So I haven't updated since we moved, but now we are finally all settled in to a routine, I don't really have an excuse, unless you call expecting a baby any day now one... I've recently been asked to share some more recipes that I've taken pictures and posted on my FB account of, or spoken of there, so in an attempt to actually get something accomplished on my blog I figured I'd try and get something posted! I'm so bad at that! I'm not going to lie, sometimes I take short cuts, ok, you got me, a lot of times I take short cuts because well, at this point standing on my feet for long periods of time is just not possible. I swear this baby will fall out if I do that! So I cheat by using pre-pared food items in recipes to cut down time and energy. Hey! There's nothing wrong with that, besides I can still be creative with those recipes by adding or changing things, as can you! So here are three tried and true recipes for your culinary pleasure! Enjoy!
EASY Crockpot Beef Stew:
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs diced beef (usually you can find it in the steak section, stew meat, saves time)
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 can beef broth
1 small can tomato puree
2 cans baby whole potatoes quartered
4 carrots peeled and sliced
4 celery stalks washed and sliced
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs cornstarch dissolved with 2 Tbs water (don't prepare this until you are ready to add it)
Preparation:
In your crockpot put all ingredients except salt and pepper and cornstarch mix, in. Cook on low for 8-9 hours until well cooked. Add Cornstarch mix and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a loaf of fresh, warm french bread! Perfect for a cold night!
Beef rice and green bean casserole:
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs of ground beef cooked and drained of fat (yes you can cook it in the microwave)
1 box of butter herb rice (rice a roni makes this) prepared to box directions
1 can of green beans cut into bite sized pieces
1 can of french fried onions
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ground beef, rice and beans together and spread evenly in an 8 x 8 pyrex casserole dish. Cover top with a layer of french fried onions. Cook for 45 min to 1 hr until onions are deep golden in color.
White chocolate chip pumpkin spice cookies with white chocolate cream cheese frosting:
Ingredients:
Cookies:
2 pkgs of Krusteaz Pumpkin spice bread mix
2 Eggs
2 sticks of butter softened
1/8 cup granulated sugar
3/4 bag of white chocolate chips
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
Frosting:
1 8oz pkg cream cheese softened
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1/2 Cup powdered white chocolate (you may have to get this at a specialty store or online or you can just omit it, and have a plain cream cheese frosting)
1 stick of butter melted
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine pumpkin bread mix, sugar, eggs, butter, cinnamon and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined. Add white chocolate chips and mix well. Using a Tbs scoop one Tbs onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and spread each scoop about 2" apart. Bake for 11-12 min until edges begin to turn golden. Remove and cool thoroughly.
While the cookies are baking prepare the frosting in a separate bowl. Add cream cheese, powdered sugar and white chocolate powder and whip with an electric mixer. When smooth, add melted butter in a slow steady stream with the mixer running. Whip until well combined and smooth. When cookies are completely cooled spread a layer of frosting on top each cookie and enjoy!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Chocolate Souffle? Yes please!
So yeah, it's been awhile, apparently trying to move, selling your house, and gestating a baby, unpacking and getting settled in a new town, can tend to put things on the back burner. Now that we are all settled into our new rental home, it's time to host a dinner party! Of course, knowing me, I like to go for the gourmet dinner, so I will be serving Pork Tenderloin in a Carmelized Pear Brandy Cream Sauce, Salad, French Bread, and yes, you guessed it, Chocolate Souffle with a spiced vanilla creme. It's a perfect fall dinner, minus doing something that incorporates a gourd of some sort. So in posting on my facebook page that I was making Chocolate Souffles for dessert, a number of people begged for the recipe. The good news is that this simple recipe is one you can make a day or two ahead, or just keep a few in your freezer and pull them out and bake them when you're ready. It's so easy and so good, that you really can't go wrong! LOVE this recipe! So pick up a spoon and dive into chocolately gooey goodness!
Make Ahead Frozen Chocolate Souffles:
Ingredients:
4 Tbs unsalted butter
2 Tbs water
1/3 Cup granulated sugar
8oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chopped coarse (or you can use chocolate chips)
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs spiced rum
6 Large egg yolks
8 Large egg whites
2 Tbs confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
Preparation:
Butter the inside of 8 1-cup ramekins and coat with sugar. Melt chocolate and butter in a medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water or a double broiler. Turn off heat and stir in salt, vanilla, and liqueur, set aside.
Bring sugar and water to boil in a small sauce pan, and simmer until sugar dissolves. With a mixer running, slowly add this sugar syrup to egg yolks; beat until mixture triples in volume, about 3 min. Fold into chocolate mixture.
Beat egg whites until frothy, add cream of tarter and beat to soft peaks; add 2 Tbs of confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar); continue to beat to stiff peaks.
Vigorously stir 1/4 of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Gently fold in remaining whites until just incorporated.
Spoon into ramekins almost to the rim, wiping the excess filling from the rim with a wet paper towel. Cover with tin foil and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours.
To bake:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake until fully risen, 16-18 min. Do Not Overbake.
Remove from oven carefully and lightly dust with powdered sugar. Can be served with spiced vanilla creme (see recipe following).
Spiced Vanilla Creme:
Ingredients:
1 pint Heavy Whipping cream
2 Tbs Spiced Rum
1 Tbs Cinnamon
1 Tbs Vanilla
1/4 C granulated Sugar
Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a small heavy sauce pan. Cook on medium heat until thoroughly heated through. Serve hot with Chocolate souffles, (break the top shell of the souffle and pour in desired amount).
Make Ahead Frozen Chocolate Souffles:
Ingredients:
4 Tbs unsalted butter
2 Tbs water
1/3 Cup granulated sugar
8oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chopped coarse (or you can use chocolate chips)
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs spiced rum
6 Large egg yolks
8 Large egg whites
2 Tbs confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
Preparation:
Butter the inside of 8 1-cup ramekins and coat with sugar. Melt chocolate and butter in a medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water or a double broiler. Turn off heat and stir in salt, vanilla, and liqueur, set aside.
Bring sugar and water to boil in a small sauce pan, and simmer until sugar dissolves. With a mixer running, slowly add this sugar syrup to egg yolks; beat until mixture triples in volume, about 3 min. Fold into chocolate mixture.
Beat egg whites until frothy, add cream of tarter and beat to soft peaks; add 2 Tbs of confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar); continue to beat to stiff peaks.
Vigorously stir 1/4 of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Gently fold in remaining whites until just incorporated.
Spoon into ramekins almost to the rim, wiping the excess filling from the rim with a wet paper towel. Cover with tin foil and freeze until firm, at least 3 hours.
To bake:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake until fully risen, 16-18 min. Do Not Overbake.
Remove from oven carefully and lightly dust with powdered sugar. Can be served with spiced vanilla creme (see recipe following).
Spiced Vanilla Creme:
Ingredients:
1 pint Heavy Whipping cream
2 Tbs Spiced Rum
1 Tbs Cinnamon
1 Tbs Vanilla
1/4 C granulated Sugar
Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a small heavy sauce pan. Cook on medium heat until thoroughly heated through. Serve hot with Chocolate souffles, (break the top shell of the souffle and pour in desired amount).
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A New Year, New Recipes!
Yes I do realize I said I'd be posting more often, but the holidays sort of crept up on me. I'm sure many of you are in the same boat, and with a new year, often it brings new resolutions. Obviously I've fallen into the last category for anyone who knows me personally, of course I do have a goal seeing as this year my wonderful husband and I will be celebrating 10 years together with a trip to Hawaii, and goodness knows, I want to look amazing in a bathing suit and not scare people off the beaches there! With that being said, it's hard to lose weight and get in shape when there are so many wonderful and fabulous foods to make out there, but with some simple substitutions you can cut back on the fat and calories significantly, not to mention carbs in some dishes. If you're at all like me, you love your pasta and carbs, I just can't help it! There is something so comforting about taking a big bite of warm pasta on a cold evening! So far, I've lost 7 pounds in just over two weeks, and am doing pretty well (If you can't tell, I'm pretty happy about that! LOL!). A lot of it comes from restraining yourself and changing your thinking to choose healthier alternatives like fruits and veggies to snack on rather than oh, say candy, cookies, and anything that is NOT good for me! It's hard, especially with desserts, I'm not going to lie, I have a major sweet tooth, plus they are sort of my specialty! So I decided to post two pasta recipes that I have altered to be much more low fat and low calories than the typical pasta recipes I have made in the past. Who doesn't love home-made lasagna? Do you have any idea how many calories are in a small square? Like almost an entire day's worth!!! Now there are a few things to substitute that will cut back a lot of those empty calories, but not on the taste, and we all know that diet foods aren't supposed to taste good, but with a few tricks they actually can! I know, shocking isn't it? So with that being said, hopefully my journey towards better health will inspire you to try new recipes with simple substitutions! Bon Apetit!
Jen's Favorite Pasta:
Ingredients:
4 roma tomatoes chopped
5 cloves of garlic
1 C pine nuts
2 Tbs Olive oil
2 Tbs capers
1 Big can of sliced olives
1 Can Vegetable broth
4 Bags of Shirataki Spaghetti Noodles (These can be found in health food stores and are tofu noodles, don't worry they don't taste like tofu! If you can't find them, you can use whole grain Penne Pasta, but that adds a lot more calories and carbs)
Salt to taste
Fresh Chopped Parsley (I like italian parsley)
Preparation:
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add pine nuts and press the garlic cloves thru a garlic press. Saute until pine nuts are toasted golden. Add broth, tomatoes, capers, and olives. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to med-low and simmer approximately 1 hour.
To prepare noodles, drain the bag and pat dry. Microwave noodles in a microwave safe bowl for 1 min 30 seconds. Drain again and pat dry. Add to sauce and serve hot. For added protein add 2 grilled chopped boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
Lower Fat Lasagna
Ingredients:
1 pkg brown rice lasagna noodles
1 med yellow onion chopped
2 C Fat-Free (or low fat) Ricotta Cheese
1/4 C egg substitute (like egg beaters)
1 lb ground lean turkey
1 lb ground reduced fat pork sausage (yes they do make that!)
4 C fat free shredded mozzarella cheese
1-2 jars of traditional spaghetti sauce (yes I cheat and don't make my own in the effort of saving time)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. In a 9 x 13 casserole dish smooth a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the dish. In a skillet, heat 1 Tbs olive oil over med-high heat and add chopped onions. Saute until soft and mostly translucent. Add meats and cook through. Drain fat and set aside. In another bowl add egg substitute, 2 1/2 C mozzarella cheese, and ricotta cheese. Stir until well combined. Add 2 C spaghetti sauce to meat mixture and stir until well coated. Layer in the casserole dish one layer of noodles. Gently spread thin layer of cheese mixture on top of noodles. Spread layer of meat mixture on top of cheese mixture. Sprinkle thin layer of mozzarella cheese. Layer another layer of noodles, then cheese mix, then meat mix, then shredded cheese and another layer of noodles. Repeat process until dish is almost full. On last layer of noodles smooth thin layer of cheese mix and then thin layer of meat mixture adding more sauce if necessary to make it thin. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and bake for 1 hour. Remove, slice and enjoy. *can be made vegetarian, using chopped carrots, celery, olives, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach. (just chop 4 C of mixed vegetables and saute with the onions until soft and follow remaining directions using veggies instead of meat).
For those of you curious to know where I'm learning to eat better and substitute items, I have found a new website/cook book that I absolutely love. So far the recipes have been fabulous and very tasty! Look at the Hungry Girl cookbooks and website for recipe ideas and substitutions. AWESOME stuff!
Jen's Favorite Pasta:
Ingredients:
4 roma tomatoes chopped
5 cloves of garlic
1 C pine nuts
2 Tbs Olive oil
2 Tbs capers
1 Big can of sliced olives
1 Can Vegetable broth
4 Bags of Shirataki Spaghetti Noodles (These can be found in health food stores and are tofu noodles, don't worry they don't taste like tofu! If you can't find them, you can use whole grain Penne Pasta, but that adds a lot more calories and carbs)
Salt to taste
Fresh Chopped Parsley (I like italian parsley)
Preparation:
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add pine nuts and press the garlic cloves thru a garlic press. Saute until pine nuts are toasted golden. Add broth, tomatoes, capers, and olives. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to med-low and simmer approximately 1 hour.
To prepare noodles, drain the bag and pat dry. Microwave noodles in a microwave safe bowl for 1 min 30 seconds. Drain again and pat dry. Add to sauce and serve hot. For added protein add 2 grilled chopped boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
Lower Fat Lasagna
Ingredients:
1 pkg brown rice lasagna noodles
1 med yellow onion chopped
2 C Fat-Free (or low fat) Ricotta Cheese
1/4 C egg substitute (like egg beaters)
1 lb ground lean turkey
1 lb ground reduced fat pork sausage (yes they do make that!)
4 C fat free shredded mozzarella cheese
1-2 jars of traditional spaghetti sauce (yes I cheat and don't make my own in the effort of saving time)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. In a 9 x 13 casserole dish smooth a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the dish. In a skillet, heat 1 Tbs olive oil over med-high heat and add chopped onions. Saute until soft and mostly translucent. Add meats and cook through. Drain fat and set aside. In another bowl add egg substitute, 2 1/2 C mozzarella cheese, and ricotta cheese. Stir until well combined. Add 2 C spaghetti sauce to meat mixture and stir until well coated. Layer in the casserole dish one layer of noodles. Gently spread thin layer of cheese mixture on top of noodles. Spread layer of meat mixture on top of cheese mixture. Sprinkle thin layer of mozzarella cheese. Layer another layer of noodles, then cheese mix, then meat mix, then shredded cheese and another layer of noodles. Repeat process until dish is almost full. On last layer of noodles smooth thin layer of cheese mix and then thin layer of meat mixture adding more sauce if necessary to make it thin. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and bake for 1 hour. Remove, slice and enjoy. *can be made vegetarian, using chopped carrots, celery, olives, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach. (just chop 4 C of mixed vegetables and saute with the onions until soft and follow remaining directions using veggies instead of meat).
For those of you curious to know where I'm learning to eat better and substitute items, I have found a new website/cook book that I absolutely love. So far the recipes have been fabulous and very tasty! Look at the Hungry Girl cookbooks and website for recipe ideas and substitutions. AWESOME stuff!
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