Posts Tagged ‘Cooking’

Oh, look! A new recipe for you! Lately my family and I have been going to parties at a good friend’s house, and it’s almost mandatory that I bring my pasta salad to go with her divine burgers. I normally make this in the summer since it’s easy to make, and it’ll serve as dinner with enough for leftovers. If you’re only serving it as a side, you’ll probably have enough for at least 10 people (depending on the amount served).

Ingredients
1 lb. rotini noodles
1 pkg. beef smoked sausage
8 oz. colby-jack cheese
1 small can black olives
1 16 oz. bottle Wishbone Italian dressing
Garlic powder, to taste
Grated parmesan, to taste

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook rotini noodles according to package directions.

3. While noodles are cooking, cut smoked sausage and cheese into 1/2″ cubes. Put cheese in sandwich bag, and place in refrigerator to keep cold.

4. Place meat into baking dish and sprinkle with garlic powder. Bake for 30 minutes. Drain meat on paper towels to get rid of excess grease.

5. When noodles are done, rinse them in cold water while draining. Lightly coat with Italian dressing and parmesan. Place in large serving bowl, cover and put refrigerator to cool (approximately 2 hours).

6. When noodles have cooled, add meat, cheese and black olives. Coat with more Italian dressing and parmesan to taste.

I might not be explaining this in the best way, and maybe one day I’ll either try to make a video of me doing it, or take step by step pictures. Feel free to write with any questions, and definitely let me know if you try the recipe and like it! I hope you enjoy it!

***SIDE NOTES***
I use Hillshire Farm beef smoked sausage, but I’ve tried this with pepperoni and hard salami as well. My family prefers the beef smoked sausage, with hard salami as a close second.

You can use any cheese you like, but we like the colby-jack. As far as the Italian dressing, I’ve tried Kraft and Wishbone, and the various varieties they have, but it’s definitely best with plain old regular Italian by Wishbone.

Green and/or red peppers might be nice when added, but no one else in the house besides myself is big on peppers so I never add them.

I figured it was time to post a new recipe since it’s been about two weeks. I made these caramel rolls this past weekend, and they were divine! Definitely enough to satisfy even the sweetest sweet tooth! I’ll be making these again soon, but I think I need to find a good cinnamon roll recipe first LOL! Enjoy!

Preparation time: 20 min
Baking time: 15 min
Cooling time: 5 min
Yield: 12 rolls

TOPPING INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) stick LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened
3 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP firmly packed brown sugar
3 TBSP light corn syrup
1/4 cup chopped pecans

FILLING INGREDIENTS:
1 TBSP sugar
1 TSP ground cinnamon
2 TBSP LAND O LAKES® Butter, softened

ROLL INGREDIENTS:
1 (10.6-ounce) can refrigerated bread stick dough

DIRECTIONS:
1) Heat oven to 375°F.
2) Combine all topping ingredients except pecans in 9-inch round cake pan; stir until well mixed. Sprinkle with pecans. Set aside.
3) Combine 1 tablespoon sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Set aside.
4) Unroll dough; separate into 12 strips. Spread each strip of dough with 1/2 teaspoon softened butter; sprinkle evenly with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Roll up loosely, starting at 1 narrow end; pinch seam to seal. Place rolls evenly in pan.
5) Bake for 18 to 23 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Invert onto serving platter. Let stand 1 minute before removing pan. Serve warm.

NUTRITION FACTS (1 roll):
Calories: 190
Fat: 9g
Cholesterol: 15mg
Sodium: 250mg
Carbohydrates: 25g
Dietary Fiber: <1g
Protein: 2g

Recipe and Picture Courtesy of Land O’ Lakes

Snickerdoodles are one of my fave cookies, and when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it!  The scones taste just like Snickerdoodles, only it’s more of a cake-like texture than a scone or cookie texture.  They were a big hit with my co-workers, and everyone wanted the recipe!  I would recommend making them into 16 tea-size scones though… Otherwise you seriously end up with about 8 cake-size slices!  Oh, and there’s no need to add butter or anything to these!  They’re perfect as is, but some reviews did mention adding honey butter… Sounds delish!

30 min | 15 min prep

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Additional cinnamon sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
3. Combine sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.
4. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt in another bowl.
5. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
6. Combine egg with sour cream mixture. Add cinnamon.
7. Gently stir into flour mixture until moistened.
8. Place on baking sheet and pat into a 3/4 inch thick circle.
9. Cut into 8 wedge shaped pieces. Move slightly so they are not touching.
10. Dust with cinnamon-sugar.

Recipe and Picture Courtesy of Recipezaar

I’m not too afraid to admit I recently had scones for the first time a few months ago.  I’m not too sure what prevented me from having them before that day… Maybe I just didn’t think about them, and didn’t really know anything about them.  A co-worker brought some in, and they were yummy!  She left us the recipe (though I’m not sure of its original source), and it’s a very simple one and easy enough to make with kids.  Suffice it to say, my children aren’t even interested in trying one!  Silly kids!

Prep Time: 5 mins.
Cook Time: 18 mins.

Makes 6 – 8 scones

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 TSP baking powder
1/2 TSP salt
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 TSP finely shredded lemon peel
Whipping cream
Sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.  In a large mixing bowl combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Make a big dent or well in the center of flour mixture.  Add 3/4 cup whipping cream and lemon peel.
2. Stir until mixture is crumbly.  Coat hands with a little flour.  Use your hands to gently knead the dough in the mixing bowl until it can be formed into a ball.   Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
3. Gently roll or pat the dough into a 7 1/2-inch circle.  Using a table knife, cut the dough like a pizza into 6 or 8 wedges to make scones.  Place scones about 1-inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Lightly brush scones with additional cream; sprinkle with additional sugar.  Bake about 18 minutes, or until scones are golden brown on the tops and the bottoms.  Use a wide metal spatula to remove the scones from cookie sheet.  Serve warm.

VARIATIONS
Fruit Scones - Stir 3/4 cup raisins, snipped dried cherries, currants, or other chopped dried fruit into the flour mixture before adding the cream.

Poppy-Seed-Topped Scones - Prepare scones as directed except after brushing the wedges with the cream, sprinkle with 2 TSP poppy seed or sesame seed, instead of the sugar.

Streusel Scones - In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup walnuts, 3 TBSP brown sugar, and 1/4 TSP ground cinnamon.  Using a pastry blender or two table forks, cut in 1 TBSP cold butter until mixture is crumbly.  Stir in nuts.  Sprinkle streusel mixture on top of uncut circle of dough.  Omit brushing dough with additional cream.  Use your fingers or your hands to gently press streusel mixture into dough.  Cut circle into wedges and continue as directed in recipe.

***SIDE NOTE***
I didn’t use fresh lemon peel, though it doesn’t call for it either.  I was able to purchase “granulated” lemon peel, which worked just fine.  I also bought orange peel, but I haven’t tried making it with that yet.  Also, these are great when warmed for about 15 seconds in the microwave with butter on them. I’m sure some sort of divinely yummy jam would be great on them too!

Picture courtesy of Food Network

Okay, so we’re not Irish and we didn’t make this on St. Patrick’s Day. But that’s okay! No one said this only had to be eaten once a year, right? And now that I found out it’s one of DH’s faves, I reckon I’ll be making it more often.

INGREDIENTS
4 cups hot water
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 large onion, cut into quarters
3 lbs corned beef brisket (with spices)
8 small white potatoes or yellow potatoes, scrubbed and cut into quarters
1 head cabbage, cored and cut into 10 wedges (about 1 1/2 pounds)

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine the water vinegar, sugar, pepper and onions, in a 6 qt crock pot and mix well.
2. Place corned beef and contents of spice packet in the mixture.
3. Scatter the potatoes over the top and along the sides.
4. Cover and cook on high heat setting 4 hours.
5. Remove the lid and scatter the cabbage wedges over the top.
6. Cover and continue cooking on high 3-4 hours longer, or until beef is tender.
7. To serve, carve the beef into slices against the grain and serve with the cabbage and potatoes, with some of the cooking liquid spooned on top of the beef to keep it moist.

SIDE NOTE: I added carrots and celery as well, but I added them along with the potatoes before the last four hours of cooking. Otherwise, I get the feeling the potatoes would be too mushy if you added them earlier as the recipe calls for.

Recipe & Picture Courtesy of Recipezaar

Thaw: 40 minutes
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 25 minutes

Makes: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS
1/2 of a 17.3 ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
6 cups diced cooked chicken
1 bag (24 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots, green beans and lima beans)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Swanson® Chicken Stock
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh herbs (parsley, thyme and/or oregano)

DIRECTIONS
1. Thaw the pastry sheet at room temperature for 40 minutes or until it’s easy to handle. Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.
2. Stir the chicken and vegetables in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.
3. Heat the butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir the stock into the saucepan and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook and stir for 3 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens.
4. Stir in the black pepper. Pour the stock mixture over the chicken mixture.
5. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 13 x 9-inch rectangle. Place the pastry over the filling.
6. Press the pastry sheet to the edges of the dish to seal. Flute the edges of the pastry, if desired. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture and sprinkle with the herbs. Cut several 2-inch long slits in the pastry top.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden and the filling is hot and bubbling.

Recipe & Picture Source: Swanson’s Broth

And no, I didn’t make that name up LOL! That’s actually the recipe’s name! My husband loves lasagna, and while it’s not my favorite pasta dish, I do eat it. However, I do prefer it with cottage cheese over ricotta and I only use ground beef (so the sausage was substituted in this recipe). This was a lovely dish, and there was more than enough for leftovers! I’ll have to cut it in half next time though!

Total Time: 2¼ hours
Prep Time: 1½ hours

Serves 10-12

INGREDIENTS
1½ lbs lean ground beef
½ lb Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 (14½ ounce) cans whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
24 ounces cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
½ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons parsley
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 lb mozzarella cheese, divided
12-15 lasagna noodles

DIRECTIONS
1. Brown ground beef, Italian sausage, onion and garlic.
2. Add salt and next 5 ingredients; stirring until well mixed.
3. Simmer 1 hour.
4. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside.
5. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, pepper, 2 tablespoons parsley, Parmesan cheese and 1/2 of mozzarella cheese; In a lasagna pan, layer noodles, meat sauce, and cheese mixture; repeat.
6. Top off with layer of noodles; sprinkle evenly with remaining mozzarella cheese.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until cheese mixture is thoroughly melted.

Picture & Recipe Source: Recipezaar #28768 Absolute Best Ever Lasagna

I never realized how easy it was to make applesauce until I had way more apples than I needed. Then I checked out Recipezaar and found the following recipe. Delish and takes no time at all!

Ingredients
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg

Directions
1. Put the apples and water in a saucepan.
2. Cover and bring to the boil.
3. Boil over low heat, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
4. Stir in sugar and cook until it dissolves.
5. Add cinnamon or nutmeg.
6. Serve warm or cold.

***Side notes***
I have made this without the sugar, with only half the amount required, as well as as the recipe calls for. I think you can sweeten it to taste almost. And if you’re using a sweet enough apple (I’ve used Jonathan & Gala apples), then you probably won’t need sugar at all. And it tastes just as yummy hot as it does cold… Oh heck, it tastes just as awesome no matter how I made it!

Recipe & Picture Source: Recipezaar #70097 Applesauce

As I enter my second month of WW, I find looking for recipes and knowing my foods a tad better. DH wanted beef for dinner, and all I had on hand was ground beef. I checked the WW site and came up with this recipe. It called for ground turkey though, so that ended up changing it from a 5 point meal to a 6 point meal… Okay, adding cheese to it didn’t help either LOL! Enjoy!

Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 25 min
Cooking Time: 45 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 TBSP reduced-calorie margarine
2 tsp olive oil
1 cups onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
2 medium stalks celery, diced
1 pound uncooked 93/7 ground beef
3 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 TSP dried rosemary
1 TSP dried thyme
1/2 TSP table salt
1/4 TSP black pepper
2 cups canned beef broth
1/4 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in enough water to cover potatoes. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain potatoes, transfer to a large bowl and add sour cream and margarine; mash until smooth, season to taste with salt and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Add flour, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; stir to coat. Add broth and bring to a simmer; simmer until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.

Transfer beef mixture to an 8×8 casserole dish. Spread mashed potatoes over top and using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese and potatoes are golden, about 30 minutes. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.

As I said, this is my version of the WW Classic Shepherd’s Pie. Click here for their recipe.

Picture Source: The Brass Sisters

I found this recipe in my Hungry Girl 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories cookbook, and though I’ve yet to try it, I wanted to share this with you. (Actually, I made the fruit sauce two days ago, but we’ve yet to finish making it, so we might be buying new stuff to remake the fruit sauce…)

Chunky Peach Strawberry Sauce
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups frozen whole strawberries
1 1/2 cups frozen peach slices
2 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
dash salt

Directions:
Combine Splenda, cornstarch, cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt with 1/2 cup of cold water. Stir until all ingredients are completely dissolved. Set aside.

Place fruit in a nonstick pot over medium-low heat. Once fruit begins to thaw, add liquid mixture. Stir.

As fruit defrosts and heats, use a spatula to break fruit apart into smaller pieces. Continuously stir until mixture becomes uniform, thick and syrupy.

Can be eaten hot, warm or chilled in the fridge until cold (but it’s best eaten the day it’s prepared).

Gooey Crunch Fruit Tartlets
Makes 12 servings (1 tartlet each)

Ingredients:
1 batch (entire recipe) Chunky Peach Strawberry Sauce (see above); chilled
12 small square wonton wrappers like the ones by Dynasty or Nasoya
48 sprays 0-calories-per-serving butter spray (like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Spray)
Optional topping: Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated) OR Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray, and set aside.

On a clean dry surface, set out 4 wonton wrappers. Spray each one with 2 sprays of butter, and use your fingers to spread butter evenly over each wonton; gently flip wontons and repeat. Carefully transfer wontons to muffin tin, placing each wonton in a muffin cup and pressing it in to form the cup shape. Repeat entire process 2 more times, and place tray in the oven.

Bake wonton cups in the oven for 10 minutes, or until they are firm and brown. Once cups are cool enough to handle, transfer them to a plate. Allow cups to cool completely.

Evenly spoon chilled sauce into the wonton cups (for best results, fill the wonton cups close to the time you’ll be serving or enjoying your tartlets). Place in the fridge until ready to serve.

If desired, before serving, top each tartlet with a squirt of Reddi-wip or a sprinkling of Splenda.

PER SERVING (2 fruit tartlets): 86 calories, 1g fat, 120mg sodium, 18g carbs, 2g fiber, 6g sugars, 2g protein = 1 Weight Watchers Point

Picture courtesy of Hungry Girl