It's Not all Bento

Menu Plan Monday #38 - Feb. 6

2012-02-07T12:56:00.001-09:00

Wow time for another menu plan! Did everyone survive the Super Bowl parties and all that food? We had people here, and as always I had too much food. Partly because 3 people weren't able to make it. I know, how can 3 people make a difference? Well the ones that were here did eat a bit, but the others would have taken some home with them. So, now I have leftovers for a bento lunch!

And on to the menu plan. The first few days of this week are shaping up to be busy, no idea what the rest of the week will bring so I better get a plan together. Life is so much simpler this way.

Monday: Delicious sounding Smoky Manhattan Style Clam Chowder - and a review to follow later in the week (fingers crossed!). Tonight we plan to get back into a regular yoga class so I'm going to put this together this afternoon and let it cook itself in the crockpot. Yoga runs a little late, we get out at 8:00 so by using the crockpot I don't have to slave over the stove when we get back, I actually eat what I've planned to eat, and we can eat before 9pm.

Tuesday: We'll be in Anchorage for an appointment, so Dinner Out!

Wednesday: Meatloaf Muffins - making a double batch so lots to freeze

Thursday: Salmon!

Friday: TBD

Saturday: leftovers or something from the freezer

Sunday: homemade pizza

On my list of things "to try" this week:

Grits Cake from a friend in SC. It's not a savory thing, it's actually a sweet cake with a gooey top that has grits in it! I'll post the recipe and pics once I've sampled it.

Vegan Fudge from Chocolate Covered Katie. I've wanted to try this for at least a month now, just haven't taken the time to do it.

This menu is linked up with Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Super Bowl Menu (with recipe links)

2012-02-01T23:15:00.000-09:00

Time for another Super Bowl Menu! We aren't excited about either team this year. I actually told my hubby we should boycott the game and just watch the commercials! :-) They're the best part if your team isn't playing.

At this point I don't even know how many people will be here. Probably just a few plus the two of us so nothing too crazy. Actually for me it's always easier to plan the desserts - except for narrowing them down. I should probably just throw dessert parties rather than having people expect regular food. It would be so much easier.

Stuffing Spinach Balls

Veggies with ranch dip

7-Layer Dip or Skinny Taco Dip & Chips

Hungry Girl Wonton-quitos - these are really good. I've made them several times. Great finger food.

Skinny Baked Mozzarella Sticks - I just found this recipe and it had to go on the list right away! In college we would often hang out in the snack shop late nights and we were always getting the fried mozzarella sticks. Mmmm. So good, and so bad for you. Can't wait to try these baked sticks!

Hungry Girl Turtle Cheesecake - it's been a while since I've made something like cheesecake. Last time I think was this pumpkin swirl recipe, or a variation of it. Skinnytaste has several good "cheesecake-ish" recipes. Lemon and strawberry swirl are really good.

I don't think we'll have enough people to warrant making more food, but if we do I want to try this Pizza Puffs recipe.and.soon!

Menu Plan Monday #37

2012-01-30T12:23:00.002-09:00

Time for another menu plan and grocery list. Where do the weeks go? This week looks a little busy, and later in the week I'll be posting my Super Bowl menu plan as well. That means another trip to the grocery store since I don't have it finalized right now, and I do need a few things at the store today. Lucky for us it's starting to warm up a little. When I got up yesterday it was -22°, when I went to bed it was only -13°! This morning we're up to -3° and are supposed to even get above 0! Woo-hoo!!

Monday: Veggie & rice stir fry (Meatless Monday returns!)

Tuesday: Business meeting & dinner out in Anchorage

Wednesday: Hungry Girl Island Insanity burger

Thursday: Can you guess?? Salmon Thursday!!

Friday: possibly our regular Friday dinner out

Saturday: leftovers or something from the freezer

Sunday: Super Bowl Menu

Later in the week I'll link up the Super Bowl menu once it's finalized.

This menu plan is linked to Menu Plan Monday on Orgjunkie.com

Nothin' but crumbs

2012-01-25T13:58:00.000-09:00

Wow! Was this ever good! And quick! 90 Seconds to gooey, melty, chocolatey, nutella-y goodness. Not bad on the Weight Watchers Points Plus either. Sorry, all you get to see is an empty mug. It was so good I forgot to get a picture before I ~~ate~~ inhaled it. If you want more pictures, Cassie has them with her original recipe post. I'll definitely be making this again and again. And if you're really desperate and have the points left over go ahead and eat both servings.

90 Second Nutella Cake
reviewed from Back to Her Roots
WW PPV 3 per serving
Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Nutella
1 egg, beaten
1 heaping tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions:
Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
Pour the batter into two greased ramekins or one large grease microwavable bowl or mug.
Microwave on 70% power for 30 seconds. At the end of the time, check for doneness. If not cooked through, add 15 seconds at a time.

Menu Plan Monday #36

2012-01-23T16:08:00.003-09:00

Another Monday, another menu plan. Where did the last week go?! This week is a little crazy-busy so I'm glad to have the plan in place and not really need much from the store.

Monday: Porcupine Meatballs (I had some of the meat mixture leftover last week so I froze it and will make another round of meatballs tonight)

Tuesday: Crockpot BBQ Chicken. another busy day saved by the crockpot!

Wednesday: Salmon Thursday on Wednesday!

Thursday: dinner in Anchorage!

Friday: Skinny Mac & Cheese Soup from Skinnytaste. This looks so delicious I can't wait to try it!

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: homemade pizza

My menu plan is linked to Menu Plan Monday on Orgjunkie.com

This week I hope to have time to finish up a few posts that I've started and just haven't had time to finish. Also have a mini-list of recipes I'd like to try - mostly sweets.

Menu Plan Monday #35

2012-01-16T12:58:00.001-09:00

Trying to plan this week's dinner menu around my first ever pantry challenge with myself. I'd like to eat from the pantry and freezer as much as possible (with the exception of Wed.). Breakfasts and lunches are whatever we have on hand.

Monday: Sweet & Sticky Sesame Chicken from Hungry Girl and egg drop soup from the pantry. New to me recipe. Haven't tried before but her's usually work out pretty well and I just happen to have everything except the scallions on hand.

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Flank Steak taco salad with black bean & corn salad (recipes to follow whenever I remember!) :) I ♥ the slow cooker for those days when I'm not going to be home to make dinner. Again, everything on hand except a jar of salsa for the black bean salad.

Wednesday: Lasagna for a crowd based on Easy Lasagna II from Allrecipes, rosemary parm bread knots, green salad, and angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream - it's my mom's birthday and we're having her over along with my niece and her 1 mo. old baby & bf, my nephew and his wife & 3 kids, my other niece and her bf, and the 2 of us. Yep a crowd.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday! Found a recipe I want to try (review to come) Potato Crusted Salmon!

Friday: we almost always eat out on Friday

Saturday: I like to use Saturday to pull something quick from the freezer that we've had leftover from another dinner.

Sunday: Veggie Pizza from the freezer

This menu is linked to hundreds of other great menu plans at Org Junkie.

01/23/2012 Recap of last week:
Dave really liked the sesame chicken. I thought it was okay. I'll probably make it again.

The flank steak in the crockpot was really good. I put down a base of sliced onions, the flank steak, and then topped it with part of a can diced tomatoes. When I got home I pulled it all out with a slotted spoon and shredded the meat. We had it as shredded beef taco salad. I totally forgot to make the black bean & corn salad.

The lasagna turned out great. Those bread knots . . . mmmm. . . drool.

Didn't use the salmon recipe I had in mind. Modified another recipe that's been awaiting my review/post. Fingers crossed that happens soon.

Friday we did eat out. Saturday we had frozen pizza. Sunday. . . oh yeah, we had my niece and her b/f over for dinner. Made halibut breaded in the parm crusted chicken recipe, and those blueberry bars that everyone loves.

Autumn Risotto with Cranberries

2012-01-10T22:31:00.001-09:00

So...here's a recipe from a menu plan way back in September. I did make this that very week. I even remembered to take a picture of the finished dish and note the changes I made to the original recipe. Then I completely forgot about it. 100% forgot about it until just moments ago. Then after a pretty quick search I found the picture and the recipe! Yay for hubby insisting we label and date the photo folders when the pics get downloaded!

This is/was originally a Pampered Chef recipe. We all know that PC has amazing tasting recipes that go together fairly quickly, but they also have a good bit of fat and calories. When I came across this recipe I was looking for a way to try TVP (which I hadn't previously tried) and I thought I'd give it a go as a sub for the chicken. It turned out great! I love risotto. Who knew you could make it in the microwave?! It's not quite as creamy as I like my risotto but I didn't have to stand there stirring it and it was tasty and I will make it again. (especially now that I've re-found the recipe and posted it in a place I can't lose it!)

And for those that may have an interest in Weight Watchers PointsPlus - the original recipe was 11 ppv per serving. My alterations have it down to 8 ppv per serving - verified through Recipe Builder.

Autumn Risotto with Cranberries & TVP
adapted from Pampered Chef
Serves: 6
WW PPV: 8

1 cup(s) Ocean Spray Craisins Craisins® original flavor
1 cup(s) uncooked arborio rice, uncooked
3/4 cup(s) white wine
1/2 cup(s) slivered almonds
2 cup(s) hot water
2 1/2 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth
2 rib(s) (large) uncooked celery
4 wedge(s) The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss Original Flavor, room temperature
1 medium uncooked vidalia onion(s)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup(s) dry textured vegetable protein

Combine cranberries, TVP and hot water in Small Batter Bowl; set aside.

Coarsely chop onion. Combine onion, rice and oil in Deep Covered Baker; stir. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 2-4 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add stock, wine, salt and black pepper; microwave, covered, on HIGH 13 minutes or until rice is still slightly firm, stirring once halfway through.

Meanwhile, toast almonds over medium heat 5-7 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Slice celery. Drain cranberries; set aside.

Carefully remove baker from microwave using Oven Mitts. Add celery to baker; stir. Microwave, covered, on HIGH 3-5 minutes or until rice is tender and risotto appears creamy. Carefully remove baker from microwave. Add Laughing Cow cheese and almonds; stir until cheese is fully incorporated. Fold in cranberries and TVP. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Yield: 6 servings (about 6 cups/1.5 L)

Menu Plan Monday #34

2012-01-10T16:22:00.001-09:00

Short and sweet. I never used to plan meals, even when I worked out of the house, but now if I don't it throws everything off. I just need reminders to thaw the meat for the next day.

Monday: Porcupine Meatballs - it's a classic. Meatballs simmered in tomatoey sauce. Serve over extra rice.

Tuesday: Gina's Chicken & Mushrooms in Garlic Wine Sauce - recipe review later in the week

Wednesday: Pork Tenderloin with balsamic reduction

Thursday: Salmon Thursday!

Friday: out

Saturday: leftovers or something from the freezer.

Sunday: TBD -Sunday is the Golden Globes. It's the only awards show I really enjoy watching. We may be eating leftovers that evening too. Depends on how crazy the weekend is otherwise.

My menu plan is linked to hundreds of others at Menu Plan Monday or OrgJunkie.

Menu Plan Monday #33

2012-01-02T13:19:00.002-09:00

New year and an attempt to get back on track with all sorts of things. Today starts with making a menu plan and a grocery list. Maybe later in the week I'll post a couple of recipes. Oh and it's super freezing cold here (-12°F!) so I'm mostly thinking comfort foods, but lightened up a bit.

Monday: Turkey shepherds pie

Tuesday: Salmon Sweet Potato Cakes

Wednesday: Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Thai noodle salad

Thursday: the return of "Salmon Thursday"

Friday: out

Saturday: Stuffed Peppers

Sunday: leftovers or pizza

Hope you all are off to a wonderful start to the new year. Any big plans or resolutions?

This menu is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Last Bento of 2011

2011-12-31T11:37:00.001-09:00

At the last minute yesterday I decided to throw together a quick bento lunch. My last bento of the year. And sadly, there weren't that many of them to start with.

This stacking bento has a container of fruit; kiwi and pear with a wedge of brie...oh brie, how I love thee. The larger container has a fried egg sandwich on a flatout fold bread and a little bit of garbanzo beans. I just found out in August that I LOVE garbanzo beans - straight out of the can! They're delicious on salad.

The background is a scarf I picked up on our recent trip to London. Maybe I'll have time to throw together a little post about our trip to England.

Happy New Year to all. Here's to a year of more doing, less stress, less crazy, and hopefully a few more bentos. Cheers!

Peppermint Fudge

2011-12-20T20:33:00.000-09:00

With just a few ingredients and a few minutes you can make this delicious Peppermint Fudge! I came across the original recipe in one of those holiday baking booklets you find near the checkout at the grocery store and doctored it up to be even better.

Peppermint Fudge

1 bag (12 oz) white chocolate baking chips
1 container vanilla frosting
1/2 cup crushed candy canes
8-10 drops red food coloring
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract

Line a medium baking dish with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray (medium baking dish = 7"x11" or 8"x8"). Begin melting white chips over a double boiler. Stir occasionally until all are melted and mixed smooth. While the chocolate is melting get out some of your frustration by crushing candy canes to equal a half cup. You can do this by pounding a rolling pin over a baggie of candy canes, or with a hand food chopper (like the one by Pampered Chef). I don't recommend doing this while the rest of the house is sleeping, or in a mini food processor (1. the fam wakes up and wants to know what all the pounding is. 2. it makes a terrible racket and will dull the blades of the food processor).
Once the white chocolate chips are melted remove the double boiler from the heat and stir in the container of frosting. Add food coloring and extract and stir very well. Fold in crushed candy canes. Spread in prepared baking dish and place in refrigerator to chill. Once chilled remove from baking dish by lifting the foil. Cut into very small squares. Eat any squares that are mis-shapen or have crumbs falling off.

Blueberry Bars, Booties, and a Baby Shower

2011-11-09T15:49:00.000-09:00

This weekend was a flurry of activity - and we had more than a few flurries of snow! We started the weekend with a fundraiser on Friday for Big Brothers Big Sisters in our community, and then on Saturday we hung out with our "little." He and I made baby booties for his soon-to-arrive new baby sister. He's 12 and had never used a sewing machine before and just loved it. Later on Saturday I made an additional pair of pink booties, and a batch of blueberry bars for my niece's baby shower that was on Sunday.

Blueberry Bars & Booties

aren't these the cutest booties you've ever seen?!

Lacy and a Pittsburgh Steelers onesie she got from a friend.

Blueberry Oat Bars
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup cold butter
pinch of salt
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice

In a bowl, combine flour, oats, 1 cup sugar and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 2 cups for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan; set aside.
In a saucepan, combine blueberries, cornstarch, lemon juice and remaining sugar. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over the crust. Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool before cutting.

My notes: These bars are awesome! Every time I make them someone requests the recipe. They come together quickly too. I've upped the blueberries to 3 cups. You just can't have too many blueberries! I've made them with butter and sugar, and also made them with butter sub & Splenda and both ways are okay. Although they are a little more crumbly on top when you use Splenda.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T11:27:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween! We had a little snow on Sunday, and a little more on Monday. The next few days are supposed to be a bit chilly too. Today it's only 20° so far and our lows this week are supposed to be in the low teens. Seems colder than normal but its probably just because I'm not really ready for winter.

Vacation Baking!

2011-10-15T17:15:00.000-08:00

I am on vacation in Washington visiting my friend that just moved down here. (In my mind Washington is "down" because my brain in based in Alaska.) :-) Can't find time to post much at home, but on vacation - why not?!

When you're at someone else's house and you want to bake or cook sometimes you have to improvise. No mixing bowl, hmmm . . . search around . . . what to mix in . . . can't use a plastic bowl to whip egg whites . . . I know! Someone just bought a new crockpot - let's see if we can use the crock insert as a mixing bowl. Success!! No food processor? Relax your brain and finely chop the walnuts. I so enjoyed this extra step. At home I just whirl them up in the food processor. Chopping them by hand was so relaxing working my way through the nuts section by section. I think I'll switch to hand chopping all the time.

This recipe was passed down from my mother-in-law and it's one of our favorites. I usually make them during the holidays. They are really easy to make and go together quickly but the cookies are a little fussy and delicate so they doesn't freeze well, and if you take them somewhere to share be careful during transport. And then be prepared to be asked repeatedly for the recipe!

I should also add that name comes from the fact that the recipe was provided by First Lady Nancy Reagan in the 80's as President Ronald Reagan's favorite cookie. At least that is the story. I did some internet sleuthing and found the original name of the cookie is Vienna Chocolate bars, but we always call them President Cookies. Hope you enjoy!

President Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large egg yolks
2 1/2 cups flour
10 oz. seedless red raspberry or red currant preserves
1 cup chocolate chips
4 large egg whites
2 cups finely chopped walnuts or almonds

In large bowl, combine butter or margarine and 1/2 cup of sugar. Work mixture together until creamy. Beat in salt and egg yolks. Add flour gradually; when mixture becomes too stiff, knead with fingers to make a smooth dough. Pat dough evenly in jelly roll pan. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly browned. Cool slightly and spread evenly with preserves then sprinkle chocolate chips evenly; set aside.

In deep bowl, beat egg whites with electric mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Using rubber spatula, fold in nuts and remaining cup of sugar. Gently spread mixture on top of preserves, spreading to the edge of the pan. Return pan to oven and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until evenly browned. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack 15 minutes. While still warm, cut into bars or sqaures. Cut into squares or triangles (they're very rich - triangles are my favorite).

Menu Plan Monday #32

2011-09-17T12:19:00.001-08:00

Off to another week of menu planning to retain my sanity. Luckily this week will be less busy, but next week - look out! Crazy is coming! (and clearly the crazy came a little early since I didn't get around to actually posting this until Saturday!)

I have already found a couple of recipes I want to make next week and am planning what to do with the fresh ripe contents of my CSA box. I won't receive it until next Friday, but really that works perfectly with my schedule because I'll have the weekend to try out my new recipes!

Monday: Autumn Risotto with Chicken & Cranberries (replace chicken w/TVP for Meatless Monday). Going to try to lighten this recipe for WW. As written it is 11 ppv per cup! Yay! With revisions I have it down to 8ppv!

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken drumsticks & veggies

Wednesday: picking up a friend at the airport - dinner in Anchorage.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday

Friday: probably out.

Saturday: Gone All Day Dinner - Fix It & Forget It Lightly cookbook

Sunday: Potato Soup

Coming in my CSA box is a batch or 2 of tomatillos! I also made sure to add in a bunch of cilantro. As you know I've become addicted to canning recently and if this tomatillo salsa recipe works it will be canned! I also came across this one for Tomatillo, Black Bean, Avocado, Cilantro & Lime salsa, but I don't think you can can (ha ha the can-can!) avocado, so I would just stir in the avocado when it's ready to serve.

It already feels like fall in Alaska. The leaves are starting to change, the crab apples are almost ripe, and we've turned the heat back on in the house. I'm ready to start making some comforting fall food, and I found several cans of pumpkin in the pantry. This recipe doesn't use much of the pumpkin, Pumpkin Spiced Oatmeal Pecan Cookies, but I can also make Gina's Pumpkin Butter recipe and . . . can some pumpkin butter! I'm going to have to get more canning jars very soon! Wouldn't it be fun to give out jars of pumpkin butter for Thanksgiving?!

I don't think I'll make this one this week, but here is a Marshmallow Molten Lava cake for you to drool over. Sounds decadent and evil!

Garden Fresh Salsa

2011-09-11T17:20:00.001-08:00

What do you do with all the tomatoes that come ripe at the same time? Get creative - use them in this beautiful summer vegetable tian recipe, like i did last night. Put them in your salad of course. Make a caprese salad. Put them on a BLT! Stuff them like I did in this recipe for Ricotta-Basil Stuffed Tomatoes. You still have some left? Make this great salsa! I followed a basic salsa recipe and changed it up a little. I didn't have jalapeno at the house, so I used a can of diced green chilis and went from there. I didn't know how many small to medium tomatoes it would take to get 8 cups of chopped tomatoes, so I used every last one I had picked a few days ago in my mom's greenhouse. She's out of town, so someone needed to tend to the tomatoes, right? And besides there are still a ton over there that will be ripe in a day or so for her. You can even use the little mutant-looking tomatoes that I think are super cute!

Home Canned Salsa
adapted from SalsaGarden.com

8 cups chopped fresh Tomatoes
1 small can diced green chilis (this is where you can adjust your heat level)
1 large White Onion, diced
6 cloves Garlic, minced
1 cup chopped fresh Cilantro, divided
1/2 - 1 tsp. cumin
1 TBS Salt
¾ cup Cider Vinegar
¼ cup fresh Lime Juice

Combine all ingredients, except 1/2 cup cilantro in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes. Just after you pull it off the heat add your additional cilantro. Pour hot salsa into hot, sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Seal jars with two piece caps. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

The Review: With my changes I thought this turned out great. I was able to can 7 half pints and have another 2 1/2 cups of salsa in the fridge that we are working on. I did use mild chilis because we are really wimps with heat, but probably could have used medium and been okay too. You could definitely up the chilis to a larger can or 2 cans. The chilis and cumin were my changes to the recipe and added a nice smokiness in the background.

Menu Plan Monday #31

2011-09-07T18:05:00.001-08:00

Happy Labor Day! I'm enjoying the extra-lazy day off. I didn't even get dressed until noon. But, tomorrow we are back to a busy schedule. Luckily, I don't think the menu planning will be very complicated.

Monday: One last hurrah at the State Fair.

Tuesday: Crockpot TVP Taco Soup - my regular taco soup recipe but replacing the meat with 1/2 cup dry TVP. - this was really tasty and an easy way to have a "meatless" meal.

Wednesday: Halibut

Thursday: Dinner in Anchorage following a board meeting

Friday: Hmmm. Regular Friday dinner out

Saturday: Something leftover or from the freezer

Sunday: chili ?

New things I'm hoping to try this week:

Canning: I have a bunch of tomatoes and I want to can them into either Salsa or Bruschetta

Peach Souffle or Peach Cobbler

Blueberry Oat Bars - these have been on here before, I just haven't gotten to them yet.

My "to try" list is pretty much endless, so I'll stop here for now.

Recipe Review: Plum-Kissed Pear Jam

2011-09-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

I've been bitten by the canning bug. I had no idea making your own jelly and jam was so easy, and could turn out so tasty. Earlier this week I had a few very ripe pears on hand and was looking for something interesting to do with them. After scouring the internet I decided on this recipe for pear jam with a hint of plums. I made a few tweaks to the original recipe, and have a few more I'll make if I make this again. It's not that often that I have a bunch of pears that are super sweet and ripe and ready to use.

Plum-Kissed Pear Jam
adapted from Allrecipes.com

3 cups chopped ground pears (although if yours are as ripe as mine were you wouldn't need to grind them up - mine boiled away into oblivion)
1 cup of chopped ground plums (I used 2 small plums and a pluot. I think apple would be good here too, but wouldn't add the pretty pink color I had from the plums)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice - next time I would add another Tbsp.)
1 pkg pectin (Sure Jell)
4 cups white sugar (this should be reduced by 1/2 cup or so)
1/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1 tsp. Penzey's Vietnamese Cinnamon (this could be increased to 2 tsp. or even 1 Tbsp. if you like cinnamon)
*Hot water bath & clean, sterilized canning jars, rings, and tops

Wash, peel, core, and chop up 3 cups of pears. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Wash, peel, pit, and chop 1 cup of plums. Place in a large stock pot. Add pkg. of pectin and bring to a boil. Add white sugar and boil for 1 minute. Skim foam off top of pear/plum mixture, remove from heat and stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Quickly ladle into prepared canning jars. Boil in hot water bath for 10 minutes. Pull from hot water and place on a kitchen towel. Allow to set 24 hours. Check seals.

*Follow safe canning procedures for preparing canning jars, rings, and tops.

I got 4 8oz. (1/2 pint) jars and 4 4oz. jars from this recipe.

This is the yummy sample that wouldn't fit in a canning jar. Mmmm. As I tasted it I was wishing for a fresh made scone or biscuit to put it on.

Next on the list is homemade bruschetta. What could be better than fresh summery tomatoes, mixed with garlic and spices and canned for winter! Oh dear. I see a possible need to convert one of my pantry shelves to just home canned items. I think I'm hooked! This is going to be fun!

Bento by the river

2011-08-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to making us a bento lunch, mostly to get my hubby out of the house. He's been working hard on a project and I couldn't let him miss this lovely warm-ish weather we're having today. We haven't had too many super nice days this summer, and we can already feel a crispness in the air. Fall isn't far from us. Some of the trees are already starting to show little spots of yellow leaves.

I snapped this pic with my phone. Not too bad for a phone picture. The mountain in the distance is Pioneer Peak, and that little dark green nub below it is called the butte. The elevation of the butte is only about 850'.

Our bentos today were made quickly, and aren't terribly creative, but they were tasty and served their purpose.

Mine is at the top of the photo and had turkey and cheese stacks, caprese salad with fresh from the greenhouse cucumber, graham crackers, and apricots on top of brown sugar yogurt. Dave's was quite similar, but he had an actual turkey and cheese sandwich, same apricots with yogurt, and popped bbq chips.

This is one of my late-blooming Martha Washington geraniums. Beautiful!

Menu Plan Monday #30

2011-08-29T14:57:00.000-08:00

Well, last week I never got around to making a menu plan, and every day I was wondering, last minute, what would be for dinner. So, I'm back at it. This week we also got our first ever extra freezer. I've been cramming my little fridge-freezer beyond capacity for some time now. It will be so nice to have a place to store extra dinners and actually be able to see what's there!

Monday: State Fair foods - mmmm

Tuesday: Eggplant something. I picked up some pretty eggplant the other day and am at a loss as to what to make with them. Suggestions? This is one I just came across. Eggplant Snack Sticks. Sounds really good and I have everything on-hand already. I'll have these as a side with our favorite pork tenderloin recipe.

Wednesday: Hungry Girl Wonton Quitos - I just came across this recipe tonight and it sounds good. I've already got wonton wrappers, but will need to roast a chicken. I don't do canned chicken. Now I just need a side dish or 2.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday

Friday: Out maybe

Saturday: Either leftovers or something from the freezer.

Sunday: I'm angling for another trip to the State Fair for yummy once-a-year foods.

Check out all the other great menu plans at Org Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday #29

2011-08-15T16:40:00.001-08:00

Last week's menu plan took a slight detour - so I've got a carry-over or two this week, along with some new recipes I want to try (that will hopefully produce a couple of new posts).

Monday: Back to Meatless Monday. Chik'n parm w/boca "chicken" patty w/marinara & mozzarella cheese over whole wheat noodles.

Tuesday: Pizza in a Bowl - recipe from my crock-pot cookbook.

Wednesday: Roasted Chicken made into Chicken & dumplings probably. With the rest of the chicken used on Saturday in the Baked Chimi recipe I didn't get to do last week.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday.

Friday: probably out!

Saturday: Baked Chimichanga

Sunday: Hungry Girl Island Insanity Burger. This has almost become one of our staples for Meatless Monday, thought I'd throw it in here.

A couple of new recipes I hope to try this week.

Apple Scones

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins - I've already made these (Sunday) and they are really good. The first batch in the oven I forgot to add the chocolate chips, but they are good either way!

Blueberry Oat Bars - I had these at a friend's house a couple weeks ago. They were super yummy!

Fudgy Peanut Butter Cake - crock pot

Check out tons of other menu plans at Org Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday #28

2011-08-09T15:29:00.000-08:00

So I'm just back from a quick weekend trip to Seattle to help a friend move. Throwing together a menu plan so I can dash to the store and get on with my day. This week is my hubby's birthday, so planning a birthday dinner at home, and a dinner out as well.

Monday: Taco Soup (not meatless - back to that next week) with cornbread and possibly ~~crispy parmesan zucchini spears~~. nope, got in a rush and forgot the zucchini.

Tuesday: Dave's birthday! Pork Tenderloin with balsamic glaze, mashed potatoes, and broccoli with cheese. Also making some really yummy low-fat vanilla cupcakes from the cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World - but didn't have the soy yogurt on hand, so they're not vegan, but still amazing!

Wednesday: Homemade pizza with roasted veggies. Using this pizza dough recipe that I've found works great and is quick!

Thursday: dinner out in Anchorage - birthday boy's choice

Friday: Salmon Sweet Potato Cakes

Saturday: Baked Chimichanga

Sunday: leftovers or laughing cow chicken

Check out tons of other great menu plans at OrgJunkie.

Alaskan Fireweed Jelly

2011-07-31T13:51:00.001-08:00

Growing up in Alaska I thought fireweed was "our weed." (note: first photo of bouquet was taken at about 8:45pm - our sunset is still after 11pm at this time in the summer) It's everywhere here, I just didn't think it was anywhere else (yes, I need to get out more). On a recent trip to Washington state I found it grows there too. Then I found a review of a book that talks about wild edibles and mentions it grows in Canada too. This all makes perfect sense I just hadn't thought it through. It probably grows in other Northwest locations, I just haven't taken the time to look that up yet.

The fireweed here is about 3/4 through blooming right now. It starts with a green stalk with long leaves and usually grows a couple of feet high before it starts blooming. The blossoms start 6-12" below the tip of the stalk and bloom from there to the top over a couple of weeks. All over Alaska you'll see fields of bright pink fireweed. You'll also see it growing along side the highway, or in a yard or garden, or in the park. Go to an outdoor summer wedding and you'll see vases of freshly picked fireweed decorating the tables. Go to the farmers market and you'll find fireweed honey and jelly. I also found this blog that talks about eating the shoots when they start to come up (that will have to be next year). Even the big box stores and chain drugstores here sell fireweed edibles, lotions, teas, and candles in their souvenir section.

Short on time, but always with a long list of things I want to try, I knew if I was going to make fireweed jelly it was now or never. Not really never, but I would have to wait until this time next summer anyway. So last night I picked a bunch of fireweed. Then I thought about how I probably didn't have enough, so I picked a bunch more. The second batch I picked at my nieces house and found that she has some fireweed along her driveway that is over 6' (yes feet!) tall!

It took about a 1/2 hour to remove the blossoms from the stalks, and another 20 minutes or so to boil the blossoms into this beautiful deep purple stock. I refrigerated the juice overnight simply for time sake. It was late by the time I had gotten to this point. The juice refrigerates well and can also be frozen for a later date. I love the progression of color loss in the petals as it cooks out. The strained petals have almost no color left in them!

My jelly came together quickly. I haven't made jelly before and was surprised at how simple it was. I can see a lot of homemade jellies in our future. :-)

I found several very similar recipes online, but ended up using this one from food.com. It was quick and simple. I've already made 2 additional batches of juice, including one with lavender buds added to the fireweed blossoms. I'll post a pic of that one when it's done. The straight fireweed jelly is fantastic. It has a very subtle floral flavor, something I haven't had before and can't really describe well. I hope the lavender doesn't overpower the fireweed in the other batch. I think I may enter one or both into our state fair that is coming up in a few weeks.

Fireweed Jelly
original recipe from Food.com
makes 4 half pint jars

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups fireweed juice*
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon butter
1 (1 3/4 ounce) packages dry pectin - Sure Jell for best results
3 cups sugar

Directions

*For fireweed juice:
Harvest about 8 packed cups of fireweed flowers. Rinse thoroughly and put in 2 quart pot. Add just enough water to make water level just below top of packed flowers. (Juice should be a deep purple color when finished. If too much water is used in boiling process, juice will be a brownish color. More water can always be added after flowers are boiled to increase amount of juice.) Boil flowers in water until color is boiled out and petals are a grayish color. Ladle juice into jar through cheesecloth to strain.

For fireweed jelly:
Warm fireweed juice, lemon juice and butter on stovetop.
Add Sure-Jell, bring to boil and boil hard for one minute.
Add sugar and bring to full boil for one minute. Skim top of jelly.
Pour into pitcher(makes it easier to fill jars)and skim again.
Fill sterilized jars leaving 1/8 inch space at top.
Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.
Remove from water bath and cool completely at room temperature.

After Vacation Pasta

2011-07-31T10:06:00.000-08:00

You know the day you get home from vacation and you haven't had time to get to the store, or thaw anything from the freezer, you scrounge around in the fridge and see what you can come up with. That's where this recipe was born. I was in a hurry and needed something quick.

After Vacation Pasta
Serves 3 as a main dish or 5-6 as a side

about a cup of pasta (I have never measured pasta, I just eyeball it). I used Campanelle, one of my favorites for catching sauce
1 1/2 to 2 cups frozen peas, mostly thawed
3 oz Greek Yogurt*
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
rosemary or Italian seasoning to taste
3T milk
2 T butter

Cook pasta as directed on package. Add peas to pasta during the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain pasta and peas. In a small pan, or microwave safe dish mix together yogurt, parmesan cheese, seasonings, milk and butter. Heat until it mixes together well. Add pasta to sauce and stir.

*Oddly enough the only yogurt I had was vanilla greek yogurt and this worked fine. I would have preferred plain, but the yogurt is tangy enough that it cut the sweet of the vanilla and worked okay for us. My hubby said it was one of the best sauces I've thrown together.

Menu Plan Monday #27 - A Mini Menu Plan

2011-07-11T12:15:00.001-08:00

No, it's not as exciting as it sounds. It's not a menu of all mini-items, but wouldn't that be fun! Maybe sometime in the future we'll have themed menu plans. This week's mini plan is just 3 days worth of dinners because we're leaving for vacation on Thursday and will just be eating out the rest of the week. YAY! for vacation!! We do have some fresh veggies and things that I would like to use up before we go, so this is what I came up with.

Monday: BBQ pork sandwiches with coleslaw and corn on the cob

Tuesday: Grilled chicken using this marinade from Allrecipes, along with fresh green beans. We may have artichokes this evening too.

Wednesday: Veggie (and whatever else) Fried Rice. Yes, fried rice is a good way to use up what's left in the fridge, and what we don't eat can go in the freezer for later. Leftover fried rice would be great stuffed into peppers or tomatoes, or even zucchini.

I'm hoping to get another post or two completed before we go, but...we'll see.

This menu is linked to Menu Plan Monday on OrgJunkie. Check out tons of other great menu plans there!

Menu Plan Monday #26

2011-07-04T15:35:00.001-08:00

This week's menu plan includes the 4th of July! Yay! Grilling, apple pie, and caprese salad bites are on the menu. I haven't given any thought to the rest of the week yet...better change that, and fast!

Monday: 4th of July - grilled burgers, caprese salad bites (recipe to follow soon!), apple pie in a jar (will eventually be a recipe/method review), crab pasta salad, and assorted cut up fresh veggies and fruit.

Tuesday: Spaghetti or something like that. Finally a Tuesday back to myself (I think). I've been covering for a WW co-worker for about a month and a half at a different meeting and that has really thrown off our schedule.

Wednesday: Chicken something. I have chicken in the freezer. already cooked and uncooked. maybe I'll make laughing cow chicken.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday

Friday: back to the regular - Pizza Delphi!

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: for now I'm going to leave Sunday open. Maybe I'll use it to try a new recipe.

This menu is linked to Menu Plan Monday on OrgJunkie.

Recipe Review: Ricotta-Basil Stuffed Tomatoes

2011-07-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

My sweet hubby picked up a Vegetarian Times Farmer's Market Cookbook (magazine) for me as part of my week of birthday this year. It has beautiful pictures, lots of info and ideas, and a ton of fantastic recipes that I'm anxious to try. This is the first of hopefully many that I'll try from this cookbook.

Ricotta-Basil Stuffed Tomatoes
Vegetarian Times

Serves 8

8 large beefsteak tomatoes
2 large eggs
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tbs. plus 4 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup diced zucchini plus 24 very thin zucchini slices

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice tops off tomatoes, and scoop pulp out of centers to make stuffable tomato shells; set aside. Discard half of tomato pulp; remove seeds from and finely chop remaining half of pulp.

Whisk together eggs and ricotta in medium bowl until smooth. Stir in red onion, basil, 2 Tbs. Parmesan, and garlic. Add corn, diced zucchini, and chopped tomato pulp; stir until combined.
Fill tomatoes just to top with 1/2 cup ricotta mixture. Sprinkle each tomato with 1/2 tsp. Parmesan, and top each with 3 zucchini slices and tomato top. Place in large baking dish.

Bake 45 minutes, or until filling is puffed up and tops are browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. To freeze and enjoy later: Cool stuffed tomatoes completely, then place in foil-lined baking pan. Wrap tightly in foil, then in plastic wrap, and freeze. When ready to eat, thaw tomatoes completely. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake, uncovered, 20 to 30 minutes, or until filling is hot.

Per stuffed tomato:
Calories: 130, Protein: 9g, Total fat: 5g, Saturated fat: 2g, Carbs: 18g, Cholesterol: 65mg, Sodium: 151mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugars: 10g
4 WW P+

The verdict: I loved this. I did use tomatoes from the grocery store (gasp!) because we just don't have tomatoes ready in Alaska yet. I will definitely try this again with fresh from the greenhouse tomatoes when they are ready. I did omit the onion. I see now there is basil in the recipe (um, yeah, I should have seen that in the recipe title, right?!) - that would have been yummy...but I completely overlooked it. For our preference next time I will lightly steam or saute the diced zucchini as it was a little too crunchy in the filling. Overall though, we loved this recipe. I will make it again and again. This could easily be a meatless entree for a light dinner, but here we had it with a bit of grilled steak and Crispy Parmesan Asparagus.

Simple Glazed Salmon

2011-07-01T22:10:00.000-08:00

Thursdays around here are known as "Salmon Thursday." This was implemented earlier this spring in an attempt to add more fish to our diet. We both enjoy fish and I try to remember to cook it often, but hadn't made it a "regular" until recently. The recipes are varied based on what I feel like making, or what we have to go along with the (usually) salmon. Occasionally a different fish will sneak in, but for the most part we stick to the yummy, wild Alaskan salmon.

Simple Glazed Salmon

Salmon filet - steaks would work here too, but I tend toward the filets because that's what I know
3 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
3 Tbsp honey (jazz it up with an orange honey or another flavor you like)
2 Tbsp evoo
generous pinch of brown sugar

Mix everything but the salmon together in a shallow dish. Add salmon flesh side down and marinate in the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes. Remove baking dish from refrigerator and let come to room temperature while your oven heats. Preheat oven to 450 °. Bake salmon in a foil lined baking dish (don't skip this part! you'll thank me later!) Bake about 15 minutes or until done. Baste occasionally with marinade/glaze.

This turned out so yummy. Tender and flaky, all glazed and a little gooey. Served alongside roasted whole asparagus spears and sweet potatoes.

Menu Plan Monday #25

2011-06-28T11:11:00.000-08:00

Last week's Menu plan was barely followed. I had good intentions, but we had some other things pop up that needed to be front burner, so to speak, and the meals took a back burner. This week will be busy as well, but hopefully not as busy and will return to some regular dinners at home. I've found some new recipes I'd like to try, so hopefully those will be worked in over the next several weeks.

Monday: Taco Soup (not meatless but eating from the freezer)

Tuesday: I'm eating out with my girlfriends - not sure what Dave is having

Wednesday: Ricotta stuffed Tomatoes - recipe from a Vegetarian Farmers Mkt cookbook. Perhaps a recipe review will follow in the next few days. (meatless)

Thursday: Red Snapper

Friday: pretty much always out

Saturday: leftovers of some kind

Sunday: Whole Wheat honey Pizza dough. Didn't get to this the last couple of weeks. Sunday's are usually mellow enough to do something like this.

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie. Check out hundreds of other menu plans there!

Menu Plan Monday #24

2011-06-20T19:08:00.000-08:00

Menu Planning two weeks in a row - I'm on a roll! This week I'm looking back for some tried & true recipes to get us through some busy evenings. Having a menu plan, getting the ingredients I need, and having a plan really help on those busy nights when I'm hungry and in a hurry.

Monday: Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers (MM) - I've made this recipe so many times now I'm actually starting to ~~tolerate~~ like eating even the pepper, not just the stuffing. The last time I made them I made some revisions to the recipe and made a note of what I used because they were my favorite so far. Hopefully later this week I'll post the recipe. With a busy Monday I'm going to try to get them in the crock pot so they're ready when I get home.

Tuesday: crock pot pork roast

Wednesday: Homemade pizza - a carry over from Sunday when we ended up eating leftovers. This will probably be a bbq chicken pizza so I can use up some cooked chicken from the freezer.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday - not sure of the prep this week. Last week's salmon was amazing. Another recipe I hope to post this week.

Friday: We will be having dinner with my mom and my niece for my birthday!

Saturday: Birthday dinner out! Not sure where yet.

Sunday: Leftovers of some kind.

Check out tons of great menu plans at Org Junkie

Chocolate for Breakfast

2011-06-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days. I woke up with a great idea and knew I actually had the ingredients to give it a go. Sunday mornings are when I want to bake and actually make something for breakfast. For me it's usually something sweet. I have a HUGE sweet tooth. It's hard to find something sweet that is actually too sweet for me. This was no exception. I didn't find these to be overly sweet or overly chocolatey. The icing on top was really good too. The only thing you might say was "wrong" with them, was that my hubby said they looked like little ham steaks - which he shared with everyone on Facebook. He also said they were delicious so I can deal with the ham comment.

Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Icing
Serves 5 at 7 WW points plus each

Ingredients:


	2 cup(s) Betty Crocker® Fiber One® Pancake Mix Complete pancake mix
	1 1/4 cup(s) water
	3 Tbsp Hershey's Cocoa - unsweetened baking cocoa
	2 Tbsp vegetable oil
	1 oz food coloring, RED coloring to desired color
	1 1/2 oz Weight Watchers Reduced fat cream cheese spread, 1 1/2 small WW cream cheese cups
	3 Tbsp powdered sugar
	1 Tbsp I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Light Soft Margarine

In medium bowl combine pancake mix, water, cocoa, oil and food coloring. Mix thoroughly. Using scant 1/4 cup batter each make approx. 15 small pancakes.

For icing: combine cream cheese spread and butter spread. Heat gently (10 second intervals in microwave) until easy to mix. Combine with powdered sugar. Place cream cheese mixture in zip top baggie and drizzle over pancakes as they are served.

Make yourself a big pile 'o pancakes sometime and let me know if you like them! They don't look like ham, do they?

Menu Plan Monday #23

2011-06-13T16:34:00.000-08:00

Time for another Menu Plan. I've been writing them out on paper, mostly all along, but I throw those out at the end of the week, and then a couple weeks later my hubby asks for something from weeks before and I have no idea what or where to find the recipe again. On occasion Google is helpful if I'm looking for a recipe I found online, but otherwise I'm often at a loss. Adding a Menu Plan to the blog seriously helps my sanity - so I'm back at it again.

Speaking of back at it again - we've been busy and short on time and I haven't been in the MM (Meatless Monday) frame of mind. Well this week we are back at it, starting with a Hungry Girl recipe using a Boca Burger.

Monday: HG's Island Insanity burger (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Fresh Caught (not by me) Alaskan Halibut. There is just nothing better than fresh, never frozen fish.

Wednesday: Chick'n Parm using a Boca "chicken" patty. A friend recommended these and my hubby never gets enough spaghetti so here we go.

Thursday: Salmon Thursday. Haven't decided on preparation or anything yet. Sometimes it's just pan seared and yummy.

Friday: Pretty much always Pizza Delphi (local Italian, close to our house)

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Homemade pizza. Found a great recipe a few weeks ago for a Whole Wheat Honey dough that is so simple and turns out great. I even used this dough for grilled pizza a couple weeks back (future blog post).

After thinking about all these yummy recipes I'm ready for a snack! Check out tons of other menu plans at OrgJunkie.

Foto Friday: Can you say "Water Dog?"

2011-05-27T15:42:00.000-08:00

Recipe Review: Sesame Chicken

2011-05-08T21:14:00.000-08:00

I had planned to make some sort of chicken for dinner (but failed to plan what recipe), wanted something a little different, and remembered this recipe for Sesame Chicken from Melissa d'Arabian from Food Network. I did make a couple of substitutions.

Sesame Chicken
original recipe Melissa d'Arabian

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, nearly thawed
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 tablespoon sweet rice cooking wine (aji mirin), or white wine
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 tablespoons butter, melted - omitted. subbed with evoo spray - not PAM.
Rice, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes (easiest when not completely thawed). In a medium bowl, mix together the soy sauce, orange marmalade, wine, and crushed red pepper flakes. Toss in the chicken cubes and marinate for at least 10 minutes and up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.

In another bowl or plastic bag, mix together the flour and sesame seeds. Drain the chicken cubes and blot any excess liquid, and then toss in the flour to coat lightly. Spread the chicken cubes on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with the melted butter. Bake until the chicken is crispy but not dry, about 20 minutes, turning the cubes halfway through. Serve with rice.

My substitutions were a sesame ginger seasoning mix my mother-in-law picked up for me, and pineapple ice cream topping. I had to work with what I could find on short notice.

The verdict: The chicken was tasty. Next time I will probably make a reduction using additional preserves/ice cream topping and soy sauce and then toss the chicken with the sauce after it is baked.

Patience? Not so much.

2011-05-01T15:02:00.001-08:00

Did you see the adorable commercial this year for the Rice Krispie treats shaped as eggs with M&M's inside? It seemed like a fantastic idea and how hard could it be really?! Hard? No. A test in patience? Yes. Very much so.

As you can see, I made a total of 6 of the eggs and then to save my sanity spread the rest of the Rice Krispie mixture in a rectangular pan. The recipe said it would make 12 of the eggs. I must have had small plastic eggs because I could have easily (no, not really easily) made a total of at least 20 eggs with the amount of sweet marshmallowy goodness I had left over. Getting the krispie mixture into the plastic eggs was kind of like when you open something that is wrapped in shrink-wrapped plastic and it gets all staticy and won't come off your fingers. Making the little cavity inside the eggs was even harder - even using cooking spray on my fingers.

They tasted delicious, like fresh Rice Krispie treats do. A couple of them even rattled when you shook them. They were really cute, but...

Hidden Surprise Easter Egg Treats
original recipe RiceKrispies.com

3 tablespoons   butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
- OR -
4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups   Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® cereal
1/2 cup   M&M's® Easter colored chocolate candies
Canned frosting or decorating gel (optional)
12 plastic snap-apart 3 x 2-in Easter eggs

1. Clean, then coat inside of plastic eggs with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
3. Add Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® cereal. Stir until well coated.
4. Using greased hands, firmly press 1/4 cup of Rice Krispies® mixture into both halves of each plastic egg. Use fingers to make hollow center in each half. Remove from molds. Place on wax paper. Cool slightly.
5. Place about 6 M&M'S® Brand Chocolate Candies in one half of each egg. Gently press two halves of each egg together until they stick. Cool completely.
6. Decorate with frosting and additional M&M'S® Brand Chocolate Candies (if desired). Best if served the same day. Serving size is 1 egg.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS: Follow step 1 above. In microwave-safe bowl heat butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Follow steps 3 through 6 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.

Notes:
For best results, use fresh marshmallows.

1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow crème can be substituted for marshmallows.

Cal: 180
Fat: 4.5
Carb: 33
Fiber: 0
Protein: 2

A Spring Bento

2011-04-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weeks we've had some really nice weather. It's been in the 40s and sunny a lot. Yesterday it was a little gloomy so I made a happy spring-ish bento for lunch.

Tomato, basil, mozzarella and a little balsamic vinegar. Tuna salad in a small pita and fresh pineapple & strawberries. A piece of the basil made it's way onto the pineapple by accident, and it was delish!

Today, our weather has gotten worse. Snow. I shouldn't be surprised really, we pretty much always get snow in April. We'll probably even get more later in the month, but mentally I had hoped to be past this and headed into spring.

This is the view out my home office window. The snow is starting to stick and come down heavier now. Maybe it won't last long...*fingers crossed*...and those of you that live in warm places (like Florida!) send some sun my way!

Menu Plan Monday #22 - hey it's Tuesday!

2011-03-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

Another busy week and I'm obviously running behind a bit already. For some of you spring has sprung already, for us it's more like we are headed toward "break-up". Spring (trees budding, tulips and hyacinths coming up) is usually around mid-May.

Break-up is considered a season in Alaska. The days get longer, it warms up a bit, and the snow starts to melt. It gets very muddy. The cars are all very filthy from such wet roads, and my house . . . well, let's just say the floors are constantly covered in muddy dog prints.

I usually hand write my menu on a menu planner pad I picked up at Michael's a while ago but I've used it up! It's easier for me to have a copy in the kitchen for making the grocery list and to check throughout the day. Since I'm out of the handwritten ones I picked up a picture frame and plan to make this menu planner and save some paper too!

Monday: leftover turkey & mashed potatoes & gravy

Tuesday: Rockfish and Crispy Parm Asparagus

Wednesday: Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers - I've made this several times. Trying to convince myself I can eat peppers.

Thursday: Pork Tenderloin

Friday: Out?

Saturday: Taco Salad

Sunday: Out. We're going to an afternoon symphony in Anchorage.

Check out tons of other great menu plans at Org Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday #21

2011-03-08T12:48:00.000-09:00

Monday: Spaghetti (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Pork & Mango Potstickers (just didn't get to the them last week)

Wednesday: Veggie stuffed baked potatoes (meatless)

Thursday: Baked Chimichanga, Black bean, avocado, cucumber & tomato salad, and Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake for dessert. Having friends over for dinner.

Friday: Usually dinner out! :)

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: Chili Night

Check out hundreds of other great menus at Org Junkie.

Other recipes I might try this week:

Chocolate Banana Souffles - never made souffle before, always wanted to, so why not now?!

Baby Red Potato Salad - may not use red potatoes but we'll see. This sounds like a great addition to lunch!

Zucchini Carpaccio - this sounds like a perfect lunch for me. Not sure hubby will eat it for lunch, but he will likely try a bite or two.

Kumquat Bread

2011-03-04T17:31:00.001-09:00

In my farm-to-table box last week I selected kumquats so I could try something new-to-me and expand my palate a bit. I looked around for recipes that didn't sound too difficult since I've been short on time lately. I came up with the following recipe, altering the original to make it more Weight Watchers friendly, and left out the pecans in hopes that my hubby would like the bread too. It came together very quickly, with the exception of getting the little seeds out of the kumquats.

Kumquat Bread
adapted from Kumquat Pecan Bread

2/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup sugar substitute
2 cups white wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup pureed kumquats (sliced and seeds removed before pureeing)

Mix together first four ingredients. Add in sugar substitute, then baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix in flour and then stir in kumquats.

Bake in 350° oven for 50-60 minutes.

The verdicts:
Raw: I did taste a couple of raw kumquats before I chopped and seeded the rest. Interesting. The outer skin is sweet, while the inside fruit has a bit of a bite to it. Not sure I would want to just sit around eating them raw, but they would add a little zip to fruit salad, fruit salsa, or in a sauce. Gave a bite to each of our dogs as well. They love tasting stuff and both gobbled it up just like any other fruit I've given them. Next time I have the opportunity to get kumquats I'd like to see them in a sauce over chicken, maybe with some caramelized onions.
The bread: The bread came out great. Not really sweet and that hit of citrus tang from the kumquats is very nice. See the next post for the lemon curd - it's amazing if I do say so myself!

Lemon Curd with Blood Orange

2011-03-04T17:29:00.000-09:00

A tasty experiment went down in my kitchen this afternoon. Lemon Curd with blood orange! I had a couple of Meyer Lemons to use, as well as a blood orange and came up with this delicious combo.

Lemon Curd with Blood Orange
recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Yield: 1 1/3 cups (serving size: 1 tablespoon)

3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind - Meyer Lemon
2 large eggs
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 large lemons, or my version - 2 Meyer lemons, 1 small regular lemon, and 1 blood orange)
2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a whisk. Cook until sugar dissolves and mixture is light in color (about 3 minutes). Stir in lemon juice and butter; cook for 5 minutes or until mixture thinly coats the back of a spoon, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cool. Cover and chill (the mixture will thicken as it cools).

Note: Lemon Curd can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can easily double the recipe and freeze half of it in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Thaw in the refrigerator, and use within 1 week of thawing.

1 Tbsp = 1 WW PP

Kashi-Oat Cookies

2011-03-02T21:21:00.000-09:00

Looking for a tasty, moist, chewy cookie? One made from pretty simple ingredients you already have (with the exception of the Kashi)? This is the one! Next time I will make the cookies twice the size and use them for breakfast cookies on-the-go. They go great with a cup of coffee, or an anytime snack you can feel pretty good about considering they have whole grain cereal & oats.

Kashi-Oat Cookies
adapted from Grape Nuts Cookies
1 cookie 2PP
2 cookies 3PP - you might as well have two, it's a better value!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Stick Margarine
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar substitute(Splenda)
3 Tbsp honey
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp table salt
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup White Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup Kashi Cereal 7 Whole Grain Nuggets (can sub Grape Nuts)

Instructions:

Cream together ICBINB stick with brown sugar and splenda. Add honey, egg, vanilla and mix. Mix in soda and salt. Add rest of dry ingredients and mix until it comes together.
Bake 350° for 10 minutes.

I altered the original Grape Nuts cookies recipe to make it more Weight Watchers friendly and lower the PointsPlus a little.

Menu Plan Monday #20

2011-03-01T12:09:00.001-09:00

I have a plan. Or at least I think I might. How decisive of me. It's always subject to change, but a loose plan is better than none at all, right?!

Monday: Tuna noodle alfredo

Tuesday: Halibut & stuffed zucchini - see macaroon crusted tilapia in "recipes to try" below

Wednesday: No idea yet.

Thursday: Pork & Mango Potstickers - I love this recipe and it makes quite a bit for just the two of us. Lots left over to put in the freezer for later!

Friday: dinner out

Saturday: Pork tenderloin - no recipe planned. Usually just cut into medallions, lightly bread, and cook in a pan.

Sunday: leftovers?

Recipes I might try this week:

Cinnamon Sugar Flatbread Crackers

Lyndsey's Coconut Chocolate Bars

sunchoke slaw - Sunset Magazine

~~macaroon crusted tilapia~~ - this wasn't my favorite. Not one I would make again.

ginger cookies 1pp

Looking for something to do with kumquats - I've never eaten one, or used them in any way but I have some in the fridge to try.

Also ditto that above part about Meyer Lemons. Suggestions? I only have 3.

Check out tons of other great menu plans at OrgJunkie.

Bento & Sky

2011-02-17T18:07:00.000-09:00

We are supposed to get a big snowstorm tonight - storm warning and all. They are calling for 12" but it's still kind of decent looking out. I took this scenery pic today at lunch time. We drove across town and sat in the sun while we ate. I just love the dramatic sky and clouds we get in the winter.

Not only did we have sun we also had a simple bento lunch. I had the one on the left - strawberries, pineapple, string cheese (it's buried under the animal crackers) animal crackers, celery & pb, and a flatout with cream cheese, carrot, & raisin. Dave's was basically the same, minus the fresh fruit. He had a babybel cheese too.

February Bento

2011-02-13T19:43:00.001-09:00

New year...and only one bento so far. I had hoped to have more by now but that just hasn't been the case. As I've said before we mostly eat lunch at home and it's often dinner leftovers or a quick sandwich or something like that. I want to get back to attempting some bento lunches it just hasn't really happened. But, we're still early in the year so I've got plenty of time, right?!

We both had heart shaped egg salad sandwiches (though the bread was kinda small and barely shows the heart shapes), mini babybel, and flavored pretzel thins. I had roasted edemame, and fresh kiwi & pineapple. Dave had trail mix and probably a couple of golden oreos.

Alaskan Salmon Chowder

2011-02-12T19:28:00.000-09:00

A week or two ago we watched an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. It was a Salmon Chowder Throwdown and took place at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. Once we'd watched that episode we couldn't get it out of our heads, so I came up with this recipe after scouring the internet and not finding exactly what I was after.

Alaskan Salmon Chowder
Serves: 6

6-8" lemongrass stalks, bruised
1 can light coconut milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery - use some of the leaves if you have them
2 diced carrots
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed, diced, or grated fine
1.5 lb diced potato of your choice - I used Russian fingerling
1 carton of broth, chicken or veggie.
1 can creamed corn
3/4 lb. wild caught king salmon, cut in chunks - this has a nice amount of fat that will cook out and add flavor to the chowder
evoo & butter, 1 Tbsp ea.
salt & pepper, to taste

Simmer the lemongrass & coconut milk together in a small pot until you're ready to add it to the chowder. Be careful not to boil or burn the coconut milk.

Saute the chopped onions & celery in evoo/butter mixture until soft. Add garlic, stir in moving quickly and being careful not to burn the garlic. Add diced potato and carrot, salt & pepper. Add broth and simmer about 20 minutes or until potatoes are almost done. Add creamed corn and return to boil. Add chunked salmon and simmer until salmon is cooked through and flakes easily. Remove lemongrass from coconut milk and stir warmed milk into salmon mixture. Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Serve with yummy bread. This recipe is good and quick. I didn't let it raise the 2nd time and made only 1/2 batch. It was plenty.

*After using the fresh lemongrass I found a tube of lemongrass pulp or something like that at a different store. The lemongrass stalks I used didn't add as much, or noticeably any, flavor to the coconut milk. I was looking for just a kind of bright flavor and didn't get it, the stuff I got was quite possibly past its useful life but I hadn't ever used it before and didn't realize. Next time I would probably sub the tube lemongrass. I used it later in the week in a different soup and it did just what I wanted.

Perfectly Cooked Chicken

2011-02-11T16:11:00.000-09:00

How do we find these things anyway, through a blog of a friend, of a friend, of a friend...you know. So, I can't really tell you how or why I found someones blog with a link to the kitchn blog where I found this terrific information on making perfectly moist cooked chicken! Like they say in the instructions, you have to trust without peeking that the chicken will come out perfectly - and it did! I'm so impressed. I've never gotten chicken exactly right (usually for overcooking "just to be safe") until this time.

Before I started cooking the chicken I caramelized some onions in the oven. Once the onions were done I prepped the chicken and put some asparagus in the toaster oven to roast away while the chicken basically cooked itself. During the last 10 minutes (still no peeking!) of the chicken cooking, I started sauteing some sliced mushrooms in a separate pan, added a little flour then added chicken stock and Parisien Bonnes Herbs (which thanks to Lyndsey's recommendation I had in the pantry from our last trip out of AK when we stopped at Penzey's Spices). Once the sauce thickened I added in the already cooked caramelized onions.

The picture didn't turn out that great - but the food was fantastic and the chicken was perfectly cooked through and moist! Try it, you'll see!

Superbowl 2011 - The menu (and links to recipes)

2011-02-03T20:10:00.000-09:00

Superbowl is this Sunday and my hubby is quite excited that the Steelers are going again! We are having a few people over to watch the game (and the commercials!) and I've got this menu planned. I tried to keep it simple, and include a few items I can prep on Saturday evening. The game will be on around 2pm here and I didn't want to spend the morning in the kitchen.

No Fry Crab Rangoon - use this filling and then use this other recipe for assembling & baking
Shrimp Cocktail
Pulled Pork on Hawaiian rolls - thanks for the idea Lyndsey!
Cucumber Sandwiches
Smokies in Grape jelly/mustard sauce
Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies - oh man. espresso & chocolate, need I say more?
Better-Than-Crack Brownies
Cupcakes for Curtis’ birthday - Chocolate Fudge with Vanilla frosting. From a box. Not terribly exciting but it is what he wanted.
Veggies & Ranch Dip - I thought we might be lacking in the veg & fruit department, so these two are there.
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Yes, most of these are new-to-me recipes. If you've been to my blog previously you know I like to use guests & family members as ~~guinea pigs~~ taste-testers. This weekend will be no exception.

I hope you all enjoy the game & good times with friends & family.

Menu Plan #19

2011-01-31T12:46:00.001-09:00

Looking forward to a week with lots of running around, and lots of snow. The weather forecast is for 3"-8" tonight and 2"-4" probably by Wednesday. Should make for an interesting week. :)

Monday: Leftovers from Benihana: fried rice, hibachi shrimp, teriyaki steak, and veggies. Oh yum!

Tuesday: Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers - Prevention.com (Meatless). I've made this one before and liked it, but needed to use more sauce like the recipe called for. I have a couple of beautiful red peppers that came in my Full Circle box this week that will be perfect "stuffed."

Wednesday: Salmon Chowder - Saw a recent episode of Bobby Flay's Throwdown where they made salmon chowder and now hubby and I can't get it out of our heads. I'm going to try to make up my own recipe. Fingers crossed that it will turn out.

Thursday: Hmmm. No idea. Possibly MIL Noodle Chicken dish that I didn't get to last week.

Friday: Pizza Delphi!!

Saturday: Tuscan White Bean Soup (WW cookbook p.72) with WW quick flatbread (WW current magazine p.90)

Sunday: Superbowl!! Haven't finalized the menu yet - any suggestions?

A few "extras" I'd like to try. We'll see if I get to them:

Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies -HOLY COW! Espresso & Chocolate! I can't wait to make these! If I had time today they would be a perfect Monday cookie! But if I make them this early in the week I don't think they'll last until Superbowl.
Crab Cake Mac & Cheese
Better-Than-Crack-Brownies! These are on the Superbowl menu already!

Check out hundreds of other great menu ideas at Org Junkie.

Scenery Sunday

2011-01-30T18:11:00.001-09:00

Thought I would share a couple of pics from today's drive. We took the dogs and drove about 12 miles to Hatcher Pass. The dogs got out and ran like crazies in the snow and I enjoyed getting out in the daylight for a few minutes. It was about 20° and we had nice sunny clear skies pretty much all day.

Neptune, closely followed by Panda.

Panda coming to get me.

Sky as we were driving back down, headed home.

Meringue Cookies

2011-01-28T18:09:00.000-09:00

A sweet bite-sized chocolate cloud, the taste of toasted marshmallow, a little kick of espresso...mmmm. These are tasty little cookies. I started with a recipe from Weight Watchers and only deviated slightly. The original recipe suggests you make the meringue batter and then split into two halves. Flavor one with cocoa powder and leave the other vanilla. I started by dividing the batter into three. The first part combined vanilla-almond flavor (which gives the toasted marshmallow flavor to the "plain" ones), used unsweetened cocoa powder as suggested in the second, and in the third added instant espresso. They are yummy, but the vanilla-almond are my favorites.

Meringue Cookies
adapted from Weight Watchers
Serves: 22 | 2 cookies each **see yield note after recipe

4 large egg whites
½ tsp white vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
approx. 1 Tbsp. instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 200ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until frothy. Add vinegar; beat until
soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add sugar; beat until glossy stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla and almond.

Remove 1/3 of meringue to another bowl; stir in cocoa until blended.
Remove additional 1/3 meringue and add espresso powder.

Spoon each flavor into zip top baggie and pipe onto baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Batter can be piped individually, or pipe half a tablespoon or so of 2 flavors and swirl together with a toothpick.

Bake until meringues feel dry and crisp all the way through, about 3 hours. Turn off oven;
leave meringues in oven for 1 hour. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks to cool completely.
Peel meringues off parchment and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
**Yields about 2 cookies per serving

**The recipe said @ 1 Tbsp each there would be about 44 cookies. I must have been extremely sparing on my Tbsp thinking because I ended up with 100 cookies. I do prefer them this way as they came out to be about 2 small bites worth each. Delicious and will definitely make them again.

Menu Plan Monday #18

2011-01-25T15:33:00.000-09:00

This week's menu plan was revised as I was writing it and will probably change a little through the week since some unexpected things have already come up. Here's the basic plan, subject to change.

Monday: Lemon Basil Pasta

Tuesday: Stuffed zucchini and balsamic glazed pork tenderloin

Wednesday: Fried Rice - maybe veggie, maybe with shrimp. Or MIL Jan's Chicken Noodle dish.

Thursday: Chicken noodle dish was going to be tonight, but instead eating out and going to a lecture in Anchorage.

Friday: Usually out, but probably not 2 nights in a row. We'll see. Maybe leftovers, or whichever thing I didn't make on Wed.

Saturday: Benihana with our "little bro" Noah. Didn't work out last week, so we're rescheduled for this week.

Sunday: Pork with Rice Noodles (from WW cookbook in new Deluxe Kit)

Check out tons of other great menu plans at Org Junkie.

Recipe Review: Cherry Almond Angel Roll

2011-01-22T12:50:00.000-09:00

I was looking for a dessert for my mom's birthday dinner and came across this recipe in my Pampered Chef cookbook "All the Best." I had not made this one before but knowing PC recipes, they pretty much always turn out and are always a big hit. This one was no exception. I did change out the cherry preserves for strawberry since I was going to add fresh strawberries on top of the cake as it was served. Also used fat-free sour cream and sugar free pudding mix.

Cherry-Almond Angel Roll
Pampered Chef - All the Best

Ingredients:
1 pkg angel food cake mix
1/2 cup sliced almonds, chopped
1/2 cup powdered or icing sugar
1/2 cup cherry preserves
8 oz. sour cream

1 container (8 oz) thawed, frozen whipped topping
1/2 tsp almond extract
2-4 drops red food coloring (optional)
1 pkg (3.3 oz / 4 serving size) white chocolate or vanilla instant pudding and pie filling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line Large Sheet Pan with an 18-in. (45-cm) piece of Parchment Paper. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter over parchment, spreading evenly. Sprinkle almonds evenly over batter. Bake 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched with fingertip. Remove pan from oven.

2. Sprinkle sugar over cake. Place an additional piece of parchment over cake. Invert Stackable Cooling Rack over parchment. Carefully invert cake; remove pan and parchment from bottom of cake. Starting at short side **, roll up cake in parchment, jelly-roll style. Cool completely.
3. Unroll cake and spread with preserves. In large bowl, combine sour cream, whipped topping, almond extract and food coloring, if desired; mix well. Add pudding mix; whisk until thickened. Spread filling over cake to within 1 in. (2.5 cm) of edge; roll up cake. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Yield: 12 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 340, Total Fat 10 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 15 mg, Carbohydrate 57 g, Protein 5 g, Sodium 450 mg, Fiber less than 1 g

**next time I will probably roll it up starting with long sides like I do with the rolled omelet. It was really thick and rich and could have gotten more servings out of rolling it the other way.

Menu Plan Monday #17 - Back at it

2011-01-17T11:12:00.000-09:00

Back from vacation, back to work, and in for a busy week. Luckily the menu plan kind of popped in my head this afternoon.

Monday: Taco Salad (will aim to get back to Meatless Mondays next week)

Tuesday: Leftovers from the weekend or Spaghetti

Wednesday: Chicken Enchilada Ring - having a get together here for my mom's birthday

Thursday: Baked Mushroom Chicken Thighs

Friday: usually out

Saturday: possibly Benihana with our "little brother" Noah for our 3 yr anniversary mentoring him.

Sunday: Probably more leftovers

See hundreds of other menu plans at OrgJunkie.

01-11-11! The only way my hubby will eat cucumber.

2011-01-11T18:00:00.001-09:00

My husband does not like cucumber - at all. He never eats it, picks around it on salads and tries his best to avoid it at all costs. Until this past New Years Eve. We were at his brother's house and there were these adorable, super tasty little cucumber sandwiches there. So I tried one. Then HE tried one! What?!?! Then he went back for another, and another. He had no less than 3 that night. I've asked for the recipe from my Puerto Rican sister-in-law (which she has to get from her mom) but I just couldn't wait that long. I've been thinking about those little sammies ever since that night. AND, to top it off - my hubby said if I made them again I just might get him to like cucumber. Sounds like a challenge, right?! So here's what I came up with. I also found that they really aren't too bad on the points (Weight Watchers) since they use the whipped cream cheese. Will be anxious to see the actual recipe and compare.

Cucumber Sandwiches

1 (8 oz) tub of whipped cream cheese (I used Weight Watchers brand)
1 pkt dry Italian salad dressing mix

English cucumber, thinly sliced
Bread - I used Sara Lee Delightful Whole Wheat

Thoroughly mix together cream cheese and salad dressing pkt (dry). Remove crusts from bread. Cut into 4 squares. Spread about 1/2 teaspoon of cream cheese spread on bread and top with sliced cucumber.

I guess it could use a little garnish on top, but I was hungry and didn't have anything handy to use for a garnish.

Suggestions for Cookie Exchange?

2010-12-07T16:33:00.000-09:00

I'm going to a cookie exchange at our local quilt shop next Monday night and I'm looking for the perfect recipe. Who's got the best cookie exchange recipe? We're only exchanging half dozens, rather than dozens, so I don't need a ton. I'd like something easy-ish and maybe not the norm. You know, I don't want to get there and see that everyone has made spritz cookies.

Recipe Review: Cinnamon Walnut Brittle

2010-12-06T23:34:00.000-09:00

A few days ago I was putting together some cookie boxes for a couple of girlfriends. With not a lot of time to spare I decided to make brittle for the first time ever and used this recipe for Cinnamon Walnut Brittle. It was a fun adventure, and a simple recipe that turned out pretty tasty.

Cinnamon Walnut Brittle
Taste of Home

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon **needs more cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Spice Island® Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions

Butter a baking sheet; set aside. In a 2-qt. microwave-safe bowl, combine sugar and corn syrup. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 3 minutes; stir. Cook, uncovered, on high 2-1/2 minutes longer. Stir in the walnuts, butter and cinnamon. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 2 minutes longer or until mixture turns a light amber color (mixture will be very hot). Quickly stir in baking soda and vanilla until light and foamy. Immediately pour onto prepared pan; spread with a metal spatula. Cool; break into pieces. Yield: 3/4 pound.

**When I make this again I will definitely use more cinnamon. It was so subtle I could barely tell it was there. More next time for sure.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 piece) equals 57 calories, 2 g fat (trace saturated fat), trace cholesterol, 42 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein.

This is the brittle cooling. My dad made the tenderizer / mallet for me several years back.

This is a photo of me and my dad on the Homer Spit, and the finished brittle.

Menu Plan Monday #16

2010-12-06T21:17:00.001-09:00

Off to a late start again on the menu plan. I don't really have a plan, or a grocery list. I'd like to eat from the pantry and freezer mostly this week, so fingers crossed . . .

Monday: some basic pasta dish - probably Lemon Basil Pasta - basically this recipe although this isn't the one I use normally.

Tuesday: Hoping to finish our Christmas shopping this afternoon / evening so dinner from the crock pot it is!

Wednesday: Salmon Sweet Potato Cakes

Thursday: Pork chops & mashed potatoes - this recipe from Gina at Skinny Taste looks really good. I may try it.

Friday: Open House at a friend's office.

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: Baked Turkey Croquettes

Found a couple of new recipes I'd like to try this week. I'm in the mood for holiday baking, but haven't had a lot of time for it yet. Next Monday night I've got a quilt class with a cookie exchange so I need a recipe that is easy to make, and can make a lot. I'm thinking some kind of bar cookie. Maybe one of these:

Cosmo Cocktail Cookie Bars

Chocolate-Drizzled Cinnamon Pecan Bars

Check out hundreds of other menu plans at Orgjunkie.

Foto Friday

2010-12-03T21:13:00.000-09:00

Thought I'd share a couple of morning sky pictures. These were both taken around 8:30am a couple of different days last week.

This one is taken looking south east. Pioneer Peak is the mountain on the right. Taken in my backyard.

This is another shot of Pioneer Peak taken on the drive into Anchorage.

Menu Plan Monday #15

2010-11-29T15:23:00.000-09:00

I'm getting a bit of a late start on the menu plan and the grocery list for this week. We have leftovers from two different Thanksgiving dinners that I'd like to start using, but I'm kind of at a loss for what to make. I've also go a busy week with some different activities and work things to do.

Monday: Turkey & dumplings

Tuesday: Spaghetti & salad

Wednesday: Taco salad

Thursday: Baked Chimichangas

Friday: I'm eating dinner out with girlfriends. Annual ornament exchange dinner.

Saturday: Meatball hoagies

Sunday: Halibut or Salmon depending on what I find in the freezer or at the store.

Check out all the other great menus at Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday #14

2010-11-23T10:56:00.001-09:00

This week is light on the menu planning front. Of course Thursday is already planned and I'll be gone all day Friday and Saturday with annual shopping excursions. Friday my girlfriends and I do the Black Friday sales, though not too early, and then Saturday I go with my mom and niece to do some Christmas shopping and look at decorated Christmas trees & stuff. I usually make snacks to take along for both days.

Monday: Leftovers - was supposed to have a quilt class but it was canceled due to the weather.

Tuesday: Chicken something. Have some chicken thawed, just not sure what I'm doing with it.

Wednesday: Crockpot Mongolian Beef

Thursday: Thanksgiving

Friday: Dave can have meatloaf muffins from the freezer

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: Thanksgiving #2 with my nephew and his family

Check out lots of other great meal plans at Orgjunkie.com

Recipe Review: Cranberry Bars

2010-11-22T16:54:00.000-09:00

Want one?! Yeah, you do. These are so yummy! You can taste the spices in the crust, along with the sweetness of the crust, and then a little tartness. Overall they're sweet, but not excessively so. Next time I think I'll use a slightly larger pan because I'd prefer the crust a little thinner. Maybe will try it on a jelly roll sized pan or my Pampered Chef bar pan. They go together pretty quickly - the only part that takes too long is waiting for them to cool enough to get one out of the pan without it crumbling apart and then burning your mouth because you threw it in there while it was crumbling. Who can wait 40 minutes for them to cool?!

Cranberry Bars
original recipe allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 (12 ounce) package whole cranberries
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup water
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon *I used Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus spice blend in place of these 2 spices

Directions: In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cranberries, white sugar, and water. Cook, stirring occasionally until all of the cranberries have popped, and the mixture is thick, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, melted butter, and eggs. Stir in the oats, brown sugar, ginger and cinnamon. Set aside about 1 1/2 cups of the mixture, and spread the rest into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish**. Pack down to form a solid crust, getting it as even as possible. Spread the cooled cranberry mixture over the crust. Pinch off pieces of the remaining mixture and place evenly over the cranberry layer.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is lightly browned. Cool in the pan for about 40 minutes before slicing into bars.




	**I found that spraying the baking dish with cooking spray made the bars come out really easily. The cranberry mixture didn't get hard and stuck to the sides of the dish around the edges.

Salmon Lettuce Wraps

2010-11-21T20:19:00.000-09:00

These turned out delicious! I used the basic Chicken Lettuce Wraps recipe as a base and was very pleased with the result. I had a half of a small filet of Alaskan sockeye salmon that I pan fried quickly and then set aside. Then added the mushrooms, water chestnuts, and ginger. While that cooked I mixed together the sauce, then to the mushroom mixture added slivered almonds and finally poured in the sauce and mixed it all together. Served alongside pine nut couscous. Made for a nice light dinner. Now I think I'll have a Cranberry Bar...that's going to be the next post.

Then and Now

2010-11-21T20:12:00.000-09:00

Here are a couple of photos that I thought would be fun to share. Leslie is my girlfriend that I went to visit last month in California. We've been friends since we were 10. Benjamin is her son, he's 14 now and basically as tall as we are. (I haven't seen either of them in person since the first photo). He's always been adorable, and my favorite "nephew" (in quotes because we're not related, tho he does call me Aunt Susie).

He didn't want his picture taken at all on this trip but I talked him into it so I'd have something to compare to the other one. Don't mind that "guy" lurking in the background.

Our Thanksgiving Menu

2010-11-17T15:46:00.000-09:00

I'm starting to plan our Thanksgiving dinner menu and thought "Why not add it to the blog?!" That's part of why I started a blog in the first place. I wanted a place to somewhat organize recipes, share photos, and try to keep myself motivated to actually make & blog about bentos. Not that I've done much of that lately but this way I've got something to work toward.

I'm sure this year's menu will include dishes from previous years. Last year I saw an article by Guy Feiri about how you should never serve a new recipe you haven't tried to guests. Well, I guess he won't be coming to my house any time soon, because I usually use guests as my guinea pigs to some degree. Not often for Thanksgiving, usually more for football or a Superbowl get together, but still.

I just found this recipe for Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes that I want to try this year. The last couple of years I've made a sweet potato dish in the crock pot that worked out well, but this looked so yummy I immediately had to put it on the list.

Ok, scratch that previous sweet potato recipe - I've jumped ship and am going with this recipe for Sweet Potato Balls now instead. My girlfriend said she started making these a couple years back for turkey day and they have been highly requested ever since then. I think I've read all the reviews on the Food Network site, so I'm a little hesitant, but I'm going to give it a try anyway. We're going to go the route of rolling them in cinnamon sugar as suggested by my friend and some of the reviewers online. The sweetened coconut just sounds too sweet. I may also roll a few of them in chopped pecans.

So the menu is:

Baked Brie with Apples & Cranberries - this is another one where the baking dish is usually ~~licked clean~~ completely clean before dinner even starts (licked clean is kinda gross sounding I guess)

Shrimp in mini phyllo shells - I thought I'd modify this recipe for Shrimp Wonton Cups to use the mini-phyllo shells instead. The filling is always a hit, and I just love those little phyllo shells.

Turkey,Gravy, & Stuffing - my mom is bringing these first three
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes - I've made these a couple times before and they always turn out good. Love being able to use the crockpot too. Frees up some of that high-value oven space.
Cranberry Jello salad
Corn Pudding
Green Bean Casserole

Crunchy Pumpkin Dessert Squares - this is another I've made several times and it's always gone before I know it!

Would love to hear what's on your menu.

Honeymaid Fruit Salsa

2010-11-15T12:03:00.001-09:00

I found this recipe about a year ago on the back of the graham cracker box. It's really easy to throw together and can be modified to add additional fruit or change some of them out. I've added diced kiwi & mango to the other fruits in the recipe. Next time will try pineapple.

HoneyMaid Fruit Salsa
Serves 8

1/4 cup chopped red apple
1/4 cup chopped seedless grapes
1/4 cup canned mandarin orange segments, drained & cut in half
1/4 cup chopped strawberries
2 Tbsp. apricot preserves (also good with peach Simply Fruit)
Graham Crackers or Graham sticks for dipping

Mix fruit and preserves until well blended. Place in small strainer over bowl (funny, I don't ever remember seeing that part of the instructions and I'm sure I've never drained my fruit). Refrigerate at least 30 minutes (I rarely do this when I first make it either).

NI per 1 Tbsp: 80 calories, 1g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 95mg sodium, 18g carbohydrate, <1g fiber, 9g sugars, 1g protein.

Menu Plan Monday #13

2010-11-15T10:07:00.000-09:00

Starting up the Menu Plan a little early this week because I've found a couple of recipes I want to try and wanted to add them here so I wouldn't lose track of where there were. Well that, and to remind myself on the weekend when I'm making a grocery list to get the items I need for these too.

The first one is Spiced Persimmon & Pecan Muffins from Cooking Light. I've never tried persimmon, so this is my adventurous recipe for this week. I've got a few persimmon coming in my box from Full Circle Farm. They have a corresponding food blog that has great recipes for using the ingredients that come in one's box. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe & sampling persimmons!

The second is Cranberry Bars from Allrecipes. Last month when I was in Washington I picked up a couple of cranberry bars that had been made with fresh cranberries at a farmers market. It was so good! I thought it might be tasty so I bought 2, one to eat and one to freeze so I could try to find a suitable recipe to replicate it. I've still got 1/2 a bar in the freezer so I can taste test it against this recipe. I don't think it will be Weight Watchers friendly, but it will hopefully make a nice addition to holiday cookie trays.

That reminds me, I need to start a post with recipes that are great in holiday cookie trays. For now, let's revisit the Gingerbread biscotti recipe that was such a hit last year.

And, on to the menu plan:

Monday: Veggie Stir Fry (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: WW Lemon Chicken with Roasted Potatoes (& other roasted veg)

Wednesday: Muffin Cup Meatloaf - carryover from last week, a couple of nights the menu plan just didn't happen

Thursday: Potato Soup

Friday: TBD

Saturday: Salmon Lettuce Wraps - attempting to modify this recipe for Chicken Lettuce Wraps to use Salmon.

Sunday: Homemade pizza or leftovers

Check out hundreds of other menu plans at orgjunkie.

Fluffy White Snow

2010-11-13T17:03:00.001-09:00

Here's a quick street scene from this morning. We woke up to about 4" of the fluffy white stuff today. Now I'm going to play Christmas music!

Sent from my HTC

Menu Plan Monday #12

2010-11-09T11:15:00.000-09:00

This week's menu plan isn't too exciting. In fact, I don't think I've got anything new on the menu. No new recipes to try, no new foods, just repeats from previous menu plans. Some of them weren't even that long ago. Maybe next week will be a whole week of all new. Probably not, but I'll have a few in there I'm sure.

Monday: Loaded Baked Potatoes (minus the bacon = Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Almond Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Wednesday: Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic reduction. Served with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Thursday: Meatloaf Muffins

Friday: out

Saturday: Halibut topped with Artichoke Tapenade and Pancetta

Sunday: TBD - maybe leftovers

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.

Full Circle Farm

2010-11-07T16:05:00.001-09:00

This week I received my first box of subscription organic fruit & veggies from Full Circle Farm. Full Circle started as a CSA for just Washington, and then added Alaska to it's list of locations for subscription produce.

Subscriptions are on either a weekly or every other week schedule (every other week for me, at least to start), and are delivered to a variety of locations all over Alaska - even the bush communities! The week before the box comes you receive an email detailing what's going to be in the next box and have the opportunity to change out as much or as little as you like, depending on what's available. We don't normally get the best produce in Alaska. Most of it is shipped up by the bigger grocery chains and comes from California or wherever happens to have some manner of fruit or veggies that appear somewhat ripe.

I was so excited to receive my first box! I've been pleased with the quality of what came in our box - though it's hard to tell from the bad mobile photos.

I'm at 100?!

2010-11-06T18:27:00.001-08:00

100 posts for me! Woo-hoo!! How to celebrate? Well, not too exciting, but tonight is chili & cornbread night. I'm making "Lydia's famous chili." You're probably wondering who is this Lydia, and what makes her chili famous? Well...that's just what I call it. Lydia is my sister-in-law, and she's always posting on Facebook when it's chili night. We don't live nearby, so I was always hearing about this chili and to me it became famous - and something I really needed to try. We visited WV this past summer and finally got to try Lydia's chili! It was really good, and easy to make. It's really a Sandra Lee recipe. Tonight I'm making it with ground turkey breast.

Chunky Chili
aka Lydia's Famous Chili
original recipe from Sandra Lee

2 Tbsp butter
1 med sweet onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 cans (15 oz ea) red kidney beans, drained (or use 1 can of kidney beans and 1 can of black beans)
1 jar marinara sauce (I use Newman's Own)
1 pkg (1.25 oz) chili seasoning
optional toppings (cheese, sour cream & chives)

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion & saute until softened. Crumble in the beef & cook until browned. Stir in the beans & marinara sauce. Stir in chili seasoning. Reduce heat & simmer for 15 min. Ladle into soup bowls & garnish w/shredded cheese, sour cream & chives if desired.

Serve with cornbread.

Menu Plan Monday #11

2010-11-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

This weekend I didn't have much time to figure out this week's menu. We did spend some time with our "little" Noah (we mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters) doing science experiments & playing guitar. Dave and I also carved a couple of pumpkins.

I guess it's on to the menu plan. I'm still planning, and working through my grocery list but I'm running out of day and need to get a move on.

Next Friday we receive our first box of veggies & fruit from Full Circle Farm, so I'm going to find recipes to use up the box contents for next week. I'm looking forward to it!

Monday: leftovers of Chicken Casserole Supreme (no Meatless Monday today since we have leftovers and I've got a quilt class tonight which leaves no time to cook)

Tuesday: I was considering Tofu Tuesday, but didn't come up with anything, so I'm going to try last week's Thanksgiving in a Pot since I was able to find a turkey breast.

Wednesday: (Meatless) Fried Rice with veggies

Thursday: probably out - we're going to see Seth Meyers of SNL fame!

Friday: Chili & Cornbread

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: leftovers or pizza

--------------
I'd still like to try a couple of these recipes. They haven't happened yet, but there's always a chance, right?!

Roasted Cauliflower with dates & pine nuts,

Chocolate Spiderweb Cookies (Cooking Light)
Fudgy Brownies (Cooking Light) I LOVE LOVE LOVE brownies! I hope these are good!
Pumpkin Butter (Skinny Taste)

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.

Menu Plan Monday #10

2010-10-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

Back in the groove this week after being gone a week on vacation. Went by quickly, as I knew it would, but was fun & got to visit with people I haven't seen in years.

On to the menu plan. Tonight I'm hungry so it's hard to narrow down the choices for this week. Luckily I already had something written down for Meatless Monday that I found before I left. The rest of the week I'm thinking comfort foods, a new recipe or 2, and then we'll see.

Monday: Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie - Prevention.com (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Sauteed Apples - Cooking Light. We already have one favorite pork tenderloin recipe. I'm hoping this will be our next fave.

Wednesday: Fried Rice - probably veggie fried rice

Thursday: Chicken Casserole Supreme - Taste of Home. Comfort food. Can't go wrong with chicken & stuffing all baked together, and fall is a great time to add apples to everything!

Friday: out

Saturday: Thanksgiving in a Pot (Sandra Lee crockpot recipe) I don't know if our stores have turkey breast yet. If/when they do I'm buying several to throw in the freezer.

Sunday: leftovers

Possible Sides: Roasted Cauliflower with dates & pine nuts,

A couple of extras I'm bringing back from week's past that I didn't have time to make yet. Fingers crossed I'll get to at least one of these!

Chocolate Spiderweb Cookies (Cooking Light)
Fudgy Brownies (Cooking Light) I LOVE LOVE LOVE brownies! I hope these are good!
Pumpkin Butter (Skinny Taste)

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.

A bento!

2010-10-15T17:38:00.000-08:00

Terrible photo - delicious dinner! This was a bento dinner I had at a sushi place in Eagle River, AK after my girlfriend and I went to a movie in Anchorage. She had been here before and said it was really good, so I thought I needed to sample it too!

Dinner was delish! I ordered a combo dinner and it came in this bento box. Teriyaki chicken, rice, California roll, and tempura shrimp....shhhrrriiiiiiimmmpp! I could eat my weight in shrimp nearly every day. I love love love it. This tempura shrimp was really good too. When I was almost done eating I looked under the little bowl of sauce and found steamed edemame in the pod! Surprise! Mmmm. There was so much food I couldn't eat it all, so I brought home the chicken & some rice for Dave.

Definitely great find for another dinner stop. Speaking of dinner...I could use some now.

Menu Plan Monday #8

2010-10-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

Well, it's not even Monday and I'm starting the new week's Menu Plan. Ha, it's not even the weekend. I'm starting this menu plan on . . . Wednesday! I can't help myself. I've already seen some new recipes that I want to try next week, so I figured why not go ahead and start the blog post early. It will save me some time on Sunday.

Ok, so the only thing I added early was the Wednesday dinner plan. I got excited about figuring things out early and then got distracted with other things before I could finish. This menu plan is a little shorter since I'll be out of town Saturday & Sunday and Dave will be on his own for dinner. Luckily I've got quite a long list of dinners already in the freezer from the menu plan dinners I've made over the last few weeks. He wouldn't have to cook at all while I'm gone if he didn't want to.

Monday: Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers - Prevention.com (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Baked or grilled Salmon with couscous

Wednesday: Cat Cora's Chicken Stroganoff I saw her prepare this on the Today show and it looked so good it's immediately going on my menu plan!

Thursday: Chili

Friday: We'll most likely eat out.

I did not get to the additional recipes last week that I wanted to try, so I may try them this week, or after I get back from vacation.

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.

Recipe Review: Meatloaf Muffins

2010-10-08T11:56:00.001-08:00

I'm not big on meatloaf. The only one I ever really "liked" was the one my husbands grandmother would make when we would go to her place for dinner. Somehow she made it not only bearable but managed to make it yummy to me too, so all this time I've had hope that I would someday find a good meatloaf recipe.

You know how meatloaf can get dry and still somehow a little slimey? This recipe definitely doesn't do that. It's now on the list of recipes I'll make again (there aren't many on this list but it has been slowly growing lately). I'm not big on mustard either and there is mustard in this recipe. When I was mixing it all together the mustard really stood out as a strong smell to me and I didn't think I would like it because of that. Against my better judgment I went ahead and followed the recipe as written (a rarity for me for sure!) and was pleasantly surprised. It was easy to put together, nothing crazy in the ingredient list, and baked up delish! These are very point-friendly too.

Hard to get a good photo in a hurry, at night, with poor kitchen lighting. I really need to plan ahead and get a better lit photo one of these days.

Meatloaf Muffins
original recipe Shrinking on a Budget

Serves 6

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 teaspoon jarred garlic)
3/4 cup ketchup, divided
1 1/2 lbs extra lean ground beef
1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers (about 20)
3 tablespoons prepared mustard, divided
1 teaspoons brown sugar or Equal
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
(2) sticks 2% String cheese
cooking spray

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chopped carrot, dried italian seasoning, and minced garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Take off heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Thoroughly combine onion mixture, 1/2 cup of the ketchup, 2 tablespoons of the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and eggs in a large bowl. After combining wet ingredients, add ground beef and cracker. Incorporate all well, but don't over mix.

Cut each string cheese stick into six equal pieces (total of 12). Combine 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 tablespoons mustard, and brown sugar. Spoon the meat mixture evenly into 12 (medium) muffin tin cups coated with cooking spray (or 6 of the very large muffin cups). "Squish" 1 string cheese piece in each meatloaf muffin so it is at least somewhat covered with meat. Top each evenly with ketchup mixture. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes.

wwp: 6

Recipe Review: Chicken Lettuce Wraps

2010-10-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

So last night I made the Chicken Lettuce Wraps from Taste of Home. Of course I always have a few adjustments to the recipe so the flavors suit our taste. The list of ingredients looks a bit long, but other than having to buy the specific lettuce for the wraps these are items I usually have on-hand for Asian-type cooking.

I couldn't think of what to serve with them, so we had some mashed sweet potato and a quick 5-cup salad.

The wraps turned out really tasty and I will definitely be making them again. Sorry for the poor photo - I was so starving and ready to eat that I just snapped a quick cell phone photo.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 tablespoon plus 1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
3/4 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1 can (8 ounces) water chestnuts, drained and diced (yep, they would have been better if I had read "diced")
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium teriyaki sauce ( I used Yoshida's)
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (omitted)
1-1/2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup julienned green onions
12 Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook chicken
in 1 tablespoon oil for 3 minutes; drain. Add the mushrooms, water
chestnuts and ginger; cook 4-6 minutes longer or until chicken is no
longer pink. Drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, garlic
powder, red pepper flakes and remaining oil. Stir in the carrots,
onions and chicken mixture. (I actually heated this in the pan I had cooked the chicken in and then stirred it all together - including the slivered almonds)

Spoon onto lettuce leaves; sprinkle with almonds. If desired, fold sides of lettuce over filling and roll up.

Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 2 wraps equals 230 calories, 9 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 63 mg cholesterol, 278 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 26 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 very lean meat, 2 vegetable, 1 fat.

Menu Plan Monday #7

2010-10-04T21:22:00.002-08:00

So what's new this week? Any new recipes you'll be trying that you want to share? I almost always have a new recipe to try.

Last week's recipes didn't all get made and a few of the nights meals were moved around. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to move them over to this week's menu, or save them for another week. I guess we'll know soon enough...

Monday: Lemon Basil pasta with broccoli (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Taste of Home)

Wednesday: Meatloaf Muffins (Shrinking on a Budget) and baked sweet potatoes

Thursday: Taco Soup - will try to remember to post the recipe. It's definitely one of our faves!

Friday: Probably out

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Sandra Lee Slow Cooker Brisket (Food Network) with roasted peanut potatoes

A couple of other recipes I'd like to try this week:

Chocolate Spiderweb Cookies (Cooking Light)
Fudgy Brownies (Cooking Light) I LOVE LOVE LOVE brownies! I hope these are good!
Pumpkin Butter (Skinny Taste)

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.

Steamed Buns Success!

2010-09-28T12:49:00.002-08:00

Last night I attempted steamed buns for the first time. I've never even eaten them before but thought I should try them. I followed the basic instructions I found on Bento for Beginners and came up with these measurements.
1 cup Fiber One pancake mix
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup white wheat flour
Mix together pancake mix and water then add in flour. Turn out onto lightly floured surface & knead. Form a log shape & cut into 4 equal pieces. Fill each piece with desired filling (I used a veggie mixture for Meatless Monday) and steam for about 20 minutes. They turned really tasty but next time I will try to get more filling in them.

Menu Plan Monday #6

2010-09-27T12:30:00.000-08:00

Another week another meal plan. I've got so many new recipes and ideas I want to try I think I've got at least half of next week's plan on paper already. Or I should say on several little pieces of paper. I make lots of little notes here and there and as a result my desk & kitchen island look like a tornado of sticky notes.

Monday: Veggie filled Steamed Buns (technique/sorta recipe from Bento for Beginners) (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes or eating out as we'll be in Anchorage picking my mom up from the airport again.

Wednesday: Sweet & Sour Pork

Thursday: Asian Chicken & Rice Soup (WW Comfort Foods cookbook p.40). I've also got a quilt class this evening, so was looking for something quick & easy.

Friday: Usually eat out on Friday night

Saturday: Leftovers from this week - whatever hasn't been eaten for lunches

Sunday: Beef Wellington Bites from Seaside Simplicity

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.

Yep - The Snow is Coming

2010-09-26T19:05:00.002-08:00

The last several days we've had a terrible wind storm. Gusts to 80 mph, power out for hours (ours was only out 5 hours, I've heard other reports of power out over 24 hrs so far), trees & limbs down all over, lots and lots of glacial silt blowing around & an air quality alert in effect until Monday morning (although the wind has mostly died down and the air isn't bad now). I noticed it was very cloudy by the mountains and had a look of snow. There's a certain look the sky and clouds get when it's thinking about snowing. You just know it's coming. I took out the garbage and noticed we were getting flurries. Not many, and they didn't "stick" but it was still enough to remind us it's not far off. Once the clouds lifted . . . well, see for yourself.

This is taken right in front of my mom's house. Lazy Mtn on the left and hidden in the clouds is Matanuska Peak. It's got a good bit of snow on it. Lazy only got a light dusting on the top.

The sun came out a little on Lazy and you can see Matanuska Peak better through the clouds in this one.

This is the view from our office parking lot down town. This is Pioneer Peak.

Another shot of Pioneer Peak and the Palmer water tower.

It's a Bento!!

2010-09-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

This was our Meatless Monday Bento for this week. The top one was Dave's - carrot raisin roll up, apples & peanut butter, and a baby bel ladybug on top of wheat thins.

Mine had the same carrot raisin roll ups, part of an apple, vanilla creme brule mini rice cakes, and some tomatoes (from my garden), mozzarella & basil (also from my garden) drizzled with a little balsamic. Those little carrot raisin roll ups are really tasty and not too bad on the points.

Lounging Around

2010-09-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Neptune and I were lounging around watching tv (he's the black dog), when Panda decided she desperately needed to be on the couch with us. She leaped into the air over Neptune and landed here. Looks comfy, right?!

Menu Plan Monday #5

2010-09-20T14:18:00.001-08:00

This week looks like it might be a little less busy than last week. I'm always optimistic on Sunday evening when I'm thinking about all the things I think I'll have time to make in the upcoming week. Some weeks it works out perfectly, other weeks I'm over ambitious with my planning. In any case if that happens I've got options for the following week too!

Monday: Sweet Corn & Potato Soup with garlic bread (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Apple-Chicken Crostini melts

Wednesday: ~~Thanksgiving in a Pot (Sandra Lee crockpot recipe)~~ I guess turkey breast isn't something our stores normally carry. I think I have Pork Mango Potstickers in the freezer, so we'll have that instead with some stuffed zucchini on the side.

Thursday: Chicken Enchilasagna (from the Most Decadent Diet cookbook)

Friday: Probably eating out

Saturday: Leftovers - Thanksgiving or Chicken Enchilasagna

Sunday: Veggie stuffed baked potato skins

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.

Pumpkin Scones

2010-09-19T16:47:00.001-08:00

Fall is definitely upon us here in South central Alaska. Most of the trees are past their peak color and the leaves are dropping quickly. Soon we will see "termination dust" on the tops of the mountains. Termination dust is the name for the first snow that signals it's time for the outsiders to leave. I hope we don't see it for a while but you never know.
Fall makes me want to bake, although i don't consider myself much of a baker. Today I made Pumpkin Scones. They're quite tasty but not exactly scone density or texture. Any suggestion on where to tweak the recipe?

Pumpkin Scones
Makes 20 small scones

2 1/2 cups Bisquick heart smart baking mix
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg or egg sub equal to 1 egg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 - 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp coarse sugar
Mix first 6 ingredients together in to a soft dough. Drop by medium cookie scoop on to baking stone. Flatten slightly with back of a spoon. Brush milk on to each scone & follow with coarse sugar. Bake at 425 for 11-13 minutes.

Scenery

2010-09-15T16:09:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from a few weeks ago. I love the patterns the clouds make in the sky here. They always look like they're going somewhere (which I guess they probably are) or trying to direct you somewhere. This was taken a few miles from Palmer as I was driving home one evening. My guess on the time of day would be 9pm or so. Even into August we have sun & light late into the evening.

These next two photos were taken at the City flower & veggie garden. It's not very big, but they grow a wide variety of plants there, mostly perennials, and a few veggies. This year I noticed they had some yummy looking (you're not supposed to pick them) golden raspberries.

This first one is clematis. I believe the second one is echinacea.

Menu Plan Monday #4

2010-09-13T11:05:00.002-08:00

This week I'm going for super simple since we're going to be busy with work, meetings, board meetings, and running to the airport to pick up my mom.

Last week's menu was hit and miss. I didn't get it all done so there is some carry-over from last week's menu here too.

Monday: Sweet Potato Risotto (Meatless Monday), and I can't figure out what else to have with it . . . maybe just salad.

Tuesday: Pork Tenderloin with balsamic reduction, roasted peanut potatoes, and stuffed zucchini (carry-over from last week's menu)

Wednesday: Burgers and veggies on the grill - we're supposed to have sunshine & temps in the 60's all week!

Thursday: Grilled salmon with leftover risotto made into risotto cakes

Friday: Grab something on the run - I'm hoping for Chinese. We're headed to Anchorage to pick up my mom from the airport.

Saturday: Veggie stir-fry over rice

Sunday: Homemade pizza for football night.

That's it. Quick and easy.

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.

My Panda is a STAR!

2010-09-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back, maybe a month, I got a fun package in the mail. Two copies of the 2011 Dog Fancy Calendar with the letter announcing my dog PANDA has made the cut and is featured on Feb. 26, 2011!

At one time or another I've entered all the dogs in the calendar and they've all made the cut. What can I say, we have adorable pups. :)

Foto Friday - Veggies!

2010-09-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

A few days ago our Alaska State Fair ended. Sadly I didn't make it back during the last few days to see the giant cabbages and all of the giant veggies. I did go during the first few days and saw these giant veggies, including the new record breaking pumpkin. They said with all the rain and cool weather this summer we wouldn't see many really large veggies and likely wouldn't see ANY record breakers. Well, this guy certainly proved them wrong.

This is the new record breaking giant pumpkin that was grown by a guy in Anchorage. It weighed in at 1,101 pounds! I think the last record was right around 1,000 lbs.

Additional large veggies that were on hand the day I was there. The long thing in front is a gourd. It's 76 3/4" long. The turnip on the right weighed in at 19.6 lbs, and the kohlrabi came in at 20.05 lbs. The far left is a large head of cauliflower but I didn't see it's weight. Pretty cool!

Menu Plan Monday #3

2010-09-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

This week looks like it's going to continue to be cool, cloudy and rainy, so I'm thinking lots of comfort food.

Monday: Quinoa pilaf (Meatless Monday)

Tuesday: Aarti's Pulled Pork with Mango BBQ Sauce (IF I can find pureed mango) and Apple Lime Slaw

Wednesday: Spaghetti (Jan's "secret" recipe) :) & large green salad

Thursday: Football at a friend's house (I'm hoping to take along a dessert)

Friday: Leftovers or Out

Saturday: Halibut or Salmon

Sunday: Pork Tenderloion with balsamic reduction, roasted peanut potatoes, stuffed zucchini

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.

Foto Friday from my Garden

2010-09-03T12:33:00.001-08:00

This will be so yummy! It's about the size of a softball! There are two more babies on the plant but it's unlikely there will be enough time for them to get very big before we get frost. That's okay because the babies are tasty & there's no "choke" in them.

Finally a Bento!

2010-09-02T15:15:00.000-08:00

Finally a bento lunch for us - and it's September now. How did that happen?! I packed these lunches as a picnic lunch thinking we would get out of the house today for lunch and enjoy a little sun. We ended up eating at the office, but that's okay, it was a change of scenery anyway. Sorry about the flash & bad indoor lighting, but at least there is a picture.

The box on the left is my new box my hubby got me for our anniversary! I love it! It has little Russian stacking dolls on the clear lid, and the little handles that snap down on the sides. It's smaller than I realized, but that's okay, I used my Mio snack box too!

My lunch has pb&j on a sandwich thin (cut in heart shapes), local garlic dill cheese curds, and fresh raspberries mixed with a little sour cream and powdered sugar. Mio has cut up cantaloupe.

D's box has turkey & cheese on a heart shaped sandwich thin, Laughing Cow blue cheese with pretzels, and a couple of golden oreos. (both of the heart sandwiches are 2 stacked on top of each other)

Menu Plan Monday #2

2010-08-30T12:45:00.000-08:00

For some reason I'm having trouble coming up with the menu for this week. Probably because it's starting to feel like fall outside and I want warm comfort food. I usually enjoy trying new recipes, and this week is no exception, I've found a couple that are new to me, and some where I'm going to wing-it and see how it turns out.

Monday: Snacking Tofu (from TinySkillet) & soba noodle stir fry (simple - soba noodles & whatever veggies I have on-hand to add to stir fry)

Tuesday: Beef Stroganoff Stew - this one I'm putting together based on a yummy stew we had at a local restaurant last winter. I had completely forgotten about it until this morning. If it turns out I'll post my recipe later in the week.

Wednesday: State Fair food - planning to go to the Fair this evening and enjoy some of the great food they have there.

Thursday: Almond Crusted Chicken & fettuccine alfredo & stuffed zucchini

Friday: TBD - we usually eat out on Friday night

Saturday: 5Fix Fresh Pea Ravioli & herb crusted salmon

Sunday: Leftovers

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Check out the hundreds of other menus posted.

Where's the rest of my post?

2010-08-25T21:43:00.001-08:00

The previous "scenery" post is lacking another photo and the written part describing what was going on.
We took the dogs for a walk by the Matanuska river today. The mountain in the background is Pioneer Peak. Neptune loves to chase sticks and play in the water but we have to keep to the side chutes of the river because the water is so fast moving & the whole river comes from a melting glacier 60+ miles upstream.

More Scenery

2010-08-25T16:58:00.001-08:00

Blogging from my porch

2010-08-24T16:18:00.002-08:00

Still hot summer wherever you are? I happened to find a moment to sneak out to my porch and have an afternoon coffee in the sunshine. This is one of the nicest days we've had in a while so I had to take advantage of it. The first photo is my porch glider - all decked out in SUNSHINE! Can't contain my giddiness I just love the sun. The other two photos are from my drive this morning. Big clear skies & big dark mountains. Hope you enjoy!

Recipe Review: Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

2010-08-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

Found this recipe over at Food Network on the 5 Ingredient Fix show. I've been enjoying sweet potatoes more, so I thought I'd try this recipe and see if Dave likes it too. Sounds good to me, but I'll probably cut the spices back a bit for him.

Roasted Sweet Potato Fries
Original Recipe: 5 Ingredient Fix

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus 2 teaspoons
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Preheat the oven to 450°

Cut the sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch squared strips (fry shape) and put them into a large bowl.

In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice, 1 tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper, to taste, the ground ginger and cayenne pepper. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking until reduced to a thick consistency. Remove from the heat, pour over the sweet potatoes and toss to coat. (don't use your fingers, the oil is very hot)

Rub 2 teaspoons of remaining vegetable oil on a rimmed nonstick baking sheet or use a silicone liner and omit oil. Arrange the sweet potato strips on the prepared baking sheet and bake until brown, about 25 minutes, turning after about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the potatoes to a serving dish.

The verdict: I definitely could have baked them a little longer, but the rest of our dinner was ready and it was getting late, so I pulled them out before they got very crispy. The flavor was great. I didn't use ginger or cayenne, I used some Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus spice blend instead. Will definitely try them again when I've got a little more time.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-08-23T15:56:00.003-08:00

I'm always up for trying new things, and I'm always seeing this Menu Plan Monday on other blogs, so I thought I'd give it a try. Lots of great recipes & info over at Orgjunkie.

I've actually been planning our meals (usually on Sunday or Monday) for the last couple of months anyway, so why not document it and make it easier to find recipes and meal ideas?

Here's a stab at what we're planning to have this week: (as you can see I didn't fully complete the week, but that's just how this week is going)

Monday: Laughing Cow Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday: Our 13th Anniversary - we're planning to eat out!

Wednesday: Grown Up Rice Pilaf (meatless) (I'll post the recipe later this week)

Thursday: 3 Cheese Garden Pizza - I've got a bunch of zucchini to use up and love it on this pizza!

Friday: Chili or Spaghetti

Saturday: Leftovers or out

Sunday: TBD

**Most days will include a salad & veg even when not specifically listed.

Foto Friday

2010-08-13T17:54:00.003-08:00

These are two fused glass pendants I made at the Wow Factory while we were visiting family in West Virginia. I just entered the one on the left into the Alaska State Fair. The fair starts in two weeks and I'm always anxious to see all the crafts, quilts, livestock, giant giant veggies, and flowers that are entered. My husband on the other hand is less than thrilled about going to the fair and says "it seems like we were just there!" but he is nice and goes along anyway.

Bento Finds

2010-08-13T10:14:00.000-08:00

Here are my bento finds from our recent vacation. One of these days I'll actually post some vacation photos, but right now it's hard to narrow them down to just a few.

There may have been a couple more items, but these are the ones I remember right now. And no, I didn't find any actual bento boxes (though the round one will work for something) in West Virginia.

- 4 plastic rounds to go under cakes. I thought these might be cute for bento photo backgrounds. Found them at IKEA for almost nothing. That's what I love about IKEA. Good thing there isn't one in Alaska.

- mini silicone baking cups

- Cupcake Creations papers in eclaire & muffin top shapes. Found these in a kitchen store in the Strip District in Pittsburgh, PA. They say you can bake in them without using a pan. I've been wanting to make muffin tops for a while now, but I don't have a pan. These should do the job.

- chocolate cat cookies from Trader Joe's. These are quite tasty and I thought they would be cute tucked into a bento lunch. Now I just have to make a couple of bentos before we eat all the cute kitty cookies.

- round plastic container with locking sides. There were 2 of these, but one didn't survive the trip back home. :( sniff, sniff. The surviving container is the smaller of the 2.

Recipe Review: Baked Almond Parm Encrusted Chicken

2010-08-12T16:18:00.000-08:00

I came across this recipe a couple of days ago while desperately searching for another one (no idea what the original search was for at this point, but I was doing some serious digging when I found this one). This recipe is originally by Amanda over at Lunchbox Limbo. It sounded so good to me and I had everything on hand, so this became my hubby's birthday dinner. I was going to sub pecans for the almonds, but he reminded me he doesn't like pecans. Good grief, who doesn't like pecans?! I used to sit at the kitchen table with my grandpa in Texas and clean the just collected pecans for what seemed like hours. So yummy, and when you're cleaning them you just HAVE to have one, or two, or . . . too many to count. Seriously, I love pecans and just tasting one takes me back there. But as I said, I did not use pecans in this recipe, but I might next time. Shhhh, don't tell.

Baked Almond Parmesan Encrusted Chicken
Adapted from: Lunchbox Limbo

1 1/2 cups almonds, chopped in food processor until fine
3/4 cup grated parmasean cheese
Panko
Italian Seasoning
1 egg, beaten
B.S. Chicken breast

Mix together chopped almonds, parm, panko & Italian seasoning. Pour part of almond parm mixture into a shallow dish. Put beaten egg in another shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg and then in almond mixture. Keep the other almond mixture separate so you can use it again later (uncontaminated by the raw chicken). I keep mine in the freezer for later.

At this point you can bake in a preheated oven in a dish that has been sprayed with oil, or cook in a pan in a tsp. of olive oil (what I did).

My review: We both really liked this dish, and I'll definitely make it again. If I had been thinking I would have made a pan sauce once the chicken was cooked, but instead I made a simple gravy on the side and served it with steamed new potatoes from the local farmers market and some frozen green beans.