Kicked Up Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Feb

2012

You all already know I am a power grocery shopper. I don’t go to one store and done. A grocery shopping trip is an entire Thursday afternoon and early evening. When I go out shopping – I want an easy meal for dinner. (Have you checked out the recipes on the Weekly Wow site?)

Growing up, one of my favorite meals was grilled cheese and tomatoes. I remember my Mom making it for us on busy weeknights. As much as I love grilled cheese with tomatoes, it could use a little extra kick.

So the question was, how can I turn the plain tomato and grilled cheese into something with a little more flavor, but keep it simple for a weeknight dinner after shopping.

It turns out that it was simply these little yummy gems. The Ro*Tel® Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies added such a kick to my grilled cheese – but it was still very simple to make.

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Filed Under: Cooking, Dips & Appetizers, Sandwiches Tagged With: cooking, recipe

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Fajita Seasoning Mix Recipe

Feb

2012

Fajita Seasoning Mix Recipe

One of our staple meals in Fajitas. They are a really simple meal – and most times we used left over meat for our fajitas. We have used chicken, steak and even turkey for our fajitas. For me, the secret to the fajita is in the seasoning. I use a simple mixture of spices, adapted from a recipe I found on food.com.

The next time you are thinking about making fajitas, try making your own seasoning. I promise you won’t go back to the prepackaged. Remember, it is incredibly forgiving- so try adding your own twist.

Fajita Seasoning Mix

1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Mix all ingredients together.

To use:

Coat your meat and vegetables lightly with olive oil - then coat with the dry mix to prepare for cooking. Tip: for your fajitas shells - dip them in water before you place them in the hot pan or grill, it acts like a steamer and keeps the shells soft. (don’t use this tip if you microwave, use the oven etc).

Filed Under: Beef, Cooking, Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes Tagged With: recipe

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Potato Filling Recipe | Stuffing With A Twist

Nov

2011

Potato Filling Recipe

I was talking with some girl friends the other day, and they had no idea what Potato Filling was! How can you have Thanksgiving without Potato Filling?

I realized that most of the country is missing out on this magically delicious side dish. It is a mixture of mashed potatoes and stuffing, baked to crispy perfection. If you grew up in the PA Dutch area (like me), you know this is a holiday staple.

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Filed Under: Casseroles, Cooking, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: recipe, tdeals

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake Recipe & Giveaway

Nov

2011

There is nothing better than a cup of coffee and pumpkin pie during the holiday season. Since eating pumpkin pie every day is out of the question, I have been substituting Pumpkin Pie Spice International Delight Creamer. I am have my coffee and kinda eating my pie too!

I was making a Pumpkin Cake last weekend and was out of a few items the recipe called for. I decided to try using some of my Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer. The cake came out incredibly moist and was absolutely delicious!
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Filed Under: Cooking, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: recipe, tdeals

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Recipe: No Flour Peanut Butter Cookie Crisps

Oct

2011

If you have stocked up on Peanut Butter, you might be looking for something a little different to make. These are a different twist on Peanut Butter Cookies. This is not a traditional cookie, it is a much crunchier, crispy type treat. If you are looking for a traditional, soft cookie – this is not it.

These cookie crisp are VERY simple to make. In fact, scary simple. You cannot help but think, really thats it?

No Flour Peanut Butter Cookie Crisps

Ingredients:

2 cups peanut butter
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 pinch salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix Peanut Butter and Sugar. Mix until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Make sure you mix it well, with no lumps.

The batter will seem very “liquidy”. Let it sit for a few minutes.

3. Roll batter into 1 inch balls. (note – they will be really greasy feeling – so will your hands!)

4. Place balls about 2 inches apart.

5. Press a criss-cross into the top using the back of a fork. (if you want)

6. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes. Remove when the edges firm up. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

7. Let sit for a few minutes to allow to cool and firm up.

Remember, these are crisps and not traditional cookies, they will be a little bit more “crumbly”.

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Filed Under: Cookies, Cooking, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: cookies, recipe

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Pumpkin Bread with a Penuche Glaze

Sep

2011

This fantastic recipe came from reader Alison P. It is an easy pumpkin bread. The bread isn’t dense, its light and moist. It literally took me 10 minutes to whip this up. Trust me, you can make this just as quick as the boxed stuff.

Alison’s recipe was perfect for a bread. There are some breads that are more like a cake. As per usual, I couldn’t do the recipe as is (sorry Alison), so I added a Penuche Glaze. The glaze may not look pretty but it tastes fantabulous!

Of course, you don’t need to add the glaze. Just sit down with a slice of this bread and a cup of coffee!

Thank you Alison for introducing me to this recipe.

Click for recipe.

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Filed Under: Breads, Cooking, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: recipe

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Banana Cupcakes with Nutella Cream Icing

Sep

2011

Banana Cupcakes with Nutella Cream Icing

Nutella is a very dangerous food. It is ridiculously good. Like eat the entire jar good. When I saw the coupon and the sale… I immediately thought cupcakes.

Instead of eating it right out of the jar, I thought I would try a recipe. This recipe is not for the faint of heart… or those on a diet …or those who don’t like to eat alot of sugar… or those who don’t like to consume alot of fat in one sitting. Seriously. Just scroll down to the next post, right now …. if any of those things bother you. This recipe is decadent. Rich. Delicious. Addictive.

I found a recipe for Banana Cupcakes and Nutella here. As per usual, I cannot just make a recipe like it is called for. I wanted to try these cupcakes with more of a banana bread consistency – with bigger chunks of bananas and a little more on the dense side – but really moist.

So here is the plan:

Recipe for Banana Cupcakes with Nutella Cream Icing

Banana Cupcake Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter (room temperature)
1 cup sugar (adjust if you like it a little less sweet 3/4 cups would work)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 small very ripe bananas, mashed (note: the original recipe called for banana puree, I like the banana pieces in my cake)

Nutella Frosting Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup – 1 1/2 cup nutella (start with 1 cup, if you want a richer taste, you can always add more)
1 cup of powdered confectioner sugar

Cupcakes Direction

Preheat oven to 350.
Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Cream/Mix together softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla and the eggs – one at time, mixing while adding.
Stir in the flour mixture slowly. Mix until just blended.
Mix in banana. Mix until a smooth texture. (note you will want to be sure to mix all the bananas in until creamy)
Use large spoon or ice cream scoop to portion batter into cups.
Recipe makes about 14-16 cupcakes.

Bake in preheated oven for approximately 25-30 minutes or til a toothpick comes out clean.

Be sure to cool your cupcakes completely before adding icing.

While your cupcakes are baking, you can make the ever delicious Nutella Frosting.

Nutella Icing Recipe

Cream together softened cream cheese and Nutella until blended.
Add the powdered sugar gradually until ingredients are combined.
Mix on a high speed until icing is smooth and creamy.(this make take a bit) (be sure to use a spatula to scrape the sides to keep the nutella in the mix)
Try not to eat the entire bowl of icing before the cupcakes are finished baking.

Filed Under: Cooking, Cupcakes, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: recipe

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Homemade Caramel Corn Recipe

Jul

2011

Homemade Caramel Corn Recipe

One of my favorite things “down the shore” is caramel corn on the boardwalk. {If you are from the NJ/PA area, you will totally understand what “down the shore” means, if it not, it means at the beach}.

I asked Mystery Husband to recreate the popcorn at home. He found an awesome recipe from AllRecipes that he tweaked slightly. It was so yummy, that this recipe has become a a regular treat in our house.

Homemade Caramel Corn

Ingredients

3/4 cup of unpopped popcorn (about 6 quarts of popcorn)
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Pop popcorn. Remove all unpopped kernels. (you can also use microwave popcorn)
Place the popped popcorn into two shallow lightly greased baking pans.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes while stirring constantly. {Do not over boil, pay close attention to the time}
Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. {the baking soda is a must, don’t forget it!}
Immediately pour over the popcorn in the pans, and stir or shake side to side to coat . Don’t worry if its not totally coating, as it melts it will coat the rest of the popcorn.
Bake for 1 hour in 250 degree heat – every 15 minutes stir or shake pans.
Line the counter top with waxed paper. Dump the corn out onto the waxed paper and separate the pieces.
Cool completely before serving.

Filed Under: Cooking, Desserts, Recipes, Snacks Tagged With: recipe, tdeals

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Green Smoothie Recipe

Jul

2011

Green Smoothie Recipe

I know some of you are perplexed by the picture of the blender above. Yes, that is spinach. Before you dismiss this as being gross, hear me out. Almost a year ago my friends Amy ( Amy’s Finer Things ) and Myra (My Blessed Life) told me about their green smoothies. I honestly thought they were out of their minds. The words gross, disgusting, WHY all came to mind.

One day, I decided to give them a try. I was hooked immediately. Evan even loves them, spinach and all. There are so many ways to make these smoothies, they are so easy, you cannot go wrong. This is a great way to use up leftover produce.

I don’t actually measure my ingredients, but here is a general ideal:

1/2 cup – 1 cup of Orange Juice (or any juice)
1 cup of frozen strawberries (I froze fresh picked Strawberries)
1/2 cup of frozen blueberries (I froze fresh blueberries)
Heaping handful of spinach

Put all of the ingredients in your blender. Use the pulse or liquify until the smoothie is blended. We prefer ours a little “chunky”, you can make it smoother if you would like.

*Note – I freeze my fruit so that I don’t have to use ice in the smoothie. You can use frozen bananas if you like your smoothie a bit more creamy. You can use more fruit to make the smoothie sweeter.

Tip: Buy bananas that are on sale that are ripe. Peel them and freeze them for your smoothie.

It totally turns out green! We have used grapes, bananas, yogurt, watermelon and more.

Do you make smoothies? What do you put in your smoothies? You can also check out Myra’s Vlog here and Amy’s Recipe here.

Green Smoothie

I don’t actually measure my ingredients, but here is a general ideal:

1/2 cup – 1 cup of Orange Juice (or any juice)
1 cup of frozen strawberries (I froze fresh picked Strawberries)
1/2 cup of frozen blueberries (I froze fresh blueberries)
Heaping handful of spinach

Put all of the ingredients in your blender. Use the pulse or liquify until the smoothie is blended. We prefer ours a little “chunky”, you can make it smoother if you would like.

Tip: Buy bananas that are on sale that are ripe. Peel them and freeze them for your smoothie.