 bunch cilantro I make this in my pressure cooker and total, this takes about 20-30 mins. Soak beans over night in water, following package directions. In the pressure cooker cook the chopped up bacon for about 5 mins until it renders the fat and just starts cooking. Then add the onion with a tablespoon of olive oil (this is really per my pressure cooker's instructions because when you cook beans they can froth and the oil prevents it, I don't know if fat prevents it but because olive oil is good for you i don't mind adding it) and sauté the onion until it is translucent, add in the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Then add in the ketchup, worchestershire sauce, chili powder, tomato, water and bullion cubes. Make sure you drain and rinse the beans very well to rinse off the gas causing sugars and add them to the cooker. Everything needs to be completely covered with the water so if you need to add another cup of water make sure to add another bullion cube. Put the cooker's lid on, make sure the pressure regulator is on, turn your stove on high, when the regulator starts rocking turn your stove down to medium (make sure it keeps rocking gently), and set the timer for 4 mins. Once the 4 mins is up, take it off the burner and let it cool until the lock drops. Once the pressure has dropped take the lid off and add in the lime juice and finely chopped cilantro. Boil for another 2-3 mins and it't ready! Enjoy! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

Chicken curry

I have a family of 4 and 1 large chicken breast and 1 cup of uncooked basmati rice is perfect for us with enough for my husband to take to work the next day. And this recipe is a cinch and fast! I'm sure it freezes great too for future meals.

Olive oil
1-2 chicken breasts, seasoned with salt
3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1/2 large onion
2 chicken bullion cubes
2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp corn starch with 2 tbsp cold water
Basmati rice
Sweetened coconut

Start cooking the basmati rice, it takes about 20 mins to cook.

Pour 1 tbsp olive oil in pan. Add in onions. once translucent add in ginger and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Add in curry powder, cook about a minute or two, add in water and bouillon cubes, then sliced raw chicken (this way the chicken can absorb the seasonings). Allow to boil for about 5 minutes until chicken is cooked. Combine corn starch with 2 tbsp water then mix it in to the chicken curry.

Dish up rice, top with chicken curry mixture, and sprinkle on the coconut (the coconut is what REALLY makes this dish awesome and basmati rice is an absolute necessity!).


Ooh, and I now have the nutrition information too! If you use one 8 oz chicken breast and follow the above ingredients exactly without adding any fats to the rice while cooking, 3/4 cup of rice with 1/2 cup of chicken curry and 2 tbsp sweetened coconut = 358 calories! And because of the intense flavor of this meal you don't really realize that it is such a low calorie option.



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Perfect Pancakes

I love bisquick pancakes! I usually start out with an egg and beat it with a tbsp veg or pure olive oil, then mix in equal parts milk and buttermilk, and lastly add in the bisquick. I never measure, I just add it in until the consistency looks right. However. If I'm all out of bisquick then I use this recipe, which I love too, just not as much:).

3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour (I actually use only about 1/2 - 3/4 cup, I don't like mine thick)
1 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
A dash or two of salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
cooking spray

Beat egg and butter. Add in milk, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Then add in vinegar and flour and whisk until smooth.



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Perfect Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 reason baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Dash of nutmeg
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Beat egg and sugar until light yellow and fluffy. Add in oil and applesauce. Blend thoroughly. Beat in remaining ingredients and bake at 350 for 11 mins.

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Best Ever Waffles

This is from allrecipes.com and I love it!

2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat eggs until fluffy, add all other ingredients, pour on a waffle iron and cook. Top with powdered sugar or fruit and enjoy.


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Calzone dough recipe

I am trying this to see how I like it. It is way basic so it should be good. I got this from allrecipes.com and the only thing that I changed was converting the flour measurements into grams, it's a lot easier that way:).


1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (by the way, .25 ounces is about half a tbsp, I just weighed it)
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
370 grams all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 egg, beaten

Directions
To Make Dough: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the oil, sugar and; mix in 1 cup of the flour until smooth. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour and the salt until dough is smooth and workable. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes, or until it is elastic. Lay dough in a bowl containing 1 teaspoon olive oil, then flip the dough, cover and let rise for 40 minutes, or until almost doubled.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
When dough is ready, punch it down and separate it into 2 equal parts. Roll parts out into thin circles on a lightly floured surface. Fill each circle with 1/2 of the cheese/meat filling and fold over, securing edges by folding in and pressing with a fork. Brush the top of each calzone with egg and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve hot.


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Canning tomato salsa

This, along with my spaghetti sauce recipe is from www.uga.edu.

4 cups peeled, cores, chopped tomatoes
2 cups seeded, chopped long green chilies (130g) in a food processor
3/4 cup onion (100g) in a food processor
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 cups vinegar
1 tsp ground cumin, optional
1 tbsp oregano leaves, optional
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, optional
1 1/2 tsp salt

Yields about 4 pints

Combine all ingredients in large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 20 mins stirring occasionally. Pour in jars. Clean rims. Prepare lids and place on jars.

Use water bath method and process 20 mins for altitude 1001-6000 ft.



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Canning spaghetti sauce

30lbs tomatoes, sent through a food strainer
1 cup chopped onions (140g)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped green pepper (130g)
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp dried parsley
4 small bay leaves or 2 large
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil

Wash and chop tomatoes, squeezing out extra juice which you can save to drink pr something. Strain tomatoes through a food strainer. Sauté vegetables with olive oil and add to tomatoes. Add rest of ingredients and boil until reduced by half.

Fill jars with sauce. Prepare lids according to directions. Process in a pressure canner at 15 lb pressure (10 if lower than 1000 ft elevation). For pints process 20 mins, quarts 25.

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is a combination of two different recipes so I guess technically this recipe is my own!

2 sticks salted butter, melted and browned
2 cups + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. Swirl the pan over the stove constantly until the butter has browned (it will turn a dark amber and the foam will turn honey colored).

Pour the butter in a mixer and add the sugars. Mix on high speed for 1 min. Rest 30 seconds, mix 30, rest 30, mix 30.

Add egg, egg yolk, milk, vanilla, and gluten, mix well. Slowly add in salt, baking soda, and flour. Mix until well combined.

Stir in 2 cups chocolate chips.

Divide dough into 30 balls. Place the balls on a plate and refrigerate until they are chilled, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375. Place no more than 12 cookies on the cookie sheet (ungreased) and cook for 10 minutes or until the edges and tops are only slightly browned (the longer you cook them the less chewy they will be).

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Refried beans

This is from the food network's website from Ellie Krieger.

1 tbsp olive oil (I use pure olive oil because I'm not used to the fruity taste of virgin or extra virgin olive oil)
1/2 med onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp chili powder
1 can pinto beans (drained, rinsed, boiled for 5 mins then rinsed again) the extra boiling and rinsing is my addition because I think it reduces the effects of the beans;)
1 cup chicken broth (she calls for 2/3 cup but I always use more)
salt and pepper
2 tbsp cilantro leaves (I never use these because I rarely have them around and when I do I forget about them)

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender. Stir in garlic and chili powder for 1 min. Stir in beans and chicken broth and cook until beans are cooked through. Mash the beans and if necessary add salt and pepper. Stir in cilantro if you have it.


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Chocolate pudding

This recipe comes from Tyler Florence on the food network. This is heavenly!!!


2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 egg yolks
4 tsp corn starch
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Bring to a simmer 1 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder. Whisk in a bowl 1/2 cup milk, 3 egg yolks, 4 tsp corn starch, 2 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp salt. Whisk in 1/2 cup simmering chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously so the eggs don't scramble, then whisk the egg mixture back into the sauce pan with the rest of the chocolate mixture and whisk constantly until it comes to a full boil and becomes thick. Pour in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from developing. Chill and serve


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Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops and Garlic Noodles.

I got this recipe from foodnetwork.com with only a few variations.

1 large egg
*1 cup dried cracked 9 grain bread crumbs (my cracked 9 grain bread recipe turned into crumbs so that this recipe is a bit healthier:))
*1/2 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp parsley
*1/4 tsp garlic powder
*1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 pork chops
salt
6 Tbsp olive oil

*Ingredients for Italian-style bread crumbs

Combine ingredients for bread crumbs. Place 3 plates in a row on the counter. Pour the bread crumbs in one, the Parmesan cheese in one, then put the pork chops on the other. Sprinkle the pork chops with salt on both sides. Lightly beat the egg in a bowl. Coat the pork chops in the cheese, then the egg, then the bread crumbs.

Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the coated pork chops in the skillet and cook for 6 minutes on each side, or until the center reaches 150 degrees (only, when I made this last night they were cooked all the way through and my thermometer only said they were 140... so... just make sure they are cooked all the way through, don't scorch the poor things).

The food network's recipe says to serve them with lemon wedges. I'm sure they would taste amazing with those wedges, but I didn't use them and I thought these turned out FANTASTIC!


These garlic noodles are one of my few recipes where I eyeball it every time and every time it turns out different and still delicious!
A few handfuls of whole grain spaghetti noodles
2 or more cloves of garlic
A dash or so of crushed red pepper flakes
Salt
1-2 tomatoes
Grated Parmesan cheese
1 chicken breast, cubed optional

As a side dish (sometimes this is a main dish depending on how much time I have to spend on dinner) I cooked a few handfuls of whole grain pasta in salty water. While those were cooking I minced up a couple of cloves of garlic. Once the noodles were done I drained them and rinsed them under cool water. While they were draining I put another Tbsp or so of olive oil in a medium sauce pan, put the garlic and red pepper flakes in there and allowed the garlic to turn golden brown*. Once the garlic is golden return the noodles to the pan, add extra oil if necessary so the noodles aren't sticky (they shouldn't be, though). Taste the noodles and if they need it sprinkle them with a little bit of salt but not too much because the Parmesan cheese adds sodium. Add the tomatoes and cook until they are warm. When ready to eat, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

*When I make this as a main dish I just add the cubed chicken to the garlic, red pepper flakes, and oil in the very beginning.

Limeade!

1 cup lime juice
1 cup granulated sugar
6 cups water

Juice. Measure. Mix. Enjoy!

You can start off with less water, like 4 cups. That's pretty strong, but if you have a glass full of ice that will melt and dilute it as you drink then 4 cups of water will be plenty.

Chicken Spaghetti

2 chicken breasts, cubed
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
whole wheat pasta, enough to feed family of 4

Get water boiling for pasta. Once it is boiling ad a tsp of olive oil (to prevent foaming), and 1 Tbsp salt, then add whole grain spaghetti.

Pour olive oil in frying pan, put minced garlic in there and allow to brown (burned garlic makes everything VERY bitter so just make sure it doesn't go dark brown). Once golden pour chicken pieces in the frying pan, stir, then add dried herbs, a few dashes of salt and both cans of tomatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until the chicken is cooked through and  the water from the canned tomatoes has mostly evaporated.

Put cooked and drained pasta in a bowl, top with chicken tomato mixture, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Rice

I most often use calrose rice but sometimes I'll use brown. For the calrose (sticky) rice rinse 2 cups of rice under hot water. Once the water runs clear pour the rice in a medium sauce pan, add 3 cups of water, bring it to a boil, cover it, lower the heat to lowish and cook for 20 minutes. I have the worst luck with rice cookers so I just don't even bother trying to find one that will work for longer than a month. 


For brown rice I soak 1 cup for about 10 minutes, drain and rinse, bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add 1 tsp butter, a dash of salt, then add the rice, reduce the heat to lowish, cover and cook for 45 minutes. It comes out nice and fluffy every time. 


I've even started using the 10 minute brown rice (which really turns into 15-20 minute rice for me, I don't know why) but it's pretty good (not as good as the regular stuff but it's great in a crunch). Bring 1 3/4 c water plus 1 tsp butter to a boil. Stir in 2 cups 10 minute brown rice. Bring back to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, cook for 13 minutes. Take the lid off and stir the rice to make sure there is no more water. Once all the water has been absorbed put the lid back on and let sit for another 5 minutes then serve.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs (my family's ULTIMATE favorite!)

I could seriously make these once a week and my family would never get sick of them. This dish is soooooo yummy and for some reason we love to have broccoli as the side vegetable.

Before you get started on the meatballs, start cooking some rice. This is really good with brown rice.

You'll need:

1/2 medium onion, chopped and caramelized (start these about 15 minutes before so they have a chance to caramelize and cool) or you can use dried onions from the spice section

1 lb ground beef (it really doesn't matter if it is super lean or not because you will be draining the fat out)

1/2 c quick oats (old fashioned would work too)

1/2 tsp salt

2T wheat germ

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I say it Wursh-ter-sher, I don't know if that is right or not but that's how they say it on the foodnetwork so it's law now;))

1 egg

Dash of milk

Caramelize the onions and while those are cooling be placing all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Combine everything. Place a frying pan on medium-high heat. Using a 1 Tablespoon measuring spoon form the meatballs. Once they are all formed place them in the frying pan and cook until browned then, using tongs, flip them over to brown the other side. While the other side is browning mix together the sweet and sour sauce below.

Sauce:

3/4 c Brown sugar

1/2 c BBQ sauce (I always use Kraft original)

1/2 c White vinegar

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

 

Whisk ingredients together.

Once the other side of the meatballs is browned pull out the meatballs, drain the fat, put the meatballs back in and pour in the sweet and sour sauce. It will sizzle (that's called "deglazing" where the sizzling is picking up all the extra goodness that is left over on the bottom of the pan so you don't have to scrape it up). Bring to a simmer and let it cook until the sauce is thick and the meatballs are cooked through. It doesn't take that long... about 5 minutes or so.

I've been keeping track of my calories lately so I now know the approximate nutrition information for just the meatballs and sauce.

Per meatball (all the sugar in the sauce makes for a higher calorie dinner but it is soooooo worth it:)):

79 calories

3.7 g fat

    1.4 saturated fat

13 mg cholesterol

9.9 g carbs

3.6 g protein

Ranch Chicken Wraps

I'm not going to put amounts on this one because you can make however few or many you would like.

Tortillas (preferably the ones you cook)
Chicken
Romain or green leaf lettuce
Hidden Valley ranch dressing (the stuff you make not buy in the bottle)
Rice
Black beans (if they're canned just drain and rinse them really good)

Start cooking the rice. Season the chicken with just salt and pepper. Grill the chicken (or just slice it up and cook it in a pan). Cook the tortillas. Mix the ranch.

To make the wrap layer the rice, chicken, black beans, lettuce, then drizzle the ranch on top and you have a yummy, healthy wrap:)!

You can also mix it up by putting pepper jack cheese on it and baking the wraps in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melty. Yummy and super easy.

Mexican Sunday Dinner

This week I ordered the Mexican Pack through my food co-op. It came with all kinds of yummy peppers (Anaheim, jalapenos, green), cilantro, garlic, limes, onions, and green onions. Well, today being Sunday I was going to make a traditional (for me) Sunday dinner with a roast, mashed potatoes, cooked veggies and fresh fruit, but after getting my yummy Mexican produce yesterday I could not resist trying to make a Mexican themed dinner.

We're going to have pulled pork on tortillas with Spanish rice and black beans. Okay, that doesn't do what is bound to be one of my best meals ever justice.

I'm using Paula Dean's recipe for the roast and Spanish rice. It's her Rockin' Roast Pork Shoulder with Spanish Rice. The order that I'm typing this is a little different than what she put down because I think my way makes a little more sense;).

First: Mix together the Sazon Seasoning. You can buy this at the store but I had the spices in my pantry so I just made my own.

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp salt

Super easy, right?

Second: Make the Sofrito

1 green pepper stemmed and chopped into about 1 inch chunks

1 medium onion chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro

1/4 olive oil

Place all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smoothish

Third: Prep the pork shoulder. I'm sure you can use any cut of pork, this is just the most tender.

1 5 lb pork shoulder

12 whole garlic cloves, slightly smashed

1 1/2 Tbsp sazon seasoning

1 Tbsp adobo seasoning (I omitted this because I don't really like it)

1/4 c sofrito

Cut the fat off the pork. Make 12 slits in the pork and put one clove of garlic in each slit. Mix the sazon seasoning with the sofrito and rub it all over the roast. Place it in your slow cooker for at least 8 hours (Paula's instructions say to preheat your over to 300, wrap the roast in tin foil, cook for 3 hours, remove foil, increase oven temp to 400 and cook for another 20 mins until desired crispness).

Fourth: Cook the rice.

1/4 c diced pork (I'm omitting this, I don't know why but I just am)

1/4 c onions

5 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp sazon seasoning

1 Tbsp adobo seasoning (again, I'm omitting this)

2 c long-grain rice (I'm probably going to use brown rice)

4 c water

2 Tbsp sofrito

1 (16 oz) can pigeon peas (this is where I'm going to use black beans)

2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

"In large sauce pan on high heat, saute onions and pork in the butter until lightly browned. Add sazon, adobo, rice, water, and reserved sofrito. *Cook's Note: Do not stir at any point. Cook about 10 minutes on high or until the water begins to evaporate to almost the level of the rice. Add pigeon peas and cilantro. Cover with lid, reduce heat to low and let cook until water is totally evaporated and rice is tender."

Those are her directions. I'll probably saute the onions in the butter, add the sazon and sofrito, add the water, bring to a boil, add the brown rice and cilantro, reduce to low heat and cook for 45 minutes until the rice is done.

Fifth: Make the salsa verde (green salsa)

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 serrano chile peppers, minced (I used an Anaheim)
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (I used 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste (I used only 1 tsp salt)
• 2 cups water (I'm omitting this because of a suggestion from one of the reviewers)

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smoothish. Once blended place all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and simmer for 15 minutes until tomatillos are tender.

I put the roast in the slow cooker this morning and cooked the salsa verde so when we get home from church around 4 I'll have everything ready to go. I just need to get the rice going and while the rice is cooking I'll cook the tortillas. Once that's done I'll shred the pork, drain and rinse a can of black beans and we'll be set.

We'll take a tortilla, put some rice, then pork, then beans, then salsa verde, and maybe some low fat sour cream (I've decided I need to start cooking lower fat and aren't Mexican dishes great for that?!). This whole setup sounds very time consuming and tedious but really I'm hardly dirtying any dishes and it will be ready in a snap!

Garlic Rosemary Pork and Garlic Rosemary Chicken

I've never cooked with rosemary before because it just looks... woodsy and smells... Christmasy. Those are two traits that I've been afraid to cook with until now. I practically got an entire rosemary plant through Bountiful Baskets so I figured I better try it. I LOVE ROSEMARY! It's amazing! It does smell Christmasy and is kind of like how I imagine chopping up pine needles would be, but holy cow! I love it! Here are the two recipes that I tried with it and I am HOOKED!

Garlic Rosemary Pork

4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
4 large cloves of garlic (I did a couple more:)), pressed or chopped
1 tsp salt

Combine the above ingredients, rub over pork (I used a pork roast... don't ask me what kind, I'm not that knowledgeable about my pork roasts just yet), put it in the crock pot on low and cook until done (3 hoursish). When it's about done start boiling some potatoes for mashed potatoes. The roast I used was way lean so I didn't have to skim the fat off for the gravy. I just poured the juices in a sauce pan, mixed about 2 Tbsp flour with 1 cup hot water making sure that all the flour chunks have been dissolved, poured it in the juices and boiled until thick. I don't like my gravy thick because these juices were way strong of the herb, garlic and salt so I didn't boil this for too long.



Garlic Rosemary Chicken

1 3.5 pound roasting chicken
4 sprigs of rosemary (I will actually use 6 next time I make this)
4 large cloves of garlic
Salt (this measurement is not specific because you will need about a Tbsp for the inside of the chicken and more for the outside)

Preheat oven to 400.

Chop up two sprigs of rosemary and all the garlic together. Pour a heaping Tbsp of salt inside the bird (this seasons the breasts). Place the other two sprigs of rosemary inside the bird and tie the legs together. Rub the outside of the bird with the garlic and rosemary mixture, place it in a baking dish breast side down, wash your hands THOROUGHLY then sprinkle salt over the chicken until well coated (salt just enough but not too much, you can always add more salt later but you can't extract it, but really I don't think you can possible over salt the outside of the chicken). Cover the  chicken in aluminum foil and place it in the oven for an hour. Take it out and check the temperature to see if it is 180. If not, place it back in the oven for another 20 minutes until the temperature of the meat (not the inside cavity of the bird) reaches 180.

Take the chicken out, allow it to cool 10 minutes (you can be making gravy with the juices during this time if you like using the same gravy steps as I did above). Peel the skin off and start cutting away at your chicken. My husband and I loved this chicken so much that this was all we ate for dinner one night. We just stood around the stove picking apart the chicken, dipping the pieces in the juices. Mmm. I think I'm going to make this again tomorrow!

Shredded Chicken with Green Peppers and Carrots

I will be making this for dinner tonight so I figured I might as well add this one next. Prep for this meal is a CHORE and takes forever it seems (honestly only like 30 minutes but sometimes that's too much). The great thing about this recipe, though, is you can prepare everything in the morning or the night before when you have time to cut everything up, then just throw this all together in the amount of time it takes to cook the rice. I got this recipe from the American Heart Association's cookbook so I can't take any credit for it. I haven't even added my own flare to it because it is just that good the way it was written.

3 Chicken breasts, frozen (it's easier to cut when frozen... trust me... read on)

4 tsp Corn starch

4 tsp Soy sauce

1 Tbsp Dry sherry (now, I don't drink so I just use cooking sherry... not sure what the difference is but because I don't drink I don't really notice any difference:))

1 Egg white slightly beaten

5 Tbsp Olive oil (actually, I have changed this recipe slightly because this is a lot of oil to use, no matter how good this oil is for you, it's still oil so I only use like 2 Tbsp)

1 Carrot, shaved with a peeler then sliced (or you can grate it, doesn't really matter)

1 Green pepper, thinly sliced

1 tsp Fresh ginger, thinly shredded

1 tsp Sugar

2 Tbsp cold water

First of all get some rice cooking. I most often use calrose rice but sometimes I'll use brown. For the calrose (sticky) rice rinse 2 cups of rice under hot water. Once the water runs clear pour the rice in a medium sauce pan, add 3 cups of water, bring it to a boil, cover it, lower the heat to lowish and cook for 20 minutes. I have the worst luck with rice cookers so I just don't even bother trying to find one that will work for longer than a month. For brown rice I soak 1 cup for about 10 minutes, drain and rinse, bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add 1 tsp butter, a dash of salt, then add the rice, reduce the heat to lowish, cover and cook for 45 minutes. It comes out nice and fluffy every time. 

Mix 2 tsp corn starch, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp sherry, and beaten egg white in a medium bowl. Slice the chicken paper thin, this is where the frozen part comes in handy because it is so much easier to slice a frozen breast super thin than it is a thawed one. Put the chicken in the soy sauce/corn starch mixture and let stand 30 minutes. 

While that is marinating slice the carrot, pepper, and 1 tsp ginger. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmery. Add carrot, cook 1 minute, then add the pepper and cook an additional minute. Remove the veggies from the pan. Add another Tbsp of olive oil, wait until it shimmers then add 1 tsp ginger. Saute for ginger for 30 seconds then add the chicken with the marinade. You can strain out the juices but there is never enough for me to strain out so I don't bother. Cook until the chicken is all the way cooked through then add the veggies, 1 tsp sugar, and 2 tsp soy sauce. Mix 2 Tbsp cold water with 2 tsp corn starch then add it to the pan and cook another minute until thickened.

Spoon this mixture over the rice and you have a super yummy, super healthy dinner!

6 Layer Eggplant Lasagna

It took me a while to figure out an awesome lasagna recipe that I liked, then once I found it I added roasted eggplant to it and the yumminess got even more amazing! I will slowly add pictures as I make these, but for now here it is: The Most Amazing Lasagna Recipe You've Ever Tasted!

9 Lasagna noodles
1 pint Cottage cheese
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1 egg
8 oz Mozzarella cheese
1 lb Ground beef
1 quart Spaghetti sauce
1 Eggplant, roasted
Salt

Start by roasting the eggplant. Preheat your oven to 425, slice the eggplant as thin as possible, spray your cookie sheet with Pam, lay the eggplant on the sheet, drizzle with olive oil and very lightly sprinkle with salt. Flip them over and repeat the olive oil and light salt. Place the cookie sheet in your oven for 10-15 minutes, or until it starts browning, then flip the eggplant and cook the other side for another 10-15 minutes until brown. When the eggplant is done decrease the oven temperature to 350.

Meanwhile start boiling some water for the lasagna noodles. Once the water is boiling add about a teaspoon of salt (this is the only chance you have at flavoring the noodles) and a slight drizzle of olive oil (to prevent the foamy starch from boiling over and making a gluey mess on your stove top.

Add the lasagna noodles and cook until they are soft (I don't like to crunch into my noodles so I cook them for a longer time).

While those are boiling and the eggplant is roasting start browning the ground beef. Add a dash or two of salt. When the beef is browned add the quart of spaghetti sauce just until heated through, no need to boil or anything.

While all those things are going on (talk about multi tasking, just make sure your timer for the the eggplant works!) mix together the cottage cheese, egg, and Parmesan.

Now comes the layering part. I use a square Pyrex dish so I have to trim the noodles down, but this works out great because my 1-year-old loves to just sit and munch on plain noodles. Divide the cottage cheese mixture in half, the eggplant in half, and the Mozzarella in thirds. First add a layer of the beef and spaghetti (this will act as a non-stick surface for the noodles so no Pam required), Second a layer of noodles (3 to be exact), Third a layer of eggplant, Fourth a layer of the cottage cheese mixture, Fifth a layer of Mozzarella, Sixth a layer of the beef and spaghetti. Repeat. Now add the remaining 3 noodles to the top, top with the remaining beef and spaghetti and the rest of the Mozzarella. Cover in tin foil. Cook in the 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, remove the foil and cook for another 10. Remove from the oven and let cool at least 10 minutes before cutting into it or else you will have lasagna soup:).

Bacon-y Bok Choy

Today's adventure is going to be to try bok choy for the first time. I've never had it, but got it in my bountiful baskets this week (I got the Asian pack). I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I can already tell that this will be a regular in my household, I mean, come on, it calls for BACON, GARLIC, ONIONS, and RED PEPPER FLAKES!!! This recipe is already a winner in my book. I got this from allrecipes.com. I will probably make adjustments to this later, at which time I will add them to this post. But until then here's the recipe:

1/2 pound chopped bacon
2 pounds regular bok choy
1 tsp olive oil (this is necessary because it increases the smoking point of the bacon grease so your kitchen isn't full of smoke while you're cooking your onions, garlic and red pepper flakes)
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp minced garlic
salt to taste
2-3 tsp soy sauce
1-2 chicken breasts, sliced thin and either grilled with just salt or cooked in a small amount of soy sauce
Rice

Fry bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon and all fat except for 1 Tbsp. Add olive oil, onion, red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook and stir until onions are tender. Add bok choy, place lid on pan, cook for 3-5 mins, remove lid and cook and stir until bok choy is tender but crunchy. Stir in bacon and season with salt.

My variations are in blue. Next time I will add chicken and eat this over rice. It was great as a side dish. I grilled up some chicken too and just ate it on the side but next time I might add it in. Oh, and it absolutely needed soy sauce!

Dinner ideas

I decided that I need to keep track of all the dinners I make and their recipes. I have all my recipes in different places and sometimes I have the scour the internet to find them again and thought, "Why not start blogging on my food blog again?" I had stopped because this just wasn't a priority, but when I started doing Bountiful Baskets again and got all kinds of cool ingredients to experiment with I just couldn't help myself but start this up again, at least to have all my favorite recipes all in one place that I can share with others. I'll be adding recipes one by one, and hopefully labeling them well. It's going to be a slow process but this will also help me with meal planning so I can look through adds, see what meats and such are on sale, then use my blog to plan meals for that week using whatever is on sale (meat-wise... doing bountiful baskets I get produce for 50% the cost they would normally be in the grocery store so I won't really have to pay that much attention to the price of produce).