The Rookie Chef

Crock Pot Cheesy Bean Dip

2012-01-20T19:51:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone, and happy 2012! I hope you all had an excellent holiday season and a great start to the new year. I've been staying VERY busy between work, family, and grad school... but I've still been making fun treats! Unfortunately, it's hard to find a time to sit down and tell you about them. Part of my resolution is to carve out a little more time to this blog. After all, this is fun for me! And I hope it's fun for you too :)

As most of you know, I'm a HUGE college football fan (Go Hawkeyes!) so the last month has been filled with many exciting bowl games. For me, of course, the highlight was getting ready to watch the Hawkeyes on December 30th. Unfortunately, the outcome left much to be desired with the Sooners beating us 31-14... but at least the food and company was a success!

We hosted the bowl game at our house. Since the game was at 9 pm (oh yeah, I was struggling not to put pajamas on) we kept the "menu" to some basic late night munchies. Chips, salsa, guacamole, summer sausage, cheese, crackers, pizza, brownies and this great cheesy bean dip! This was a nice enhancement of the classic spicy beef and cheese dip.

Ingredients:

1 package (16 ounces) mild Mexican pasteurized prepared cheese product with jalapeño peppers, cut into cubes

1 can (16 ounces) refried beans

1 can (4.5 ounces) chopped green chiles, undrained

1/4 cup salsa

2 TBSP chopped onion

Chopped jalepeno rings, to taste (Not sure how many I added, but I like it spicy!)

Tortilla chips for serving

Directions:

Spray the inside of your crock pot with Pam or a similar cooking spray. This helps prevent burning and sticking.

Now just throw in all of the ingredients (minus the chips!) and mix.

Cover and cook on LOW for 2-3 hours. Stir the cheese dip and keep on low for serving.

(Photo taken prior to having the full spread ready)

YUM! Easy, cheesy, and perfect football food. This would be perfect for the playoff games on Sunday!! Keep in mind this is not diet friendly, but hey... who actually wants to follow those New Year resolutions anyway?! ;)

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Pizza Fondue (Crock Pot Pizza Dip)

2011-12-18T18:54:00.007-06:00

Have I ever told you how much I love using my crock pot around the holidays? Because I do. I love it. I adore being able to throw in simple things, wait a few hours, and having that EUREKA! moment when I open the lid. Plus life is CRAZY this time of year so the easier the better, right? It just so happens that today we had a Christmas get together with my in-laws and one set of my husband's grandparents. It was an informal, afternoon munchie type of affair. Perfect! I love those. But, we had to cram in a photo with Santa first. Don't get me started about how that went...

Poor Santa. But I digress.

So we made our way through that LOVELY experience and I realized I had less than two hours to throw something together. Sure, that sounds like plenty of time. But this two hours included six other errands I had to run. Enter Mr. Crock Pot, the miracle man.

As always, I wanted a crowd pleaser that was "lightened up" a bit. Lord knows how many calories I pack into my diet during the holidays so why not make our splurges less painful! And who doesn't love pizza ;)

Ingredients:

2 packages (8 ounces each) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, cubed

1 can (15 ounces) pizza sauce

1 package (8 ounces) sliced TURKEY pepperoni, chopped

1 can (3.8 ounces) chopped ripe olives, drained

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Place cream cheese in the crock pot.

In a separate bowl, combine the pizza sauce, pepperoni and olives; pour over cream cheese.

Top with mozzarella cheese.

Cover and cook on low for one hour

STIR

Add in some shakes of Italian seasoning blend (if you don't have this, it's ok! It's basically a lazy persons way of adding oregano, rosemary, thyme, and basil. Most stores carry it in a pre-made bottle, which is exactly what I used.)

Stir again! Give it a taste.

Now give it about 20 minutes to relax. Then check the taste and more Italian seasonings!

This whole process took me about two hours.

I wish I could tell you how much seasoning I added, but it was really by taste. I would guess close to 2 tsp? Again, it was hit or miss. A few shakes here, a few shakes there.

Another note? This gets more awesome with time!

As the dip set it became more and more flavorful. I liked it when I first tried it, but LOVED it when I had it three hours after starting. I really suggest giving yourself at least four hours for this dip. The pizza flavor came out more and more as time passed. Again, I made this a "healthy" version but I'm sure it would be even better if you went for the real thing ;)

It's my new favorite, ENJOY!

PS - You might not think this would be good with carrots or any vegetable... but holy buckets! It's great! The perfect cheesy and crunchy bite. Try it. Really!

Source: Taste Of Home

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

2011-12-14T21:55:00.009-06:00

Are you enjoying the 3, 2, 1 CAKE but wondering how you can use up some of that cake mix? Well, what do you know... I have a tasty solution! This recipe takes the classic rice krispie treat and kicks it up a notch with delicious cake batter flavor and festive sprinkles! Who knew that rice krispie treats could possibly get any better?!

Ingredients:

3 TBSP butter

1 bag (10 oz) mini marshamallows

6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal

1/4 cup dry cake mix

Fun, seasonal sprinkles :)

Directions:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows.

Stir until they begin to melt, adding in (dry) cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined.

Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture.

Add some sprinkles so that they're combined throughout the mixture.

Press into a baking dish (any size depending on how thick you like your treats) and top with remaining sprinkles.

Let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting and enjoy!

I made these on a Sunday with intentions of taking them in to the office, but my husband made such a dent in them that we decided to keep them at home to graze on. Delicious! The traditional rice krispie flavor with a subtle, sweet hint of fresh baked cake. It's a match made in easy recipe heaven.

Source: Just a Pinch

3, 2, 1 CAKE! Emergency cake, but easier!

2011-12-11T12:37:00.004-06:00

Remember when I told you how to make "Emergency Chocolate Cake"? That recipe should be burned into your memory right now if you have those out-of-the-blue cravings for cake and goodies at the oddest hours. And while that recipe is a good one to keep handy, this one is even better! Yep, BETTER.

How could it possibly get any better? Well, it's easier, quicker, and even tastier. Plus it's incredibly versatile.

Ingredients:

Angel food cake mix

Any other cake mix (I used yellow in this version)

2 TBSP water

Directions:

Dump one box of angel food cake mix into a ziplock bag and add another box of cake mix. Shake them together so they're well mixed.

Take out 3 TBSP of the combined mixes and add to a microwave safe bowl.

Add 2 TBSP of water and stir.

Microwave for 1 minute and ENJOY!

See? The "3, 2, 1" part makes this so simple to remember. 3 TBSP cake mix, 2 TBSP water, 1 minute in the microwave!

This is the perfect bite-sized cake when you want to flavor without the fat. The key here is that one of the cakes MUST be angel food. Angel food has the egg whites in it that are necessary for this recipe to work. But you can certainly sub out the other mix with chocolate, spice, or whatever else your heart desires. You have to try this, you really do.

Want to add a special twist? Top with fat free cool whip or some fresh strawberries!

Another tip? Keep your cake mixes separate if you want to use the leftover dry mix for other purposes. If you do this, just remember that the 3 TBSP of total mix now needs to be 1.5 TBSP of each kind of separate mix. Still simple, but just a tip :)

Source: Better Recipes

Light Broccoli Three Cheese Bake

2011-12-01T15:21:00.011-06:00

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but my goal this Thanksgiving was to really try to cut out some of the fat and calories that are so often synonymous with big holiday meals. Now I know some of my foodie friends are absolutely REPULSED by the idea of traditional "green bean casserole". You know what I'm talking about... the kind that uses Cream of Crap condensed soup and those crispy onion bites? Yeah, that stuff. I just LOVE that stuff!

But instead of trying to lighten up a classic (because I'm sure I'd just be disappointed with the outcome) I decided to go in a different direction. I knew I wanted healthy, I knew I wanted green veggies, and I knew I wanted at least a few of those crispy little onion bites! Well what do you know, I think we found a winner...

Ingredients:

1/3 cup fried onions (from 2.8-oz can)

2 bags (24 oz each) Green Giant frozen Broccoli & Three Cheese sauce

1 package (3 oz) fat-free cream cheese, cut into cubes

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, if desired

1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F.

In 5-quart Dutch oven, mix broccoli, cream cheese, bell pepper and red pepper sauce. Cover; cook over medium-low heat about 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking, until sauce chips are melted. Transfer to ungreased 2- to 3-quart casserole.

Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle onions around outer edge of casserole; bake 5 minutes longer.

If you want to make this ahead of time like I did, just finish the first two steps of directions and pop in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. The next day I simply brought to room temperature and finished the last step.

While this was definitely not a direct substitute for my dearly cherished, calorie laden vegetable side dish, it was still very good. And at only 60 calories a serving you don't feel like a gluttonous heathen going back in for seconds.

I know some of you are rolling your eyes right now about the bagged broccoli with cheese sauce, and that's okay! You're probably the same people who would rather go hungry than eat traditional green bean casserole, which it okay too. But this is one of the perks of hosting the holiday at your own home... you get to decide what goes on the table ;)

Source: Eat Better America

Hot Crab Dip Appetizer

2011-12-01T14:52:00.007-06:00

As I mentioned before in some of my Thanksgiving posts, I wanted to "lighten up" a few sides and munchies for the holiday feast. Now, I don't know if I'd go so far as to say this recipe is healthy, but with a few simple modifications I was able to cut out nearly half the fat without compromising the flavor. This hot crab dip was delicious right out of the toaster oven but it was still tasty to pick at once it had cooled off too!

Ingredients:

1 package (8 ounces) 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise (I always use the Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil - it cuts the fat and calories in half!)

2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard (the powdered kind, people)

1 pound lump crabmeat (I used the imitation kind, they come in 8 oz packs so just grab two)

1/4 cup shredded cheese (any kind will work, I used a Mexican blend)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, Old Bay Seasoning and ground mustard in medium bowl until well blended. Chop/dice the crab to your size preference add crabmeat; toss gently.

Spread in shallow 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and additional Old Bay Seasoning, if desired.

Bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with assorted crackers or sliced French bread.

I actually made this the day before I served it in order to cut down on some Thanksgiving day stress. I put everything together in my baking dish, covered with plastic wrap, and popped in the fridge until the next day. All I had to do the next morning was preheat the toaster oven and let this tasty little guy heat up. Easy peasy. You could also mix everything together and throw in the crock pot to make for a great game night snack!

Source: McCormick

Festive Apple Cranberry Pineapple Jello Salad

2011-12-01T14:30:00.008-06:00

It wouldn't quite be Thanksgiving without good ol' cranberry salad, right? But this year my goal (along with not screwing up this massive turkey) was to lighten up some traditional sides. And whenever I want a healthier sweet treat, I turn to sugar-free Jello. I just LOVE playing with Jello. Regardless of it is when I make homemade gummi bears, super fun lollipops, or the always popular jello shots, it's just a gnarly substance. Love it! But I digress, back to the healthy sides!

Ingredients:

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained

2 pkg. (3 oz. each) or 1 pkg. (6 oz.) sugar free raspberry Jello

1 can (16 oz.) whole berry cranberry sauce

1 apple, chopped

Directions:

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Add enough cold water to juice to measure 3 cups; pour into saucepan. Bring to boil.

Add boiling liquid to dry gelatin mixes in large bowl; stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in cranberry sauce. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until slightly thickened.

Stir in remaining pineapple and apples. Refridgerate 4 more hours until firm.

This was the ideal make-ahead side dish the day before. The first few steps take you less than 10 minutes, then while the jello is firming up for the first few hours you can move on to prepping other dishes. After I finished the third step I simply covered with plastic wrap and forgot about it. No really, I FORGOT ABOUT IT.

Flash forward to the next day... We had just finished gobbling down turkey, stuffing, sides, the whole works and we were moving on to dessert. That's when I opened the refrigerator and there was my cheery bowl of Apple Cranberry Pineapple Jello Salad just staring at me... forgotten and abandoned in the back. Poor little salad. Luckily, my Mom LOVES this so I was able to send it all home with her. Looks like it wasn't a waste after all!

Source: Kraft

Roast Turkey with Rosemary, Garlic, and Lemon infused olive oil

2011-12-01T13:51:00.008-06:00

*tap, tap, tap*

Is this thing on?

WOW, it has been way too long since I've had a chance to sit down and blog. In fact, it's been way too long since I've had a chance to really do anything in the kitchen that has been "blog worthy" either. I know that is no excuse to leave you hanging though. Just hear me out! You see, three pretty cool things happened in the absence since my last post...

I turned thirty! Okay, so that's not that cool but it was a hell of a good time ;)

My blog turned three! Since we all missed the celebration, I think I'll drum up some fun here in the next few weeks to celebrate.

I started grad school! Again, maybe not cool but definitely a massive commitment that has been eating up my free time. A very exciting experience though, so I hope you'll all stay with me and I regain my blog-footing.

Alright, enough of the excuses. Let's talk about Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday and finally made your way through all of the leftovers. This was my first time hosting Thanksgiving so I decided to really give it my all when it came to this beautiful (and MASSIVE 22 pound!) turkey. Who better to turn to than Martha Stewart for a little hosting guidance?

Ingredients:

1 whole turkey, thawed if frozen, neck and giblets removed, and rinsed and patted dry

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves (2 minced, 2 whole)

2 garlic clove, minced

7 wide strips lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 large yellow onions, cut into 8 wedges each (16 total)

Directions:

Let turkey sit at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in lower third.

In a small saucepan, heat oil, minced rosemary, garlic, and lemon zest. Bring to a simmer over medium-high and cook until garlic is soft and lemon is slightly shriveled, 1 minute. Remove rosemary-lemon oil from heat and let cool.

Season inside of turkey with salt and pepper. Loosely fill the large cavity with 8 wedges of onion, the remaining two rosemary sprigs, and one half of the lemon.

Brush turkey all over with 1/2 cup rosemary-lemon oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place the remaining 8 onion wedges and other half of the lemon (cut into fourths) in a heavy-bottomed roasting pan. Set a roasting rack over onion and lemon and place turkey on top.

Roast until turkey is golden brown, 45 minutes to an hour.

Reduce heat to 325 degrees, add 1 cup water to pan, and roast, brushing turkey with remaining rosemary oil every 30 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh reads 165 degrees, (add some water if pan becomes dry).

Wow, who knew such a simple prep process could make for such a moist and flavorful turkey! My family raved about how delicious this turned out. Granted, they would have told me it was good regardless, but since they went on and on I'll take it as the honest truth ;) I highly recommend giving this treatment to your next holiday bird, it was fantastic.

On an unrelated note... it feels good to be back!

Devils On Horseback

2011-09-25T19:29:00.004-05:00

Whoa, wait. It's almost OCTOBER?! How did this happen? But hey, I'll take it. The weather is beautiful, football is in full swing, and those damn mosquitos are about to kick the bucket for another season ;)

Speaking of October, I have big plans for Halloween this year. Okay that might be a lie, but I have some fun treats I am dying to make for coworkers. Stay tuned for those! In the meantime, these oh-so-good bites are appropriately named for Halloween... DEVILS ON HORSEBACK!

Ask me why they're named that. Do it. And I'll show you the best shoulder shrug I've got! Regardless, these little bites are great for a rich and delicious appetizer.

Ingredients:

24 prunes (don't knock 'em! They're delicious dried plums!)

12 strips of bacon. This is a pack of bacon, folks.

Bleu cheese crumbles. I don't know how much to tell you to use, just eyeball it to your tastes.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and soak 24 toothpicks in water. Just throw 'em in a cup and let them chill out while you prepare the rest.

Slice the prunes down the middle but not all the way through.

Cut your bacon strips in half.

Now stuff some bleu cheese in the 'pocket' you made within the prune. Wrap one of those half strips of bacon around the stuffed prune. Repeat for all your little devils.

Place on a baking sheet and cook until the bacon is crispy (20-25 minutes-ish).

Remove toothpicks before serving.

I don't want to hype these up to much because they are SO, so simple... but oh my goodness! Divinity in one sweet and smokey bite!

Source: A spin on Martha

Ham and Egg Cups (low carb!)

2011-09-01T14:42:00.007-05:00

Last week I talked about my Breakfast Cupcakes(basically just an egg fritata all piled into a muffin tin). While those were delicious, I do get bored easily. I can't eat the same thing every single day or I'd go crazy! So I wanted to mix it up when it comes to easy to prepare, easy to eat, and easy to freeze breakfast options. I've seen a few versions of bacon and egg cups floating around the internet (example here) but I for one do not need those extra carbs in the morning.

So why not replace the bread 'cup' portion with ham? Yum, yes please. Easy and low-carb... now that's my kind of breakfast!

Ingredients:

4 eggs

8 slices of Hillshire Farms Ultra Thin Smoked Ham (any ham would be fine, but this is what I had on hand)

Cheese, to your liking

Salt & Pepper

Any veggies you want to include (I just threw in a little chopped onion)

Directions:

Spray your muffin pan with Pam or another nonstick spray and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place one slice of ham in a muffin cup. Press down so it creates a 'cup'. Now place a second piece of ham in the same cup, but going the opposite direction. You're basically criss-crossing your slices so that the egg can't escape :)

Crack an egg into your ham cup. I like my scrambled, so I did that step first in a separate bowl. You could definitely keep the yolk intact if that is more your style!

Add in veggies and top with cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes and enjoy!

I've mentioned it before in my posts about Breakfast Cupcakes but I love Tabasco on my eggs. So that is exactly what I added to the Ham and Egg Cups to make a tasty breakfast. Remember, this recipe was only for four servings, but you can make as many as you want! These would freeze great and be good for any busy morning. Just take out of the freezer and cook in the microwave for approximately 1 minute.

Whiskey and Beer BBQ Chicken Sliders

2011-09-01T14:02:00.012-05:00

We recently hosted our annual summer party and had fantastic time (as usual). The problem is, we had a TON of leftover beer. Now wait, before you say "I see no problem with this" just know that I would normally agree with you. But it's Budweiser. And although Bud is a great beer, it's not something we normally drink. Since I hate wasting any precious adult beverages, I've decided to keep making stuff with it until it's gone :)

You might remember from last week when I made Super Easy Beer Bread with it. Well now we're on to the next installment of beer cooking! And I don't know about you, but how could Whiskey and Beer BBQ Chicken NOT be good?! Plus it's from the crockpot (double bonus!). It starts basically like my BBQ Pulled Chicken, but taken to the Nth degree!

Ingredients:

Sauce ingredients:

1 cup prepared bbq sauce

1 can (12 oz) beer

2 TBSP whiskey

1 tsp seasoning salt (I use Lawry's)

1 tsp pressed/minced garlic

1 tsp ground mustard (I used a garlic kind from my local market, but anything will work)

1 tsp buffalo wing or other hot sauce

Other stuff:

2 chicken breasts

Chicken broth

Bread of choice (slider buns or hoagies cut into thirds)

Pickles and olive for garnish

Directions:

Place chicken breasts and some chicken broth into your crockpot. Heat on low for 7-8 hours depending on how fast your crockpot cooks. You can also knock this out in 4 hours on high!

After fully cooked, take out chicken breasts and place on a plate for shredding.

Gently shred the chicken breasts. The easiest way to do this is with two forks - put one fork in the chicken breast to hold it steady and use the other to pull chicken apart.

In a saucepan, heat sauce ingredients to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.

Remove half of the sauce to 2-cup liquid measuring cup; set aside. Stir shredded chicken into remaining sauce in saucepan until evenly coated. Heat over medium-low heat until hot.

Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture on bottom of each slider bun; top with bun top. Garnish each sandwich with three pickle chips and two green olives. Serve with remaining sauce.

Tangy, spicy, delicious! This would be great for football season. Just mix the chicken and sauce together then return to the crockpot on low. You can also just put your garnish on toothpicks ahead of time. Your guests can help themselves to a delicious chicken slider whenever they want! Now that I think about it... this Whiskey and Beer BBQ Chicken would be awesome for BBQ chicken pizza! Or BBQ chicken nachos! Oh wow, the possibilities are adding up quickly...

Source: Betty Crocker

Chocolate chip cookie dough brownies

2011-08-28T11:36:00.003-05:00

The other weekend my girlfriend and her husband invited us over while they tried out their new smoker. They didn't just 'try it out'.... they put on quite the spread! Ribs, chicken, the works! I was short on time but certainly didn't want to show up empty handed either, so I threw together a quick pasta salad and... what else? I needed SOMETHING else. I looked through my cupboards (which desperately needed to be restocked) and was stumped. But then it hit me. Jackpot!

I know some people roll their eyes at cake and cookie mixes but I love having a few always around. They're great when you're in a pinch. And that is how Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies made their way over to the cookout!

Ingredients:

1 box brownie mix

Whatever oil, water and egg is listed on the brownie mix box

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) cookie dough mix

1/2 cup butter

1 egg

(you could easily use your favorite brownie recipe along with your favorite cookie recipe, but this is much quicker!)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350ºF (325ºF for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray, or grease with shortening. Make brownie mix as directed on box. Spread in pan.

Make cookie mix as directed on pouch, using butter and 1 egg. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls evenly onto brownie batter; press down lightly.

Bake 42 to 47 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes

Say what you will about boxed mixes, but these were awesome. People raved about them! Luckily no one asked for the recipe ;) I think next time I'm going to try them with peanut butter cookie mix. Doesn't that sound delicious?

Source: Betty Crocker

Easy Beer Bread (olive and cheddar style)

2011-08-13T21:35:00.000-05:00

Ahh it's almost that time of year again... Hawkeye Football Season! In fact, the season starts in just three short weeks. Few things get my heart pumping the same way that the kickoff of football season does. The boys of fall will be back soon and I absolutely cannot wait!

One thing that goes well with football season is having plenty of great snacks for tailgaiting and game watching. Although we might start the day with a bloody mary, it's important to provide some heavier foods along with them. A lot of the time we put out a variety of dips in the crock pot along with some finger food. Two of my favorite warm dips are Spicy Beef and Cheese and Jalepeno Popper Dip. But sometimes you just want something a little more hearty than chips.

And that is exactly what this beer bread delivers. It's a great, crunchy bread that can stand up to any dip or chili. Plus it's a snap to make! We've been throwing this together for years now but I've just found time to blog about it. Seems like perfect timing to me!

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder (omit if using self-rising flour)

1 tsp salt (omit if using self-rising flour)

1/4 cup sugar

1 (12 oz) can of Budweiser

2 TBSP melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease your loaf pan by coating it in Pam Spray

Mix dry ingredients together first, then add beer. Mix well.

**In this version I made an Olive and Cheddar beer bread. I added about 1/4 cup chopped black and green olives along with 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Using or omitting these items will not change the basic recipe and items listed above.

The mixture will be thick, but that's a good thing!

Place it in your loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes to one hour.

About 5 minutes before the bread is done, pull from the oven and brush with melted butter. Return to the oven for the remaining time.

I know I geeked out a bit over the upcoming football season, but this bread isn't just for sports fans ;) In fact, it's great to pick at anytime of the year! And since this is a more dense crusty bread, it is delicious when dipped in oil with a little parmesean and cracked black pepper.

As I said above, I added olives and cheddar to this simple bread recipe which gave it a nice salty kick. However, it is great without those additions too. I've also made this with other types of beer. I once used Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat and it gave the bread a bit of a sweet, berry flavor. Get creative. You can't screw it up!

And regardless of how you modify the recipe or what event you make it for, GO HAWKS!

Source: Food.com

Sausage Egg and Cheese Breakfast Cupcakes

2011-08-04T08:14:00.001-05:00

Weekday mornings are always crazy at my house. It's quite the feat to see how my husband and I juggle getting ourselves and Lucas ready without breaking a sweat. Normally both of my boys are out the door on time and well fed... but I rarely leave the house with a full stomach. That's fine, but around 9:30 am after two cups of coffee my tummy is rumbling and my thoughts are wandering to the vending machine...

Enough of that! I knew I needed a plan so I decided to do some quick, healthy meals for my breakfast that I could basically heat and eat whether at home, on the way to work, or in the office. And let's be honest, everything is better in cupcake form, so I went that route :)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Egg Beaters (or another version of liquid egg substitute)

1/2 cup shredded cheese

Finely chopped green and red bell peppers (as much or little as you like)

Finely chopped onion

(or just use whatever veggies you like! Spinach and mushrooms would be yummy too)

3 cooked turkey sausage links, chopped into small bites

Directions:

Spray your muffin pan with Pam spray.

Combine all of the above ingredients into a bowl and mix together to make sure they're well blended.

Now divide your mixture between four** muffin cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Here are our 'cupcakes' getting ready to hit the oven:

Easy right? Suuure it is. Until you over fill your muffin cups! Did you see the "**" in the directions by four muffin cups? You can easily spread this between six. And I recommend it. They got a little.... massive.

Fortunately they easily pop out of your pan. These were really, really good! I had one (okay, two) this morning. I simply nuked these for roughly 1 minute, gave them a shot of Tabasco sauce (my guilty pleasure), and gobbled them up. I'm definitely going to make these again, but a much larger batch. They'll be perfect for freezing, too!

Spinach and Sausage Stuffed Shells

2011-08-03T08:37:00.004-05:00

For some people, they can look in the pantry or fridge and suddenly a lightbulb comes on. Within moments they know exactly what they're going to throw together to pull off dinner in a pinch. Well, I'm not one of those people. I would love to be able to do that type of meal planning on the fly, but I need a little more structure and preparation... at least most of the time. So perhaps that is why I was so impressed with myself the other night. When asked "What's for dinner?" I took a look into the fridge and quick glance into the cupboard and BAM! I had a plan!

Consider this a hybrid between my South of the Border Stuffed Shells and Stuffed Chicken Florentine. Yum!

Ingredients:

1/2 of a 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

1/2 lb spicy ground sausage

1/2 (4 oz) block of cream cheese (leftover from these amazing cupcakes)

11 large pasta shells

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 cup pasta sauce

Shredded cheese (optional)

Oil for skillet

Direction:

Brown ground sausage, set aside.

In another large skillet, heat oil. Add onion; sautee until onion is transparent. Stir in spinach and cheese to form stuffing. Add cooked sausage. Heat through.

While meat mixture is cooling, cook the pasta shells and drain. Set them aside on a cutting board but keep them separated or they will stick together.

Pour some of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and cover the tops of the shells with more sauce.

Cover and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
After 30 minutes, uncover, and sprinkle cheese on top. Cook for about 10 more minutes.

An easy and quick weeknight meal! I will say, the stuffing was very rich and I would considering skipping the optional/additional cheese topping. I might even reduce the cream cheese a bit, add a little more sausage, and throw in some chopped mushrooms. Now THAT sounds good.

In fact, doesn't it look delicious without the extra cheese?

Stuffed shells are so versatile. The jumbo shells are a great pantry item to keep stocked. You can get creative and fill them with just about anything you want!

Outback Steakhouse Marinade Recipe

2011-07-25T12:36:00.002-05:00

G'day mates!

This is a blast-from-the-past posting. I made these awhile ago but didn't have a chance to post about them until now. Well I assure you, it was worth the wait.

Some people despise chain restaurants, regardless of what type of food they have. I can understand some of that loathing but not all. A good example? Outback Steakhouse. Mmm, mmm. Those steaks! That bread! Oh my, delicious corporate America all piled high on my plate. Yes please. So for those of you who can't imagine dining at a chain, read no further. But for those who share my love of that fabulous Aussie restaurant, you'll want to keep reading!

My husband is a pretty plain Jane guy when it comes to his steaks. He doesn't want you to season it or top with garlic butter, just sear the meat and serve it up. However, he also shares my love of Outback. So this imposter marinade was a win-win recipe to try.

Ingredients:

3 beef sirloin steaks

1 cup beer

1 TBSP packed dark brown sugar

1 tsp seasoned salt (I use Lawry's)

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

Place the steaks in a shallow pan, pour the beer over, and marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Remove the steaks from the beer.

Combine the dry ingredients and rub over the steaks.

Let rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Preheat the grill to med-high eat and grill steaks to the desired degree of doneness.

Well take me to Queensland, I'm coming home! Fantastic! Of course nothing beats the real thing, these were an awesome second. If you feel like dressing up your steaks just enough I would highly recommend givnig this a try. I do think that the longer you let the steak marinate in the dry ingredients, the better.

Source: Most Wanted Recipes

Raspberry Cream Cheese Surprise Cupcakes

2011-07-24T10:51:00.006-05:00

It's been approximately one year since we moved into this new house. We absolutely LOVE it here for so many reasons. The house itself is fantastic with a huge yard, close to a massive park that has live entertainment on the weekends, a great elementary school within walking distance, and last but not least, fun neighbors!

So our neighbors told us a few weeks ago to 'save the date' for the street block party, I quickly added it to my calendar. Well, last night was it! So much fun. Everyone pulled out their lawn chairs and grills along with coolers (for the adults, of course). We had different games set up (bags, etc) and the kids enjoyed riding their bikes up and down the street free of traffic. Stories were told and jokes were shared, it was such a fun night! As for food, few neighbors provided the hotdogs and burgers while everyone else was asked to bring a side dish.

I knew I wanted to make something fun, but also something that could be enjoyed by everyone. And who doesn't love cupcakes? Raspberry cream cheese cupcakes seemed to be the perfect fit.

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

8 oz sour cream

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

Raspberry preserves

Fresh raspberries for garnish

Half a block of cream cheese (for the surprise!)

Cream cheese frosting

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 and place your cupcake liners in the pan.

Mix the top five items (cake mix, sour cream, eggs, oil, water) together in a large bowl. The batter will be thicker than what you're used to. And that's a good thing, it's delicious!

Fill your cupcakes a little less than 2/3 full.

Now cut up your block of cream cheese into little pieces.

Add one piece of cream cheese to each cupcake, gently pressing down into the batter.

In a separate bowl, stir together some of your raspberry preserves. This helps make them smooth and easier to work with.

Add a dollop of preserves on top of your cream cheese piece. This bakes into the cupcake to be a yummy surprise!

Bake approximately 20 minutes until tops start to brown a bit. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Now frost with cream cheese frosting and add a fresh raspberry for flavor and flair!

These were a HOT item at the block party! The kids loved them as much as the adults. Of course I had the luxury of trying one (errr, two) before heading out the door.

Aren't they pretty? Trust me, they're as delicious as they look. The sour cream added really gives a nice texture and flavor to the cupcake. Don't worry, it doesn't taste like sour cream... just creamy! The little surprise of cream cheese and raspberry preserves was fun but I think it couldn't have used a bit more raspberry. In fact, next time I make these I'll probably do a raspberry cream cheese frosting to really carry the flavor through a bit more.

Regardless, I'd still call this cupcake a tasty success!

Source: Betty Crocker

Whole milk and yogurt fruit pops (for kids!)

2011-07-17T10:59:00.005-05:00

In my last post about Dusty Snacks, I mentioned that sometimes you have to get creative with snacks for your kids. Another issue to tackle? Teething! Oh boy, that just adds a whole new level of fun into the mix ;) Poor LJ, he was such a trooper with the top and bottom teeth but those pesky big suckers on the sides are causing him some trouble.

Fortunately, I found a solution that both eases the pain of teething for my little guy and gives him a snack I can be happy about.

Whole milk and yogurt fruit pops!

Ingredients:

Yogurt - use whatever flavor your child prefers. Also, if you've ever seen YoToddler in the stores I highly recommend getting the apple flavor. It has 45% of your toddler's daily vitamin needs in just one serving!

Whole milk

Fruit - I used peaches and bananas

Popsicle tray - I found this at the Dollar Spot in Target but I'm guessing you can find a set just about anywhere for fairly inexpensive.

Directions:

Dump your yogurt into a bowl and add a few tablespoons of milk. Stir together. This makes both A) the yogurt stretch a little farther and B) allows it to be easier to work with.

Chop up your fruit and add to the bowl of yogurt. For the peaches, I cut them into really small pieces. For the bananas, I cut into slices and mashed them with a fork before adding to the yogurt/milk mix.

Now carefully pour into your popsicle molds. Stick 'em in the freezer and wait until they're frozen through before enjoying!

I made these in the morning so I'm not sure how long it takes to freeze through, but you'll know when you check on them. After a while, I gave one to LJ and they were a hit! Easy to make, healthy, and soothing on those sore gums.

PS - If you're having trouble getting your popsicles free from the mold just flip them over and run a little hot water over the mold. Just a few seconds and they should wiggle out easily!

Dusty Snacks

2011-07-16T16:35:00.004-05:00

I don't think I've mentioned it on my blog, but when our son was younger he had a lot of problems with eating. Don't get me wrong, he's always been a big strong guy! He was born at 9 lbs 11 oz and always hitting around the 99% on weight and height charts. But he just wasn't a good eater. It even became enough of a concern where our pediatrician sent us to a food specialist for an evaluation and testing.

Well let's fast forward a few months and you wouldn't believe the progress he's made! He used to have an aversion to almost every texture except ritz crackers. (Imagine the struggles we had at dinner time!) Now he will eat (well, he will at least try) almost anything.

Sometimes those little texture hang-ups still rear their ugly head though. And that's fine, I just have to be creative about how I navigate around them :)

For example, fruit. Fruit is sticky and/or mushy for the most part. So getting him to self-feed any fruit was virtually impossible. Once he felt that slime on his fingers, he is immediately turned off and won't try it. I still manage to sneak fruit into other things, but it's not the same.

Until now. Low and behold, I present to you...

DUSTY SNACKS!

Ingredients:

Fruit! Today I did bananas but it works great with any type of slimy, sticky fruit (pears, peaches, etc).

Graham crackers. But you know, now that I think about it I bet Cheerios would work great too.

Directions:

Slice fruit into appropriate sized pieces for your little one.

Crush up your graham crackers into a fine consistency, sort of like breadcrumbs.

Now roll your sticky fruit in the graham 'dust'!

These 'dusty snacks' make food like this easier to navigate for little hands. And it makes snack time easier on mom too ;)

Okay, okay. So not really a recipe of any sort. But I do know I have some mommy readers and thought that if it helped me, it might help others. Raising kids isn't always easy so why not share our tricks, right? ;) If you have any experience and tips for me, I'd love to hear them!

Have a great rest of your weekend, everyone!

Foil Packet Sweet and Sour

2011-07-05T11:10:00.008-05:00

We've been busy! So much to do, so much to see. I love these hot, crazy months. There are so many great things about this time of year to enjoy, but one of them is definitely the food. We always take advantage of our grill in the summer. As much as we I love a good ol' fashioned hamburger, it's nice to change things up a bit while still utilizing the grill. One of my favorites (and this all started during our camping adventures) is using foil packets to do all the work!

You can cook just about anything in foil packets on the grill! And tonight I wanted to try a Sweet and Sour Chicken using just that method.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts - I cut mine into pieces but you could leave whole if you prefer.

1/2 of a medium onion, chopped into chunks

1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips

Pineapple chunks (I would say roughly 2 cups or to taste. If you're using canned, make sure and drain them well first!)

1/2 cup Sweet and Sour sauce**

For the Sweet and Sour sauce, feel free to use store purchased bottles... OR you could make this super simple recipe that makes exactly 1/2 cup which is just what you need to finish your foil packet dinner.

**Sweet and Sour Sauce Ingredients:

1/3 cup rice vinegar

4 TBSP brown sugar

1 TBSP ketchup

1 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 4 tsp water

Red pepper flakes (optional, but we like spicy!)

Directions:

First we're going to make the sauce. Mix the vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce together and bring to a boil in a small pot.

Mix together the cornstarch and water, add to the other ingredients and stir to thicken.

Remove from heat. While you're following the next steps, keep checking on the sauce and give it an occasional stir.

On a piece of heavy duty tinfoil place your chicken, pepper strips, onion, and pineapple. Now top with roughly 1.5 TBSP of your Sweet and Sour sauce.

Fold foil over chicken and veggies so edges meet. Seal edges by crimping them tightly together. Fold over again and make sure the ends are sealed.

Repeat three times (or for as many individual packets you choose to make)

Now place foil packets on the grill over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Turn once during the process.

Remember, the packets will be HOT and you could easily get a steam burn when opening them so STAND BACK and be careful.

This was an easy and fun weeknight dinner. I will say that I was a bit skeptical about the sauce at first. The rice vinegar smell started to seem a bit over powering and I was concerned there would be all sour, no sweet. Luckily as the sauce sat during my packet preparation the flavors were able to blend and it came out really tasty!

Next time I might double the sauce recipe. There was definitely enough, but I think a little bit more in each packet might be appreciated :)

Sauce recipe from About.com

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T19:55:00.005-05:00

I'm so, so blessed to have a husband who is not only my best friend but an amazing father to our son Lucas. I'm equally blessed to have a father that truly is my hero and still the person I look up to most in my life.

To you and yours, I hope this was a wonderful day to celebrate with the amazing men in your life that you can call DAD.

See you soon, friends!

Pancake Art

2011-06-15T08:29:00.003-05:00

As always, we've been exceptionally busy lately. And that means we try to take even more advantage of our weekends as a family. Sometimes this is easier said than done as we battle to cram in birthday parties, baby showers, weddings... you name it, summer months have it. But last Sunday we had NOTHING going on. What a great feeling!

So we decided to take advantage and have a lazy morning with a big breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns... mmm, a little slice of Iowa heaven! Lately Lucas has decided that pancakes are one of his favorite foods, so I decided to have a little fun with it.

Ingredients:

Pancake mix or recipe

Squeeze bottles (I used the ones from my Due Date cookies)

Food coloring - optional

Directions:

Mix up a batch of pancakes and add batter to your squeeze bottles (this is when you can add color if you'd like!)

Lightly spray your griddle or pan

BEFORE you turn on the griddle, trace your shape or design

Now heat up your griddle to 350 degrees. Once your design starts to bubble, fill in with regular pancake batter or another color!

Once bubbling, flip pancake and allow other side to cook.

How cute are these?

Way more fun than regular old pancakes! And if you don't want to use food coloring, you don't have to. Just follow the steps above and remove the color. For example:

Don't forget if you're going to write words, write them backwards! Now you let the design cook for a bit, then flood with more batter. The part that you put down first will be just a little darker and will stand out:

Breakfast never tasted so fun :)

Sky High Skewers and Cherry Cloud Dip

2011-05-26T16:56:00.004-05:00

As you saw, I had fruit kabobs with dip at Lucas' one year birthday party. There was absolutely nothing difficult about either, although the skewers do take a little time. In fact, the most time was spent cutting cloud shapes for the cantaloupe.

So really, there isn’t much a recipe here except to tell you how I made my Cherry Cloud Dip.

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese

1 jar marshmallow fluff (I didn’t use the entire jar… maybe ¾?)

1 TBSP maraschino cherry juice

Directions:

Allow cream cheese to soften. If you have time, just set it out until room temp. If not, microwave it in short increments until it’s easily able to stir

Add in your fluff and cherry juice. Stir to combine.

Yep, that’s it! I know it doesn’t seem possible that something that simply could be delicious but it was the perfect semi-sweet compliment to all of the fresh fruit. I’m sure you could substitute other fruit juices to change the flavor a bit but I really enjoyed the cherry (and quite frankly, that’s what I had on hand!).

Another bonus? After everyone left I polished off the rest of the dip with pretzel rods. YUM. The sweet and salty combo with a hint of cherry was fantastic too!

Time Flies

2011-05-22T11:15:00.008-05:00

My son, Lucas Jon, just turned one on Saturday. Time flies... it certainly does. And before I get all weepy and tell you what an amazing journey this past year has been, I'll just cut straight to the party!

It was easy to come up with an idea for this big event. After all, a year has passed in the blink of an eye. A small (okay, not so small... a 9 lb 11 oz baby) baby boy entered our lives on May 21, 2010. Suddenly I have this toddler who can navigate stairs and laugh and climb on his 'daw-hee' (doggy) and give kisses and hugs and... TIME FLIES.

With every good party, the invitation sets the tone. What could possibly be more fitting for a Time Flies party than a boarding pass?

Once the invites were out, the real fun began. What would we eat? How would I decorate? Well these are little details that mean a lot. So allow me to share some of the fun (we'll get to the food in a minute).

I looove the lavatory sign (weird angle, but that's the bathroom off of the wet bar). I'm sure I'm the only one who thinks I'm funny, but it's worth it :) Did I mention that I have a chalkboard wall in the bar? So much fun! You should see the things that end up on there. Oy vey.

(Stumped by the names on the chalkboard? Vegas is the dog, in case you didn't know)

Now let's get to the food...

In a (poorly executed) attempt to be clever, I named all of the food something 'airline-ish'. Here is what we had to much on:

Jet Fuel (lemonade)

Sky High Fruit Skewers and Cherry Cloud Dip

(Yes, I geeked out a little and cut the melon into 'cloud' shapes)

Turbulence (Bean dip! And chips and salsa)

Pilots Wings with Celery and Blue Cheese (good ol' hot wings)

(umm yeah, not the most epic picture. They were in the crockpot, and tasty. Sorry!)

Round Trip Treats (BBQ Meatballs)

(Again, not an exciting picture... but look how cute those stands are! Baby food jar lids flipped over, hot glue to keep the lollipop stick on, and two cotton balls spread out. Very cloud like, right? RIGHT?!)

In-flight Snacks (cheese, crackers, salami)

And of course, Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. LJ's cake was Devil's Food with vanilla frosting.

Thank you for flying LJ Airlines!

Loaded Spud Dip

2011-05-09T10:21:00.006-05:00

We just had the most BEAUTIFUL weekend. Mid-70s, sunny, absolutely perfect. The past few weeks have been chilly and gloomy... but it finally feels like Spring! With the Spring weather comes grilling out and relaxing on the deck. But before you grill out, you need something to munch on (or at least we do... we're a snacking type of family!).

Eating this dip on our deck was slightly reminiscent of chomping on potato skins on a pub patio! Bonus! And is pairs well with an ice cold adult beverage ;)

Ingredients:

16 ounces of sour cream (I actually bought French Onion sour cream because it was on sale (I love a bargain!), and hey, it sounds like a great base for this)

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

2 tsp of hot sauce (I love Frank's)

1/3 cup green onion, chopped

3 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

Mix the first three ingredients together (sour cream, cheese, hot sauce

Now mix in your green onion, but reserve a little for garnish later.

After you've cooked up your bacon, allow it to cool and crumble. Fold it in to your sour cream mixture (again, reserve a little for garnish).

Seriously, that's it. Just for looks, top with bacon and green onion and serve with chips!

This dip was good when I first tried it. Then I let it hang in the fridge for awhile. When I came back to it... WOW! It was so much better! The flavors just needed a little time to party together. So my suggestion would be give yourself 3-5 hours before sharing with guests. The loaded baked potato flavor will be in full effect at that point.

And don't worry, the hot sauce doesn't make this a 'spicy' dip... it just adds the right flavor.

Source: MyRecipes

Doughnut Seeds

2011-05-05T12:00:00.002-05:00

Well what do you know? It's another "not-really-a-recipe" from The Rookie Chef! Sorry gang, I hope you aren't disappointed. But where this post lacks in actual cooking it is made up for in fun. If you've got young kids, they would love this! It would also be a cute April Fools idea for their breakfast next year.

Ingredients (I feel silly saying that this time):

Cheerios, Fruit Loops, or both!

Ziplock bag

Tape

Printable label

Directions:

I trust you can figure it out from here :)

How CUTE are these? Perfect for young kids to take in their lunch or on a field trip. They'd be the envy of their friends. Lucas is too young to 'get it' but that doesn't stop me from playing with ideas for when he's a bit older.

He looks excited though :) Sorry buddy, no Fruit Loops for you. You can have the Cheerios, but the sugary Fruit Loop goodness is for Mom!

Bacon Brown Sugar Smokies

2011-05-03T10:50:00.007-05:00

Hi everyone! I hope you had a nice Easter. Ours was great! I, of course, ate way too much.... but that's to be expected. And adding to the feast were these super simple appetizers that I threw together. Since this was my first time hosting, I wanted to make sure I had something to offer people in case the turkey took longer than I expected. These were done in a snap. And come on, who doesn't love bacon? Who doesn't love smokies? Who doesn't love bacon and smokies smothered in caramelized sugar?

It's a no-brainer :)

Ingredients:

1 lb bacon (I used hickory smoked but I'm not sure there is such a thing as a bad bacon!)

1 package little smokies

Brown Sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet **

Unwrap bacon and slice into thirds.

Now wrap 1/3 strip of bacon around a little smokie and place on parchment

Top with liberal amounts of brown sugar

And bake until sugar is melted and bacon is crispy!

Seems simple enough, right? But did you see the ** above? Umm, please.. please please PLEASE use a baking pan with sides. I used a flat sheet and, in true Rookie Chef fashion, the brown sugar melted and rolled off into the oven. Luckily it was a nice day, because I had to open up the windows to get the burnt sugar smell out of the kitchen. Oops.

Anyway, here is what your little guys look like pre-oven:

And here are they are about to be devoured!

These we sweet and smoky, totally delcious. I love that they can be whipped up in just a few minutes! And if you need to keep them warm for awhile, just throw them in the crockpot on low.

And in case anyone is interested, Lucas will be ONE in just a few short weeks. How is that possible?! Here a few photos of our Easter weekend:

And of course, one of him going through his Easter basket!

Ice Cream and EDIBLE Chocolate Bowls!

2011-04-17T10:11:00.013-05:00

It's okay, you can admit it... you probably thought I jumped the shark when I posted about my first ice cream. But hey, this blog is all over the place so I figured it fit right in! Well, I'm hoping to rebound your confidence in my ice cream skills... at least a little bit. Before you get too excited about the ice cream part of this recipe, I need to give you a little backstory. I have this wild and wonderful, silly and creative job. No two days are ever the same and I never know what is going to land in my lap. Allow me to present, exhibit A:

I'm not kidding. Someone randomly acquired this during an afternoon and it ended up in my office. Shockingly enough, it didn't surprise me :) How much fun will this be?! But I needed a good excuse to use it. That excuse came in the form of two adorable kids at my house last night. We had friends over to grill out and they brought their beautiful children (ages 4 and 8). Needless to say when I asked them to help me with an ice cream project, they were more than willing to be put to work. Since I realize most of you don't have an ice cream ball, I'll keep the recipe brief. Ingredients:

Ice cream ball (duh)

1 cup rock salt

1 quart half and half

3/4 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP vanilla

Directions:

One one side of the ball, open and fill with as much ice as will fit.

Pour in rock salt over ice.

Now, seal up the ice cream ball and flip over. Open the other side.

Mix together half and half, sugar, and vanilla. Pour in to ball (there are two separate places -- one for ice/salt, one for ingredients).

Now have a ball!

They started inside but quickly moved outdoors after deciding that sending it down the slide would be the next most logical step :) They kicked it around the yard, let the dog chase it, and shook it until they were out of breath! The whole process took about 20 minutes of good, clean fun.

While they were 'working', I started on my edible bowls. Now THIS was going to be cool!

Ingredients:

Balloons

Chocolate chips

Vanilla chips (optional)

Directions:

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Blow up your balloons. They should be small enough to dip, but large enough so that a bowl would make sense out of the bottom half (keep reading, it will make sense soon).

Now, melt your chocolate chips. To melt chocolate, place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in small increments, stirring often.

LET THE CHOCOLATE COOL A BIT. I had a few balloons pop because the chocolate was too hot!

Put one small blob of melted chocolate onto the parchment paper for each balloon that you plan to make. This will help form a base for your edible bowls.

Now dip your balloons into the chocolate. This should cover the bottom half of the balloon. Place on top of the chocolate blob you reserved for that balloon. They should easily stand up on their own.

****this is the optional part from above. If you want, melt some vanilla chips in a separate bowl. Slowly mix into your melted chocolate to create a cool, swirled effect before dipping!

Now place the cookie sheet full of balloons in the fridge to cool down.

Phew. I know it seems like this is a long process, but it's really simple and quick! Stay with me people...

Once the bowls are cooled, remove from the fridge.

Gather eager 8 year old to help pop the balloons :)

As long as they're cooled completely, a small pin to pop the balloons is all you need! The balloon pops and you simply pull out the deflated balloon. Leaving you with delicious, edible bowls!

Top with homemade ice cream and enjoy!

I'll admit, I was a bit suprised at how tasty the ice cream turned out! I'm excited to experiment with some new flavors.

My helpers enjoying the fruits (err sweets?) of their labor:

Pin It

Fakin' and Eggs

2011-03-31T16:19:00.004-05:00

Well tomorrow is April Fool's day (consider that your heads-up, people!). And although I'm not as much of the prankster like I once was, I still wanted to participate in the the fun. So I decided to go with food! Because as we all know, I love cute food. As you can tell from my recent dry spell on the blog things have been very busy for me! So unfortunately I knew whatever I decided to make for April Fool's had to be cute, quick, and of course, tasty. What could possibly be better than Bacon and Eggs? Hmmm, or in honor of the April 1st we'll call them... Fakin' and Eggs! (Sorry, I couldn't resist) Ingredients:

Pretzel sticks

Yellow m&ms

White chocolate chips (or Almond Bark)

OPTIONAL - Apricots (I tried these, they weren't that cool)

Directions:

Place two pretzel sticks down parallel to each other on wax paper.

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave. Remember, chocolate burns easily to microwave in small increments, stirring frequently.

Now take a spoon and make a nice egg-sized blob (I'm so technical, I know) on the pretzel sticks. The melted chocolate will cause the sticks to move away from each other a bit, so do a few test runs to get the hang of it.

While the chocolate is still melted, place the yolk (yellow m&m) on top!

Like I said, I had some dried apricots at home so I tried one of those too, but that was WAY too big.

See? Apricot = no good. M&Ms = perfection!

Make sure you allow them to cool completely before moving off the wax paper. Then you're ready to enjoy some Fakin' and Eggs!

This would be a great project to do with kids too (just be careful with the hot melted chocolate).

How cute would it be to serve up your 'breakfast' in a skillet? Happy April Fool's Day everyone!

Source: Gourmet Mom

My first ice cream!

2011-03-06T13:51:00.006-06:00

The title of this post might be a little deceiving... truth be told, there is no real recipe to be found here. But it is my first ice cream! Well, in cross stitch that is. (Hey, it's food related! So on the blog it goes...)

You see, it's been a pretty mellow week considering just seven days ago I had my appendix removed. I've been out of work and I'm on light duty at home for everything including being able to lift Lucas (which has been the hardest part). Luckily I have amazing parents who came to stay with us and help out. They cooked, they cleaned, they helped with our son. It's been incredible!

While my mom was here, we picked up a few of those little all-in-one cross stich kits. Remember those things you used to do in the 80's? Yep, those. So I figured it was only fitting I dove into the ice cream cone. It took a little while to get the hang of it but I really enjoyed myself! I see a new, relaxing hobby in my future :)

Want to see the step-by-step of how it came to be? Check it out:

It doesn't look like much here, but trust me... it's coming along!

One scoop, done! Now onto the cone... I found this really therapeutic. You do have to love the process though, because it takes quite some time. And it involved keeping track of your lines, counting, etc. Very enjoyable for me.

Oooh NOW I can see the ice cream cone! Time to add some 'sprinkles' and a nice melting effect.

Now just a few extra details on the cone and we're all set!

Okay so it's not perfect, but I think it turned out adorable. And with few ingredients ;)

Thanks to my little 'helper' I was able to tackle this in an afternoon. Here's a question... what the heck am I going to do with it? I thought it would be cute on top of a little mason jar as a gift, but maybe not specifically this ice cream one. My mom suggested adding it to a homemade card. Any other thoughts?

Now I just decide which 'treat' I want to whip up next!

Gummy Cinnamon Hearts

2011-03-01T13:51:00.004-06:00

I'm not sure if it's a regional thing, but some people have cinnamon hearts while others have cinnamon bears. Around here, cinnamon bears are basically a giant cinnamon flavored gummy bear (I say 'giant' because it's about three times larger than a normal gummy bear, but it's not outrageous). A cinnamon heart, on the other hand, is normally a cinnamon flavored gummy with sugar on it. Like a cinnamon sour patch kid if you will.

So consider this a cinnamon candy hybrid of sorts :)

Anyway, my first attempt at homemade gummy bears was pretty awesome, so I decided to try my hand at another version. I did modify it a bit from my original attempt.

Ingredients:

1 package of cherry jello (the three ounce size)..
4 envelopes of unflavored gelatin (these come in small envelopes, usually 4 per package. The brand I bought was Gelatine and it comes in an orange package. Look for it in the jello aisle)
1/2 cup of water
2 TBSP Cinnamon Extract** (I'm going to need your help at the end of this recipe, people!)

Directions:

Mix everything together in a sauce pan.
Heat over low heat until it's more liquid and melted. This doesn't take long, and don't overheat!
Now carefully pour into your mold. I just use a spoon to ladle it into the molds.
Don't worry if you spill a bit, just dab it up with a paper towel before they set.
Put the mold tray into the freezer for about five minutes to firm up.
Now remove and gobble up those gummy treats!

Aren't those fun?! Be warned, they did have a subtle hint of the cherry gummy in them still. I might try them again will all gelatin and no Jello base to see what that does. I love an experiment!

BUT, like I said above (remember the ** in the ingredients??) I am asking for some help. These had a hint of cinnamon, but certainly not that fiercly spicy taste like I wanted. Was it the extract I used? Perhaps the store version just isn't potent enough? What about a cinnamon oil?

So I still highly recommend giving these a try, because they're tasty and fun regardless... but how would you have made the cinnamon have more BITE?

Taco Chicken Roll-up

2011-03-01T13:13:00.006-06:00

It's never a dull moment in my world :) It always seems like just when things are slowly down to a manageable level, something wild is sneaking up around the corner. Well, it just so happens that the next 'thing' happened this weekend... I had an emergency appendectomy! What a trip!

It started off like any other Sunday Funday with my family. Drew, Lucas, and I went out for a super yummy brunch on Sunday followed by a few errands and a trip to Lowe's. While at Lowe's I knew I wasn't feel quite right but shook it off. After getting home, we put Lucas down for a nap. I figured that was a good excuse for me to lay down also. After about 20 minutes I still just didn't feel well, and it was getting more intense. I told Drew to just hang at home with the babe while I buzzed over to the walk-in clinic just a few minutes from our home. I figured they would tell me I ate too much and give me some Pepto, haha! Well, after a quick blood draw and a poke around on my stomach I was sent to the ER. Time to get that angry appendix out ASAP! The most bizarre thing? I never felt that bad. Well, I do now... but that's to be expected after having a small organ removed ;)

So anyway, that gives me time to catch up on a few blog posts this week (silver lining I guess?).

This is a super easy chicken recipe that can be made with just five ingredients in under 45 minutes! And the best part? Most of these items you probably have in your pantry. Perfect for weeknight cooking!

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts
Two ounces (half a 4 oz can) of diced green chilies
3 cups finely crushed Reduced fat Cheez-It crackers
1 packet of taco seasoning
Monterey Jack shredded cheese

Directions:

Let's start with the fun part. Mash your Cheez-It crackers down until they're super fine, like breadcrumbs. I put mine in a big ziplock bag and took a heavy rolling pin to them. Like this:
Now place in a shallow bowl, mix in taco seasoning, and set aside.
Next, flatten you chicken breasts between two sheets of waxed paper. Just gently pound them out until they're even thickness.
Place some cheese and some chilies on each piece of chicken
Tuck in the end of the chicken and roll up, securing with a toothpick.
Easy! Now just gently cover your chicken roll-up in the Cheez-it/taco seasoning mix.
Then place in a greased baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 minutes (or until chicken is fully cooked).

What a simple, easy new take on baked, stuffed chicken. The cheese and chilies offered a delicious suprise after biting through the crunchy, spicy coating. A nice southwestern take on a classic. This is definitely a keeper recipe. Something to make when you're tired of the same ol' thing but also don't have a lot of time (or ingredients!) on hand.

Enjoy! Oh and P.S. remove the toothpicks before you bite into dinner ;)

Source: Taste of Home

Chocolate dipped strawberry marshmallow hearts

2011-02-07T16:01:00.006-06:00

Wow. What a long name! But I assure you the 'recipe' and process is oh-so-short! I am always on the lookout for cute and tasty holiday goodies. It seems like Valentines Day always has such sweet and romantic treats... just like chocolate dipped strawberries. Well, this isn't quite the same... but it's a fun second place!

Ingredients:

Strawberry marshmallow (you can use the regular size but I found these adorable heart shaped ones with the seasonal candy)
Chocolate chips
Sprinkles
Lollipop stick, optional

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. The best way to do this is to mix the melting chips every 15-30 seconds. This prevents them from burning (and trust me, burning chocolate smells terrible!)
If you want to make these into bite-sized pops, insert lollipop stick to bottom of marshmallow. If not, no worries. You can dip these with your fingers.
Dip marshmallows half into chocolate and while still warm, sprinkle with festive valentine sprinkles. My mom picked me up some adorable super tiny hearts. They're just too cute!
Now set aside to cool and repeat!
Note - if you're not doing them on a stick, place them on parchment paper to cool. If they're on the lollipop stick, you can either A) place in a cup, B) place the stick side in a styrofoam block, or C) get creative... I'm sure there are other options ;)

I made a few of these on a stick and a few without a stick. They're great for just popping in your mouth as a sweet treat. They're small enough that you can eat a few without feeling guilty too.

And so you can get an idea of their size, look here:

That beautiful bouquet of roses is from Mr. Rookie Chef. Nope, it wasn't my birthday and he didn't break anything in the house (haha).... but he remember our dating anniversary! Aww! Yep, he remembered that it was five years from our first date and sent me roses to my office. He's a keeper!

Another keeper? This adorable, non-floral bouquet of chocolate covered strawberry marshmallows :) Happy Valentine's day!

Source: I ♥ Naptime

Dijon-pepper Steaks

2011-02-04T10:16:00.004-06:00

We would normally grill our steaks outside (yes, even in the winter) but thanks to a massive snowstorm that blanketed most of the midwest, our grill is somewhere under a few feet of snow. But that doesn't mean we can't make a yummy steak for dinner! This recipe was suprisingly quick and made with things you probably already have in your pantry. Which is good news when you don't feel like going to the store in sub-zero temps. I'm also adding a new category (to the left) for under 30 minutes. This will be the first installment! I love easy....

Ingredients:

Steak - we used two sirloins
Cracked black pepper
2 TBSP butter
2 cans of mushrooms, stems and pieces
1 can condensed french onion soup + 1/4 cup water (or use a homemade french onion soup, but skip the extra water!)
1 TBSP dijon mustard
1+ TBSP flour

Directions:

On the stovetop over medium heat, melt butter in a large saute pan.
While it's melting, press about 1 tsp (or however much your tastebuds prefer) of black pepper onto both sides of your steak.
Add steak to melted butter and cook for about 10 minutes on each side.
While the steak is cooking, mix french onion soup, water, mustard, and flour together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
Once steaks are cooked to your preference, remove from pan and cover so they stay warm. I just put them in tupperware, cover, and set in the microwave so they'd retain their heat.
Now, add the soup/mushroom mixture to the pan drippings. Bring to a boil and then continue stirring for a few minutes.
The flour you added earlier should act as a thickening agent and turn this into a yummy gravy. It's it's not thickening up, just add a little more flour.

Now get out your steaks, plate them, top with some delicious dijon mushroom gravy and enjoy! The dijon mustard gave this a nice little bite! I've made this a few times and it's always a hit. I also love dunking my bread into the extra mushroom gravy... how bad is that?!

Source: 365 Last Minute Meals

Football Deviled Eggs

2011-01-30T18:18:00.004-06:00

This recipe is sneaking in just before the Super Bowl so if you're still debating on your menu, add this to the list! Deviled eggs are always a hit at parties but if you can find a way to make them unique (like on Halloween!) they seem to go over that much better.

So this seemed like a no-brainer to have ready for the big game. Easy, adorable, and of course, tasty!

Ingredients:

Eggs

Mayo

Dijon Mustard

Salt and Pepper

(or whatever you typically use for your deviled eggs, everyone is different!)

Chives

Directions:

Everyone makes their deviled eggs a little differently so feel free to follow your own preferred method. But as a Rookie myself, I'm not going to assume that everyone has made deviled eggs before so follow along!

Place eggs in a single layer in a large saucepan; add enough water to cover by 1 in. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Place in ice water until completely cooled.

Remove eggs from water and gently peel back the shell.

Cut eggs in half lengthwise; place yolks in a large bowl. Set whites aside. Mash yolks with a fork; stir in the mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper.

Add a good scoop of the yolk mixture to each egg half.

Now cut your chives. Use your judgement on how thick and/or how long you want the football 'laces' to be. Place on top of the yolk mixture and you're done!

That's it! Just an adorable football version of an old classic. This recipe will certainly help kick things off at your Super Bowl party.

Store covered in the refridgerator before serving. And make sure to gobble these up within a few days of making them (not that they'll last that long!)

Source: MyRecipes

Spicy beef and cheese dip

2011-01-24T15:23:00.005-06:00

This is another installment from our Bear Down playoffs party. I'm sure some people will scoff and say, "This isn't really a recipe"... well honey, I know that. But this is my blog. And if I like processed cheese dip then I'm going to BLOG processed cheese dip ;) Besides, it's good! And my blog is all about making things that are tasty, easy, and well liked by the masses. Perhaps my 'masses' just have less refined tastes than most. Hey, I'm okay with that!

I'm pretty sure this recipe in some variation has been around for ages. I haven't made (or had) this in years but it seemed like the perfect snack for a chilly day of football.

Ingredients:

1.5 blocks of Mexican Velveeta cheese. There are big blocks and small blocks. I'm talking about one and a half of the small (1 lb) blocks.
Salsa. I think I originally used about 1 cup. Then I added a little more to get the spice and consistency that I wanted.
1 pound ground beef.
Taco seasoning

Directions:

Brown ground beef just like you would if you were making tacos. Add taco seasoning and set aside once ready.
Cut cheese into cubes, throw in the crock pot.
Add salsa and cooked/seasoned ground beef.
Now set it and forget it! At some point you will need to check on it and give it a good stir.
Serve with tortilla chips (blue for the Bears!) and enjoy.

It's not much to look at, but people kept coming back for more. And why wouldn't they? It's delicious!

Bear Bites

2011-01-24T14:35:00.004-06:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Chicago Bears playoff game was disappointing. However, these Bear Bites were a big hit! You know when boys oooh and ahhh over cupcakes you're doing something right. It's embarrassing how easy they are to make!

It all started when I made a rainbow cake. After that turned out so adorable I was hooked! I don't remember the process of making mini multi-colored cupcakes to be so time consuming but I suppose I wasn't trying to keep an eye on an 8 month old baby back then either ;) Probably factors in!

So anyway, here is how to make these ridiculously simple cupcakes. Feel free to use them with your favorite team colors!

Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix (mmm, Pillsbury French Vanilla!)
Whatever the box calls for (eggs, water, oil)
Food coloring of choice

Directions:

Prepare cake batter as the box states.
Separate batter into two different bowls.
Add food coloring of choice until you reach desired color. I'll admit, I used an entire bottle of blue liquid food coloring and entire small Wilton jar of orange gel food coloring. It's hard to get those bright colors!
Now add a little blue to the cupcake liners, then a little orange. Repeat as necessary! Don't worry about them being even. It looks better when they're a little crazy!
Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

I told you they were easy :)

And HOW FUN!

I did make a few regular sized versions, but the "Bear Bites" (aka NFL Minis) were a much bigger hit at the party.

Truth be told, I had good intentions to do striped blue and orange frosting swirls on all of them. But as I mentioned above, I ran out of food coloring! So then I debated just doing plain frosting, but I thought it might distract from the overall fun level... so I left them plain. They were gobbled up regardless.

And until next season, one last time... GO BEARS!

Bear Down!

2011-01-24T14:16:00.008-06:00

There was a lot of excitement at our house this weekend as we eagerly prepared to entertain friends for the Bears vs Packers playoff games. Mr Rookie Chef was SO excited that he even had the Super Bowl Shuffle VHS tape (yes, I said tape!) queued up and ready go! Alas, the Bears gave a sad showing yesterday. Luckily there were enough snacks and adult beverages to keep everyone entertained!

Here is a quick rundown of our (ridiculously easy but tasty) gameday treats:

Salsa

Guacamole

Spicy beef cheese dip

Blue tortilla chips (go Bears!)

Meatballs in bbq

Bacon wrapped little smokies baked in brown sugar (not pictured - my girlfriend and her husband brought these)

Bear Bites - otherwise known as rainbow cake with an NFL makeover

Pinwheels

Baked brie (not pictured - from my sis-in-law) and crackers

I'll update this menu with the links as I post blog updates for the various items.

(please forgive the yellow wall... we are in the process of getting new countertops so we've given up on finding a wall color we like until those are installed. Yes, I know it's hideous! How CUTE is that football crockpot though?!)

But what's NOT hideous are these guys:

At least those cuties were still around after the Chicago Bears lost... And even though the game had a crummy outcome, everyone still had a great time!

Artichoke Purses

2010-12-28T11:00:00.005-06:00

Hi all! Hope you had a wonderful holiday season. I'm still recovering from all the travel and craziness, but it's worth it because I get to see my entire family and enjoy their company. Speaking of my entire family, remember when I went out to Vegas after our niece was born? Well believe it or not, that little sweetie is turning TWO YEARS OLD next month. How is that even possible?! Her momma (my sister-in-law) has plenty of easy, tasty recipes and one of my favorites she has shared with me is for a three ingredient baked artichoke dip. I just gave it a little facelift for the purses... check it out!

Ingredients:

1 cup mayo (I love the Kraft mayo with olive oil but anything would work)
1 cup grated parmesan -- notice I said grated, not shredded like the kind you find in a bag
2 cans/jars of artichokes. I use the marinated kind because they're just so delicious on their own that they must make everything better, right?

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
If the artichokes come whole, quarter them. But most of the time you can find them already quartered. Drain the juice from the can/jar.
In a bowl, mix the artichokes with mayo and cheese. Place in a baking dish of your choice and bake for 30 minutes or until slightly bubbly.

This might not sound like much, but last Christmas we could stop picking at it! It's addictive.

You could easily throw this in a crockpot instead of baking. Just serve with chips, crusty bread, and veggies!

But I have another way to 'dress up' this super easy app. Since I had some leftover wrappers from making eggrolls the night before, I decided to make little artichoke purses.

Ingredients:

Same as above, silly.

Directions:

Keep that oven on at 350.
Take a muffin pan and lightly spray the cups. Then gently place your eggroll wrapper in each cup.
Add a spoonful or two (use your best judgement on how much to add) in each cup/wrapper.
Then give the tops a little twist, throw in the oven, and bake until the wrapper is crispy!

Uh-oh, I burnt the top. Hmm, any suggestion on how to avoid that next time? If you can look past the crispy tops you can see how adorable these are anyway...

Oh well. Just when I thought I had managed to not burn anything for awhile :) Either way, these still packed the same great flavor as the dip but simply dressed up a bit. Since these were done in a large muffin pan they definitely needed a fork. You could cut up the wrappers into smaller sizes and make them in a mini-muffin pan for a more bite-sized treat.

I hope everyone had a terrific year. See you in 2011, friends!

Easy Kisses Macaroon Cookies

2010-12-21T15:54:00.003-06:00

'Tis the season for some holiday treat trays! I love spreading Christmas cheer to my neighbors in the form of delicious baked goods. Just what everyone needs, right? More junk food! But hey, with what seems like a steady flow of guest traffic it is nice to have things on hand when folks stop by. And even better if you don't have to do the baking for it! So I geared up for a weekend of baking so I could make sure my neighbors were armed with enough goodies to keep guests happy. Some were classics, some were new things. One of the new things I made was these super easy and delicious macaroons.

Ingredients:

1 pouch of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix (I've said it once, I'll say it again... I am NOT above making things using the help of a box/bag mix!)
1 stick butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 tsp fresh grated orange peel (optional)
4 cups sweetened coconut flakes
Hersheys kisses

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl, stir together cookie mix, butter, egg and, if desired, orange peel until soft dough forms. Mix in two cups coconut.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll balls in remaining coconut; place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until the edges of cookies are lightly browned.
Cool slightly; press on kiss into center of each cookie.
Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack and let cool completely.

Doesn't get much easier than that. And I do love any chocolate/coconut combination. Merry Christmas everyone!

source: Hershey's

Holiday Spiced Chickpeas

2010-12-20T09:21:00.006-06:00

As most of you know, I love a deal. I'm a bargain hunter like no other! So when my awesome Mom randomly got me a subscription to All-You I was thrilled. It's a great magazine that is filled with fashion, health, home inspiration, recipes and COUPONS! I love that part of it. The content is great and I always enjoy getting it each month. Legal disclaimer - no one paid me to say that ;) I just really like this magazine!

This week I received the January issue and while thumbing through I stopped on a recipe for Spicy Crunchy Chickpeas. Easy, cheap AND healthy? Yes please! I had to try these. Plus it's been awhile since I've used chickpeas in anything besides hummus so it was a good change of pace.

Ingredients:

2 TBSP olive oil

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 15.5 oz cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained, patted dry

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degress.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil, set aside

In a bowl mix the olive oil with all of your seasonings. Toss in the chickpeas and give a good stir to coat. Now pour that mix onto the foil-lined baking sheet.

Check on them occasionally, giving a good shake to the baking sheet to make sure they're roasting on all sides. Bake until crunchy (about 45 minutes).

Let cool and start munching!

YUM. I also added a pinch of cayenne pepper to mine. This made for a great snack while my husband and I lounged on the couch. I will say the allspice was a little heavy for my tastes, so I'd probably go a little lighter on that and throw in an extra pinch of cayenne. But I'd highly recommend these. My wheels are already turning on how I can season up the next batch!

Parmesan Roasted Red Potatoes

2010-12-13T17:11:00.000-06:00

It's no secret that we're a meat and potato family. Hey, we're Iowans! Whenever we're stumped for sides, my husband almost always defaults to one of our easy favorite potato recipes. Don't get me wrong, they're all tasty but sometimes you just need a change of pace. This was SUCH a good, yet still easy, roasted potato side. It had tons of terrific flavor with just enough crunch.

Ingredients:

1 TBSP dried basil (use fresh if you want, but this is what I had)

1 TBSP dried thyme (same story as above)

Olive oil

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tsp seasoned salt (I love Lawrys!)

2 lbs baby red potatoes

Red pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Wash and cut the potatoes into small cubes. Throw the cubes in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat.

Add basil, thyme, seasoned salt, and red pepper and toss the mixture to coat evenly.

Place coated potatoes in a baking pan. I put them on parchment paper in the baking sheet so that they wouldn't burn, but if you have a cookie sheet you trust then you can skip this step ;)

Add half of the grated cheese on the potatoes and place them in the oven for 30 minutes.

Take the potatoes out and add the remaining grated parmesan cheese. Place them back in the oven for another 15-30 minutes depending on your desired doneness/crunch factor.

Not exactly a mind blowing recipe but you will be amazed and how delicious these simple roasted potatoes are. Great with steaks, chicken, anything really!

Source: Buzzle

Spicy Pretzel Snack

2010-12-12T13:03:00.003-06:00

Over the weekend we had our annual Buddies Christmas party. This is a long standing tradition in our group of friends where we get together to eat, drink, and be merry! We get out the board games or the Wii and just enjoy a night of good company. Speaking of board games, have you ever played Apples to Apples or Mad Gab? Those are two games that we LOVE. And they seem to get better (see: ridiculous) with the more beverages you have ;)

So here was the spread for the evening... no meal served, just a bunch of snacks!

Spicy Pretzels
Frosted Sugar Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Magic Bars
Russian Tea Cakes
Peanut Brittle
Chips and Salsa
Chicken Enchilada Dip (not pictured, coming soon!)
Salami, crackers, cheese
BBQ Meatballs in the crockpot

Nothing too fancy, but everything tasty!

The recipe I wanted to share with you guys is for the Spicy Pretzels. This is another one that my mom passed on to me. It's insanely simple (like most things on my blog), but great if you love a salty party treat.

Ingredients:

2 bags of pretzels (roughly 30 ounces)
10 oz of butter flavor popcorn oil
2 packets of dry ranch dressing (I used Hidden Valley - one spicy, one regular.)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200. Which is more like "turn oven on" because there isn't much preheating necessary to reach 200 degrees ;)
Put pretzels in a large roasting pan, like something you would roast a turkey in... with tall sides.
Mix all dry ingredients into oil, stir well.
Now pour that buttery oil mixture over the pretzels and turn to coat. Once all of the pretzels look like they've been coated, pop it in the oven for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, take them out, stir again, put back in the oven. This is a very similar process to making chex mix!
Keep repeating until there is no oil mixture at the bottom of your roasting pan.

Then cool, and enjoy! See? Easy! And so, so good. I will say, the name doesn't seem to fit my tastes of 'spicy'. They definitely had a tasty tang to them, but only a subtle hint of heat. Next time I would do both ranch packets in spicy and add some crushed red pepper too. Another modification I will make next time? Garlic powder instead of garlic salt. Either way, try these out! There are plenty of ways to play with this recipe.

Happy Holidays!

Peppermint Popcorn Bark

2010-12-06T08:16:00.005-06:00

As I (briefly) mentioned in an earlier post, we moved early this summer into our beautiful new home. There is so much to love about it but having awesome neighbors is certainly a bonus. Everyone is very kind, outgoing, and family-friendly. They've been great and I want to make sure that they all get delicious holiday treats this season!

I've been testing out some new ideas to use on my Christmas plates that I'll hand out and this one definitely made the cut. It's sweet, minty, and salty all at the same time. Kind of like traditional almond bark, but better. Plus it's easy, cheap, and makes a ton! Bonus - all of my holiday treat trials go to work the next day, so everyone wins!

Ingredients:

2 bags microwave popcorn
1 lb Almond Bark
6 oz candy canes OR starlight mints, crushed. Either one works, just make sure it's roughly 1 cup of crushed candy when you're done.
2 tsp peppermint extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Pop popcorn and place in a large mixing bowl. NOTE - Pick out any unpopped kernels! A broken tooth is not the best impression to make on your neighbors ;)
Throw your candy canes/mints in a ziplock bag and crush 'em up! You can do this a variety of ways but I threw in my mints, took them outside, and gave them a few whacks with a small hammer. You could use a heavy rolling pin, but this was more fun.
Pour crushed mints into popcorn.
Now it's time to melt your almond bark. Just follow the instructions on the bag. I chose to melt mine in a sauce pan on the oven.
Once melted by your preferred method, add peppermint extract. NOTE - this causes the bark to seize and get very thick suddenly. But keep on keepin' on. All is well.
Add almond bark to the bowl of popcorn and mints. Slowly stir and make sure that you're coating all of the popcorn and mixing the candy in well.
Once mixed well, spread out popcorn in an even layer over parchment paper and let sit. This is the most STICKY part of the recipe.
In a separate bowl, melt chocolate chips (again, you can do this over the stove or in the microwave. Just stir frequently so it doesn't burn!) Once melted, put into a sandwich bag, snip off a small edge, and drizzle chocolate over popcorn bark.
Let dry completely.

Phew. Long directions, but truly easy.

Just break it up into little sections and share! I tried to put them in goodie bags for my coworkers, but they were too small. Looks like I'll have to try another treat to put in those bags next time :)

Happy Holidays!

Source: Our Best Bites

Cucumber and Black Bean Salsa

2010-11-30T15:20:00.004-06:00

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! I packed up the baby, the husband, and the dog and headed East to visit my parents for the holiday. It was great to see them of course, but also great to enjoy some delicious food together! My mom is a wonderful cook and she often takes really fun cooking courses, just to stretch her skills or try new cuisines. I wish we lived closer so I could take them with her.

Lately she's been on a cilantro kick, which is fine by me. Yum! So I was tickled when she put together this refreshing cucumber and black bean salsa for us to munch on before the turkey was ready.

1 (15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chopped and seeded cucumber
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced (Compari are the best)
1/2 cup sliced green onion tops
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon canola oil (olive oil is not as good because it will set up in the fridge)
1 tablespoon snipped FRESH cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients above and enjoy!

How simple is that?! It's hard to explain the amazing flavors in this salsa, but it's a little tangy, a little tart, a little cooling, and a little heat! It's fantastic. The texture is more similar to a pico de gallo than a traditional tomato salsa but it worked perfectly as a dip with tortilla chips. I could also see this being good as a relish for white fish!

As my mom told me, it's not a difficult recipe... it just takes time due to all that chopping! But the result is a delicious twist on a classic snack.

Cranberry-Almond Wedges

2010-11-14T11:00:00.004-06:00

It's official. The weather in Iowa has changed and we're entering the brrrrr chilly winter ahead. With that said, what a great excuse to fire up the oven and start the holiday baking! It's never a bad time to share yummy baked goods with coworkers so I decided to do just that when I got the baking itch. Plus, dried cranberries are always something we have on hand for an easy snack.

Ingredients:

1 17.5ounce package Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix (some people scoff at the idea of using cake and cookie mixes. I beg to differ. You can create plenty of great things with them!)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 cup dried cranberries

1 tablespoon milk

3/4 cup sliced almonds

sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 9" round cake pans with foil, extending the foil over the pan edges. Set aside.

Place sugar cookie mix in a bowl. Sprinkle almond extract over mix. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in dried cranberries (dough will be crumbly). Divide mixture between the two pans. Press mixtrue firmly onto bottoms of pans. Brush tops lightly with milk. Top with almonds. Sprinkle with sugar (I used red and green sugar on one, regular sugar on another).

Bake in the preheaded oven for 18-20 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks. Using the edges of the foil, lift cooki rounds out of the pans. Cut each round into wedges.

Here is what they looked like while cooling. The red/green sugar is cute, but a little busy.

Which I suppose is okay, considering Mr. Rookie Chef dropped that one. What is it about these pans that automatically make them end up on the floor?

Anyway, these turned out great! The flavors were basically an almond based sugar cookie with some great texture from the almond slices and a nice tang from the dried cherries. Add these to your holiday baking list for sure.

Source: Betty Crocker

Banana Split Muffins

2010-11-01T18:48:00.008-05:00

A banana split for breakfast? Don't mind if I do! Hey, if it's a "muffin" it's not bad for you right? These great little muffins bring back the fun and flavor of a banana split without the sticky fingers and ice cream headache. This is a great recipe for a moist muffin mix. As you noticed there is no egg, that's where the mayo comes in. Don't be freaked out by it, it's really good!

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Mini Chips Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup mayonnaise
6 maraschino cherries, halves
Extra marachino cherries chopped up into little bits

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°
In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, chocolate chips, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine bananas, chopped cherry bits, and mayonnaise. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.
Press a cherry half, cut side down, into the top of reach muffin.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

My husband, the self-proclaimed chocoholic, doesn't like chocolate chip muffins OR pancakes... but even HE liked these!

On an unrelated and perhaps inappropriate note, wouldn't these have been great for Bake For Hope? I think you see where I'm going with this one.

You know how there is always a liiiiiittle bit left in the bowl after filling all of your muffin cups? Well don't throw it out! Make some minis! Bite-sized banana split muffins, perfect for popping in your mouth on the way out the door in the morning.

Source: Taste Of Home

Meatloaf Cupcakes

2010-10-29T11:21:00.004-05:00

Some people really dislike food that looks like other food. I, on the other hand, LOVE it. I think it makes dinner more fun! Wouldn't meatloaf cupcakes be a great dinner for April Fools Day? They're bite sized, easy to make, and most of all... adorable! These would be great for kids too. Or you could freeze them so that you can have single serving meatloaf later in the week!

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

3 tablespoons ketchup

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 cups of mashed potatoes (used your favorite recipe or instant!)

Food coloring

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 muffin tin cups with foil bake cups.

In a large bowl, mix together all of the meat loaf ingredients until well combined. Divide the mixture evenly among the lined cups (the liners should be about three quarters full).

Place the filled muffin tins on cookie sheets and bake the cupcakes for about 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Take mashed potatoes and add food coloring (whatever color you like!) until you get the desired 'frosting' color. Swirl on the frosting and enjoy!

I took off the wrappers before I took this photo. They looked MUCH cuter with the cupcake liner still on it. So if you're going to make them, I suggest serving them in the liner. It makes more sense as a cupcake that way.

I will admit, I didn't love the flavor of this meatloaf. I think I know why though... I was out of breadcrumbs. Yep, so I looked through my pantry and came up with this as an alternative:

Rye Tricuits? It was the closest thing I could think of so I threw some in a bag, smashed with a rolling pin, and gave it ago. Like I said, the recipe was a little off. Could have been the Triscuits, could have just been a bunk recipe. Either way, the decorating is super fun!

Source: Family Fun

Bloodshot Eyeballs (deviled eggs for Halloween!)

2010-10-27T18:34:00.011-05:00

Halloween is just around the corner and I am desperate for a holiday treat that isn't sweet. These are way too much fun! I love dorky snacks like these for parties. They're your basic deviled egg recipe (choose whatever one you love) but the secret is in the 'bloodshot' eggs.

Ingredients:

12 eggs

Red food coloring

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

One small can SLICED black olives (you won't need more than 12)

A little ketchup

Directions:

Place eggs in a single layer in a large saucepan; add enough water to cover by 1 in. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Place in ice water until completely cooled. Gently crack eggs (do not peel).

Fill a large bowl with hot water; add food coloring to tint water a dark red. Add eggs, making sure they are completely covered by water; let stand for 30 minutes. Remove eggs from water; peel (eggs should have a veined appearance).

Cut eggs in half widthwise; place yolks in a large bowl. Set whites aside. Mash yolks with a fork; stir in the mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper.

To make eggs stand better on serving plate, slice a small piece from the bottom of egg white halves. Stuff with yolk mixture. Place an olive half in the center of each to resemble an eyeball. Refrigerate until serving.

How clever! Obviously ketchup isn't ideal with deviled eggs. This could have been easily avoided if I had green olives with pimentos in the house, but I didn't. So feel free to switch it up. Happy Halloween!

Source: Taste Of Home

Pumpkin Carrot Cupcakes with Fat-Free Cream Cheese Icing

2010-10-22T12:16:00.007-05:00

I almost feel silly making this into a recipe post, but hey, it's okay to blog the simple things too right? These cupcakes use only TWO ingredients. Yep, check this out:

Ingredients:

1 box of carrot cake mix (or any other cake mix you prefer I suppose)

1 can of pumpkin filling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place cake mix in a bowl and add pumpkin filling.

Mix well.

Scoop cake mixture into cupcake liners. NOTE - however it looks going in will be how it looks coming out of the oven. So pat down those pointy tips and make 'em pretty!

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

These make for a REALLY dense cake. I thought the flavor was good, but I wasn't blown away (although they are really healthy... I think only 2 weight watcher points!). After a little bit of googling I saw a variation where someone added a cup of water to the mix also. Perhaps that would lighten things up?

I ended up making a little fat free cream cheese icing to go on them too. That recipe is...

Ingredients:

3 ounces fat free cream cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Mix sugar with cream cheese and beat until fluffy. Easy!

The cream cheese icing would go reeeally well on animal crackers too. Not that I know from experience ;)

Crockpot Party Potatoes

2010-10-19T15:14:00.006-05:00

I knew that I wanted a hot (temperature wise) dish at the Baptism lunch also but I wasn't sure what that would be. A friend passed on a recipe for "Party Potatoes". I didn't want to worry about having to come home and cook something after church so I adapted it to the crock pot. Who knew it would be such a hit! This makes a lot, but there were barely any leftovers. And what was leftover was eaten by me for lunch the next two days. This would be a fantastic side for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Ingredients:

2 lb frozen hash browns (I used Ore Ida's Peppers and Onion hash browns)

3/4 stick of butter or margarine, cut into pieces

1 cup sour cream

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 shredded cheese (I used a three cheese blend but anything would work!)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

In your crockpot, combine all of the above ingredients. Stir to mix.

Heat on high for 30 minutes, then low for 2-3 hours.

That's IT. This worked out perfectly. Not only was it one of the easiest crock pot potato dishes I've ever had but the timing was exceptional! I mixed everything together right away in the morning, put it on high while I got us ready. Turned to low while we were off to Mass/baptism. When I got home I gave it a few stirs and let everyone dig in.

Alright so maybe it's not much to look at... but you'll have to take my word for it!!

Source: Cooks.com

Chicken Salad

2010-10-18T16:40:00.006-05:00

You may have remembered a post from over a year ago about the Best Tuna Salad EVER? Well that very recipe got tweaked and used for sandwiches at Lucas' baptism. Here is how it's different...

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 can chicken broth

2 packets of Knorr dry vegetable mix

1 cup mayo

1 cup sour cream

1 can sliced water chestnuts

Directions:

Put chicken breasts in the crockpot with one can of chicken broth (I think this was more liquid than necessary, but use your own judgement. It didn't hurt anything). Heat on low for 7 hours.

In the meantime, crush up veggie soup mix in the packet by using a rolling pin over it.

Chop up the water chestnut slices into fairly small pieces

Mix sour cream and mayo together, add veggie mix and water chestnuts.

Put in the fridge for at least an hour (this helps the veggie mix soften)

Once the chicken has cooked, remove from slow cooker and shred with a fork. Lightly salt and pepper the shredded chicken. Once cooled, add to mayo/veggie mix.

I made this the Saturday before his baptism and all I had to do Sunday morning was transfer to a serving dish. Easy!

Baptism Lunch

2010-10-18T16:26:00.014-05:00

On Sunday October 3rd (the day after he rolled over for the first time!) our son was baptised at our church, the Cathedral where we were married. It was such a special day for all of us and our family who came into town to celebrate. Doesn't he clean up nice? Lucas, not my husband ;)

Notice that green shawl? My mom, brother, and I were all baptised wearing that. It's very dear to me that now my son will be able to pass it on to his kids one day.

Congratulations on your first sacrament, Lucas!

So after a succesful baptism (no screaming, yay!) we headed back to our house for lunch with family. We had a big crew and many had not see our new place yet so it was a nice chance to give them a tour. (Did I mention that when Luke was 5 weeks old we moved to our new house? Well we did, but that's an entirely different post... Oy vey) I wanted to be able to have something delicious and filling, but easy to prepare and serve. Here is our lunch spread:

On the menu:

Chicken salad sandwiches on wheat buns

Fresh fruit salad with cantelope, watermelon, pineapple, peaches, bananas, and strawberries

Carrots and celery with ranch dip

Grapes

Crock pot party potatoes

Italian pasta salad with black olives and turkey pepperoni

Dark chocolate cupcakes with chocolate or cream cheese frosting

(I will update those above with links once I have time to update my blog with the recipes!)

And those little pumpkins, well, those are my seasonal salt and pepper shakers. Yes, I'm one of *those people* who changes them out with the season. It's a vice I have.

The day was fantastic. Everyone left with a full belly and a happy heart. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Roasted Onion Parmesan Bread

2010-10-18T15:55:00.005-05:00

Wow, from the title I bet you're really impressed. I hate to say this, but you shouldn't be. This was SUCH an easy side for pasta night!

So I'll admit that I'm a sucker for trying new things. Especially if a coupon is involved. And I happened to get a coupon for $2 off a new Hidden Valley dressing. The new line is called Farmhouse Originals and with my coupon I scored a bottle of Roasted Onion Parmesan dressing for less than a dollar. Well it turns out that this dressing is far too rich to ever use as a salad dressing. But I hate to waste food (hello, did you see the photo of me pregnant? I never leave a crumb behind!) so I came up with a solution.

Ingredients:

1 loaf french bread

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup Roasted Onion Parmesan dressing

Directions:

Cut bread in half lengthwise

Mix cheese and dressing together in a bowl

Spread dressing/cheese mixture over the bread

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and a little golden

I'm pretty impressed! This was great and so much more fun than just making the usual garlic bread for our dinner. Although as we were eating, I noticed that it didn't look very excited. So I splashed on a little Italian seasonings to give it some color. Don't you think that looks better?

Between you and me, the seasonings didn't really enhance or take away from the bread. So that's totally optional. Make this bread! Or perhaps you have another dressing you're trying to use up before it expires? I think the possibilities and combinations could be endless here!

Salsa Strips

2010-10-18T15:25:00.003-05:00

I'm still trying to figure out a balance between spending time in the kitchen (which I love) and not being away from my husband and babe for too long due to a complicated recipe. So that tends to lend itself to a lot of taco nights at our house. Which is GREAT because we love tacos, but seriously... how boring is that?! So I decided that instead of reinventing tacos I would make us a little appetizer. Salsa Strips seemed like the perfect answer! Quick, tasty, and still something new to try.

Ingredients:

1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3/4 cup salsa
Shredded cheese
Cilantro (I use Penzey's dehydrated Cilantro... great stuff if you don't have fresh on hand!)

Directions:

Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into four rectangles.
Place on greased baking sheets.
Spread mustard onto each rectangle. Then top with salsa.
Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 8-10 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes. Cut each into four strips; sprinkle with cilantro.

These were a nice change of pace. Although the flakiness of the crescent roll was kind of odd compared to the heaviness of the salsa and cheese. I think I would try on a different type of refridgerated bread next time. But the dijon/salsa combo was delicious!

source: taste of home

Pizza Muffins (and my baby!)

2010-09-29T10:46:00.006-05:00

I'm still here! Oh what a wild ride I've been on since my last post in May. As I mentioned in that last post, I was 10 days away from my due date. Well, I ended up going a week overdue before finally having my sweet baby boy. Here I am, checking in to the hospital. Can you believe the size of that belly?!

After 30 hours of labor and failed epidural (oy vey), this new momma gave birth to a 9 lb 11 oz chubby bundle of perfection. Allow me to introduce Baby Rookie Chef, Lucas Jon:

Can you believe that sweet little baby is now 4 months old (and a whopping 19 pounds)?!

Okay just one more picture (hey, it's my blog I can brag if I want!):

So there you have it. He is my excuse (a cute excuse if I say so myself). He has stolen my heart and also a lot of my time in the kitchen! So unfortunately here at The Rookie Chef it's been a little quiet. But I'm going to make an effort to start cranking back out some of the new, fun creations I was experimenting with before. First up? Pizza Muffins! Let me add that this recipe is certainly not the epic comeback I was hoping for in my return to blogging. But hey, it's a start.

Ingredients:

1 container refridgerated buttermilk biscuits (8 oz can)

Pizza sauce

Italian seasonings

Turkey pepperoni (regular is fine too, of course)

Shredded cheese of your choice

Directions:

Spray muffin pan with Pam (or other) nonstick spray.

Unroll the biscuits and seperate each one out. Flatten until they are about 3" circles. Place flattened biscuits in your grease muffin pan and make sure you mold the dough up on the sides a bit.

Mix about a cup of sauce with Italian seasoning, to taste.

Add a half spoonful of sauce to each (in hindsight, I would have added a full spoonful, maybe more).

Drop in a few pepperoni, I used two in each.

Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

See that? In true Rookie Chef fashion I managed to burn these little suckers. Ahh well, such is life. BUT they were still very good. And zero mess. I think I will pocket this recipe for when Luke gets a little older. I can see these being great lunchbox treats! They'd be perfect for an on-the-go meal.

Like I said, not quite the epic return I had hoped for... but it's something. It's good to be back!

Mojito Cupcakes

2010-05-05T19:56:00.008-05:00

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Can I start off by saying I've missed you! And secondly, aren't mojito cupcakes sort of a strange entry for Cinco De Mayo? Regardless, it's an update... and considering the looks of this blog lately I should take what I can get!

Well folks, I'm TEN DAYS away from my due date with our son and if there are two things I really want right now it's cake and a stiff drink. Apparently only one is going to make it's way into my system anytime soon so I better choose wisely... hence the mojito cupcakes!

Because if you can't drink 'em, bake 'em.

Ingredients:

Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 cup unflavored carbonated water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon rum extract plus 1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 teaspoons grated lime peel
3 egg whites

Glaze

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons rum extract plus 1/2 cup water

And the frosting of your choice (I went for cream cheese which is probably a little heavy for this light cupcake. But well, it's my favorite. And I'm the pregnant one here so whatever I say goes. Ha!)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F and line cupcake pan with cute liners
In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter into cupcake liners
Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, mix glaze ingredients. Heat to boiling over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium; continue to boil 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until glaze has thickened slightly.
Poke warm cupcakes three or four times with fork tines. Pour glaze slowly over cupcakes. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
Top with frosting and garnish with a mint leaf!

I first tried these cupcakes alone, without the glaze or frosting and they were DYNAMITE! Light, fluffy with a subtle hint of lime & mint.

But after the glaze was added, oh baby look out. They were SO good! I didn't catch a buzz nor did I completely quench my thirst for an adult beverage but these hit the spot regardless.

Maybe skip Cinco De Mayo and keep these little guys in mind for the Kentucky Derby next year... they're sure to be a hit!

Recipe: Betty Crocker

Pickle Wrap Dip (ghetto sushi)

2010-01-24T19:20:00.005-06:00

Well I'm still here, and still planning on keeping this blog alive! This baby has taken a lot of energy out of me so we've been having more taco and pasta nights at our house than I care to admit. With that being said, I do make things still... just nothing nearly as fun as lollipops or rainbow cake.

Last night we had some friends over for a game night. I needed to put together a few quick appetizers and wasn't sure exactly what. I had a craving for pickle wraps though. Have you ever had them? I call them Ghetto Sushi. Why? Well, just look at them!

(Pic found on google)

They are simple and tasty, but very time consuming. If you want to make them, simple take a slice of beef, slap on cream cheese, add a pickle, wrap and slice. Like I said, easy! But quite frankly it was still more work than I was interested in. With friends on the way I decided to make a modified version. Hence the pickle wrap dip! It's totally easy and has all of the great flavors from Ghetto Sushi mixed up in an easy to share bowl.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons dill pickle relish - you could just use chopped pickles, but again I was going for easy
1.5 packages Carl Buddig Beef (each package is sold in a 2 oz bag... so you're using 3 ounces)
1 block (8 ounces) cream cheese

Directions:

Let cream cheese sit out for a bit so that it is easy to stir
Slice up beef into small pieces, use your judgement
Stir beef into cream cheese... make sure and mix well!
Now add the pickle relish. Again, mix it up!
Serve with Ritz crackers

That's it. No really. That's IT. Three ingredients, but one delicious dip. This was gobbled up during game night! Unfortunately, the girls lost to the boys in our battle of the sexes event but at least the treats were a success!

P.S. it's a BOY!!! And we are over the moon excited :)

It's a... BLOG UPDATE!

2009-12-04T19:27:00.007-06:00

Hi friends! I hope there are still some people out there who want to read my blog. I know I've been missing in action lately. But trust me, it's not without good reason! You see, the past few weeks I've had some horrible food aversions and spending time in the kitchen has been at the bottom of my priority list. What could possibly cause such a thing?!

I'm pregnant!

That's right! I've wanted to tell you, really I did. But I also wanted to make sure that Drew and I had weathered the first trimester. I'm going to be 17 weeks tomorrow! Can you believe it? Just look!

Besides, what's the fun in telling you if a cute blog update doesn't come with? Well it just so happens that I made some adorable "due date" cookies for my coworkers to share the good news.

Ingredients:

Sugar cookies (feel free to look up a great recipe, but I used Betty Crocker mix! Hey, I'm tired. Give me a break!)
Wilton candy melts
Goodie bags
Ribbon

Directions:

Open package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough. Drop onto a cookie sheet. Bake. :)
Allow cookies to completely cool before decorating.
Melt candy as directed on package.
Dip half of sugar cookie in blue candy melts, let cool on wax paper. Repeat with pink (okay mine wasn't pink... it was 'color burst' so I just added gel food coloring). Add a little pink sugar on one half for some texture.
NOW for the fun part. If you've ever heard of or worked with royal icing you know that it is great for sugar cookies and looks fantastic. But it's also a lot more work than I was up for. So I simply put candy melts in my squeeze bottle and used it to write my due date on the rest of the sugar cookies! It worked like a charm.
And since we don't know the sex, I decided to dip part of the cookie in pink so that no single color was represented more than the other! Then I added pink sugar on top.
Add one of each cookie to a goodie bag and tie with ribbon.

These turned out so cute! I was really excited to share them with my coworkers... who were in turn really excited to share in my big news!

Thanks for being patient while I slowly work my way back into the kitchen. I promise I'm not gone, just taking a baby break until I get a boost of energy.

Candy corn cupcake bites!

2009-10-30T12:12:00.012-05:00

I have to be honest with you, I don't like candy corn. They're like little bullets of sugar with not a whole lot of flavor. BUT, I do really like how they look! And I can't deny the fact that they are symbolic for this time of year. So with that being said, I set out to make a cute treat that would resemble the adorable little candy yet taste so much better.

My solution? Candy corn cupcake bites! These mini cupcakes were such a hit when I brought them in for work today. Everyone kept asking what bakery we brought them in from. When they found I made them, everyone wanted the recipe!

Well hang on to your broomsticks because you'll never believe how easy this really was...

Ingredients:

1 box (yes box) white cake mix

Ingredients required for box mix (mine was 3 egg whites, 1/4 veg oil, 1 1/3 cup water)

red and yellow food coloring

1 can (yes can) white frosting

Candy corn for decoration

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare cake batter as directed on the box

Seperate batter into two different bowls

Add food coloring to each bowl of batter until you reach desired orange and yellow colors

Line your mini cupcake pan with cupcake liners

Pour yellow batter first into your mini cupcake liner. Then SLOWLY add orange batter on top

Bake as directed (about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean)

Once the mini cupcakes has cooled completely, add a swirl of white frosting and a cute little candy corn for decoration.

How fun! These were the perfect bite sized treat. And if you like the way the layered cupcakes look, you should try my rainbow cake. It was a huge hit too!

Happy Halloween!

. I was also featured on Cupcake Takes the Cake! Very cool!

SCREAMcheese Swirl Brownies

2009-10-23T17:49:00.004-05:00

Well what do you know... it's my BLOGIVERSARY! That's right! One year ago today I started this blog. I would have never imagined that my online attempt to keep track of kitchen adventures could turn into such a favorite hobby of mine. Within the past year of this food blog I have really challenged myself. Now it is still quite a stretch to say that I've grown out of my "rookie chef" status, but I definitely think I'm working my way up!

So in honor of my blogiversary, I thought it would be only fitting to give you something that is fun and easy. Because after all, that's what this entire blog is about! If it's not fun then it's not worth doing. And if it's not easy, well, then I probably haven't tried it yet. Ha!

Just in time for Halloween.... SCREAMcheese swirl brownies!

Ingredients:

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

Orange food coloring (just mix yellow and red until you get the color you like!)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 box of brownie mix (and don't forget the ingredients that the box calls for! Usually eggs, water, and oil)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.

Mix the first five ingredients together to make the SCREAMcheese filling

In a seperate bowl, mix the brownie mix according to the box instructions.

Pour 3/4 of the brownie mix into the pan

Now add spoonfuls of the SCREAMcheese mix on top

Pour the remaining 1/4 of the brownie mix over the filling

If you want the pretty swirls, just gently drag a knife through the mix.

Bake for 28-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean!

Okay I know it's hard, but allow these to cool completely before cutting. They are DEFINITELY worth the wait! (I would know, I've already had three)

Thanks for following me through my ups and downs. Regardless of success or failure, I've enjoyed attempting everything in this blog. I look forward to what I will tackle next. So heres to another year in the kitchen!

Source: Betty Crocker

Champagne Cake (and my anniversary!)

2009-10-13T18:42:00.010-05:00

Could it really have been a year already since I said "I do"? It doesn't seem possible. I remember starting this blog shortly after I got married as a way to track my varied attempts in the kitchen and although that seems like a long time ago, it certainly doesn't seem like an entire year.

I suppose no one wants me to get too sappy on this blog, but I really can't express how blessed I feel to have married a man that I am so proud of, so in awe of, and so insanely in love with. Oh look what I've done. I've opened the emotional flood gates! What's that? You want to hear our engagement story? Okay, if I must :)

I could easily say that the evening started out like any other, but that would be far from the truth. It was a Friday evening around 5 o’clock, the end of another week and I was on my way home. All of this seems fairly normal. However, that night we were already planning on celebrating very exciting events. That same day we received the keys to the very first house we bought. I was wildly excited about getting home and going over to open the door for the first time. On top of that, we were later planning on celebrating my birthday (which wouldn’t occur until the following Tuesday) with a group of close friends. It was bound to be a great evening! Little did I know, the best was yet to come…

Upon arriving home, I made the three story trek up to our top floor apartment. On the way, my mind was buzzing with thoughts of seeing our new house and afterward celebrating it with friends. Suddenly as I neared the top of the staircase, I noticed a big blue sign on my front door. What could this possibly be? As soon as I saw it, my heart began to pound. It said, “Why? Read carefully…”

So I opened the door and and the entire apartment was dimly lit with the glow of candles that were scattered about. On the floor was a path of notes that answered the question of "Why":

Because you believe in me

Because we share the same values

Because we share the same dreams

Because we love the same dogs

Because you’ve changed my whole life

Because I have grown with you

Because I need you

Because you’re the most beautiful person I have ever met

Because I believe in you

Because you have the biggest heart in the whole world

Because you have always stood by me

Because I could live without you, but it certainly wouldn’t be as fun of a journey

Because you have changed the way I see the world

Because you are my best friend

Because I want to grow old with you

Because you are one of a kind

Because I want you

Because I LOVE YOU

Because I could go on writing down reasons forever

Because everyday I find something new…

Because of this

Will

YOU

The path led me down the hallway and towards the bedroom. And as I turned the corner into the candlelit bedroom, there he was. Down on one knee. Without a moments hesitation he finished with a simple, "Marry me?"

Did I mention that earlier he secretly drove the 2.5 hours away to where my parents live so he could personally ask my father for my hand in marriage? *sigh* That made me one happy girl. What a keeper!

Okay, enough of that. Let's talk cake! I eluded to some of my wedding food in an earlier post but I didn't have a chance to really talk about our incredible cake. It was DELICIOUS. We had three flavors: white chocolate marble, carrot, and champagne cake. Each tier was just as fabulous as the one before it. And I also have to give a shout out to the incredibly simple and beautiful design done for us thanks to Cakes By Andrea.

Photos by j & B Photography

So in honor of our first anniversary I decided to recreate a small champagne cake for us both to enjoy. The recipe was simple enough, but I think I will leave the decorating to someone else!

Source: AllRecipes

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup champagne
6 egg whites

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then blend into creamed mixture alternately with champagne.
In a large clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into batter to lighten it, then fold in remaining egg whites. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Now try not to decorate like a complete idiot :)

I filled my cake with a delicious raspberry peach champagne jam. After adding my buttercream frosting, I got to work on the detail. Although I desperately tried to imitate my wedding cake, I fell embarassingly short.

But it WAS delicious! So if you're looking for a simple champagne cake recipe, give this one a try. It didn't look or taste nearly as good as the one on my wedding day but I certainly had a nice trip down memory lane while making it.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, HANDSOME!

Fall Pumpkin Lollipops

2009-09-18T18:57:00.005-05:00

As some of you know, I've been venturing into candy lately. I'm not sure why although I think it has something to do with the challenge. When I first started this blog, I was pretty impressed with myself when I managed to perfect a hard boiled egg (okay, I shouldn't say perfect... I still screw this up occasionally). But now I am feeling more confident in the kitchen and with that confidence comes a new set of tasks that I'm willing to try. So I guess that is what led me to candy.

Not all candy needs special equipment, but some definitely do. And my mom was awesome enough to get me a really nice candy-jelly-deep fry thermometer. This big guy even has "legs" so you don't have to worry about the thermometer touching the bottom of the pan. It sure is a step up from the $1.99 one I picked up at the grocery store!

Last night while watching a movie with my husband, I turned to him and said, "Pumpkin pops! With Mike and Ike stems!" He nodded as if he was used to these random outbursts. I quickly jotted down an idea on a Post-It note and this is what happened next...

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 (3 oz) box orange jello
Mike and Ikes (just the green ones, eat the rest!)
lollipop sticks
nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

Butter or spray nonstick vegetable cooking spray onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Arrange half of the lollipop sticks on each and set aside.
In a small saucepan over medium heat add sugar, butter and corn syrup together until sugar has dissolved.
Slowly bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Insert a candy thermometer into syrup and continue cooking until temperature reaches 300 degrees F. Remove from heat. Stir in gelatin until smooth.
Using a metal spoon and working quickly, drop heaping spoonfuls of lollipop syrup on end of each lollipop stick. Place a green Mike and Ike candy at the top to look like a stem. Cool completely.

Okay maybe it's a little early for Halloween, but these would be perfect for any fall event too!

I did give these a try and they had a great flavor. Just like a lollipop you could buy at the store! You could sub out any flavor for orange... the possibilities are endless! But either way, these could be my new favorite thing to make (and give).

It was a little hard to get them into perfect shapes, but hey... not all pumpkins were created equal either, right?

Source: P Deen

Bacon wrapped venison bites

2009-09-11T19:38:00.006-05:00

Our good friend Charlie might have the best job in the entire world. You see, Charlie is a park ranger. He gets to enjoy the wild outdoors all year round and a few different state parks around Iowa. Did I mention he also has a house with his wife and two beautiful children at one of these parks? Yep, DREAM JOB I'm telling you. And he's good at it too.

Drew and I love going camping so on a whim we decided to call Charlie and see if he had any room at one of his parks for us (we were asking on Labor Day weekend, it was a long shot). He said absolutely! In fact, he set us up with a spot at the park where he lives. We were expecting to set up our tent and get ready to relax but oh no, Charlie had pulled his beautiful camper into the spot for us to use instead. How thoughtful!! We were so excited since we usually rough it in sleeping bags. But not this time. Check it out:

And that was only one half of the inside. Spin around and you'll find a couch and bed!

So we sat down with friends around the campfire to have a few beers and just catch up. It was very relaxing. After awhile I wandered down to the river for a little fishing. I didn't manage to bring back any catfish that night, but I didn't care. With a view like this I was in heaven:

When I got back to the campsite, Charlie had brought out some venison for the grill that he had hunted himself. This was the most fantastic venison I think I have ever had. The meat was lean, flavorful, and didn't taste "gamey" like it does sometime. So I had to know just how he did it...

Ingredients:

Venison loin
Italian dressing
Cavendars Greek seasoning (okay I absolutely LOVE this stuff. I put it on eggs, pizza, EVERYTHING. Pick some up, you'll love it too)
Bacon

Directions:

Marinate venison in Italian dressing for at least 24 hours. A long time marinating helps ensure that the meat won't taste too gamey.
Remove from marinade and generously sprinkle Greek seasoning.
Cut up into small pieces. Wrap each piece with bacon and place on skewer.
---note--- venison is very lean so it dries out quickly. The bacon definitely help it keeps in some moisture.
Now grill and enjoy!

These were AMAZING! I'm sorry I don't have an 'after' photo but we gobbled these up just too fast.

Thanks again Charlie!

Caprese Burger

2009-09-09T18:35:00.005-05:00

The other night I was on my own for dinner and craving a burger. After looking through the fridge, I noticed that I still had some fresh mozzarella that needed to be used up. I also spotted one last ripe tomato that our neighbors gave us. Oh, and what's that? My beautiful basil plant sitting on the windowsill. Sounds like a caprese burger to me!

All the flavors of a caprese salad, but on a bun. Who can resist?

Ingredients:

Please note that this is just for one burger. Increase as necessary.
1/4 pound lean ground beef
2 large basil leaves (plus extra for topping your burger)
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
1 tomato slice
1 generous slice of mozzarella
hamburger bun

Directions:

Slice basil leaves into small pieces and add to ground beef.
Add balsamic vinegar and fold over a few times to mix everything together well. Form a patty.
Salt and pepper your patty a little bit too. Now throw it on the grill.
Grill to ALMOST your desired degree of done and add the mozzarella. Allow cheese to melt for a few more minutes.
Remove burger from the grill, place on a bun, top with tomato and you're done!

This was a delicious burger but I did decide I wanted a little more basil taste. So after the photo was taken, I added three more basil leaves on top of the tomato and one final swirl of balsamic vinegar. Delicious!

Rice Krispy Sushi

2009-09-02T19:29:00.009-05:00

Everyone always uses the cliche "It's such a small world" but every once in a while that phrase rings true. You see, through food blogging I've made wonderful friends. Most of which I have never even met. However, we follow each other's stories through food and fun, getting to know each other one update at a time. I did get to meet one blogging buddy recently and it proved to me just what a small world it really is.

Kerstin used to live in Chicago but she now lives in Boston. I stumbled upon her blog one day and have been following ever since! Now who would have believed through all of this that we would come to find out that her family lives just minutes from where I do. And she was coming home to visit!

So Kerstin and I decided to get together. We met at Gateway Market and shared great conversation about college, husbands, food, and of course blogging. She is insanely sweet and very intelligent. I had a fabulous time with her that afternoon. Please check out her blog... Cake, Batter, and Bowl! One of the things that drew me to her was her amazing ability to make dessert sushi. Want to see more? Just check out THIS POST where she dedicated a Chicago Cubs Dessert Sushi to me! And you can see her other amazing dessert sushi versions in that post too. How cool is that?!

Well it just so happens that Kerstin turned the big 3-0 today! Happy birthday, girl! So in her honor, I made a little something that I thought she might get a kick out of. Here's to you, Kerstin!

(this recipe makes two rolls, or about 12 pieces)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
2 cups miniature marshmallows
3 cups Rice Krispies cereal
gummy worms
Fruit Roll-Ups - I wanted all green, but they were out. I settled for rainbow!

Directions:

Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with waxed paper and spraying the paper with nonstick cooking spray.
Place 2 tablespoons of butter in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave until melted, about 45 seconds.
Add 2 cups of miniature marshmallows to the bowl, and microwave until the marshmallows are completely melted, about 1 minute, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir the mixture until it is completely smooth.
Add 3 cups of rice cereal and stir until completely coated. Immediately pour mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet. Spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray, and begin to press the candy into the sheet in a thin layer. Begin working from the edge of the shorter side of the sheet. The mixture will only cover approximately half of the baking sheet.
With the short side of the baking sheet nearest you, place a pair of gummy worms an inch from the edge. Place another pair directly below, and repeat until you have a line of worms stretching across the baking sheet.
Using the waxed paper to help you, roll the cereal mixture around the gummy worms (similar to how you would use a bamboo mat for real sushi), pressing firmly to make a tight roll. Take a large sharp knife and cut the log away from the rest of the mixture. Place it off to the side, and repeat the worms/rolling/cutting procedure for the remainder of the cereal.
Slice the logs into 1-inch rounds. Wrap each round in a strip of Fruit Roll-Ups.

From The Rookie Chef to the Queen of Dessert Sushi... Happy birthday and enjoy your day!

Source: About.com

Rainbow Kabobs

2009-08-31T19:27:00.006-05:00

I don't think I've mentioned it here before, but I'm training for a 5k race that occurs in just a few short weeks. With that training I've been modifying my diet to help get into a healthier lifestyle. After just one month of running/training, I have lost 7 pounds! Granted, I've given up a lot of my favorite things like potato chips, dips, fast food, okay I'm stopping now...

So on that quest for health and fitness, I have been sneaking in some really lean and satisfying meals into our diet. The most recent? Rainbow kabobs! I've done rainbow in my blog before, but that wasn't nearly as healthy. This recipe is packed with veggies. And the extra bonus? My husband LOVED it.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
Marinade of choice (I simply used a store bought marinade that was Garlic and Herb)
VEGGIES!
Red bell peppers, orange bell peppers, yellow squash, green bell peppers, eggplant, and mushrooms (not pictured)

Directions:

Marinate your chicken for approximately 30 minutes (or longer).
Wash and clean your veggies. Cut them into the size pieces that you prefer.
Now cut up your chicken into pieces. Reserve marinade.
Thread veggies on a skewer, alternating each veggie with a piece of chicken.
Place on a pre-heated grill. Cook 5 minutes.
Use reserved marinade to brush over chicken and veggies. Turn skewers over.
Cook on the other side until chicken is cooked through.

Easy. Healthy. DELICIOUS. Why can't all recipes have that criteria?! Regardless, they hit the spot. I served these with brown rice and it made a light, but filling meal for us. Now onward to the big race!

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Tarragon Cream Sauce

2009-08-25T22:35:00.010-05:00

You aren't truly an Iowan unless you attend (and adore) the Iowa State Fair. It is such a great time! From the cattle barns to the food on a stick to the music to the crazy contests and more! It's just an experience you can't explain until you've gone. And oh how we've gone. Every year and multiple times each year. But this year was a little different. After looking over the entertainment information this year, we noticed that Heidi Newfield was playing on one of the free music stages. You see, our wedding first dance song was "Johnny and June" by Miss Newfield.

Drew and I were so excited! So we headed out to the fair early that Sunday. We walked through the various building to check out vendors, headed through the midway, enjoyed a few cold beers as the Steer and Stein, and then (8, yes 8, hours later) we made our way to the stage where she would be playing on.

Her show was AWESOME! The final song of the evening was our song. So we rushed the stage and danced to it! I managed to take a few pictures, but none of them really turn out too well:

Ahh, such a great night. It got me a little sappy about our wedding and what a fabulous day it was. And then it got me thinking about the food. Oh our food was amazing! Allow me just reminisce for a moment...

During cocktail hour we had butler passed appetizers: mini quiche stuffed with sundried tomato, wild mushrooms and gouda, mushroom and proscuitto with pesto on italian baguette, and sundried tomato, basil and brie hyrollers. For dinner we had a salad of baby spinach with mandarin oranges and dried cranberries with balsamic vinigrette and for dinner we served tarragon seared breast of chicken with an herb cream sauce (yes, I am getting to a recipe... hang in there!).

So after dancing to our first dance song again, I decided to give our main entree a try a few days later. I couldn't find an exact recipe, but this one seemed close enough to take me down memory lane!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon (I used a lot more, probably 3 teaspoons)
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

In a medium frying pan, heat the butter over moderate heat. Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper and add it to the pan. Cook the chicken until brown, about 8 minutes. Turn and cook until just done, 8 minutes longer. Remove the chicken from the pan and put it in a warm spot.
Reduce the heat to moderately low. Stir in the onion and cook until starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and stir to combine.
Increase the heat to moderate; whisk in the wine and the tarragon, and cook until the sauce starts to thicken, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the cream, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and any accumulated chicken juices.
I also needed to add a little bit of cornstarch to the sauce because mine was thickening up very well.
Serve the sauce over the chicken.

This dish was good, but definitely did not resemble our wedding food at all. The tarragon wasn't nearly as strong in the sauce as I thought it should be. The sauce was also a little sweet... although I'm certain this is due to using a Chardonnay we had in the fridge. Overall I think this is worth trying but I would have chosen a different wine next time. If you give it a whirl, will you let me know?

This recipe is just another reminder as why nothing will ever compare to our wedding day :)

Crab stuffed mushroom caps (and crab bread too!)

2009-08-24T14:27:00.005-05:00

Do you have an Aldi's near you? If so, I highly suggest you go check it out. I lived in this city for years before I finally decided to go check it out. Oh the things I was missing out on! Just like any store, you have your good deals and your not so good deals. But if you really go in with a mission, you can get some great buys! They have a brand called Fit and Active that I just adore. I purchase their whole wheat pasta, fat free/low sodium broths, and some of their treats too! In fact, I just picked up a box of gummis that were only 45 calories per bag, 0 grams of fat, and $1.50. Now to me, that's worth the trip!

Okay I'm sure you don't care about my grocery lists, but while I was at Aldi's getting a few staple items I saw that they had packages of whole Baby Bella mushrooms for $1.59. I threw them in my bag and while I was checking out, I knew exactly how I was going to use them...

As an appetizer for date night dinner!

Ingredients:

1 package of Baby Bella mushrooms (there were about 10 total in mine, varying sizes)
4 oz (half block) of cream cheese
5 legs of imitation crab legs. I'm sure you could easily sub canned crab but this is what I had on hand. They look like this:
Chives
Garlic powder
Black pepper
About two TBSP shredded cheese
Bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
Cut out the stem and a little bit more of the mushroom to creat a little hole to fill
Chop up the crab into pretty small pieces and throw into a bowl with softened cream cheese. Mix well.
Now add in some chives. I believe I used about 1 TBSP.
Also add in some garlic powder. Garlic powder is pretty potent, so start with just a few shakes, mix well, taste it, and decide for yourself.
Throw in some black pepper and some shredded cheese too. I always have packaged, shredded "pizza" cheese on hand so that's what I used.
After really mixing this all up, scoop and place into your mushroom caps.
Sprinkle a little bit of bread crumbs on the top and transfer to a glass baking dish.
Bake for 15 minutes or until mixture is heated through.

For the very quick couple of minutes that these took, they turned out delicious! Rich and creamy... but look out, we gobbled up almost all of these and barely had room for dinner!

This ended up making about enough for 11 or 12 mushrooms but I only had 10. But I didn't let this go to waste! While the mushrooms were baking away in the oven, I slapped the remaining crab mix on a piece of French bread, topped with a little shredded cheese and threw it in the toaster oven for a few minutes. It was fantastic! In fact, I might make this crab bread again this week...

Easy Chicken Satay

2009-08-19T12:06:00.005-05:00

Most Tuesday nights I am on my own for dinner so I usually take that opportunity to experiment with new flavors and recipes. I've been having really strong cravings lately (no Mom, I'm not pregnant) and I think I've been doing a good job of jumping in and tackling them! The latest craving? Chicken Satay. So what better time to give these a whirl than on Tuesday when I'm flying solo?!

Ingredients:

1 boneless chicken breasts (remember, this was just for me! So increase as necessary to reach the number of servings you want)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 garlic clove, pressed
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon cilantro**
3 spoonfuls of creamy peanut butter
1 TBSP rice vinegar
Vegetable oil

Directions:

Cut chicken into strips
In a medium bowl, mix sesame oil, soy sauce, cilantro, garlic, and red pepper flakes together.
Add chicken strips and let marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes
Thread each slice onto a skewer.
Before turning on your grill, put a little vegetable oil on a paper town and wipe down the grill. This will prevent your chicken from sticking.
Heat grill to high heat cook chicken for about 5-7 minutes per side.
For sauce, blend peanut butter and vinegar, add water if necessary for desired flavor and consistency.

Holy smokes, friends. This was delicious and easy! The chicken had a delightful mix of sweet and heat. This recipe made just enough for two skewers which ended up being perfect for just one person. I do believe that this recipe is going to make an appearance at our next get together. It's quick, it's tasty, and it's on a stick so you know it has to be fun! Increasing this recipe and creating a marinade beforehand would allow you to turn this into an excellent party appetizers. Who knew chicken satay could be so simple?

The sauce did leave me a little empty though. Anyone have a good suggestion for a chicken satay sauce I could try for the next time? It was good, but pretty basic. I think I need to spice it up a bit!

Oh and did you see the ** above by cilantro? I just wanted to share a little secret with you. I don't use cilantro in very many dishes. With that being said, it can get a little expensive buying fresh for just one meal. So instead, I turn to this little bottle of goodness! It's from Penzey's Spices and it's amazing. Just add however much you want to a little water to rehydrate and ta-da! Delicious cilantro anytime you need it.

Source: Pennies on a platter

Asian Burger

2009-08-15T12:29:00.003-05:00

Some of my most delicious creations are made when I'm not really trying hard. Go figure, right? Well this just happened to be the case one weekday lunch.

Most days I head home over my lunch hour to let out the dog, have a bite to eat, and put my feet up for a little while. I usually dig into a turkey or tuna sandwich, sometimes a frozen Lean Pocket, or leftovers from last nights dinner. I remembered that Drew made burgers the night before while I was at softball so there was some leftover ground beef in the fridge that needed to be used up. I also remembered that I had been craving Morningstar Asian Veggie Patties. Seriously, if you've never tried these they are a must! So delicious, even for you meat lovers out there.

And that was it. I was inspired! Since this was a burger for one, there are no true measurements, but it ended up being exactly what I was looking for!

Ingredients:

1/4 lb ground beef (just enough for me!)
Ground ginger
Garlic powder
Red pepper flakes
Soy sauce
Carrots
Celery
One hamburger bun

Directions:

Get out the grater. Shred some carrots.
Chop some celery into small little pieces too. Set both veggies aside.
Squish (technical term??) your ground beef flat so that it can all be seasoned.
Now give it a few shakes of ginger, few shakes of garlic powder, and a few shakes of red pepper.
Also give a few dashes of soy sauce to keep the burger moist.
Mix the beef in your hand a few times to make sure that the flavors have gone throughout.
Squish it down again and add your shredded carrots and celery. Mix it up!
Now you are ready to grill! It was beastly hot out that day and I didn't feel like hovering over a grill just for lunch so I simply made this burger stove top in a skillet.
After you've grilled/cooked to your desired degree of done, place burger on a lightly toasted bun and top with more shredded carrots and celery.

This burger was JUST what I was looking for! It definitely mimicked the delicious flavors found in the Morningstar variety and took just minutes to throw together. The celery and carrots gave the burger a nice crunch while the soy sauce added just an extra hint of flavor and kept the burger moist.

Microwave Potato Chips

2009-08-10T21:15:00.005-05:00

Drew and I have been making a strong effort to eat better. Well, at least a little bit. We still splurge on some dinners and have a few adult libations here and there... but for the most part, we're trying to make healthy decisions by keeping most 'normal' snack foods out of the house. That means no devil's food cookies (sorry Drew) and no potato chips (sorry ME!). But sometimes you just can't get away from it. C'mon, we're human. We all have sudden cravings for wonderful, delicious, so-bad-it's-good junk food. Sometimes sweet, sometimes salty. I've already found my miracle worker for sweet cravings, but I had yet to tackle the salty.

Until now.

Not only were they quick and easy... but actually good! In fact, it totally tackled my salty potato chip craving without leaving me wishing they were something more. Cheap, simple and the perfect snack. If you're a chip fan, give these a try!

Ingredients:

2 potatoes, sliced thin (you can, of course, increase this... but it was 10 pm and just me munching so I had to be a little sensible. Okay fine, ONE would have been sensible but I was seriously craving)
Olive oil, just enough to drizzle and coat
Seasonings of choice - mine was Lawry's Seasoning and a few shakes of garlic powder

Directions:

Wash and scrub potatoes. Slice thin!
Throw your "chips" into a bowl and drizzle on some olive oil. Now use your hands to toss them around so every chip is coated.
Add as much or as little seasoning/salt/pepper as you like. Toss again to cover them all.
Lightly grease a 9x9 glass dish with Pam spray.
Now add just one layer of "chips"
Nuke 'em in the microwave for 5 minutes until crispy. No need to turn them!
Continue with the rest of your "chips" until finished. You do not need to re-grease the dish.

Yum! These really hit the spot. Although some might not call them healthy, they're certainly a better option than buying a bag of Lays or Ruffles.

Adapted from Recipezaar

Stuffed Chicken Florentine

2009-08-06T13:41:00.007-05:00

This is such a busy time of year for the two of us. Monday nights we play softball, Wednesday nights we play volleyball, we go to the gym everyday after work and our weekends are filled with weddings, birthdays, golf outings, etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm having an awesome summer! But since we're such an on-the-go couple, it is hard to always find time to make interesting and delicious meals that don't keep me in the kitchen for hours.

Last night was a good example of our wild schedules. I stayed late at the office to finish up some things I had been working on and then met up with Drew at the gym. After the gym we headed home to change into our volleyball shirts and get a bite to eat. We had about an hour between getting home and leaving for our game. Amazingly enough, this beautiful and delicious dinner was easy to prepare and left us without feeling rushed!

Ingredients:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt
pepper
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 of a 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1/3 cup of ricotta cheese

Directions:

Place chicken breasts between two pieces of wax paper. Pound until thin and even with a meat mallet.
Sprinkle both size with salt and pepper, set aside.
Heat oven to 350 degrees
In a large skillet, heat oil. Add onion and mushrooms; sautee until onion is transparent. Stir in spinach and cheese to form stuffing. Heat through.
Spread stuffing evenly over each chicken breast. Roll up chicken. I tried to make it roll up like this meal but there was just too much stuffing! That's a good thing though.
Now stick a skewer through it to hold it all together.
Place chicken in a lightly greased 9 x 9 pan. Cover with tin foil and bake 15 minutes; uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Remove the skewer and enjoy!

That's it! In about 30 minutes you have a GORGEOUS and satisfying meal that won't put a damper in your schedule.

Adapted from Cooks.com

3 Packet Pot Roast!

2009-08-04T20:13:00.006-05:00

Yep, that's right. With just three packets of dry mix you can have a delicious pot roast dinner that everyone will love! I didn't believe it either. But trust me, I tried it and it's terrific. Although I think it's strange that I've been using my crockpot making roasts more during the summer than I did all of last fall and winter. Perhaps it was because I was so new to cooking last fall that I had yet to explore all that my crockpot has to offer. Now I know and I'm addicted! So if you're looking for a new and easy way to become acclimated with your crockpot, try this out.

Ingredients:

No, I'm not kidding. That's it. Well, and two cups of water. But I thought a photo of water would be a little boring for your tastes.
And a roast too. That would be helpful. Ours was 4.5 pounds.
Okay and I used some mushrooms (optional)

Directions:

Trim extra fat off of your roast first. If you don't, it will cook off into your gravy and float around. Blech!
In a bowl, empty three the three packets (dry ranch dressing mix, dry Italian dressing mix, dry brown gravy mix) and stir to combine.
Take a some of the dry mix and rub down your roast.
Place the roast in your crockpot. Not that you care, but I use a 4 quart crockpot. It's perfect for dinner with just two people. I have a larger one, but I rarely use it.
Add two cups of water around the roast in the crockpot. Stir in the rest of the dry mix into the water.
I also added two cans (yes, you can use fresh also) of mushrooms.
Heat on high for 6 hours. Slice roast, spoon mushrooms and gravy over the top and enjoy!

You can absolutely do the "low and slow" method (8 to 10 hours on low) which is recommended for most crockpots/roasts. But I threw this together over my lunch hour one day and wanted it to be done by the time we both came home from work.

Turned out fabulous! The meat was tender and the flavor was exceptional. My only issue? The 'gravy'. The water/dry mix doesn't really turn out thick like gravy, more like a drizzle or good dipping sauce. It was still delicious, but just not gravy-like. Don't let that stop you though. This roast was fantastic and the leftovers made great sandwiches the next day! In fact, this would be a yummy roast for psuedo-French-dips!

Source: 365 Crockpot

Homemade Tootsie Rolls

2009-07-28T21:41:00.008-05:00

I've been a bit nostalgic lately. I'm not sure why, but it has been a real treat taking a trip down memory lane. Speaking of treats! Remember when you were ten years old and the best part of a parade was pushing your way into the street to grab the candy that was launched from a random float? You didn't care what business they were pushing, all that mattered was that they were throwing candy. And not just any candy... they were throwing TOOTSIE ROLLS. These chewy, chocolate bites were the candy gold that we sought after. Forget the rootbeer barrels and lollypops, we were after tootsie rolls.

In fact, I met up with my girlfriend Kari for a parade a few weeks ago. She's a riot. She's the five to my six. And she loves the Hawkeyes, so of course we're best buds.

But back to the parade. We actually enjoy watching the parade now and love to make comments on the creativity (or lack there of) with each passing float. And as the candy is thrown out, we make sure to grab it for the kids next to us. Except tootsie rolls. Kari pockets these. She's sweet as can be, but don't mess with her tootsie rolls.

So I decided after buying my candy thermometer it was time to use it again. So what better excuse than making homemade tootsie rolls?

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 TBSP shortening
4 tsp cocoa powder
2 TBSP evaporated milk (I used heavy cream, it was all I had)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

In a bowl, combine sugar, corn syrup, shortening, and cocoa. Mix well and pour into a saucepan.
Bring to a boil and then simmer until temperature reaches 275 degrees (use your candy thermometer!)
Allow to cool for about ten minutes; add evaporated milk and vanilla.
Use an electric mixer to beat until very thick.
Scrape candy onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and allow to cool.
When cool, mold pieces into desired shape!

Aren't those adorable?! Although I have to admit, they were more tricky than making caramels. And I believe I let it reach 275 degrees for a bit too long before cooling because I scorched some of the candy in the bottom of my saucepan. A few of the first ones I rolled into tootsies were a little crunchy because they had a mix of some scorched candy included. After discarding all of the hard/scorched portion, I rolled the rest. And THOSE turned out awesome! The texture was a little more sticky than a regular tootsie roll, but that may have had something to do with me using cream instead of evaporated milk. I would say the flavor was pretty darn close though!

Overall I would call them a success. I definitely plan on trying these again!

Boston Market Dill Potato Wedges

2009-07-24T18:50:00.002-05:00

We're carb-oholoics. Yeah that's right, I'll admit it. Although I'm sure you caught on to that after my husband brought home twenty pounds of potatoes. So I'm always searching for new and yummy ways to make some starchy goodness. When I stumbled upon this recipe, I knew I wanted to try it. But I have a confession to make first. I've never been to a Boston Market. So I have absolutely no idea if these are similar, but they were darn good!

Ingredients:

7 new red potatoes
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 stick of butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
2 tsp dried dill weed (I ended up adding a little more)

Directions:

Wash potatoes and boil until barely soft.
Drain and cut potatoes into wedges
Melt 1 stick of butter in a large frying pan and saute garlic for about one minutes
Add potatoes and the rest of the seasonings
Pan fry until they are lightly brown

Okay so no, it isn't the healthiest recipes. But if you've been saving up for a calorie splurge, do it on these potatoes! They were a delicious change of pace.

Source: Recipezaar

Smores Cookies

2009-07-22T19:08:00.008-05:00

Summer is a great time to pack up and head to the lake for a weekend of camping. Drew and I like to grab our fishing poles and head out for a relaxing time that is void of computers, cell phones, and other distractions. After a few hours of fishing, we will come back to our campsite and start a fire. We cuddle up to each other with a cold beer and get ready to make some smores. Nothing is better than real, campfire smores.

But sometimes it's not always so easy to get out of town and roast marshmellows so this recipe serves as an option when you're camping in suburbia.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 dash of cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs2 cups miniature chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

2 Hershey bars, broken into mini 'bars'

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, salt, and dash of cinnamon.

In a second larger bowl beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet.Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven.

Push 3 to 4 marshmallows and a few pieces of hershey bar into each cookies. Return to the oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes until fully cooked.

Cool cookies on a wire rack.

These were really tasty. Although if you're looking for a big, fluffy cookie this is not for you. The smores cookies came out a little thinner than most. Don't let that stop you though because I still managed to eat three of them the night that they were made! Definitely a great smores-like treat!

Source: Stephanie Cooks

Emergency Chocolate Cake

2009-07-20T13:12:00.011-05:00

It was 9 pm on a Sunday night and all I could think about was cupcakes. How the craving started, I'm not sure. But it was here and it was strong. My stomach was telling me to go whip up a quick batch of cupcakes and satisfy my sweet tooth but my head was telling me that it was just a little too late for cupcakes (not to mention the cleanup). What's a girl to do?!

That's when you turn to Emergency Chocolate Cake. This quick and easy treat of fluffy-cake-goodness is just what I needed! And the best part? My only dishes to clean were the mug and fork.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. cake flour (you can use all purpose flour too... I did!)

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cocoa powder

pinch of salt

2 Tbsp. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. oil

Directions:

Spray the inside of your mug with non-stick cooking spray

Dump in all of the ingredients

Stir together with a fork until well blended

Microwave for 60 seconds

Turn out onto a plate (or eat in the mug) and satisfy that cupcake craving!

Keep in mind that this isn't the same as sinking your teeth into a big piece of chocolate cake. But considering it takes less than two minutes, I think it's great! This could be a very, very dangerous discovery...

Update: Check out my newest emergency cake here too!

Source: One Particular Kitchen

Mind-blowing pot roast

2009-07-19T17:56:00.008-05:00

I remember when I received my first crock pot (I now own three). It was during college and I was in my first apartment. My family raved that it was a great way to make a homecooked meal without much work (they knew that I was a nightmare in the kitchen and that simplicity was key). But after my first few disasters with it, I gave up. And until recently with my new desire to master the kitchen I really hadn't used it to its full potential. Until I discovered pot roasts. We've used roasts mostly for delicious sandwiches, but never for just having roast alone. Until this recipe.

Oh.

My.

GOODNESS.

This was incredible! Easy, delicious, and filling.

Sidenote - I don't know where I read it, but I stumbled upon interesting information regarding crockpots and "peeking" at the dinner you're making.... Every time you peek (meaning, lift off the lid) you lose 20 minutes of cooking time. So as hard as it may be when your house is filling with an amazing aroma, keep your hands off and let your crockpot work!

Ingredients:

Roast (ours was 4.5 pounds)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 and 1/4 cups of water
1 package of dry onion soup mix
1 can of mushrooms
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat up a pan over high heat. Add a little bit of oil to the pan too.
Salt and pepper all sides of your roast. Quickly sear all sides of the pot roast and remove from heat
Mix the rest of the ingredients all together in a seperate bowl. This will look completely wrong, by the way. It's chunky and awkward but trust me, it works beautifully!
Add the roast and the soup mixture to the crockpot.
Heat on low for 8-10 hours or high for 5-6.
Slice roast and place on plate. Spoon gravy over roast and enjoy!

That's it! The soup mixture seasons the meat while reducing to a delicious gravy. My husband raved about this dinner calling it my "best one yet"!

And I agree. This was THE BEST roast we have made yet. Although I've found another barrier to my food blog. Photography. My photography skills (especially up close) are lacking severely. So although my pictures might not be the most beautiful thing to look at, your family will thank you for making this meal. I promise!

Source: Allrecipes.com

Cookbook Giveaway Winner

2009-07-17T08:23:00.004-05:00

Good morning everyone! Happy Friday! The sun is shining and it's supposed to be lovely today and in the mid-70s. I'm looking forward to this weekend. Between Rib America Fest, a baseball game, and just some good quality time with my husband, it's going to be relaxing and fun!

But before I can get to any of that. I have a great cookbook to giveaway! Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave!

If you remember, on Monday I posted about Spiced Red Wine-Poached Pears.

The recipe came from a Ellie's cookbook and it's one of my new favorites! I asked each of you to tell me what your favorite cookbook is and then I had random.org choose the winner. And the winner of this cookbook is.......

Congratulations! Please email me therookiechef@hotmail.com so that I can send your prize. I hope this helps start you off to a great weekend!

Texas Roadhouse imposter green beans!

2009-07-16T17:48:00.003-05:00

Drew and I love Texas Roadhouse. It is HANDS DOWN our favorite steak chain restaurant. But I'll let you in on a little secret... it's not the steaks that make us go there. For Drew it is the spiced butter they serve with their warm bread and for me, well, I can't get enough of their green beans. Yeah that's right, green beans! When they ask, "And for your two sides?" My reply is, "green beans. Twice please."

So I used the power of Google to help me find an imposter recipe to re-create their famous green beans. And it was a spot on match!

Ingredients:

2 (16 ounce) cans of green beans, drained
2 cups water
1 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
4 ounces bacon, diced and raw (I used about 5 strips)
4 ounces onion

Directions:

Drain green beans and set aside.
Mix water, sugar and pepper until well incorporated. Set aside.
Preheat your cooking pan to medium high heat.
Dice the raw bacon into equal size pieces and throw them in your pan. Continually stir to keep baking from burning.
Once bacon is cooked, add the onions and cook until they are tender.
Now that the onions are tender, add the liquid mixture.
Stir the mixture until incorporated. Bring mixture to a boil and then return the heat to simmer. Simmer until ready to serve.

These were AWESOME! In fact, the longer they simmered the more it seemed to resemble the amazing flavors that I have found at Texas Roadhouse. The bacon gives them a little salty smoky flavor and the sugar is just enough so that you know it's there. Serve them up using a ladel or non-slotted spoon so you can enjoy the broth with them.

If you love green beans, try this easy option.

Source: Recipezaar

Bacon Caramels

2009-07-15T13:17:00.007-05:00

Sure, your first thought might be, "bacon caramels?! That sounds awful!" But let's just think about this for a minute....

It's Sunday morning, your enjoying a cup of coffee with your breakfast while reading the paper. You're most important meal of the day consists of a shortstack of pancakes with a side of bacon. As you're flipping through the sports section you reach for a piece of bacon that decided to get a little to close to the syrup on your plate. Mmmm, maple-bacon goodness! EUREKA! That is exactly what bacon caramels can do for your tastebuds and you don't even need make breakfast!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream, divided (1/2 goes in first, 1/2 goes in later)
1/4 cup maple syrup
8 pieces of bacon fried until crispy
You will also need a candy thermometer. You can pick these up for just a few dollars at the store.

Directions:

Fry up your bacon and make sure it's really crispy. Once cool, crumble your bacon and set aside.
Combine all ingredients except bacon and 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a medium sauce pan. Stir to combine.
Set on medium high heat. Stir occasionally until the temp reaches 240* (this took longer than I thought so hang in there. Also, the mixture really bubbles up crazy and you think it's going to burn but that's normal! Just keep on bubblin' until you hit the 240*)
Remove from the stove and carefully stir in the remaining 1/2 cup cream. Place back on the stove and continue to cook until 245*
Once reaching that temp, immediately remove from heat and stir in a portion of the crispy bacon.
Pour the caramel into a buttered 9x13 dish.
Scatter the remaining bacon on top and let set for at least 3 hours before cutting.

No joke, these are awesome! The salty/sweet combo is fantastic. But hey, if you're still weirded out by the bacon, just leave it out. This will serve as your basic caramel recipe regardless.

Source: Wan

Jalapeno Popper Dip

2009-07-14T19:30:00.007-05:00

You have your tried and true recipes. We all do. And that is especially true when it comes to entertaining! Even though you might throw a few new treats out there from time to time, you usually have a staple. Maybe it's your buffalo chicken dip, maybe it's a homemade salsa. But it's time to change it up! And this is JUST the recipe to do it!

If you like jalapeno poppers, you will fall in love with this dip!

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1 (4 ounce) can chopped fire roasted green chilies, drained

2 ounces canned diced jalapeno peppers, drained (I used almost half a bottle of pre-slice jalepenos. I'm pretty sure that's not 2 ounces but it was a little tame without it!)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I only had shredded "Pizza" cheese so I used that instead)

Directions:

Throw it all in the crockpot! Perferably a really cute football shaped dip crockpot that you bought on clearance ;)

For the first 20 minutes or so, keep an eye on it and stir so that everything blends together. I put this together really fast due to unexpected guests so I kept it on high until everything melted. Then I reduced the heat to low for when guests arrived and the mixture was blended.

This was a big hit! Honestly, it's a MUST TRY dip recipe. Serve with bite sized tortilla chips.

Source: Allrecipes

Spiced Red Wine-Poached Pears (and a giveaway!)

2009-07-13T13:36:00.007-05:00

Believe me when I say "I never win anything." Seriously. Even as a small child at the fair I never won the big stuffed animal by throwing darts at balloons. Hey, it's pretty crushing when you're 7 years old. So imagine my suprise when I came home from work one day to see a large envelope on my front steps. I didn't order a package... did my husband? Wait, it's addressed to ME. So I tear into the package and read a letter that basically says, "Congratulations. You are the winner of an autographed Ellie Kreiger, The Food You Crave, cookbook!"

Whaaaa? How?

I guess I filled out a survey awhile back about yogurt and the random prize was this book. How strange! I don't even remember filling out the survey....

But it was addressed to me so I'm keeping it! Pretty cool, eh?

So I decided I had better dive in and treat myself to a new dish from my prize. And that's when I landed on Spiced Red Wine-Poached Pears. I prefer to call them Drunken Pears, but I guess Ellie didn't like that name...

Ingredients:

2 cups dry red wine, such as Cabernet or Merlot
1/4 cup plus 1 TBSP sugar
Juice of 1 orange (about 1/2 cup)
One 1x3 inch strip orange zest
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves,
4 firm, ripe pears

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine the wine, sugar, orange juice and zest, cinnamon stick and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 5 minutes.
While liquid is simmering, peel the pears, leaving the stem intact adn being careful not to blemish the flesh of the pears.
Slice off 1/2 inch the bottom of the pears so that they can stand.
Gently lay the pears down in the paching liquid, cover and simmer, turning them every 5 minutes to ensure even color, until they are cooked but still firm (15-20 minutes).
Gently transfer the pears to a serving dish, keeping them upright. Let them cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, with a slotted spoon, remove the orange zest, cloves, and cinnamon stick from the poaching liquid.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and reduce the liquid until it is thick and slightly syrupy, about 15 minutes.
Drizzle each pear with 2 TBSP of the warm syrup and serve.

Aren't they beautiful? And they're just as delicious as they look. In fact, they were so good that I thought I should do more than just share this one recipe with you. I think you should have a copy of Ellie's The Food You Crave cookbook (sorry, your book isn't signed)!

So here we are, my first giveaway on The Rookie Chef. All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what your favorite cookbook is and why.

I will pick a random winner using http://random.org/ on Friday morning. All comments left before Friday at 8 am will be eligible to win.

Yay for winning! It's fun to win something now and then, isn't it??

Homemade Gummi Bears

2009-07-12T12:08:00.009-05:00

Well, they aren't actually gummi bears. They're gummi stars! I didn't have a bear mold, but they turned out just as delicious and just as cute! You won't believe how impossibly easy these are too. These are good treats for both adults and kids. So if you love picking up a package of gummis at the store, this recipe is a must try:

Ingredients:

1 package of jello (any flavor, but the small 3 oz package)

7 envelopes of unflavored gelatin (these come in small envelopes, usually 4 per package. The brand I bought was Gelatine and it comes in an orange package. Look for it in the jello aisle)

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Mix everything together in a sauce pan. It will be thick, like paste.

Heat over low heat until it's more liquid and melted.

Pour into your mold.

Put in the freezer for five minutes to firm up.

That's it! Look at these little cherry bites of gummy goodness:

These little guys are a new favorite in my house. And by using sugar-free jello you can make a treat that you feel good about eating! And as for the mold, I picked them up at Michael's (craft store) for $1.99. You can do all shapes and sizes too. Fun for all ages!

My next experiment? Making SOUR gummi candy. I love those little tart bites and if I can recreate them in my kitchen I will be in heaven. Stay tuned!

Far East Chex Mix

2009-07-11T13:10:00.003-05:00

Chex mix. It's easy, it's a crowd pleaser, and there are a million different ways to make it. As most of you know, I love spicy things. So when I picked up some wasabi peas the other day, I knew that I had to find away to bring them into my favorite snack: chex mix!

Ingredients:

5 cups corn Chex Mix cereal
6 TBSP butter
1.5 TBSP hoisin sauce
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 tsp sriracha
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1.5 Cups/one package/3 oz of Yaki Mochi
1.5 Cups/one package/3 oz of Sesame Bits
1/2 cup wasabi peas

I found the Yaki Mochi (which are soy flavored little crisps... yum!), Sesame Bits, and Wasabi Peas at our local Asian market. The brand I used was Hapi. If you can't find them, use something similar. There are other versions of soy crisps and sesame bits in the market.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees
Add butter, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and sriracha sauce to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave 35 seconds until melted. Stir well.
Now add your ground ginger, onion powder and garlic powder. Again, stir well.
In a large mixing bowl, add your Chex Mix, Yaki Mochi and Sesame Bits. Give them a toss so they're all mixed up.
Now drizzle the buttter mixture over the Chex. Get your hands in there and really toss it so that every piece is covered.
Pour your coated Chex Mix into a 9x13 glass baking dish.
Bake for one hour, but take it out and stir the Chex Mix every 15 minutes. This helps to make sure that all of the pieces are well coated and crisping up nicely.
After 1 hour, remove from the oven and let cool on paper towels.
Once cool, put your Chex Mix in a bowl and toss with Wasabi Peas.

This was a great new twist on an old classic. The Wasabi peas gave it just enough heat while the hoisin sauce had a nice little sweet finish.

Dill potato salad

2009-07-10T15:05:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I catch myself going through the grocery store and thinking, "Why don't I just try to make that?" Most of the time I lean on the side of convenience, but I decided it was time to tackle potato salad. This is such a great summertime side and is always a crowd pleaser. So why not save money and make it yourself? Besides, I'm still working through 20 pounds of potatoes.

Ingredients:

5 Russet potatoes
5 TBSP juice from kosher dill pickles
3 mini dill pickles, chopped up (not the midget dills, just the mini)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 cup mayo
1 TBSP dijon mustard
kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the potatoes (skins on). Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from pot, let cool enough to handle, but still warm. Cut potatoes into cubes.
Put potatoes in a large bowl. Add the pickle juice and the pickles themselves. Now add the celery and onion. Mix everything well.
In a seperate bowl, mix mayo and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix in the dressing with the potato mixture. Again, add salt and pepper to taste.

How easy is that?! This recipe is super quick and easy. The longest part is boiling the potatoes and letting them cool but you can certainly multitask during that time. Now that I know just how easy it is to whip up potato salad, I'll definitely be trying a few more varieties.

Adapted Elise.com

Spinach-Stuffed Tomatoes

2009-07-07T22:23:00.005-05:00

I love vegetables. ALL vegetables. In any and every form. But my husband doesn't quite share my enthusiasm for them so it's important to keep things interesting yet healthy. This stuffed tomato recipe was just what the doctor ordered.

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes (I used vine ripe)
1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 cups of baby spinach
1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Preheat your toaster oven to 400 degree. (you could use a regular oven, but these are so tiny and easy that I decided to use the ol' toaster oven)
Slice off the top of the tomato and scoop out the insides. On the first tomato I tried to cut out the insides and that seems like a lot of work. The second tomato I decided to try a different approach. I cut along the outside of the tomato (but with the knife on the inside... did I confuse you?) so that the tomato 'guts' were loosened from the shell. Then I reached my fingers in, twists in a circle, and pulled it out. I still had some cleanup work to do, but the majority was removed this way.
Set on tin foil, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
They should look like this:

Now add the rest of your ingredients (minus the tomatoes) into a food processor. Pulse grind to form the stuffing.
Stuff the tomatoes to the rims with mixture like this:

Now move your tomatoes to the toaster over (remember, you already preheated it to 400) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Let stand 5 minutes after baking and enjoy!

These were fantastic! They were the perfect vegetable side for our dinner. Although I would taste the stuffing before you stuff the tomatoes. To me it seemed a little dry. I wish I would have sampled a little bit first and then added more olive oil. I also think a little bit of pesto would have been a nice compliment to the flavors.

Source: R. Ray Cookbook