Thursday, February 28, 2013

One Pan Baked Potato Casserole

One Pan Baked Potato Casserole
 I love one pot meals! It's just so convenient not having to wash a lot of pots, pans and utensils. I also love potato recipes that do not require pre-cooking the potatoes in a separate pot. So I decided to create this baked potato recipe that has all the easy steps that I love!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Super Easy Poor Man's Mongolian Beef

Super Easy Poor Man's Mongolian Beef

My favorite dish to order when I go to my favorite Chinese restaurant ( P.F. Chang's China Bistro) is their Mongolian Beef. The beef is saturated in a thick, rich, dark, sweet and savory soy sauce glaze. And the flavor of the green onions and other veggies just go so well with the beef and sauce!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Cannoli Dip

Internet Photo
When I think of good Italian pastries, the first thing that comes to my mind is cannoli! It's found in every Italian bakery! And it's always served at important family gatherings in our house! My favorite kind of cannoli is the little mini ones! Sometimes the pastry shell is dipped in chocolate! The best!!! But a properly made cannoli, in my opinion, must contain mini chocolate chips!

Monday, February 25, 2013

The Sloppy Shepherd

The Sloppy Shepherd
 The Sloppy Shepherd
In my house we love a good Sloppy Joe sandwich! But I've always wanted to make a Shepherd's Pie! So why not combine the two?

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Cheese Crisps

Cheese Crisps

Anything with the word 'cheese' in the title, will usually get my attention when it comes to recipes! And when I saw that this recipe only contained 3 ingredients, I was even MORE interested!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Zucchini Souffle

Zucchini SouffleI love to make vegetable recipes that my kids will actually eat! They don't like too many vegetables, but this one didn't seem to be a problem for them! So I was doing a happy dance after they ate this for dinner!

Friday, February 22, 2013

Eggs in Clouds

Eggs in Clouds
This was a very interesting recipe from the title...to the preparation...to the taste and texture! I had some concerns about if this recipe would work because I've come across many Internet recipes these days, that just look good in photos and are very popular on certain websites, but are totally fake and could never work in the real world! They just look cute on 'Pin' boards, if you know what I mean! This recipe had its share of problems from start to finish but it did taste very good! So all was not lost!

Here is how it went...

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Zebra Cupcakes - Low Fat

I've been looking for a decadent chocolate dessert that has some substance, but is not too fattening! Is there such a dessert or am I just dreaming? Well if I'm just dreaming, then my dreams just came true!

Zebra Cupcakes - Low FatI found this recipe called Root Beer Float Cake and decided it was the one for me! It had lots of positive reviews and one of the ingredients was root beer...which I had some that needed to be used up since my family hasn't been drinking it lately! I decided to tweak the recipe to make it lower in fat and calories!

It was a huge success! I didn't taste the root beer in this cake, but I loved the spongy texture and the decadent chocolate flavor! I made them into cupcakes and decorated them with a root beer drizzle (my own idea) The cupcakes were such a lovely dark chocolate color. The drizzle really stood out and resembled a zebra print, mainly because I have poor drizzling skills! The drizzle, just like the cupcakes, didn't take on any of the root beer flavor, but I thought I would use the root beer to continue the theme!

Here is my version of the recipe...

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Thai Iced Tea

Me and my hubby...or is it, my hubby and I? Well, we went to a really good Thai restaurant that served iced tea. It's not the iced tea that Americans usually drink here in the U.S. It's a darker, richer kind of tea and they serve it with some sort of sweetened milk. Thai iced tea has such a unique flavor. I asked the waitress how it was made and she said it's just tea with milk! Well this didn't taste like tea with milk, so it must be some special kind of tea and some special kind of milk!

I did a little research recently because I've been wanting to duplicate that Thai iced tea.
I read lots of recipes on the Internet and found that some people like to use  Thai tea bags. And others use black tea like the black tea they serve in Chinese restaurants. Some recipes called for spices like star anise and cardamom. Also many recipes used sweetened condensed milk, sugar and/or coconut milk to sweeten the iced tea. My head was spinning trying to think of how to make Thai iced tea!

Thai Iced TeaThen I just decided to take the plunge and try this
 Thai Iced Tea from a blog called
It was very good, but I know it would have been better if I would have used Thai tea bags instead of black tea! I added 6 drops of red food coloring because Thai tea is much more red in color than black tea. I'll be trying this again with the proper tea next time!
 
Ingredients:
4.5 cups of water
4 tea bags of Thai tea (if loose leaf then 4 tablespoons). Must be purchased at Asian supermarket.
4 tablespoons of white sugar
4 tablespoons of sweet condense milk
ice
3-4 tablespoons of coconut milk

Instructions:
Bring water to boil and turn oven off.
Steep tea for 10-15 minutes and remove. (I usually steep for a much longer time because you need this strong!)
While this is still hot, mix in sugar and condense milk. Stir for three minutes until everything dissolve.
Allow tea mix to cool down to room temperature.
Pour mixture over a glass of ice
Topped with 3-4 tablespoon of coconut milk. No need to mix in the coconut milk. Let it sit on top of the drink.
Optional: Can garnish with mint leaves.
 
Recipe courtesy of  'Oh Abby Day'

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Update: February 26, 2013
 
I'm so happy to say that I have an update!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Cornmeal Crusted Pork Chops

Cornmeal Crusted Pork Chops
 
I love to find new ways to prepare pork chops! I've been buying lots of pork chops these days because I've been finding great sales! I can never pass up a great meat sale! So now I just need TONS of recipes for yummy ways to prepare pork chops!

This recipe sounded very interesting because of the cornmeal. I've never used cornmeal to coat pork chops. This worked out really well!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
 
I love Thai food so this was a no-brainer for me! The ingredients and direction were so simple, which enticed me even more! This recipe cooked up so quickly! It was done in less than 30 minutes!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Bak Kwa Cookies ( Bacon Cookies)

Bak Kwa Cookies ( Bacon Cookies)
 
You know what? I'm so glad that I love to try unique recipes because the title of these cookies alone, might have scared me away! I'm very happy it didn't! These cookies were so very good! I thought they were going to be a very savory cookie, but they're not! These Bak Kwa cookies are very similar to a shortbread cookie. Slightly sweet and very buttery! The bacon bits just gives the cookie a little  hint of smokiness and a nice chewiness! This is a crisp but crumbly cookie. I truly enjoyed these and will make them again!

I found this recipe *here* on a blog called 'No-Frills Recipes'.

I'm posting the recipe below with conversion from metric, to make it easier for my U.S. readers.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Cran-Broccoli Slaw

Cran-Broccoli SlawThis is such a unique and refreshing salad! It's perfect when you want something out of the ordinary to tickle your taste buds!

Friday, February 15, 2013

Key West Chicken


I'm not much of a griller! That's usually my hubbys job! But I can say that I really out did myself with this chicken! Look how juicy it is!




 And there was 32" of snow covering the BBQ just days earlier, from a freak NY storm! But I was not going to let that stop me! It was all worth it for that chicken!

 

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Creamy Crab Pasta

 
This recipe was calling my name from the first moment I laid eyes on it! I found the recipe on a food blog called
I love creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes! And I had a can of lump crab meat that was begging to be used!! So this was destiny!
I whipped this up so quickly...it was done in LESS than 30 minutes! Take that, Rachael Ray!
This was so good! I was afraid there wouldn't be any left to put with the pasta! I was just eating it out of the pan while I was waiting for the pasta to boil! That's when I realized that this recipe would work great as a dip! Or maybe even as a stuffing for mushrooms!
I was so tempted to tweak this recipe because the ingredients looked to simple... how could it be tasty? Oh, but it was perfect 'as is'... So don't mess with it! The only thing I did was sprinkle some fresh chopped parsley on top to make it look pretty for the camera!
 
Creamy Crab Pasta
Creamy Crab Pasta
 
Ingredients:
¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup all purpose flour
2 cups half and half
½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for garnish
¼ teaspoon. ground nutmeg
kosher salt, white pepper, and black pepper to taste
1 lb. cooked lump crab meat
1 lb. cooked pasta of your choice
Fresh chopped parsley garnish - optional
 
Directions:
 
In a large deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook about 1 minute. Whisk in the half and half and continue whisking until the sauce begins to thicken. Stir in the cheese and seasons to taste. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Then stir in the crab meat.
Cook just until the crab is heated through.
Serve over cooked pasta of your choice. Top with optional parsley garnish and additional cheese and pepper, if desired.
Serves 4-6 people.
 


 
 
 
 

 

 
 

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Fruit Roll-Up Valentine Fortune Cookies!

Fruit Roll-Up Valentine Fortune Cookies
 
Okay, don't judge these by how sad mine look! This is a cute Valentine treat to give the kiddies! Especially if you use the Fruit Roll-Ups that DON'T have the tongue tattoos printed on them! You can add any message you want inside! No cooking involved! Just roll out, cut and fold into shape!
 
Check out this *link* to see the easy steps to making these fortune cookies for yourself!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Bombay Stew

Bombay Stew
 
I've been loving Indian food lately! I'm always looking to try new recipes with the flavors of India! I've never tried an Indian stew before, so that's what attracted me to this recipe!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Skinny Pop Popcorn

Skinny Pop Popcorn

I am totally in love with this snack!!! I buy it whenever I see it and I eat it just about everyday! I even bring it with me to the movies because I like it better than movie theatre popcorn! I never thought I would like ANY popcorn better than movie theatre popcorn! This popcorn has the unique flavor of movie theatre popcorn without all the fake butter and heavy salt!

The fact that it is lower in fat and calories...and cholesterol free, is just a bonus!

I was not compensated in any way for my opinion of this product! This is just something I wanted to share with my readers!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Happy Chinese New Year!

Asian Meatball SoupThis is the year of the Snake! In honor of this holiday I decided to share with you this delicious recipe that I tried last night. Snake is not one of the ingredients! That's not something I think I would ever eat! I said 'think'...so it is possible I would eat snake, if it was prepared in a totally delicious way! Instead, I'll show you this Asian Meatball Soup Recipe posted on a blog called 'Noshing with the Noland's'.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Simple Creme Brulee Pie

Simple Creme Brulee PieMy husband loves creme brulee! He orders it every time he sees it on a menu! I've been thinking of making creme brulee at home, but it requires the use of a small blow torch (kitchen size) to crystallize the sugar topping! I don't want to invest money in a kitchen torch, that will probably only be used to make creme brulee! Then I saw this recipe and knew I had to try it...

Friday, February 8, 2013

Leftover Champagne? Make a Martini and Some Cookies!

What do you do with leftover champagne? I don't like to just throw it away! It's too expensive to waste! So I went looking for recipes that I could make with it!

The first recipe I found was for a martini! Have I ever mentioned how much I love martinis? Yes, I think I may have mentioned it once, twice or three
Lisa-Tini Martinitimes...*here*...*here* and *here*!

I love the idea of a fizzy martini, so this was perfect! This one contained not only champagne but also lemon vodka and orange liquor. I loved the citrus flavors! This was sparkling and refreshing! The name of this martini is

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Pasta Pie

Pasta Pie
Isn't this a cool way to serve baked ziti? Well I thought so, that's why I tried it! And really that's what it is...just a cool way to serve baked ziti! There's no other reason to play with pasta like this! Having said that...I got such a kick out of making this! I know...I'm such a food dork!!! And I enjoyed lining up the pasta in the pan! It was very therapeutic and didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would! Only about 10 minutes.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Spiral-Cut Hot Dogs!

Spiral-Cut Hot Dogs

This is very easy to do! It not only looks cool, but it does serve a purpose! These spiral cut hot dogs cook without curling up...they're also great because the spirals help to capture all the condiments you put on top. And if you grill them, there is more surface area that gets all brown and flavorful! Or if you microwave them in a dish of water, like I did, they won't burst open!

Here is a link to a video that shows you the easy way to cut these hot dogs into spirals...**Video**

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Melt In Your Mouth Chicken

Melt In Your Mouth ChickenHow could I resist I recipe with THAT title? Well, I couldn't, so I made it! I found the recipe on Pinterest, of course, because that's where I find most of the recipe I make these days! This recipe was VERY popular over there! Lots of people were singing it's praises! You'll see evidence of that on this **page** where lots of others have made it and photographed it, just like I did!

I'm not sure what all the hype was about!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Mexican Green Rice

Mexican Green Rice
**Click Here For Recipe**
This recipe got my attention just from the title! Then when I read the ingredients and directions I knew I would be trying it soon! And that's just what I did! Within a few days of seeing this recipe, it was on my plate!

The only change I made was to use Anaheim peppers instead of pablano, because I'm whimpy when it comes to spicy food! The Anaheim peppers were perfect...just a slight heat that didn't linger too long! Well, except for on my HANDS!!! I forgot to wear plastic gloves, so my hands are on fire right now as I type!!! So wear plastic gloves!
The flavor from the peppers and herbs really shines through in this rice dish!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Colored Beer!

 In Honor of the 2013 Super Bowl game between the Baltimore Raven's and the San Francisco 49'ers, I made these colored beers! I found this idea through the McCormick spice company and thought it was cute! My hubby liked it too! Although he didn't call it 'cute'...
Colored Bee
Colored Beer

Food Color drops per 12 ounces of any Light Colored Beer: 
• ASSORTED COLORS
Purple = 5 red + 2 blue
Blue = 8 blue + 2 red
Green = 2 green
Orange = 14 yellow + 2 red
Yellow = 4 yellow
Maroon = 20 red + 2 blue
Red = 20 red


...Or for Soda:
Clear Soda (drops Food Color per 8 ounces)
• ASSORTED COLORS
Purple = 3 red + 2 blue
Blue = 6 blue + 1 red
Green = 6 green
Orange = 6 yellow + 2 red
Yellow = 4 yellow
Maroon = 28 red + 2 blue
Red = 28 red


...Or for Dips:
(drops Food Color per 1/2 cup any white based)
• ASSORTED COLORS
Purple = 30 red + 30 blue
Blue = 30 blue + 5 red
Green = 20 green + 3 blue
Orange = 15 yellow + 5 red
Yellow = 10 yellow


**For a black color**...you can buy 'McCormick Black Food Color' or
 mix 5 drops of blue + 1 1/2 teaspoons red & 1 1/2 teaspoons green. It's not as intense as the store bought color though.
I'm not a sports fan AT ALL...gasp!!! But this falls into the food/drink category...which I'm a HUGE fan of!
Serve these at your Super Bowl party
or any color themed party!
I'm sure it will turn heads!







German Potato Dumplings

German Potato DumplingsI'm always looking for new ways to serve potatoes! There is only so much you can do with a potato! When I saw this recipe on a food blog called 'Dr. Ola Cooks', it caught my eye because it looked like matzo balls, as you can see in my photo. But it tastes just like mashed potatoes! It was just more compact. These dumplings are firm and creamy at the same time! This is a more interesting way to serve mashed potatoes and very easy to make!

Runa Tea

Runa Tea
This just might be your cup of tea!!!
 It was for my darling husband!
I received 2 free samples of their citrus-ginger guayusa tea, for focused energy, and was eager to try it out on him.
 He just LOVES a good cup of herbal tea! And let me tell you, he's tried just about every brand there is on the market!
So being the good wife that I am, I brewed this up for him!
And here is his review...
 "This tea had a very clean, smooth and subtle flavor."
 "Not over-powering and no bitter aftertaste, with a nice hint of ginger."
"One of the better teas I've had so far."
"Now they just have to make a lemon-ginger flavor."
Thank you so much Runa for the samples!
My husband is a very happy customer!
Here is a little bit of info about this execptional herbal tea...
We produce GUAYUSA (gwhy-you-sa), a natural, delicious source of energy and nutrition from the Amazon, provides clear and focused energy - what the native Kichwa people call “mental strength and courage.” A caffeinated leaf native to Ecuador, guayusa contains an exceptional balance of caffeine, antioxidants, vitamins and amino acids for your whole body and mind.
Check out their Facebook page to see what else they're brewing up these days!


Saturday, February 2, 2013

Rum Truffle Mocha Hot Drink (Skinny Style)

This really is the perfect hot drink for these VERY cold days we're having in New York! I made this last night and it was just what I needed...a warm, chocolaty, boozy, beverage to take the chill off!
This recipe is from a talented blogger named Anna
from the 'Crunchy Creamy Sweet' website.
 In her recipe, she explains how to easily make frothy milk with just a glass jar and a microwave...and some milk, of course!

Rum Truffle Mocha Hot Drink (Skinny Style)
Rum Truffle Mocha Hot Drink

INGREDIENTS:
4 Tbls. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbls. rum
1 1/2 cups hot freshly brewed coffee
4 packets artificial sweetener or regular sugar
1/2 cup skim milk or low fat milk
Finely chopped chocolate - for garnish, optional
 
DIRECTIONS:
In a glass measuring cup melt 4 tbls. chocolate chips in the microwave according to package directions. Then add in a splash of the hot brewed coffee and whisk until smooth. Whisk in more hot coffee if needed. Add the sweetener and whisk again. Pour into 2 mugs and add 1 tbls. of rum to each mug. Then add the remaining hot coffee.
Now make the hot frothy milk by pouring about 1/2 cup milk into a glass jar with a lid. Shake the jar vigorously to create foam. Remove lid and microwave on high for 20 seconds. Do this a few times until you see the foam float to the top. Spoon a little of this hot frothy milk on top of each hot mocha. Garnish the top of each with some finely chopped chocolate. Sip and Enjoy!
Make 2 Servings

Original recipe from the Crunchy Creamy Sweet website.
This post belongs to My Recipe Journey







Friday, February 1, 2013

Fiesta Chicken Casserole

Fiesta Chicken Casserole
**Click Here For Recipe**

Look at that big, beautiful, serving of a flaky, salsa coated biscuit, topped with cooked chicken, green peppers and cheddar cheese. Plus another topping of sour cream and more salsa! This was dinner last night, with a side salad. A very hearty, satisfying meal! And very easy to make! Check out the recipe!

This recipe is another one of 3 recipes I made for the Brand Ambassdor Program through Allrecipes.com Allstars. I mentioned the other 2 recipes I made in earlier posts this week.

I had fun trying these Pillsbury Grands biscuit recipes! I've always loved their product, but I never knew there could be so many ways to incorporate these biscuits into so many delicious meals! Go to this Allrecipes.com page to see more recipes like these!



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