Energy Bites

Tried this Pinterest recipe this morning after getting back from the fitness center - I think the title, "energy bites" is a little misleading... think of them more as a delicious, easy to eat snack that isn't too terrible for you. :)

You read that picture right - No- Bake.  What does that mean???  Easy to whip together.

"Energy Bites"

In a large bowl, mix together all of the following:

1 cup Oatmeal

1 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips

Chill in the fridge for 30min. then roll into 1 inch balls and store in air tight container.

Some of these ingredients can be changed - for example, I would try using raisins instead of chocolate chips and wheat bran instead of ground flax seed - or whatever you like.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Swirl Cupcakes

Eat your heart out Cupcake Contest!

I have never been a "cupcake baker."  I never saw the point - just make the whole damn cake and be done with it.  I thought cupcakes were tedious.  And they still kind of are...however, at school there is an upcoming "Cupcake Contest" on Valentines Day for any staff to participate in.  Now, I love to cook, I love to bake, and couldn't really pass up a contest so I researched and found a few cupcake recipes I'd be willing to try - here is one!

Now, for those of you fellow employees - don't be thinking I'm automatically doing this recipe for the contest - I wouldn't give away my secrets - but this was a darn good recipe and totally worthy of sharing on my blog.  :)

http://www.yourcupofcake.com/2011/07/cinnamon-swirl-cupcakes.html

Now I'm kind of cheating...but I didn't really want to re-type the whole recipe so I've just pasted the website where this AMAZING recipe can be found.  Check it out!

I will suggest though to cut down the frosting recipe - maybe even cut it in half.  My batch of cupcakes only made 19 and I had a TON of frosting left over - so go ahead and cut it in half unless you want a TON of frosting. :)

Another suggestion I have - and to make some things a lot simpler - but a cinnamon sugar mix.  This recipe calls for a sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon mixture and some extra cinnamon sugar mix for topping.  I found this coarse sugar and cinnamon grinder at our World Market - very similar to a Trader Joe's but with home items as well as ethnic/less common food.  The World Market also has a great variety of wines and beers and some really great kitchen utensils I will have to show you in another blog.

I'm sure you could find another brand of cinnamon/sugar mixture at a Hyvee or Target, etc - probably won't be a grinder though.

Just a suggestion!



Slow Cooker Stroganoff

Here's an easy recipe we tried to save time on cooking after Matt's basketball game tonight.  It's always incredibly salivating, (I just made up that phrase), to come home to a slow cooker meal ready to go.
Another plus to this recipe is the loot of frozen streaks we still have in our freezer.  I recommend half a cow as a very reasonable, usable gift for anyone!

P.S. Once again, this is NOT my picture...sorry to disappoint.  Thank you tasteofhome.com for great recipe ideas!

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Slow-Cooker Beef Stroganoff

2lb beef stew meat (we used 2lb of round steaks)

1 onion, chopped

10oz fresh mushroom, halved (we did not use these...I don't like mushrooms)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup beef broth

2 tsp Paprika

1 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

1 Tbsp Dijion mustard

2 Tbsp flour

1 pkg (16oz) egg noodles

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Cut beef into 1 inch bite size pieces.  Add to slow cooker with onions and optional mushroom with paprika, salt, and garlic.  Pour in beef broth.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Mix together sour cream, flour, and mustard.  Stir into ingredients in slow cooker until well blended.  Cook, covered, on low 15min.  Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package.

Drain noodles; place in large serving bowl.  Add meat mixture; mix lightly.  Sprinkle with parsley.

I just turned off the crock pot and stirred the noodles into the crock pot.  Saved me a serving bowl to wash. :)

Tomato Basil Pasta

Here's another Pinterest find, and the best part???  SO quick and easy!!!

Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta
1 large can crushed tomato
1/2 Cup Raw Cashews
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2-4 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 box or a little less Whole Wheat Spaghetti
1 tsp Salt
1-2 tsp Freshly Cracked, Coarse Black Pepper
1 Large Handful Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped (I didn't have these so I used dried basil)

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Blend cashews in blender until finely chopped.
Add olive oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. Once water is boiling, add pasta. Add crushed tomato to saute pan with cashew and basil and bring to a simmer. Add salt and let cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Let simmer until pasta is finished cooking. Once pasta is cooked, drain. Add pasta to the saute pan with black pepper and freshly chopped basil leaves. Toss to coat. Serve immediately, garnishing with more pepper and basil.

Pinterest & Garlic

I LOVE Pinterest!  Maybe a little too much - kind of distracting.  My favorite thing about it is the recipes!  I find SO MANY great recipes to try and the following was the first recipe I tried off Pinterest.  The picture is from Pinterest - not my kitchen :) 

P.S. If you're not on Pinterest you should let me know and I will "invite" you to join and you will become addicted!

Garlic Scallion Noodles
1 box either angel hair or spaghetti noodles
5-8 Tbsp butter (a full stick is a little too much - I would go with maybe 5 next time)
8 cloves of garlic, minced or pushed through a garlic press
4 scallions finely chopped
4 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp of brown sugar (less or more based on your own personal preference of sweetness)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
In a heavy skillet over medium heat. Melt butter. Add scallions and garlic. Stir and cook, without browning the garlic. Cook until the garlic smell is fragrant and filling the room, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and soy sauce, and cook for another minute. Increase the heat a bit and throw in the noodles. Quickly saute the noodles until they are all coated with the garlicky butter mixture.
Serve immediately. Garnish with additional scallions if desired.

This recipe can be added to as desired.  Matt suggested using a meat next time - chicken or steak strips - really anything. :)

Christmas Treats

This year for Christmas, just like Thanksgiving, was a little different.  My family's tradition is Christmas Eve and a BIG seafood feast.  We were unable to get to my parent's house this year for the traditional New England dinner, so we attempted our own!  I also made my first double layered, homemade cake for Christmas at my uncle/aunts while my Grandpa was visiting from Vermont.

The special thing about bringing this homemade cake to Christmas with my Grandpa and my dad's youngest sisters' house with her family was the cake plate I brought it on.
This cake plate was given to Matt and I from my Grandpa at our wedding.  It was a wedding gift to him and my Grandmother on their speical day and is over 50 years old.  One of my most special possessions.

This cake was incredibly delicious but not the easiest thing to make.  Warning: only attempt if you have baking-patience and some time!
Another note, this is supposed to be a FOUR layer cake but I only had 2 round cake pans so I made two layers...and I made them at about 11:00pm at night so I wasn't thinking and used the same amount of batter...NOT the best idea.  If you want to make the 4 layers, go for it!  If you want to do 2 layers, cute the recipe in half!

Fudgy Peppermint Stick Torte
(remember cut in half if you want 2 layers like I did, otherwise make 4 layers)
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
3-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour
1-1/4 cups baking cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2-1/2 cups cold water
Filling:
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, divided
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup crushed peppermint candies, divided (A neat thing I found at Target this year was a jar of these, already crushed, kind of like a sprinkles(jimmies) container - time saver!)

In large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla.  Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture alternately with water, beating well after each addition.
Transfer to four (or 2 if cutting recipe in half) greased and floured 9inch round baking pans.  Bake at 350* for 18-22minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.  Cool completely.
In small bowl, beat the cream until is begins to thicken.  Add 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and extract; beat until soft peaks form.  In another bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth.  Fold in whipped cream, then 3/4 cup crushed candies.
Place bottom cake layer on a serving plate, top with 1/4 of filling;  Repeat layers 3 times.  Refridgerate for a least 1 hour.
Just before serving, sprinkly remaining candies over top.  (I skipped this part - sometimes they bleed right away)

The other dish I made was our version of the "seafood family feast" for Christmas Eve.

We baked a nice haddock fillet from HyVee and bought 1 lb large shrimp for the pasta.  This is a pasta we make a lot using 1 bag frozen, cooked, peeled shrimp.  Very convient and easy!

Shrimp & Tomato Linguine Toss

1 pkg linguine noodles (we like the whole grain)

1 lb shrimp or 1 pkg frozen, small, cooked shrimp - be sure to gently pull the tails off, much easier to eat that way - also check that the tails are fully cleaned

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp, olive oil

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

2 tsp minced fresh basil, or 1/2 tsp dried basil

Dash pepper

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Additional minced fresh basil, optional

1/4 cup Zesty Italian Dressing, optional

Cook linguine according to package.  Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat either the olive oil or the dressing with minced garlic.  Add shrimp and warm through - approximatel 2-3 minutes.  Add tomatoes, basil, and pepper.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until heated through.

Drain linguine; toss with tomato mixture.  Sprinkle with feta and additional basil if desired.





First Thanksgiving

Because we were in the process of moving for a few months we were best friends with our crock pot. :)  Sometimes I wouldn't get back from painting our new place until 11 or 12pm.  When we finally moved into our place we didn't have a kitchen to use because we were getting new flooring in the kitchen, so there wasn't a lot of opportunity to cook - I missed that.
So, one of our first times back to cooking together, like we love to do, was our first Thanksgiving with just the two of us.  Normally we travel to my parents house for Thanksgiving dinner, but plans changed this year and we tried our own dinner - it was DELICIOUS and exciting!

With only the two of us, I tried a turkey breast and then got the idea to do it "chicken fried steak" style.  Matt cleaned it and we pan fried it and made a gravy as well.  It looks a little well done in the picture, but it tasted really good!

Country Turkey with Gravy
3/4 cup crushed cornflakes
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp fat free evaporated milk
1 turkey breast - or you can use 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 tsp olive oil

Gravy:
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup fat free evaporated milk
1/4 cup condensed chicken broth
1 tsp sherry
2 Tbsp minced chives (I didn't use these)

In a shallow bowl, combine first 6 ingredients.  Place milk in another bowl.  Dip turkey in milk then roll in cornflake mixture.
In large skillet(I used a cast iron because the turkey was thicker than chicken and I thought I'd have to finish it in the oven - if using chicken breasts use a nonstick skillet) coated with cooking spray, cook turkey in oil over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, or more, until meat thermometer reads 170*.  We finished ours in the oven once the sides were crisp.
Meanwhile, in small saucepan, melt butter.  Stir in flour, pepper and salt until smooth.  Gradually stir in milk, broth, and sherry.  Bring to boil - cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened.  Stir in chives.  Serve with turkey.

Also, with only 2 of us, we didn't need a ton of sides so we chose two.  We both love sweet potatoes and I had just watched the Food Network's Thanksgiving special and so the following recipe is from Bobby Flay.   Mmmmhhhhh...Bourbon...I really wish I wouldn't gotten a picture of the flames we created from burning off the bourbon...I thought our new kitchen was toast! :)

Bourbon Sweet Potatoes (this made A LOT of potatoes!)
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup light brown sugar
pinch Cayenne
1 cup bourbon
Salt and ground pepper
8 large sweet potatoes par cooked and cut into 2 inch diced pieces
3/4 cup tasted pecans (I didn't use these but they sound wonderful)

Heat oven to 375.  Combine butter, molasses, brown sugar, and Cayenne in medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until smooth about 5 minutes.  Increase heat to high, add bourbon and cook for 2 minutes to allow alcohol to burn out.  (This is where we had trouble because we have an electric stove - so we lite a march over the bourbon mixture and it took a few times until it caught...BIG flames.  Once it cooked 2 minutes I had to put the lid on the pan to dampen the flames!  Gas stove might be easier...???)
Season with salt and pepper.
Add potatoes in pan (we were using a large saute pan).  Turn and cook potatoes until glazed - medium-high heat.

And our final side was a vegetable bake, because we both love vegetables...especially with cheese!

Baked Parmesan Broccoli (with Cauliflower)
4 bunches broccoli, cut into florets (I used half broccoli half cauliflower)
6 Tbsp butter, divided
1 small onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Steam broccoli and cauliflower in steamer basket over 1 in boiling water in pan 3-4 minutes until crisp-tender.  Might need to do two baskets to fit in all veggies.  Then place in greased 13 x 9in baking dish. 
Meanwhile, in small saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 Tbsp butter.  Add onion, cook and stir until tender.  Add garlic, cook 1 more minute.  Stir in flour until blended, gradually add milk.  Bring to boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolk - so it doesn't scramble, and return all to pan - stir constantly.  Cook and stir 1 more minute - remove from heat; stir in cheese, salt and pepper.
Pour over broccoli/cauliflower  In small skillet, cook bread crumbs in remaining butter until golden brown; sprinkle over top.
Bake uncovered at 400* for 15-18minutes or until heated through.

All in all a successful first Thanksgiving!  Looking forward to next year!

I'M BACK!!!

Well, at least I didn't go a full year without posting... :)

Here's the thing, I last posted right at the end of the school year and then summer hit and we got busy.  And I thought to myself, "When summer is over I'll get back into blogging again."
Then, summer was over and school started back up and we got busy with football and marching season :) (cause you know we're both teacher's and we love those fall activities), AND we got busy with Moving!
We FINALLY found a bigger rental and are very excited to finally be settled into our new house.  We love the extra space, the new furniture we now have room for, all the parties we get to host now, and our cat Robby is finally comfortable in the new area.
I especially LOVE the new kitchen which is WAY bigger than our old kitchen and has A LOT more room for cooking/baking!

So, summer time.  Matt was busy shingling and I was busy with summer band lessons.  We both competed in 2 road races again this summer and worked hard training for those. 

We also both became Aunts and Uncles for the first time - congrats to Mike and Leah and baby Kelsey!

Our biggest summer event was our 2 week vacation in Maine.  We traveled with my parents and stayed with my Grandpa.  Also got to spend our 1 year anniversary at the same beach where we spent our honeymoon - PERFECT!

Of course, being in Maine, we ate A LOT of FRESH seafood.  Grandpa does a great job of cooking amazing dishes for us.  One of our best nights was our "seafood feast" and Matt's first experience with lobster!

We also cooked up our own Pollock and Cod from our Deep Sea Fishing trip off the Maine coast.  Definitely a "once in a lifetime opportunity" because we are NEVER doing that again!  At least we didn't throw up for the full 10 hours like my dad...ew!  But, BEST fish I've EVER eaten!

So I guess there's a peak at our busy summer - not much of an excuse not to blog, but for all of you loyal fans and friends, I am BACK and stay tuned for some great new recipes!