Banana Bread

I was really excited about this banana bread recipe - it substituted honey and sugar-free applesauce for the brown sugar and oil in a normal recipe, and was made with whole wheat flour. I've been trying to get all of us eating more natural foods, along with more fruits and vegetables, so I thought this was a great recipe to try out.

The end result was decent - although not nearly as sweet and addictive as my other banana bread recipe. It's very moist, though, which was a pleasant surprise. Linds took one bite and refused the rest of the piece, which is highly unlike her, so I have a feeling this may not be a keeper. I'd give it a 6/10 - tastes decent enough to finish the loaf, but not something we're going to be craving anytime soon.

"Healthy" Banana Bread
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar-free applesauce
3/4 cup honey
2 eggs, beaten
4 mashed overripe bananas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. 
3. In a separate bowl, mix together applesauce and honey. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. 
4. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. 
5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. 
6. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Corn Chowder & Bread

Finally made it to the grocery store! About damn time, huh? I always know when it's time to shop because I get cranky when there's no food...and then stressed because I have this marathon list to tackle...and it just gets ugly. In the whole attempt to have a full, nutritious meal, I opted to do corn chowder and whole wheat beer bread. Everything turned out pretty well - it wasn't necessarily the most delicious thing ever, but it tasted good and was super easy to make. Linds helped me with the bread and keeping me company while I chopped the veggies for the soup, so it was a nice bonding experience for us :)

One thing to remember about the chowder...the soup needs at least 15 or 20 minutes to simmer at the end to thicken up. I always forget about this and when it's warmed through I think I screwed up because it's all runny and thin. After 20 minutes, however, the consistency is MUCH better! Between a bowl for the boy, a bowl for myself and a smaller bowl for both kids, the soup was gone - I'd say it's barely 4 servings (although just a little over 200 calories per serving!).

Corn Chowder
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons finely diced celery
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
2 tablespoons finely diced green pepper
1 package frozen whole kernel corn (10 oz.)
1 cup peeled, diced, 1/2" raw potatoes (I use frozen hashbrowns)
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups low-fat (1%) or skim milk
Cheese to sprinkle on top

Directions

1.  Heat oil in medium saucepan. 
2. Add celery, onion, and green pepper and saute for 2 minutes. 
3. Add corn, potatoes, water, salt, pepper, and paprika. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium; and cook, covered, about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 
4. Place 1/2 cup milk in a jar with tight fitting lid. Add flour and shake vigorously. Add gradually to cooked vegetables and add remaining milk. 
5. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Serve garnished with shredded cheddar.

Whole Wheat Beer Bread
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer (I used Stella)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Pour in beer, stir until a stiff batter is formed. It may be necessary to mix dough with your hands. Scrape dough into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

Zucchini Bread

Our CSA has been phenomenal lately and we've been getting all sorts of amazing veggies! Over the past few weeks we've accumulated enough zucchini to feed a small army. With our latest batch, I decided to make a batch of bread just to get a little variety in (the kiddos are sick of it grilled up as a side). I love this recipe even though it's far from healthy (I mean, c'mon - 1 cup of vegetable oil?!? yikes!), but I can taste the difference when things are substituted, so what the heck? We'll forget the calorie count this time and just make it tasty. Linds helped out and we got two loaves out of a single recipe...and I have enough zucchini shredded and frozen for another two loaves when these run out.

Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini (we had one HUGE, extra-large zucchini that was plenty...otherwise, it would be 2 medium)

Directions

1. Grease 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. 
4. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. 
6. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool. 

January 8 - Ribs and cornbread!

The boy and I had a serious hankerin for some ribs, so I decided to make them on Saturday since they require a good hour in the morning to prep, crock potting all day, and half-hour in the evening to finish. I only have that free hour in the morning on Tuesdays and Fridays, so making ribs during the week is kinda tough. As usual, they turned out perfectly and he and I ate like crazy! Naturally Luke refused them (although he usually is a fiend...some sort of weird dinner aversion for him lately), and Linds was vomiting all Friday night, so we weren't about to even tempt fate. Luke did, however, eat many pieces of cornbread, so at least he put *something* in his system!

Speaking of cornbread, I did a little something different. It usually calls for buttermilk, which I don't ever keep on hand. There's an easy substitution with vinegar and regular milk, but I needed my laptop to look that one up and it was in the basement...I was too lazy to go downstairs, so I checked my Joy of Cooking to see if it listed it. It did not give me that specific substitution, but it did suggest yogurt instead of the buttermilk. I was curious to see how that turned out, so I figured, what the hell?! The boy doesn't eat it, so worst case scenario, I don't get my cornbread. I'm glad I tried it - it was awesome! AND saved me some calories. I also bought a microwavable sweet potato, cooked it and used the mashed part in the batter rather than grating the uncooked potato. That was also a better alternative because now there was no "crunch" to the bread. This recipe far outweighs the older one I posted!

Slow Cooker Ribs
Ingredients
4 lbs. pork baby back ribs
salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder to taste
2 cups Cattleman barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup (only Heinz in this household!)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 dash of hot sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Season ribs with salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder. Place in a shallow baking pan. Brown in oven 15 minutes. Turn over, and brown another 15 minutes; drain fat.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the barbecue sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.
4. Cover, and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.
5. About 30 minutes before serving, place back in baking pan at 400 degrees F and the sauce will caramelize to the meat.

Sweet Potato Corn Bread
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup low-fat yogurt
1 medium sweet potato, cooked, peeled and mashed

Directions

1. Cook sweet potato and peel.
2. Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a 9x9 baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
4. In a small bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, sweet potato and softened butter.
5. Fold liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir until just well blended.
6. Pour into baking dish and bake 20 minutes, or until the center springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip.

January 2 - Pasta w/ Meat Sauce

Vacation has finally come to an end (and it's about damn time!)...as sad as it is to see it go, I definitely look forward to some routine in my life. I figured since Monday was the first day back, Sunday dinners should be back in order. I decided to make a HUGE vat of spaghetti meat sauce so we'd have lots for future meals. It was lots of fun! Linds helped make it with me while the boys played downstairs and watched football. It was a strangely stereotypical division of labor (which if you know me, you know that's not how I normally am), but it was a great time nonetheless.

My little helper:

I'm also trying to incorporate more veggies in my meals...one of  my resolutions for this year...so I roasted some broccoli to go with it. And, finally, after Lindsay's party, we were left with two double packages of hot dog rolls, so I used them to make some garlic bread. Naturally, the broccoli was not a hit, but everything else was. Here are the recipes!

Spaghetti Tomato/Meat Sauce
Ingredients
1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground sausage
2 yellow onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Blend the stewed tomatoes and crushed tomatoes in a blender.
2. In a large pot, brown the ground beef with the onions and garlic. 
3. Pour in tomatoes, and reduce heat. 
4. Add sugar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper, and cover. 
5. Simmer about 45 minutes. Serve warm over pasta of your choice.

 Roasted Garlic Lemon Broccoli
Ingredients
2 heads broccoli, separated into florets
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, toss broccoli florets with the extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, pepper and garlic. Spread the broccoli out in an even layer on a baking sheet.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until florets are tender enough to pierce the stems with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and transfer to a serving platter. Squeeze lemon juice liberally over the broccoli before serving for a refreshing, tangy finish. 

Garlic Hot Dog Buns
Ingredients
6 hot dog buns, split in half
5 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the broiler.
2. In a small bowl, mix butter, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Spread the mixture evenly on the bread slices.
3. On a medium baking sheet, arrange the slices evenly and broil 5 minutes, or until slightly brown. Check frequently so they do not burn. 

And, as a special treat, we made chocolate milkshakes for dessert. Those were simple - chocolate ice cream, milk, and a little sprinkle of Nestle chocolate powder. I added a bit of Papa Kaminski's Kahlua to mine which made it even better ;-)

October 1 - Baked Potato Soup

I found a keeper! I was perusing the soup recipes on Allrecipes.com (my favorite site for new food ideas) and found a highly-rated recipe for baked potato soup. There's nothing we love more in this household than potatoes, so I knew this would be worth a shot. It was fantastic! I made some rosemary bread to go with it, but the it didn't fully rise, so it was very doughy and weird. It wasn't a big deal because the soup was so amazing you didn't even need anything to go with it. The recipe below serves 4, so if you want leftovers or have a few extra mouths to feed, I'd recommend doubling it.

Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients
3 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 large cooked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. 
2. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. 
3. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. 
4. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. 
5. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. 
6. Garnish with bacon and cheese. 

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June 6 - Crockpot Chicken

I started off this morning with a delicious breakfast that I just threw together with random things that looked good from my fridge, and ended it was a scrumptious dinner and glass of wine...it was a great food day!

Before I get into dinner, here's a picture of my own healthy version of a breakfast burrito.

I scrambled 3 egg whites with a little bit of skim milk, and tossed in some diced yellow pepper and mushrooms. I have some of the Laughing Cow's french onion cheese, so I spread that on a whole wheat tortilla and added my eggs and veggies. Not only did it taste great, but it was hearty and filling, and only had about 300 calories total. YUM!

Now, onto dinner...

I had a bag of chicken parts frozen (2 breasts and 3 drumsticks), so I decided to make some crockpot chicken and used a variation of a recipe called 40-Clove Chicken. I didn't use 40 cloves of garlic, so to call it that would be a total misnomer. We grilled up the rest of the bunch of asparagus I had bought a week or two ago, and I made rosemary bread in the breadmaker (it is BY FAR the best bread I've ever had). The only issue I've been having with my bread-making is that the knead bar in the pan keeps baking into the bread. It drives me absolutely insane - I just can't figure out why it won't stick in the pan. If anyone has a solution, please let me know! Here are the recipes for the chicken and for the bread:

Garlicky Crockpot Chicken in White Wine (I think I need a new name?! haha)
Ingredients
3 lbs. chicken parts
Salt and pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
Dash red pepper flakes
12 cloves of garlic
Splash of lemon juice
1 large onion, cut into thick rings

Directions

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook 10 minutes or until browned on all sides. Remove to platter.
3. Combine wine, parsley, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes in a large bowl.
4. Layer onion across bottom of crockpot. Place chicken on top.
5. Cover chicken with wine and seasoning mixture, and splash a little lemon juice over top. Toss garlic on top of chicken and around crockpot.
6. Cook over low heat for approximately 8 hours.

My chicken was frozen when I put it in the crockpot, so I skipped step 2 and it still turned out fantastic. I also used my crockpot's "auto" setting so it would defrost and cook in the 6 to 8 hours I had until dinner. As for the bread, here's that recipe:


Jo's Rosemary Bread
Ingredients
1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 packet of yeast

Directions

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. 
2. Select white bread cycle; press Start.

May 4 - Tangy Spare Ribs

When I ordered my freezer special package from the butcher, they gave us two separate packages of spare ribs. I defrosted one overnight and meant to toss it in the crockpot, but realized around 3:00 that I didn't. Whoops! I decided to try out a different recipe then for tangy spare ribs that I've been eying for quite some time.

Well, suffice it to say, I wasn't entirely thrilled with it. They weren't bad, just not as good as the others. When I first made my original rib recipe, I was so nervous that they'd turn out blah and was pleasantly surprised. Thank god I didn't do this one first! Seriously, they aren't bad - they were just not as moist and the sauce had a bit too much kick for me (not a spicy kick...a, well, tangy kick).

Linds loved them...I swear she ate more than I did?! We also had some sweet potato cornbread that I had made a few weeks ago, which Luke devoured. It's fun to see him start eating finger foods (although he didn't care for these ribs like he did the others). If you'd like to give it a shot, here's the recipe; I'm also reposting the sweet potato corn bread because it's THAT good!

Tangy Spare Ribs
Ingredients
4 pounds pork spareribs
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon chili powder

Directions

1. Cut ribs into serving-size pieces; place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, saute onion in butter for 4-5 minutes or until tender. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cook and stir until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. 
3. Drain fat from roasting pan. Pour sauce over ribs. 
4. Bake 1-1/2 hours longer or until meat is tender.
   

Sweet Potato Corn Bread
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vinegar + 1 cup milk + 15 T milk
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a 9x9 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
3. In a small bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, sweet potato and softened butter.
4. Fold liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir until just well blended.
5. Pour into baking dish and bake 20 minutes, or until the center springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip.

Apr. 20 - Cheeseburgers & Baked Beans

Every spring we start buying the "freezer special" from Hershey's Farm Market - for $59 (my $10 coupon made it $49!), we get:

• 5 lbs. ground chuck
• 4 lbs. country style ribs
• 4 lbs. chicken breasts
• 4 lbs. chicken legs
• 2 lbs. chicken wings
• 2 lbs. pork chops, and
• 2 lbs. sausage

Not too shabby, huh? Everything is individually prepackaged, too, so there's no sorting meat, re-wrapping, etc. I absolutely LOVE it! That meat will last us a good month or two, too, which makes shopping easy. The first thing I always do when we get that package is make hamburgers! Their ground beef is absolutely the best I've ever had and there's nothing like homemade burgers. I have yet to find a frozen pre-made kind that doesn't taste like the crap we used to eat in elementary school!

My burger recipe is super easy and is the perfect "base" for more intricate creations. Sometimes I add chopped up bacon and shredded cheese into the patties for a bacon cheeseburger, other times I've mixed in bleu cheese. Here it is:

Hamburgers
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs (equiv. to about 1 or 2 slices of bread if you want to make the effort to grate it)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
minced onion and garlic powder to taste

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients until well-formed.
2. Split into 6 even patties

When we make our burgers, we use this awesome little tool my friend, Megan, bought for us. It's a "patty maker set" that you use to form the patties. It makes the burgers flat so that they cook evenly throughout and is so easy to use! Here's a link to the contraption on the right.

Today, I decided to go a little creative and make "stuffed burgers." I split up my beef into six even balls, and then I split each ball in half. I made a patty out of each piece, topped one with shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, and then slapped the other piece on top. I pressed the sides down to create a seam, then grilled it up for about 7 or 8 minutes on each side (we like our burgers medium to medium well). Here they are pre-grilled:

And then after they were cooked, here's how they looked:

Paired with baked beans, it was a fantastic dinner! Oh, and the most important part of the burger - the bun and toppings! I always get the Pepperidge Farms poppyseed and onion rolls (the best bun I've ever had), and topped my burger with bacon, ketchup, mustard and French's fried onions. I love "spring/summer" foods!

Apr. 15 - Grilled Chicken Salads

I DID IT!!! I learned how to grill!!! So, there really wasn't much "learning" involved - but, damn it, I figured it out. I'm pretty proud of myself! It might not be a big deal to some, but it's one new thing I can add to my cooking repertoire that I hadn't been able to do before.

I used one of the marinades I got during yesterday's fabulous grocery buy (89 cents, originally $2.79!) and had the chicken marinating all day. I fired up the grill and voila - grilled chicken!

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't nearly as difficult as I had anticipated! I served it over lettuce and cheese (our salad fixins were a little slim) and with some of the leftover sweet potato cornbread from the other night.

 

Ooooh - and before I forget! I put Marie Calendar's bleu cheese vinaigrette dressing on mine. If you've never tried it and like bleu cheese, you absolutely MUST give this one a try. Absolutely delicious. Now, it's off to mom's night out - WAHOO!!!!!!

Apr. 13 - Ribs & Corn Bread

The ribs I made a month or two ago were such a hit that I decided to make them again tonight. I didn't want to make a dish that required silverware since we were all messy last time we ate them, so instead, I made some sweet potato cornbread. I absolutely love this recipe!

I bought one of those "sneaky veggie" cookbooks, trying to incorporate more vegetables into our diets, and so far the only dish I've made is this cornbread. It's a lot moister than regular cornbread because of the sweet potatoes, but they add Vitamins A and E, beta carotene, potassium, calcium and folate - nutrients that are very important for kids and grown-ups alike!

The one thing it calls for that I never have on hand is buttermilk, so instead of buying it and trying to use it before it expires, I make my own. No, no, no - I don't actually "make" it...I use a substitute. Take a liquid measuring cup, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and then add milk until the mixture reaches the amount called for (i.e. in this recipe, I used 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 cup, 15 tablespoons of milk). Let it sit for 5 minutes and voila! You have buttermilk's substitute.

Enjoy these recipes - these are both delicious and are highly recommended!

Slow Cooker Ribs
Ingredients
4 lbs. pork baby back ribs
salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder to taste
2 cups Cattleman barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup (only Heinz in this household!)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 dash of hot sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Season ribs with salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder. Place in a shallow baking pan. Brown in oven 15 minutes. Turn over, and brown another 15 minutes; drain fat.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the barbecue sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.
4. Cover, and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.
5. About 30 minutes before serving, place back in baking pan at 400 degrees F and the sauce will caramelize to the meat.

Sweet Potato Corn Bread
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vinegar + 15 T milk
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a 9x9 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
3. In a small bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, sweet potato and softened butter.
4. Fold liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir until just well blended.
5. Pour into baking dish and bake 20 minutes, or until the center springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip.

Apr. 12 - Corn Chowder & Bread

There was a bit of a dichotomy in tonight's dinner - half was really, really successful, while the other was a food FAIL. In the end, it wasn't too big of a deal, but still, I hate when my dishes get screwed up!

The success was the corn chowder - it was creamier and tasted a lot better than how I remembered it. I didn't have green pepper, so I used red pepper, and I amped up the amount of veggies to make it heartier. The entire pot is roughly 825 calories, and the boy and I each ate about 1/3 (Linds ate half of the rest and I put the other half in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch). Even with the extra ingredients and larger serving size, it was still about 275 calories for the entire bowl.

The fail? Well, that would be my beer-cheese bread. I was pumped about that one because it was so great last time, but I knew even while it was baking that something was wrong. The top of the loaf never rose - it was kind of sunken in. When I took it out, there was about 1/2 - 1 cup of the flour loose on the bottom. For some reason it never fully mixed. I need to troubleshoot and see what went wrong because every so often that happens when I make bread. Also, the mixer knob thing was stuck in the bread (that happens every time I make bread, too). The bread was too doughy and moist and tasted way too strongly of beer (you'd think that I would have liked that, huh?!). Oh, well, saves the calories, right?

I also decided to get fancy and made dessert for Miss L and me. I found blackberry gelatin when I was grocery shopping last time, so I made some of that and topped it with light Cool Whip. Another low-cal, yet delicious, complement to the meal!

Corn Chowder
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1 small finely diced onion
1/4 cup finely diced red pepper
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
2 medium potatoes peeled, diced, into 1/2" cubes
1 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups low-fat (1%) or skim milk

Directions

1.  Heat oil in medium saucepan. 
2. Add celery, onion, and red pepper and saute for 2 minutes. 
3. Add corn, potatoes, water, salt, pepper, and paprika. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium; and cook, covered, about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 
4. Place 1/2 cup milk in a jar with tight fitting lid. Add flour and shake vigorously. Add gradually to cooked vegetables and add remaining milk. 
5. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.

Beer Cheese Bread
Ingredients
1 package yeast
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon butter
10 ounces beer, flat
4 ounces extra sharp cheese, shredded
4 ounces Jack cheese, cut in 1/4" cubes

Directions

1. Warm beer and American cheese over low heat on top of stove or in microwave. Cheese doesn't need to melt completely. Stir. 
2. Add all ingredients in the order listed. 
3. Use basic bread cycle for 1.5 lb. loaf.

Mar. 23 - Spaghetti & Bread

We're coming dangerously close to grocery shopping time (I'm hoping to go tomorrow night), so we're eating some random stuff that we find still lurking in the almost-bare cupboards. I did up some spaghetti with jarred sauce and the leftover bread from yesterday. It's my anti-meal - I did nothing more than boil water, so I feel like it wasn't even cooking, but sometimes those effortless meals come in handy. Yesterday's bread still tasted just as delicious, too! I can't wait to make another batch.

Mar. 22 - Beef Stew, bread & applesauce

I was up around 3 a.m. with Luke, who was, again, fussing throughout the night (teeth come in please!). As I tried rocking him back to sleep, I was thinking about how our gorgeous, sunny 70 degree weather was going to come to a crashing end come morning. I realized I had all the fixings for a beef stew, except the beef was frozen. I finally got him back to sleep, ran downstairs and pulled the beef out, and then went back to bed.

I put together the stew this morning and let it sit in the crockpot for a good 8 hours. I love how simple this recipe is - honestly, it takes *maybe* 15 minutes to put together. Originally, I only used 1 1/2 cups of beef broth, but toward the end (especially with the addition of the packet of stew mix), it looked a little too thick, so I added the cup of water.

Later, when the kids were napping, I put together the bread (Jo's Rosemary Bread from allrecipes.com) and tossed it in the bread machine. I tell you what, the more I use that thing, the more I fall in love with it. It could be one of my favorite kitchen appliances. The loaf I made today was, by far, my favorite as of yet!

The meal was a hit with everyone - even though the boy isn't a huge stew fan. I mixed up some olive oil and cracked pepper to dip the bread in and it was strikingly similar to Romano Macaroni Grille's recipe. Delish! I also made up some applesauce to round out the meal. Here are the recipes - enjoy :)

Beef Stew
Ingredients
1 1/2 - 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3 potatoes, diced
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup of water
1 packet beef stew mix

Directions

1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. 
2. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, celery, water and packet of stew mix.
3. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Jo's Rosemary Bread
Ingredients
1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 packet of yeast

Directions

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. 
2. Select white bread cycle; press Start 

From Allrecipes.com

Applesauce
Ingredients
6 apples, peeled & cored (I used Gala this time)
4 packets of Splenda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup of water

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in a deep pan and bring to boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Blend in food processor to desired consistency. 

Feb. 1 - Corn Chowder & Bread

Today I made a new bread in my bread machine! I was super excited to try something new - a beer cheese bread...and, boy, was it FANTASTIC! It was a cinch to make (I adore that machine) and I could have easily eaten the entire loaf if I had the appetite. I paired it with a low-fat/low-cal corn chowder for a pretty healthy dinner.The soup was a little bland, but with some extra salt and pepper, it made it a lot better. And at 205 calories/serving, and filling after just one bowl, you can't get much better than that! Lindsay and the boy enjoyed the soup and bread, too, and even Luke devoured little bites of the bread. Here are the recipes:

Corn Chowder
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons finely diced celery
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
2 tablespoons finely diced green pepper
1 package frozen whole kernel corn (10 oz.)
1 cup peeled, diced, 1/2" raw potatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups low-fat (1%) or skim milk
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

Directions

1.  Heat oil in medium saucepan. 
2. Add celery, onion, and green pepper and saute for 2 minutes. 
3. Add corn, potatoes, water, salt, pepper, and paprika. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium; and cook, covered, about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 
4. Place 1/2 cup milk in a jar with tight fitting lid. Add flour and shake vigorously. Add gradually to cooked vegetables and add remaining milk. 
5. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Serve garnished with chopped fresh parsley.

Beer Cheese Bread
Ingredients
1 package yeast
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon butter
10 ounces beer, flat
4 ounces American cheese
4 ounces Jack cheese, cut in 1/4" cubes

Directions

1. Warm beer and American cheese over low heat on top of stove or in microwave. Cheese doesn't need to melt completely. Stir. 
2. Add all ingredients in the order listed. 
3. Use basic bread cycle for 1.5 lb. loaf.

Jan. 18 - Lasagna & Amish Bread

I *finally* broke in my bread maker! I decided to make the frozen lasagna I bought last week at BJs (a 12-person size lasagna for only $6.50!) and I figured what better side dish than some bread? It was super easy once I figured out how to take the bread pan out (which was a good 20 minute ordeal) and it tasted delicious! The lasagna was pretty good, too (nothing like a homemade one, but god it's so nice to have a quick easy meal every so often!).

On a separate note, El Vez was phenomenal! We got 2 pitchers of margaritas, the Nacho Mamma appetizer (nachos with black beans), and then I got the enchilada sampler (black bean, shrimp and chicken) and the boy got surf and turf tacos. We were way too stuffed to get dessert, but they sounded so good. Maybe next time? Here's my margarita!

Here's the Amish Bread recipe - it's not strikingly full of flavor, but it's a great, soft bread - Linds couldn't get enough!

Amish Bread
Ingredients
2 3/4 cups bread flour
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon dry active yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons water

Directions

1. Put ingredients into bread pan starting with wet ingredients, then dry ingredients, and finally the yeast.
2. Select white bread setting; press start.
   

Bake time is about 3 hours or so and it makes a 1 - 1 1/2 lb. loaf. Here's the finished product!

Jan. 6 - Baked Potato Pizza & Banana Bread Muffins

A friend of mine from the MOMS Club recently had a baby and it was my turn to drop her off a meal today. There are always lots of casseroles and stews that are brought to new moms (perfect comfort foods for this awful, cold weather), but I wanted to do something a little different, so I made her a baked potato pizza. I added a bag of salad and banana bread muffins for dessert (after all the cookies, pies, and sweets over the holidays, I thought the muffins might be a nice change of pace). I made the muffins this morning and the whole house smelled like warm banana bread throughout the day - it was heavenly! The baked potato pizza is quite easy to double, so it's a snap to make dinner for my family at the same time. I always skip the green onions in the recipe because I'm not a fan, but have been tempted to toss on some broccoli for the nutrition factor (and because I love broccoli on my baked potatoes!).

So what about you? What do you like on your baked potatoes? Would you add it to your baked potato pizza?

Baked Potato Pizza
Ingredients
1 large pre-made pizza crust
4 medium unpeeled potatoes, baked and cooled
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
3 to 5 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
   
2. Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. In a bowl, combine butter, garlic powder and oregano. Add potatoes and toss.
3. Spread sour cream over crust; top with potato mixture, bacon, onions and cheeses.
4. Bake at 400 for 15 - 20 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.
5. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 8 slices

Banana Bread Muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat muffin pans with nonstick spray or foil liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. Blend bananas, sugar, egg and butter in food processor. Pour into dry mixture and stir until smooth. Scoop into muffin pan.
3. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

Yield: 12 muffins