Getting back into the swing of things...

So once again I went missing... Lets see the holidays (ya know way back in November and December) of course came rolling in... first a big family Thanksgiving at our house and then Chrismakuahh for us in early December. Then of course New Years and a few days after that we were off to Walt Disney World for a fantabulous vacation! Which we each came home from with nasty colds ya know with all those pesky kid germs flying around.. fast forward a few weeks..Blizzard of 2013 hit New England. Fast forward a few more weeks stomach flu... Fast forward to end of March.... Elbow & Hand surgery.... Ouch.. Owie... Yowzers... Did ya get all that? There is going to be a quiz after this!!

Sooooo that means I wasn't really cooking or typing which is still a pain in the you know what!!!  The hubs was great and did most of the cooking while I was laid up... I am pretty much back in the kitchen but need him to do the lifting..but it was a nice break for me. This is one of those recipes that was so delicious you would never now it took 5 minutes to throw together. 

I once again have to give credit to my new obsession Pinterest which is where I found this recipe.. OMG how does anyone get anything done with Pinterest around. Thanks to the silly site I found Bridget's Blog Whats cooking in the Burbs and lots of other great recipes of hers to try. So thank you Pinterest for this recipe and a new blog to follow. 

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili
adapted from Whats Cooking in the Burbs 

Items needed: 
Slow cooker 
I did change the amounts of a few things I will note with an * 

3 boneless skinless Chicken breasts* 
3/4 bottle Franks Buffalo Sauce (12 oz bottle)*
1 15.5 oz can Great Northern beans , rinsed
1 lg sweet onion, chopped 
3/4 c tomato sauce*
1 can creamed corn*
3/4 jar salsa *

Dump everything into the slow cooker and stir well, cook on low 5-6 hours. 
Shred chicken** and stir to combine
 
Serve with crushed or not tortillas, blue cheese and a dollop of sour cream if too spicy or just cause ya feel like it!

*** Now for my changes I uped it to 3 breasts that's how many came in the package didnt want to have 1 left over, made great leftovers for another recipe Ill post about later. Now because of this I upped the hot sauce, tomato sauce and salsa and we just dumped the whole can of corn because well we love corn..
I did not add the jalapeno, not because we are afraid of spice, but because I forgot to grab it at the store. I made up for it with the extra hot sauce. 

I also just shredded the chicken right in the crock pot, the original recipe called for taking it out.. I'm too lazy I'll admit it! 

Eat and Enjoy!!

Pesto Crusted Fish

This is another one of those recpes that once I make it I ask my hubby why I don't make it at least once a week.  Ahhhh just another one to add to the rotation, which makes me think I need to make a master rotation list so that when I am in a dinner slump I can look at the list and bam Dinner Idea!!  Sounds simple enough to do but its sticking with it that's the tough part. Not that I am admitting to starting things and not finishing them.. no not me (cough, cough) like this blog for instance.  We are talking about a list, ya know keep it with all the recipes that need to be files away, oh wait there I go again not finishing things bahahaha.. 

Ok so where was I oh yay my Pesto Crusted Fish recipe, so it is so delicious and like I said should go into the weekly rotation. There is no scientific recipe here basically 3 ingredients, fish of course , pesto and breadcrumbs now do you see why I want it in the weekly rotation soooo easy. 

Pesto Crusted Fish 
 Items Needed:
Baking Dish 

Preheat oven to 500  

•  2 Cod filets, or other white flaky fish 
•  1 small container Pesto, or fresh if ya have it, I did not.... 
•  Bread crumbs, why no measurement well you'll see  
• 2 tbsp Butter (YUMMMM) cut up

• Sprinkle fish with pepper no salt I find the pesto salty enough if you think it needs it then sprinkle with salt too
• Now this is when it gets tricky.... The pesto to breadcrumb ratio is really a personal one I think. If you love pesto then I would say use the whole container... if you are unsure then start with 3-4 tbsps of the pesto and about 2-3 tbsp breadcrumbs and continue until you get  a stiff consistency that tastes good for you, now gently place enough mixture on top to form a nice thick crust. We love pesto so I usually use a lot of pesto : ) 
• Place your butter in the baking dish and put in the oven to melt, once melted place your fish on top and bake for about 15 minutes or until flakes with a fork.

 Eat and Enjoy!!!!!

  

Back at it again Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Ok so once again I have been MIA... I am not going to lie this blogging thing is tough to keep up with...but I am back and ready with lots of recipes.. I might have been MIA from blogging but Not from the kitchen, I have diligently been taking pictures and documenting my cooking endeavors. First up is one of those recipes that I have probably pulled out of magazines a gajillion times.. And of course never made! Story of my life...no really if you could see the piles and piles of recipes ripped out of mags..my nemesis! Ok back to the recipe drum roll please....

Spinach Lasagna Rolls....

I love lasagna as it is but I loved the idea of how portable these were.. Because they are rolled up they are easier to pack up for lunch or to bring over to my parents house. ( I'm a good doobie and cook for them often.. I realized that after all this time saving the recipe it was pretty much the same as my regular lasagna so I dumped all that paper lol and winged it.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Preheat oven to 350'

Items needed: Baking Dish 9 x 13

10 lasagna noodles, only need 8, 2 extra just on case, cooked per directions 1

10 oz pkge spinach, thawed and completely drained** very important to drain well

1 15 oz container fat free ricotta cheese

1 c Mozzarella cheese

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

1 egg

32 oz jar of tomato sauce of choice

Salt and pepper

Pour 1 cup sauce in baking dish In a large bowl mix the ricotta, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella, 2 tbs of the Parmesan, salt, pepper and the spinach, mix well.

Lay a nice size piece of wax paper ( I didn't have any so I used parchment paper worked well but wax is probably better. Lay lasagna noodles down on the paper and pat dry

Take 3/4 c of the ricotta mixture and spread onto the noodle evenly, roll each one carefully not gonna lie some will come out the sides... But do your best to keep all in there lol




Place each noodle seam side down in the baking dish Repeat with remaining noodles and ladle sauce over them and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese

Cover with foil and bake about 40 minutes until cheese is bubbly then remove foil and just slightly brown the cheese yummy!!




Ladle some sauce on a plate to serve and enjoy!!

****To drain the spinach really well place in a kitchen towel and squeeze until ya can't squeeze no more!!!

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Hot Bacon and Crab Dip

One of my favorite parts of subscribing to The Food Network magazine is the 50 Things to Make with ( fill in the blank...) section. Well September's issue did not disappoint, "Bacon" was the topic and of course I wanted to make all 50 right then and there, but come on that would be bacon overload... or would it??   Because really what can’t you do with bacon remember my post about The Big E, and the chocolate covered bacon, Bacon really does make everything better!! I had made this in August for a family dinner when my brother and his family were visiting from New York. It was a big hit along with some other dips that I made, and so we decided to make it again for Sunday Funday. It is not only easy peasy but absolutely delicious and would be great for a party. I made mine with Flatouts cut up, and baked in the oven and they are so good. You could use any type of scooper you wanted really or even some French bread sliced and baked lightly. Either way it is so good that there won't be any leftover ( boooo)  which was sad but that just means we will have to make it again!!

Hot Bacon and Crab Dip slightly adapted from Food Network # 31 on the list

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

Items Needed

Cookie  Sheet

Baking Dish

Prep time: 10 mins 

Cook time : 5-7 mins Flat outs

         30 mins dip

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 8 oz canned crab meat, drained and gone over for shells
• 1 c crumbled bacon
• 1/2 c mayoniase 
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 pkge Flat Outs 
• olive oil
• seasoned salt 
• cayenne pepper

• Cut the flatouts into triangles and brush with the olive oil then sprinkle with the seasoned salt and the cayenne pepper bake for 5-7 mins until crisp 
• Mix the first 5 ingredients together and spread into a baking dish and bake until bubbly about 30 mins 

Eat and Enjoy!!

Another year another Birthday……

My beautiful flowers that were waiting for me when I woke up!!

So I am now officially on the wrong side of 30… half way to 40 really…I celebrated yet another year yesterday! This can’t be happening.. I remember thinking how old that must be and now I am here. Its been downhill all month too.. First it was the eyes, I had to get new glasses, as if I didn’t feel old enough the doc said “ wow your eyesight has definitely changed since your last visit." Thanks Doc..  Are you trying to tell me I’m getting old??? I also had to have hernia surgery two weeks ago and have been walking around like an old hunched over lady.. so of course my friends and family had to rub it in that I was getting old… So because of the surgery and the fact that I am still a hurting unit, we didn’t do anything crazy to celebrate just a nice breakfast and a relaxing drive, the weather was beautiful and I haven't really been to of the house much lol 

We went to breakfast at a local spot and of course I made sure what we ordered we could split, and they were oh so yummy!! 

 

Baked Apple and Chunky Monkey Pancakes!! 

Oh my these were good!! The Baked Apple is so delicious and was a huge portion so of course what does a birthday girl do? Bring the leftover Baked Apple home and had it for dessert with some ice cream YUMMY!!!

All in all it was a great birthday!! I am also officially counting backwards starting with the next birthday, who's with me??!!??!!??

Taco Turkey Burger

With the summer winding down, and the colder weather coming in we have been trying to grill as much as possible. This is one of those oh my gosh what are we going to eat for dinner type of recipes, and since I had some turkey on hand it was really a no brainer. Well the burger idea was a no brainer but what kind of burger was another story. We had just had Teriyaki Burgers so that was out, and I was craving Mexican so why not a taco burger. And boy am I glad I made these yummy burgers definitely a keeper recipe. Here's a little secret to getting your burgers seasoned right; test them by making a tini tiny burger and cooking it in a frying pan and tasting it because really how else can you tell if the seasoning is right.. Well besides eating raw meat.. yuck... I do this with meatballs too, I was always under seasoning them and now that I think about it not a bad idea for meatloaf either. After tasting my tini tiny sample I decided it needed a little something.. I decided on two spoonfuls of salsa added to the meat micture. Ah perfect! 

Taco Turkey Burger 

Item Needed

Grill

Serves 2

Prep time  5 mins

Cook Time depends on desired doneness  

• 2-3 tbsp taco seasoning
• 1/2 pkg. ground Turkey
• salt/pepper
• Wholly Guacamole,optonal
• 2 spoonfuls salsa 
• Salsa Topping,optional
• Cheese,optional
• Banana Peppers, optional
• Sour Cream, optional

• Season turkey with the taco seasoning, salt and pepper, and two spoonfuls of the salsa then lightly mix it all together and form 2 patties and press a thumb print in the middle (so it doesn't puff up)
• Now make your tini tiny burger and fry it up.. give a taste, is it ok or does it need more? Add more if it needs if not head out to the grill
• Grill patties over medium high heat for 5-8 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness  
• I added a slice of Monteray Jack cheese 1 minute before pulling off the grill
• Top with your favorite fixin's 

Eat and Enjoy!!