Stuffed Peppers

Today I'm Making... Stuffed Peppers

I love the farmers market, everything tastes so much better then the produce you find at most grocery stores. This last weekend we brought my 2 month old for the first time and discovered what an adventure it is being in a crowded area with two children and many aisles for a two year old to disappear into. My husband and I had to take turns watching the kids and picking out what we were going to buy. My husband who loves spicy foods was in charge of peppers. Well, when we got home I discovered he bought two bell peppers which he doesn't even like all that much... this is why I usually do the grocery shopping. Well I wanted to make something he would enjoy so I decided to fill them with meat :). Here's the recipe I made up for stuffed peppers... there are a lot of opportunities for substitutions so use it as a jumping off point.

Recipe:

1. I used 2 bell peppers the recipe for the filling would probably fit 4 better. I had one yellow and one red but again any color would work. Cut them in half and scoop out everything inside. Put them in boiling water for 2 minutes, take them immediately out and "shock" them in a bath of ice water. Set them aside.
2. Filling: brown 3/4 pound ground turkey, add 3 cloves of chopped garlic, 1/4 of a medium onion chopped. Add 1.5 cups of cooked barley (you can substitute brown or white rice) and 1/2 a jar of pasta sauce. I added in some chopped raw carrots and celery I had sitting around but it isn't necessary. mix it all together.
3. Fill the Bell Peppers with the filling and top it with cheese- I used a mixture of shredded cheddar and Parmesan. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Review:

These were great and an excellent way to incorporate some veggies in a different way. My husband said these were the best stuffed peppers he has ever had. If you are looking for a low glycemic food (doesn't effect your blood sugar greatly) this is a good recipe for you but make sure you use barley instead of rice.

Pulled Buffalo Chicken

Today I'm Making... Pulled Buffalo Chicken

My husband and I agree on most things but one thing we have always differed on is our favorite flavors in food. He LOVES spicy, he is the type of guy that adds hot sauce to everything. I go more towards sweet foods. Well, since it is football Sunday today I decided to make a recipe catering to him. He loves buffalo chicken and I have never attempted to make it. This however isn't traditional fried buffalo chicken but instead a slow cooker pulled chicken version. While it is spicy, I was able to comfortably able to eat it and I'm a wuss. This recipe is about as easy as it comes.

Recipe:

1. Put 3 or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts in a slow cooker


2. Cover the chicken with about 10 ounces of your favorite bottled wing sauce and 1/2 cup chicken broth


3. Cook on Low for about 5 hours.. my slow cooker runs hot so mine only took 4 hours.


4. When the chicken is done enough you will be able to pull it apart easily with a fork, after you pull it all apart add a tablespoon of butter and let it cook for another 30 minutes and it's done... I told you it was easy :)

Review:

My husband really liked it. We ate it on toasted Ciabatta bread with blue cheese dressing and chopped celery. It is a great Sunday Football food and would be a big hit with a crowd. You can amp up the heat by adding more wing sauce in those last 30 minutes but I didn't want to put it out of my comfort zone in terms of heat. I have a feeling my husband will be asking for this again in the future.

Oatmeal Cookies

Today I'm Making... Oatmeal Cookies

Uncle David came over to help out with the kids today. Ryan LOVES Uncle David and I thought it would be a fun activity for them to make cookies. I wanted to pick a recipe that I had all the ingredients for but was also something my brother would eat (he doesn't like chocolate chip... yeah I don't know what the issue is, it makes me question our genetic link). So I decided on a simple oatmeal cookie, warning: it's recommended you let the batter sit in the fridge for an hour before cooking.. so if you are in a hurry this might not be the recipe for you (I only put them in the fridge for about 15 minutes and they tasted just fine to me) here's how we did it:

Recipe:

1. In a bowl Mix: 2 sticks of softened butter (which is equal to one cup- I know it's a lot but at least it makes a lot of cookies) with 1 cup white sugar with 1 cup of brown sugar. Stir in 2 beaten eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
2. In another bowl mix 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt and 1.5 teaspoons of cinnamon.
3. Mix both bowls together and add 3 cups quick cook oatmeal (I used 5 minute steel cut because that's what I had, they didn't end up looking like the oatmeal cookies I'm used to but they were still good). Put the batter in the fridge for an hour.
4. Bake at 375 for 11 minutes- you can do as little as 9 minutes but I like mine a little more well done.

Review: These are good, I will probably make them again, though if Uncle David isn't here I will likely add chocolate chips. They taste just like cinnamon raisin cookies minus the raisins. I ended up liking them more after they had cooled completely as opposed to the one I had warm- maybe it was a texture thing. These cookies would make excellent ice cream sandwiches, just put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in between two of them!

Chicken Pot Pie

Today I'm Making... Chicken Pot Pie

Most nights after toddler dinner, baths, bottle, PJs and bedtime Don and I end up having pretty simple dinners- throw something on the grill, with a side of a veggie and a carb. Well today wasn’t one of those days so I decided to make a more preparation intensive/ comfort food. If you have never had a homemade chicken pot pie you are missing out big time- it tastes nothing like the frozen stuff and the best part about making your own is you can control exactly what you want in it. Here is my version but know that you could add corn, potatoes, different seasonings etc.

Recipe:

1. In a saucepan put 1 cup chopped carrots, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1 cup frozen peas and 1 pound of raw cubed chicken breast. Put enough water in the pan to cover everything and bring it to a boil. Cover and let it boil for 15 minutes. When done, drain it.

2. Sauce: in another sauce pan add 1/3 cup of butter to 1/3 cup of chopped onion, cook until the onions turn translucent. Add to the mixture 1/3 cup of all purpose flour. (This is the point where I thought I did something wrong... it started looking like dough… but fear not, it all turns out okay). Add 1 cup milk and 2 cups chicken broth. Mix really well, try and get as many clumps as you can out. Add 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, a pinch of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring the mixture to a slow boil and take it off the heat when it starts to thicken up.

3. Mix the contents of both saucepans together so the sauce coats evenly.

4. You need 2 deep dish pie shells, put one of them in the oven for 6 minutes at 400 degrees, let the other one thaw at room temperature.

5. Use the cooked pie shell as the bottom of the pie, pour in the filling. Cover with the thawed pie crust… I admit when I was doing this it fell apart… in about 12 pieces…. But I patched it back together and after it baked you couldn’t even tell. Brush the top with 1 beaten egg and poke it with a fork so it doesn’t turn into a balloon which will lead to you having to clean your oven.

6. Bake for 35 minutes at 375

Review:

This pot pie is amazing. My husband is a big fan but I’m afraid he will never eat the frozen version again (though really I don't blame him). It wasn't greasy or too salty like the frozen ones.

I ended up with extra filling that I might cover with biscuit dough and bake for a quick/easy version of pot pie tomorrow at lunch...

*Update: I decided to make my mini version with the leftovers and it was great!!! I set it up in a ramekin, put One piece of refrigerated biscuit dough on top, brushed it with a beaten egg and baked it at 375 for 30 minutes. This would make a great dinner party food! See below for a picture.

Pancakes

Today I’m Making… Pancakes

Sometimes I forget that everything can be made from scratch. I have grown up with the box of pancake mix, in my head all pancakes come from a box. Last night I was thinking about it and realized it was probably like cake mix… you are just buying a bag of pre-mixed dry ingredients with preservatives to make them last, it almost always turns out better if you do it yourself (and it only takes about 2 minutes longer). Also, if you ever bake you probably have all the ingredients already in your pantry. So I decided to try out scratch made pancakes this morning. They ended up being super fluffy and everyone loved them, even my super picky 2 year old! No more boxed pancakes for our family! *The next morning when we asked my son what he wanted for breakfast his response was "moms pancakes!"... a good sign for this recipe.

Recipe:

1. Mix ¾ cup of milk with 2 tablespoons of White vinegar… I know what you are thinking, but I swear you can’t taste the vinegar and this is what makes the pancakes so fluffy. Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes.
2. In another bowl mix 1 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 1 teaspoon Baking powder, ½ teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ teaspoon salt
3. Add 1 Egg to the milk mixture- whisk it
4. Mix everything together until all the lumps are gone- cook it up.

Review:

These pancakes are super fluffy. They are of course best right out of the pan. Usually you see the pancakes are ready to flip when they start to form little bubbles… that didn’t happen for me with this recipe. I flipped when one side was brown, just don’t have the pan too hot or they won’t cook all the way through. This is a basic recipe, in the future I will try them out with some add-ins. I'll post if I come up with anything good!

Baked Pork Chops

Today I'm Making.... Baked Pork Chops

When I was in high school my biology teacher told me a really gross story about pork and I refused to eat it for years. I have since moved on and gotten over the trauma of the story but I have never before tried anything remotely creative with pork. I either put it in a simple marinade or just throw it on the grill. Well all that has now changed thanks to this recipe. These baked pork chops remind me of a non-greasy version of chicken fried steak and being the southern girl I am that suites me just fine.

Recipe:

1. Put some oil (I used olive) in a skillet and start it on medium/ high heat
2. Take 3 or 4 pork chops and pat them dry with a paper towel
3. Sprinkle them with Garlic Powder and Poultry seasoning (honestly though the sauce is pretty strong so I’m not sure you can even taste this seasoning)
4. Prepare three dipping bowls: #1 - 1 Egg (beaten), #2- All-Purpose Flour #3- Bread Crumbs (I used plain Panko bread crumbs because that’s what I had)
5. Dip the pork chop in the egg, then in the flour, then back in the egg and finally into the bread crumbs.
6. Fry ‘em up in the hot pan… it doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through, your goal here is just to brown the crust. Cook them on each side for 5 minutes.
7. Take them out of the skillet and put them in a 9x13 baking dish- put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
8. Sauce: (mix them in a bowl) One can of Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup (10 ¾ ounces) ½ cup milk (I used 2%), 1/3 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio- I suppose you could use anything)
9. Pour the sauce over pork chops and bake for another 30 minutes. (Check the internal temperature- pork should be at least 155 in my book). When it hits that temperature you are done. Enjoy!

Review:

These are great, the sauce is tangy (make sure you scoop out any extra sauce for dipping the pork into… no need to waste the good stuff). The sauce also ensures that the pork is juicy which in my experience is sometimes lost with other cooking methods. This would be great if you are having guests over because you can throw them in the oven for those last 30 minutes and get everything else ready then just pull them out of the oven and serve when the guests arrive.

Cashew Broccoli

Today I’m Making… Cashew Broccoli

When I was a preschool teacher there was a requirement in our school that parents had to pack a lunch with a protein, a carbohydrate and a veggie or fruit. Since those days I have made all my complete meals with these components (yeah that doesn’t include the nights I have a bowl of Mac and Cheese or a bowl of cheerios). My issue is that the veggie is almost always just a steamed vegetable- either fresh or frozen. Corn, broccoli, peas etc… after years of this it has gotten kind of old. So this broccoli recipe is me breaking out of that little rut.

Recipe:

1. Steam 1 ½ pounds of broccoli florets- I used frozen because it was easier to get my hands on, and I can stock up which means I will make the recipe more often. When they are done steaming (make sure there is still some crunch to them) put them on the dish you plan to serve them on.
2. Sauce: in a sauce pan mix and bring to a boil:

• ¼ cup butter
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce (I used low sodium ginger soy sauce)
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 2 cloves of minced garlic

3. Chop up 1/3 cup of salted cashews and add them to the sauce

4. Pour the sauce over the broccoli and let it sit for a few minutes so the broccoli can soak up some of the saucy goodness. Serve.

Review: This tastes a lot like the cashew chicken (minus the chicken) that you get at Chinese restaurants. This is a great way to change up a vegetable- and will likely cause you to eat more broccoli then you normally would.

BBQ Glazed Meatballs

Today I’m Making… BBQ Glazed Meatballs

The NFL is back this week, my husbands favorite time of year. The season starting gives me a great opportunity to try out some new ‘party’ foods. This week my brother and his girlfriend came over so I had more guinea pigs to try things out on. I am going to try and make something ever week of the season that we stay in to watch the game. Since it was the first week I made three new recipes… two of which turned out really well (BBQ meatballs and Cashew Broccoli), the other was just okay (German Potato Salad). I’ll start off with the meatballs. I have a history of making really terrible meatballs so I was skeptical, but how are you going to get better if you don’t try? These turned out excellent and would be a really great passed appetizer/ party food.

The Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl mix:

· 1 ½ pounds ground beef

· 1 egg, beaten

· 1 cup quick cook oatmeal- I used 5 minute Quaker oats

· 6 ½ ounces of evaporated milk (I had a 12 ounce can so I just eyeballed about ½)

· Pinch of Salt

· A bit of pepper- maybe ¼ tsp

· ½ tsp garlic powder

· 1 tablespoon of chili powder

· ½ cup of chopped onion (make sure the pieces are small or it will be hard to make the meatballs round)

3. Kneed all the ingredients together… I use my hands but make sure to take off your rings or they get gross and you are picking raw meat out of your jewelry.

4. Roll the meat into meatball sized balls- 1 ½ inches I would say… it makes a lot but they are tasty! Put them on an oiled cookie sheet.

5. Cover them in BBQ sauce. I could have made my own but I didn’t. I used the bottled stuff- make sure it's the sweet stuff not vinegar based.

6. Bake for an hour.

Review:

These are tasty; I wouldn’t change much about them. I do have to warn you that they stuck to the pan, hopefully my dish soap acts like it does in the commercials and they will just wipe clean (not likely), but the meatballs are well worth whatever effort is required in cleanup.

Guacamole

Today I'm Making... Guacamole

Guest Blogger: Uncle David

So it's game day and that means we are making snacks for a crowd. First up is Guacamole, which is actually really easy (I am not nearly the cook my sister is and I can still throw this recipe together in about 5-10 minutes). This is a good recipe to play around with, for instance, I love cilantro so I always put a little bit more of that in my recipes. If you want it a little bit spicier, add some more peppers (habanero is a good pepper to use in guacamole too) or a hot salsa. I am a huge fan of Chipotle Guacamole and this recipe is closer to that than any pre-made guacamole I have ever gotten from a grocery store.

In a food processor add the following ingredients:

• 2 Hass Avocados (obviously just the meat, remove the peel and pit)
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper (take the seeds out)
• The juice from 1 lime
• Half of 1 large cilantro bunch (chop it up yourself or make sure the processor chops it up small)
• 1 scoop of Jack's Special Medium Salsa (which is my favorite salsa, feel free to use your own favorite or you could make your own pico de gallo).

Blend it all together and then add salt to taste (I added between 1-2 teaspoons). It is better to add a little bit at a time, you can always add more.

Every time I make this it comes out a little different: this one was pretty cilantro heavy (I added 3/4 of a bunch), but it was good. Today we just used it as a dip, but it is also great in burritos or any other Mexican dishes. Enjoy!

Banana Crumb Muffins

Today I'm Making.... Banana Crumb Muffins

I am hosting a playdate tomorrow morning and needed a snack that would appeal to three 2 year old boys and their moms. My first thought was blueberry muffins, because everyone likes those... but then I thought about three 2 year old boys, blueberries and my living room furniture and decided against it. I have made these banana muffins once before for my husband's office with success. If this batch is a hit, I think this might be my go to breakfast for a crowd recipe.

The Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the muffin cups, or line with muffin papers... I do paper, I can't deal when they stick.

2. Mix all the 'dry' ingredients in one mixing bowl:

• 1 1/2 cups all- purpose flour
• 1 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Salt

3. Mix all the 'wet' ingredients in another bowl:

• 1 egg beaten
• 3 ripe bananas (peel them then mush them with a fork)
• 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter (make sure it is melted not just softened)
• Splash of REAL vanilla extract

4. Mix the two bowls together- my brother described the mixture as looking like egg drop soup. The mixture will make 12 good sized muffins.

5. Crumb Topping: Mix the ingredients until it looks like sand... it will taste good no matter what so don't worry if you can't get it looking great. Sprinkle the topping over the muffins. *after making the topping I had about 2x too much so you can halve the recipe to avoid waste.

• 2 tablespoons Flour
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter (softened- not melted)

6. Bake: 18-22 minutes, mine took 20 but I have an old oven so make sure you check them because your cooking time could be different. In case you don't know - check them by sticking a fork or toothpick in the center of the muffin if it pulls out clean they are done.

Review:

These muffins are amazing. The bananas make them really moist, they aren't too sweet and the crumb topping really pushes them to the next level. If I wasn't making these for a playdate I would have added some sort of nut (walnuts or pecans) but they are great even without them.