Tuesday's Terrific Food

I froze the leftovers after I made this last time and it reheated well. If you like pork barbeque, you'll love this. I got the idea from my sis-in-law, who makes it quite often when we come visit and it tastes so good when you've traveled all day :)

Crock Pot Pork Barbeque

1-2 pounds pork loin (maybe more if you have a BIG crockpot)

Water

Salt

Pepper

Your favorite barbeque sauce

Ketchup

Put pork in crock pot. Add enough water to almost cover it or cover just slightly. Cook all day on low (8-10 hours). Remove from liquid in crock pot (it'll be falling apart). Shred up, adding some of the cooking liquid back as needed to moisten it up. Season well with salt and pepper. Mix in barbeque sauce and some kethup to taste. Serve on good buns with baked potatoes and even some baked beans if you have them. Mmmmm! Freeze leftovers.

Tuesday's Terrific Food

Sorry I missed yesterday. I'm like Garfield. I hate Mondays. Just hits like a ton of bricks sometimes. It really wasn't that bad of a day. I just decided to declutter most of our living spaces and it took a good deal of the day. And I stuck with my chores and got them done, even when I didn't want to fold that load of towels. Today, I'm trying to stick to my routine well and not get behind. Last night was hubby's last trip away for a while, so hopefully I'll have him around more at night.

Late last week we tried the third time for #3, so it'll be at least another week before I can test and hopefully get a BFP (big fat positive!)--I've learned new lingo now that we're TTC (trying to conceive). Joined a message board and an online fertility charting thing. One can really get obsessed with this stuff, but I'm feeling much more mellowed about it now. If it happens, it happens. We're thankful and blessed by the two healthy little giggly girls we have now, and if God chooses to bless us with a boy, we'll just be more blessed.

Since this is supposed to be a food post, I'll share a recipe with you. It's a very simple one (did I hear a YAY!?) I had some leftover whole wheat tortillas from some fajitas I made last week and decided to put them to good use for lunch.

Chicken Wraps

Whole wheat tortillas (just look around--you should be able to find them, probably in the refrigerated section around the cheeses)

Refrigerated precooked grilled chicken strips

Organic baby lettuces, NOT Iceberg (the nice dark leafy kind in a bag, prewashed)

Tomatoes, chopped

Shredded cheese of your choice

Ranch dressing, or honey mustard dressing, or whatever you like.

Heat the chicken strips as directed in the microwave. Heat however many tortillas you want for about 30 seconds in the microwave, wrapped in paper towels. Put a thin line of ranch dressing along middle of tortilla. NOTE: You can use regular ranch, but sparingly--it's full of fat. I like it better than the fat free though. Add chicken, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Wrap up and eat! How easy is that?!

Tuesday's Terrific Food--A day late

Yesterday, Zoe had a 2 year old checkup. The good news: she's had a growth spurt of 4 inches in 6 months. The bad news: She's got her first ear infection. She had a terrible fever and felt awful Monday night, then yesterday and today, she's like it never happened. 10 days of antibiotics should clear it up though.

Hubby will be out of town tonight--great timing, huh?--Valentine's Day and all! So, he brought me home a beautiful bouquet tonight and some decadent chocolate last night. I got him some chocolates of his own and a photo collage I made in Photoshop.

For our Valentine's dinner, I tried a new recipe. It was a Chicken Pot Pie I saw on The Food Network. It turned out really rich and tasty--a good hearty meal for winter. Here's the recipe, with my notes on how I tweaked it.

Chicken Pot Pie
Copyright, 2005, Robin Miller, All rights reserved
Show:
Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller
Episode:
Ready, Prepped, Go

2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil (I also added 2 tbsp butter)

1 cup chopped onion

4 boneless chicken breast halves cut into 1 to 2-inch cubes, about 4 cups (cut that by half unless you make the chicken for another recipe later in the week)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons dried thyme (I also added 1/4 tsp tarragon, 1/2 tsp poutry seasoning)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 medium red potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes (I only used 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped into 1/2 in cubes)

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I left those out--didn't sound good in a pot pie)

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (I probably used a whole can just to get enough liquid)

1/4 cup dry white wine (Left that out too--substituted 1/2 cup heavy cream to get a creamy sauce)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels (I also added 1/2 cup frozen peas, 2 bay leaves and 2 cloves chopped garlic)

9-inch refrigerated pie crust

1 egg, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat oil (and butter) in a large Dutch oven or oven-proof stockpot over medium heat (My big 10 in iron skillet worked great). Add onion and saute 2 minutes. Add chicken and saute 5 to 7 minutes, until browned on all sides. Remove 1/2 the cooked chicken for later in the week, cover and refrigerate. (Do this only if you use all the recommended chicken) In a small bowl, combine flour, thyme, salt, pepper, and paprika (and tarragon and poultry seasoning). Add flour mixture to the chicken and stir to coat. Stir in carrots, celery, potatoes, tomatoes (not sure why anyone would put tomatoes in a pot pie, so add your peas, bay leaves, and garlic), chicken broth, wine (use the heavy cream--trust me--it's good) , and Dijon mustard and mix well. Bring mixture to a boil. Cook until vegetables are tender (Note--this will take several minutes. Get enough liquid to just get to the surface of all the veggies and cut them up fairly small so they'll cook quickly. Stir occasionally to help keep from sticking and to thicken the sauce).
Transfer stew to a clean 2-quart casserole dish and stir in corn. (I cooked my corn along with the other veggies and if you use an iron skillet or oven-safe skillet, just skip this step. Also--remember to remove the bay leaves now if you used them). Place pie crust on top of casserole and pinch around the edges to seal the crust to the dish. Brush the top with beaten egg and prick the surface 1 or 2 times with a sharp knife or fork to allow steam to escape during cooking. Place casserole dish on baking sheet and bake 8 to 10 minutes (probably more like 10-12), until crust is golden. Enjoy!!

Tuesday's Terrific Food

I've been wracking my brain trying to think of what to post for a recipe. I've been repeating a lot of favorites and easy stuff for a couple weeks here when I cook, so no recent new recipes came to mind. However, I remember posting about my hubby making his stuffed shells for our Christmas Eve dinner, but I don't think I posted the recipe here so here it is. It's a great recipe to make ahead and freeze or eat part and freeze the rest. It warms up great. It's also great for entertaining. I hope you'll give it a try!

Bryan's Stupendous Stuffed Shells

1 tbs. Butter

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

1 lb. Italian sausage

1/2 lb. lean ground beef

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tsp dried basil leaves

2 tsp dried oregano leaves

1/2 lb. ricotta cheese

1 lb shredded Mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup parmesan/romano cheese (in the can thingy)

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

black pepper to taste

1/2 can chopped spinach (drained)

1 large jar spaghetti sauce (2 lb, 13 oz or similar)

1 package jumbo pasta shells (approx. 24 shells)

1.Cook shells according to package directions. Drain; set aside. 2. Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet. Add onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat until just tender. (3-4 minutes). Add sausage, beef, and worcestershire. Continue cooking until meat is browned (8-12 minutes); drain. Set aside and allow to cool. If in a hurry, place in the refrigerator. 3. In a large bowl, mix ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan/romano cheeses, reserving one cup of Mozzarella for later use. Add in basil, oregano, eggs, spinach, salt, crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Stir until mixture is consistent and smooth. If using an electric mixer, use slow speed only. 4. Add cooled meat mixture to the cheese mixture. Mix thoroughly. 5. Add mixture to each shell by hand. Stuff as much as desired. 6. Spread 3/4 cup of spaghetti sauce onto bottom of ungreased 13x9" pan. Place stuffed shells, meat side down, into prepared pan. Cover shells with additional sauce, reserving approximately 3/4 cup for later use. 7. Preheat oven to 350. Cover pasta with aluminum foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated thoroughly. 8. Remove aluminum foil. Cover shells with remaining sauce and Mozzarella. Continue baking, uncovered, until cheese is melted. For a finishing look, finish with a broil setting to brown cheeses. 9. Place shells on plates and enjoy!

Tuesday's Terrific Food

I made these delicious and easy brownies on Friday and on Monday I ate the last one. I think Bryan only had one and the girls had maybe 2 full pieces. Needless to say, I spent about 1/2 hour on the treadmill this morning. :) Try these though, and you'll see why. They are from Sara Moulton, who hosts "Sara's Secrets" on the Food Network.

Triple-Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Recipe courtesy of Gourmet Magazine

3 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.
In a heavy 1 1/2-quart saucepan melt bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring, until smooth and remove pan from heat. Cool mixture to lukewarm and whisk in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking well until mixture is glossy and smooth. Stir in salt and flour just until combined and stir in chocolate chips.
Spread batter evenly in pan and bake in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering to it. Cool brownies completely in pan on a rack before cutting into 16 squares. Brownies keep, layered between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container at cool room temperature, 5 days.

Tuesday's Terrific Food

Today's recipe comes from a great site, www.savingdinner.com. Leanne Ely, who co-hosts "The Fly Show" with the FlyLady herself, and contributes greatly to FlyLady's site and system, has designed this website. She offers several menu planning options, called "menu-mailers" that you can have emailed to you weekly to plan your dinners for the week, along with shopping lists for all the ingredients. This is a recipe from one of the free sample menus. I am cooking it in my crock-pot as I write, so I have not actually tried it yet. However, it smells greatwhile it's cooking! It also uses many fresh veggies, and looks very appetizing. Hopefully it will be on my fave list tomorrow instead of a flop! ;)

Crock Minestrone Soup

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups low sodium chicken broth—or
use homemade
4 cups tomato juice
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes, un-drained
1 15-oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups corkscrew pasta or other medium shape, uncooked
Parmesan cheese as garnish
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
Combine all ingredients, except pasta and cheese, in a 4- to 5-quart
slow cooker; cover and cook on low heat setting for 7 to 8 hours, or
until vegetables are tender. Stir in pasta; cover and cook on high
heat setting for remaining 15 to 20 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
Sprinkle each serving with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
A big spinach salad and garlic toast.

Tuesday's Terrific Food--a day late!

I got behind again--sorry! The past couple days I've been preparing goodies for friends and neighbors and this morning, the kids and I played Santa and delivered them. That was fun. Here's a really easy, yummy cookie recipe for you that I made. If you like coconut, chocolate, and raspberry jam, you'll love these! I got this recipe from the 2006 edition of Better Homes and Gardens special publication, Christmas Cookies.

Coconut-Raspberry Delights

1-7oz. package flaked coconut (2 2/3 cups)

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour (I used cake flour)

1/4 tsp salt

3 egg whites, slightly beaten

1/2 tsp almond extract

4 oz. chocolate flavor candy coating, chopped (I used a mixture of unsweetened Ghirardelli and semi-sweet chips)

1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam or preserves

1. Preheat oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together coconut, flour, and salt. Stir in egg whites and almond extract. Drop coconut mixture by teaspoons 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets, making 3/4 to 1 inch mounds. Lightly flour your thumb and press into the center of each mound to make an indentation.

2. Bake in preheated oven about 20 minutes or until edges are golden. If necessary, use the rounded side of a teaspoon to press indentations again. Cool cookies completely on cookie sheets. Carefully remove cookies from cookie sheets.

3. In a heavy small saucepan, heat and stir chocolate over low heat until melted. Carefully dip the bottom of each cooled cookie into the melted candy coating, letting excess drip off. Place cookies, chocolate side up, on parchment paper; let stand 30 minutes or until chocolate sets. To fill cookies, just before serving, spoon about 1/4 teaspoon of the jam into the indentation of each cookie. Makes about 40 (I only got about 24 out of each batch).

Tuesday's Terrific Food

I'm a little grumpy today--and rambly, so be aware of upcoming wierdness. I think I'm starting another cold after over a month without one. I was spoiled. Oh, well. I have Claritin, a multi-vitamin, zinc, and ibuprofin in me so maybe I'll drug my way through it.

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On a much cuter note, Zoe has taken to calling me "Mom-mom". Her daddy is "Dad". I'm not sure if she's part British or what, but when she says it, I'm convinced she's the cutest, sweetest little babe in the world--don't dare argue with me :)

_________________________________________________________________

I'm trying to motivate myself to get into more Christmas spirit by doing more Christmas-y things like wrapping and finishing my decorations. I have a cute little ceramic village with lights that I put up on my entertainment center with fake snow and everything, and it's still in the box by our Charlie Brown tree. I think I may bypass other chores like dishes and exercise to tackle this. And it might cheer up my cold-dreading self.

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Oh, wait, I forgot the food. Sunday night while I was picking up Megan from her preschool choir practice, my dear husband got supper preparations underway. He had it so nicely presented that I had to take a pic. And I thought I would share the recipe I made too.

Red Beans and Rice

1 big smoked sausage link, sliced thin

1 green pepper, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 can red beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup instant brown rice

1 cup chicken broth

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Worcestershire sauce

Tabasco sauce

Salt and pepper

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add sausage and brown a bit on both sides. Remove sausage from pot and set aside. Add pepper and onion and saute in pot until tender. Add beans, rice and chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to slight boil and cover. Simmer over low heat for 7-9 minutes or until most of liquid is absorbed. Stir the sausage back in and add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and tabasco. Serve and enjoy!

Thursday's Terrific Food?

Ok, so I know it's supposed to be Laugh Out Loud today, but I'm having trouble coming up with funny stuff, so I'm going to indulge you with another new cookie recipe. These cookies are heaven. You will need a moment alone with these cookies. I even took the pic above of my finished product. The recipe was featured in Better Homes and Gardens "Christmas Cookies" 2006 magazine and it came from a bakery called Doughmonkey in Dallas, TX. I have even e-mailed those folks to ask a couple questions and to compliment them on their recipe. Mr. Michael Lima was so kind to respond so quickly and nicely. The only thing I might do differently is grind the beans myself (at the grocery since I have no grinder) so I can get a finer grind. The pre-ground espresso I bought left gritty pieces stuck in my teeth a bit. Or you could even leave the coffee out if you wanted. However, the taste was so decadent!! It's fudgy and gooey and scrumptious. Check out Doughmonkey's website where you can order some of these along with other delicious-looking stuff or try this recipe:

Espresso and Chocolate Chip Cookies
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
½ cup butter
1 ¾ cup sugar
4 eggs
2 tbsp finely ground espresso beans
1/3 cup sifted cake flour or all-purpose flour
¼ tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate pieces or chips

1. In a medium saucepan, combine bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, and butter; heat and stir over low heat until mixture is melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, and ground espresso beans; beat with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 2-3 minutes or until well mixed and color lightens slightly. Add cooled melted chocolate, beating until combined. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to chocolate mixture; beat until combined. Stir in chocolate pieces. (The dough will look like brownie batter.)
3. Cover surface of dough with wax paper. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes (dough thickens as it stands).
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil. Using a 3-ounce scoop (or big heaping spoon), scoop dough in mounds 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.
5. Bake in preheated oven about 13 minutes or just until tops are set and the cracks on top do not appear moist. Let stand on cookie sheet on a wire rack for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool. Makes about 24.

Tuesday's Terrific Food

My first Christmas cookie of the season. An all new recipe I got in a Better Homes and Gardens "Christmas Cookies" cookbook. I even took a pic for you. Sorry this is so late in the day, but I didn't get them done until about 4:30. I didn't want to share the recipe until I tried them. I really loved the flavor, but let me warn you--if the dough is too dry, they won't roll up well, so I added a little water. Also, rolling the "ropes" between my hands instead of the counter worked better--AND rolling faster seemed to keep the dough together better too. I made mine too big this time around (they look more like breadsticks, ha ha!) and they took 10 minutes to bake. I'll go smaller next time. There's my tips for the day.

Peppermint Twists

2/3 cup butter (or butter flavored shortening), softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tsp peppermint extract

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Red paste food coloring (I have a gel)

Sugar

1. In large bowl, beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and peppermint extract. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Knead enough red paste food coloring into half of the dough to reach desired color (I used about 1/8 tsp). Wrap each dough portion in plastic wrap; chill for 1 hour.

2. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (I cannot stress this one enough--use it!). Set aside.

3. Shape plain cookie dough and red cookie dough into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball into a rope about 6 inches long. Place one plain and one red rope side by side; twist together. Roll slightly to press doughs together. Roll twist in additional sugar. Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. If desired, bend one end of twist to resemble a candy cane. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 375. Bake in preheated oven about 8 minutes or until surfaces are set. Cool completely on cookie sheets. Carefully remove cookies from sheets. Makes about 30.

Tuesday's Terrific Food

Here is a recipe that will warm those cold winter nights coming up. My husband absolutely loves this soup, and it was a Weight Watchers recipe too. Easy to adjust ingredients to lower fat versions. Try it out and tell me if you like it:

Baked Potato Soup

4 medium baked potatoes

2 slices bacon

1/2 cup celery, chopped (I usually don't use it)

1/2 cup green onions, thinly chopped

1 can chicken broth (14 1/2 oz)

1-1/2 cups milk

1 garlic clove, pressed

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

1/4 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

Shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup light sour cream

Remove skins from potatoes (let them cool a while first!) and mash up with a fork or just crumble with your hands. Cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, then remove to paper towel to drain, crumble, and set aside. Discard all but 1/2 tsp of the drippings in the pan. Meanwhile, chop celery and slice green onions. Add chicken broth, milk, mashed potatoes, celery, onions, garlic, salt, and pepper to pan drippings. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream and reserved bacon. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Then enjoy!

Tuesday's Terrific Food

Looks like we're going to be short a couple of posts this week. We'll be out of town for Thanksgiving so I'll either skip Thurs and Fri or do them ahead. We'll see. I'm doing pretty good with keeping on track of things and planning ahead. One thing I'm planning to make is my mama's cranberry salad. Since Mama's been celebrating in Heaven for the last 3 years, I'm carrying on by making Thanksgiving dinner for my dad and brother and the grandkids. This recipe was always one of my favorites. Super easy and a good alternative to the old can of cranberry sauce. Give it a try!

Mama's Cranberry Salad

2 boxes cranberry Jello

1 can whole cranberry sauce

1 can mandarin oranges, drained (you can use a big or little can, whichever you prefer)
~half bag miniature colored marshmallows

Prepare Jello according to directions. Chill in refrigerator until almost set. Stir in cranberry sauce, drained oranges and marshmallows. Chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!!

Tuesday's Terrific Food

I've recovered from the wallet-losing fiasco, so now I'm continuing with life as normal. I have to pat myself on the back this morning. I managed to do a load of laundry a load of dishes, ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes, did push-ups and 8 minute abs. Now for my blogging. Here is a recipe I made year before last. Great turkey recipe if you're looking to spruce up that old bird. It takes some extra time for the brining, but you can easily do that the night before. It's from Alton Brown, who hosts "Good Eats" on Food Network. Here's the link and I'll copy it here too: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_8389,00.html

Good Eats Roast Turkey

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon iced water
For the aromatics(this is the stuff you put inside the turkey):
1 red apple,
sliced 1/2 onion,
sliced 1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil. (A probe thermometer is very useful here--one that has a metal probe attached to a wire that you can leave sticking out of the oven door. The actual thermometer sits on the counter top and you can get ones that have alarms that tell you when the turkey has reached the right temp. Insert the probe into the thigh, not touching bone.)

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

Tuesday's Terrific Food

In the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday, I am sharing some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes the rest of this month. Here is a Double Layer Pumpkin Pie that I have made every year since I was a teenager. It's lighter in consistency than your regular pumpkin pie, so a good alternative to the classic recipes. And it's really easy and tasty too--no baking! Here's the recipe:

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

INGREDIENTS
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
1 cup cold milk
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, whisk together cream cheese, 1 tablespoon of milk, and sugar until smooth. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spread into bottom of crust.
Pour 1 cup of milk into large bowl, and thoroughly mix in pudding mix, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. When thickened, spread over cream cheese layer.
Refrigerate 4 hours, or until set.

Tuesday's Terrific Food--Happy Halloween!!

Feeling a mite better today--mainly gastrointestinal issues and weakness. I won't elaborate :) Here's a great recipe for you if you want to make something fun and gross looking for Halloween. I made this for a Halloween party at my last job and it was a hit. Have a look:

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/dessert/cakes/kittylittercake.html

Tuesday's Terrific Food

Edit on 10/25/06: I just noticed the formatting was wierd. Sorry if it confused you. I hope it makes more sense now.

My Zoe the Joy has become Zoe the Tyrant. She is almost 21 months old now and is into everything. She still stays in the playpen fairly well, though she has learned to climb out now, so I have to cook in short bursts. Here is a recipe that will allow you to do that if you have a little tyrant (or not-so-little tyrants) on your hands.

Salsa Chicken

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed

Plain bread crumbs Pepper

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Your favorite salsa

Shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. (To cut down on cooking time, you could cut the chicken breasts in half or in strips.) In shallow dish beat egg with milk. In another shallow dish, mix bread crumbs with an adequate amount of salt, pepper, and paprika. You will need to eyeball it--make sure you have enough bread crumb mixture to coat the chicken. Now, dip each chicken breast or piece in the egg mixture, drip off a little excess, then coat in bread crumb mixture. Place chicken in pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes, depending on the size, then remove from oven and add about 2-3 tablespoons of your favorite salsa over each chicken breast, and top with about 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese. Return to oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

*Note: Serve with some instant rice and some quick-cooking frozen veggies for an easy meal.

If you try it, let me know how you liked it. Hope your Tuesday is delicious!

Tuesday's Terrific Food

Man, have you ever had one of those days you wish you could just give the kids some tranquilizers and walk by and wipe the drool off them every now and then? It's one of those days. "What part of 'Don't throw toys' don't you understand?!" For the life of me, I can't understand why they can't just PLAY with toys how they're meant to be played with. Are we giving kids too much sugar these days or something? I can remember sitting for long periods of time playing with my Barbies or coloring--I practically have to tie them into their chairs to get them to color. Both older kids are 4 now, and they are so impatient that they color like baby Zoe. I don't know if they're getting too much entertainment elsewhere, and just coloring or putting puzzles together is too boring or what. Well, enough rambling. Here's a recipe I made for my neighbors last year at Christmas and just made some more last night. The chocolate chips make it a bit rich, so I thought maybe lessen the amount some or even use white chocolate chips. I bet it would also be pretty with melted swirled chocolate on top :) Enjoy!!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Makes 3 (9x5") loaves

3 cups sugar 1 T ground nutmeg

1--15 oz can pumpkin puree 2 tsp baking soda

1 cup vegetable oil 1 1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup water 1 cup miniature semi-sweet chips

4 eggs 1/2 cup walnuts, optional

3 1/2 cups flour

1 T ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour three 9x5" loaf pans. Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl; set aside. In large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil,water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in the dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips, and nuts, if desired. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from pans.

*Note: This bread should freeze well, so if you aren't eating it all or giving it all away now, freeze a loaf or two for later. If you make it now, you could thaw it for Thanksgiving.