Wednesday, June 10, 2009

ahem......remember me?

OK, so it's been a while!
I've been cooking......just not doing so much posting about it.

But......

Since I've just started a weight loss and get healthy program, I'll be posting again soon!

Stay tuned and seriously give the recipes a try! You might find you like healthy!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Jennifer's Chocolate No Bakes

Who wants cookies?????

Me! Me! Me!!

My best friend and I went through a "phase" (we'll call it) that involved making a batch of these little nummies every Sunday. We'd push our stollers and walk around the base every morning, then eat 3-4 of these every weekend. Wonder why we never lost weight?

Of course it couldn't have been my Dad's secret recipe chocolate milk shakes in the afternoons. Nah, couldn't have been that!

Now, I've eaten many (MANY) versions of this cookie and this is the best recipe I've found. Perfect balance of chocolate and peanut butter. I was so proud of this recipe that I entered the cookies into the Garfield County fair. I proudly walked with all the little old ladies (no offense Granny) carrying my cookies into the Expo Center. AND I WON SECOND PLACE! Yay me!

I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as Amanda and I did.

A word of advice.....in the form of a run on sentence......
If your husband leaves the state on Monday to be at a wedding in his hometown that's not until Saturday and calls you several times talking about how much fun he's having with all his friends while you sit at home with two children and you decide to make these cookies and eat them all out of sheer frustration......stop at 5 or you will be sick.......just trust me.

Ingredients:

1 stick butter or margarine
2 c sugar
1/4 c cocoa
1/2 c milk
1t vanilla flavoring
1 c peanut butter
2 1/2 c quick cooking oats

Directions:
Place wax paper or buttered aluminium foil on table or counter.
Stir together sugar and cocoa in a large pot. Cut butter into large chunks and add to the pot. Heat on med high until butter melts. Add milk. Bring to a rolling boil and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, add vanilla and peanut butter. Stir until peanut butter melts. Add oats. Stir well. Drop onto prepared wax paper or foil. Let set up, eat. If the don't set up....eat with a spoon. Manda and I have done this many times. Hey, it happens!

Note: if you make these on a rainy day, you'll most likely be eating them with a spoon. Also, when typing "add" make sure your finger is not on the "s".

Thursday, February 19, 2009

My Creamy Pasta Sauce and Homemade Bread Sticks

I should be doing my nutrition homework.......

But instead I'm giving you a recipe involving oil, butter and heavy whipping cream! I'm sure there's nutrition in there somewhere.....

The sauce does have veggies in it, and we all know that eating vegetables cancels out all the fat in the dish, don't we?

Wonder why they never mention that in my nutrition text book?

Strange.

Anyway, I'm super full and more than a little groggy. Too much pasta will do that to ya! But ever so happy to have had a nice lunch with a friend (Hi Melodee!)
It's entirely possible that I'm crashing due to too many carbs at one meal......pasta.....bread sticks......bread pudding for dessert.......

Yep, it's possible.

Now you can OD on carbs too!

Ingredients:

1 lb cooked pasta
3T olive oil
2T butter or margarine
1 large red onion, chopped
1 pkg mushrooms, sliced
1 med zucchini, halved then sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans petite diced tomatoes
2 t dried basil
1T dried parsley
1 c heavy whipping cream (optional, but ohhh sooooo good!)

I know this looks like a lot of ingredients, but I promise...you probably have most of this stuff in your pantry right now. And if you keep heavy whipping cream in your fridge all the time for cooking, I'm coming to live with you. *g*


Directions-
Chop veggies. Heat oil and butter in a skillet, then add onion, zucchini, and mushrooms. Cook on med high heat until onion is traslucent and zucchini and mushrooms are tender. Add garlic, stir and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes basil, parsly, salt and pepper (to taste) and cream. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened somewhat and flavors have blended. Serve with pasta and fresh grated parm.

Bread Sticks:

This is my basic Italian Bread recipe that I use for pizza crusts, Italian loaves and various other things. I've just added a couple extra things to it so it's "special". I'll note the add-in with a { } so you can make it with or without them. It's great either way!!

To bread maker add, in this order:

1 1/2 c water (110-120*)
1T olive oil
4 c bread flour
1 1/4 t salt
2T sugar
1 pkg yeast
{1 scant t garlic powder}
{1T dried parsley}
{1T McCormick Salad Supreme seasoning}
3 T butter for brushing
1 clove garlic, minced

Set bread maker to dough and let 'er go. When finished, press out to 1/2 in thickness and cut into "sticks". Place on greased (or sprayed) cookie sheet, cover and let rise for 1 hr. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes or until done. Put butter or margarine and garlic into microwave safe dish, heat until melted and brush onto bread sticks.

Now go put on sweat pants and eat some carbs!!!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Creamy Chicken and Fettucini (crockpot)

So, this is not a Weight Watchers recipe. I'm OK with that. Sometimes I need a little fat, calories and carbs! I did include some veggies to cancel out some of the fat and calories.

That works, right?

I guess, one could make this meal with "light" cream cheese and soup. But why would you want to? *g*

(I don't have a pic to post because we ate it all before I could take one. oops!)

Needless to say, we really, I mean REALLY, liked this! Jeremy even complimented it without my asking!


Ingredients:

1 pkg chicken thighs ( skin removed if you buy the cheaper ones)
1 onion, diced
1 pkg mushrooms, sliced (not canned!)
1 T butter or margarine
2T olive oil
1 8oz block cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 packet Italian salad dressing mix
salt & pepper
1 T (or so) dried parsley
1/2 c milk or white wine, to deglaze pan
1c frozen green peas
1 pkg fettucini

Directions:

Melt butter in skillet. Add onions, and mushrooms (salt and pepper) and cook until onions are translucent. While this is cooking, stir together cream cheese, soup, and Italian dressing mix. When onions and mushrooms are done, stir into cream cheese mixture. Set aside.

Add olive oil to skillet and heat. Salt and pepper chicken and sprinkle with parsley on both sides. Brown, quickly, in skillet. Transfer to crock. coat with cream cheese mixture. Add milk or wine to skillet and deglaze pan, then add to crock and stir into cream cheese mixture.

Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Remove chicken and take meat off the bones then add chicken and green peas back into sauce. (if you're using boneless, you'll still need to chop or shred the meat)

Turn crock pot on high, vent with wooden spoon while you cook fettucini.

Add drained pasta to crock, stir and pig out!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Jennifer's Special Taco Filling

This is not the original name for this concoction, but since what we normally call it tends to gross people out, I decided to call it Special Taco Filling.

See how nice I am?

I don't want to make you sick.

But if you should make this and get sick from eating too much...
(totally possible, believe me, I've done it. more than once. )
Then I can't be blamed. *g*

I've used this mixture to stuff tacos and burritos, to top tortilla chips for nachos, and even as a bean dip with tortilla chips.
Jeremy, bless his heart, gets really excited when he comes home from work and smells this cooking. He and the kids consider this "junk food". They're so deprived having to eat good for you veggies and stuff every night.
Yes....meatloaf, green beans, mashed potatoes, corn and homemade rolls are such a hardship. You should feel sorry for them.

This recipe makes a BUNCH! Invite some friends over and have a fiesta. Feel free to shake your maracas.


Ingredients:

1lb ground beef, cooked and drained (sometimes I feel vegetarian and leave the meat out)
1 can refried beans ( I like the fat free the best. Wow. I'm not sure I've ever said that before.)
1 pkg Spanish rice, prepared
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can rotel
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 c cheddar cheese

Directions:

Return meat to skillet, add all other ingredients and stir together. Heat until cheese is melted and it's a little bubbly. Use it like you would regular taco meat.

Or just at the skillet and eat it with a spoon like I do.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Jennifer's Homemade Instant Hot Chocolate

Brrrrrr.......it is just too darn cold! I live in the South for Pete's sake.......I've had to drag out my footie jammies. This is serious.


And when I'm cold, I want hot chocolate. So do my kids. And husband.


Really, we all want it when it's not even this cold. We're addicts. If anyone knows of a 12 step program for hot chocolate addicts, let me know.


Nah, never mind. I would only fall off the wagon.


Anywhoo, since I was making a pot of hot chocolate every couple of days, I decided there had to be a way to get "that taste" and still make it by the cup. And you know what, there was! So grab some sugar, cocoa, milk and a mug and let's have some hot chocolaty goodness.


Ingredients:

2c sugar

2 heaping tablespoons cocoa

Pour sugar and cocoa into a pint jar, cover and shake until blended.


To make a cup:

Put 2 good (to heaping. you decide *g*) tablespoons into a mug, add milk and stir. It won't mix together well, but that's OK. Microwave for 1 1/2 -2 minutes. Remove carefully and stir again. Top with marshmallows, or cool whip. Smile because it was so stinkin' easy to make a yummy cup of cocoa!

I would love to tell you how long a jar of this will keep......but I can tell you that at my house it will only last about a week.

See? We need help.


Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole

So... I promised to take a break from soup. Even though I'm freezing today and even my bear-foot house shoes can't seem to warm me up, we're NOT having soup tonight. I concocted a yummy casserole, instead. Honestly we're having soup and sandwich tomorrow night before church and my kids will rebel if I try to feed them soup two nights in a row.


But.....


My kids love enchiladas.

I, on the other hand, do not love making them. So I decided, today while at the grocery store, that I could stack the ingredients in the crock pot like lasagna. Seems to be working perfectly. My house smells yummy and my kids can't wait 'til supper.





Ingredients:



1.5 lbs chicken (mine was 1.6, so we'll call it a bonus)

1 small onion, chopped

1 8oz block cream cheese

1 can diced green chilies

2 can green chili sauce

1-2 c cheddar cheese (depends on how much you like cheese ;-) )

white corn tortillas ( I think I used 6 or 7, I didn't count)

Salt and pepper to season chicken


Directions:

Chop chicken into 1 inch cubes ( I used kitchen shears). Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken and chopped onion. Season to taste and cook until chicken is no longer pink. At this point, I decided that I needed smaller pieces of chicken, so I broke it up a bit more with a spoon. Add cream cheese, green chilies and 1/4 can of green chili sauce. Heat until cream cheese is melted and everything looks like a white glob.

Spray crock pot with cooking spray. (or a baking dish if you're in the mood to make "real" enchiladas) Pour a couple tablespoons of green chili sauce into the bottom of your crock. Cover all the bottom with tortillas. Put a glob of the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas. To make it easy....spread the mixture on the bottom of the skillet and "cut" it into 4. Use one on the first layer. Top with some cheese, 1/4 c or so, then drizzle with green chili sauce, keeping in mind that you need about 1/2 a can to pour on top. Repeat until all chicken stuff is used. Top "lasagna" with more tortillas, cheese and the remaining chili sauce. Cook on high for 1 hr or on low for 2 with a vented lid. (do this by using a chopstick or something similar to hold the lid up a bit.) Or at least until everything is bubbly. Mine burned a bit on the sides in places, but I had mine on low for quite a while.

Top with sour cream, chives, fresh diced tomatoes or whatever your little heart desires......



Update: Just sneaked a taste... and to quote my teenager.....

O-M-G!

Make this meal. Your tummy will thank you.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Twice Baked Potato Soup

One more soup recipe, then I'll move on to other yummy creations, I promise. You won't be sad that I posted this recipe though. It takes all the goodness of a baked potato and makes it a whole meal. Gotta love that! This is probably not one of my low fat meals, but it's worth the fat/calories/pts. Whatever it is that you do. Just eat a salad on the side and the veggies will certainly cancel all the bad-for-your-waist stuff. It will, honest.
Or eat it on a Sunday. Sunday calories and fat don't count.
Seriously they don't.


Ingredients:
These are not going to be definite. It really is based on how many people you want to feed...or how many bowls you plan to eat. I just usually taste as I go. I know what I want my baked tater to taste like.

4-5 baking potatoes (or any old tater, just make sure you have enough for everyone eating)
2c bag of shredded cheese ( we like cheddar, but go with your gut)
1 stick butter or margarine
4-5 cups of milk, I can't really tell you how much since it will vary
salt and pepper to taste
bacon pieces
sour cream
croutons
chives



Directions:

Bake your taters. I sometimes start them in the microwave and then move them to the oven. Makes it quicker. When the taters are baked, split and scoop out the meat. These suckers will be hot (feel free to sing the Hot Potato Song, I usually do. when I'm not screaming) Seriously, though, use a towel to hold them. Once all the meat is in a bowl, add butter, 1 c cheese and a little milk (start with 1/2 c). Mix with a mixer. Add salt and pepper. It should be thick enough to put back in the skins without running out, but not so thick that you could cut it and serve it like cake. Scoop it all back into the skins. Return to the oven and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes.

Now, get a big ole soup pot. Scoop all the yummy tater stuff into the pot and add milk until is as thick, or thin, as you like it. Taste to see if salt or pepper needs to be increased .....or just because you want to. I've been known to add more cheese here, but be sure you have enough to top the soup with. Simmer on LOW (it will stick if it gets too hot) until heated through.

Serve topped with cheese, sour cream, bacon, chives, croutons, whatever your little heart desires.
Don't forget the salad, have to cancel out all that cheese and sour cream after all.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Chicken Taco Chili

Today, although the rain has gone, the wind just won't quit. It's cold and windy and I'm still in a soup mood. Unfortunately, it's Wednesday. Around our house that means a supper of whatever I can throw together and get us to the church by 6. Tonight, it's the always fancy.....pizza rolls and carrot sticks. Yep, I'd rather have this soup. You should make it and think of me while you eat it.......matter of fact....eat two bowls......I really, really like it!

This make a lot of soup...invite some friends over. Have a party. Wear a sombrero.


Ingredients:

1 pkg chicken thighs (I use bone in and just removethe skin. If you want to pay more for the boneless/skinless variety, by all means, please do.)
3 cans chicken broth ( you can boil the thighs and use some of that, but use at least one can of a good broth.)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans chili beans
1 can black beans
1 can whole kernel corn
1 packet taco seasoning

Directions:

Cook the thighs. I boil mine, but feel free to bake them. Pick off the meat and place it in a large soup pot. Drain and rinse the black beans. Drain the corn. Add everything to the pot and bring up to a boil. Turn heat down to med and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Pour soup over tortilla chips, top with cheese, sour cream, onion, or whatever you like to eat on a taco. Be adventurous!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Sausage Bean Soup

A hearty bowl of YUM! We forget every year how much we all love this soup until we take the first bite. This is not one of my healthy-watching points-getting into those size 8's kind of meals, but heck, we all need some comfort food now and then. An added bonus.....it's super quick!

Ingredients:

1 lb sausage ( I prefer Tennessee Farm, but go with what you like)
1 medium onion (diced)
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can beef broth (weird combo with pork, I know, but it works!)
1 can navy beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1t dried basil
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Brown sausage and onion in a large pot, a dutch oven would do. Drain well. Pour back into the pot and add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle it up, toss a corn muffin on the side, grab a glass of sweet tea and chow down.

Bear-foot and in the kitchen

No that's not a typo.....I have on big bear feet house shoes. Cool huh? They keep my tooties toasty warm while old man winter tries to sneak in around windows and doors.

So, what does a Southern girl make when it's cold outside?


Warm, yummy, tummy filling SOUP. And it's so easy! You just take a can opener (hand help to save counter top space) and open the can.......

OK, most of you know me better than that. I'm a foodie. I love to experiment and make things (mostly) from scratch. I've been know to cheat with mixes. shhhhhh.....


So, in honor of Old Man Winter and my lovely brown house shoes.....I give you SOUP recipes!