Bake 'N' Forth

Welcome Back

2018-08-18T00:18:00.002-06:00

Hello again, Friends!

I have managed to neglect this blog for almost 4 years now!! Yikes! Many life-changing moments have happened since.. like becoming a Mama to 2 healthy, energetic baby boys, constantly being surrounded by lots of visitors, new adventures near & far, loss of a very important man in my life... but I am happy to be back, sharing all of this deliciousness... and at least keep my recipes all in one spot!! After all, recipes (and food) are meant to be shared!

Being a stay at home mom means life is constantly moving! At this point, the kiddos are NOT liking Mama's cookin' ... except for one meal -- pasta! I am going to keep most of these recipes to 30 minutes, strictly because I just don't have the time to spend when one is usually right under foot, the other is running around the couch screaming for fun, on top of both boys refusing to eat that labor of love! Many of the portions will be for two.. with possibly some leftovers.

Welp! Here goes nothing!

Adult Mac 'n' Cheese

2014-08-16T19:04:00.000-06:00

1 rotisserie chicken, chopped up

4 oz. herbed goat cheese

half pint heavy or whipping cream

8 oz. package of mushrooms, sliced

8 oz. package of cherry tomatoes

1 head of broccoli, chopped up

garlic, salt, pepper, butter to taste

Boil water. Add pasta & cook according to directions.

In a skillet melt goat cheese over medium heat. Add a dash of cream. When the cheese & milk have melted, add sliced mushrooms & let simmer. Add salt & pepper to taste. When mushrooms are soft, add chopped up chicken.

During the last 2 minutes of the pasta cooking, add broccoli & tomatoes to the pasta. When done, drain all together & put back into empty pot. Mix in butter & minced garlic. Add the goat cheese mixture & stir.

Serve!

Pasta & Simmered Tomato Meat Sauce

2014-05-13T20:14:00.003-06:00

3/4 lb. lean ground beef (90/10 is what we used)

1/2 c. shredded zucchini

1 c. tomatoes, diced

1/2 c. organic vegetable broth

1/4 c. onion, diced

1/2 c. mushrooms (we used baby portobello)

5 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 c. organic tomato sauce

Measure all of the above ingredients & pop them in the crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours. When done, divide into three servings & serve over one cup of cooked brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta!

Makes 3 servings.

Chicken Sausage Bowl

2014-05-13T20:03:00.000-06:00

Here's to trying something new/healthy again.. Today was day two of our "Fast Metabolism Diet." This was my husband's idea, even though I've been trying to convince him since before the wedding to eat healthier with me. Needless to say, I'm dying! So bloated, but still hungry. Anyways.. here is one of the recipes we can eat for Phase One Day Two that is actually really tasty & easy! I took out a few ingredients & added some spices.

2 chicken sausage links (12 ounces total)
1 medium sweet potato, diced
1/4 c. onions
1 bell pepper (any color)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
Splash of natural vegetable broth (about two tablespoons)
Pepper to taste (about a half teaspoon)
Chili powder to taste (about a half teaspoon)
Lawry's salt (about a half teaspoon)
Garlic powder to taste (about a half teaspoon)

Sautee sausages until lightly brown. Add sweet potato, onion, bell pepper, garlic, & mushroom. Put the lid on & let it steam for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally & flipping sausage when needed. Add spices. Add broth, return cover & let steam for about 10 minutes more until sausage is cooked through & sweet potatoes are soft.

Serve over one cup of brown rice!

Pork Carnitas

2014-01-09T23:20:00.003-07:00

Holy smokes! These carnitas are so good! First time cooking them.. Found two recipes & decided to combine them.

2 lb pork shoulder
1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lime, halved & juiced
1 half orange, juice
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
15 oz. chicken broth, low sodium

In a dutch oven or ovenproof pot, heat up a few dashes of EVOO. Season pork shoulder with salt & pepper. Sear outside of pork shoulder until it browns, about 10 minutes. Add onion, garlic, lime juice & halves, orange juice & half, spices, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook covered for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. After 2 hours of cooking, transfer pork shoulder & its juices to baking sheet & cook for 15 minutes. Shred. Serve!

Broccoli Beef

2014-01-09T20:37:00.002-07:00

Found this via Pinterest on The Rainy Day Gal's blog. It was delicious & pretty much takes the same time as ordering takeout! Just healthier!

Marinate about 1.5lbs of sliced flank steak for one hour in the following homemade marinade.

1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

In a separate bowl, mix the following together.

1/2 c. low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. sherry

In a large pan, heat EVOO over medium-high heat. Add broccoli, a few tablespoons of water and cover until broccoli is cooked to your liking. Transfer broccoli to a plate.

In hot pan, add the marinated meat and half of the sauce mixture. Saute for 6-7 minutes, stirring often, until the meat is cooked. Stir in the broccoli and remaining sauce. Saute 1 more minute until all sauce and broccoli is warm. Serve over rice.

Paleo Chorizo Hash

2012-12-30T21:34:00.001-07:00

If you hadn't heard the news -- WE'RE ENGAGED!!! Haven't set a date yet, but obviously we both need to drop more than a couple pounds. It has been decided that we will be eating healthy dinners (no carbs!!) from now in order to help with our weight loss. Clearly, we have to eat healthier breakfasts and lunches too, but since we no longer work together, it's easier to plan our dinners together.

I have heard so many people talk about "going Paleo" & have heard of two great Paleo food blogs. I went through them both and found this "Kitchen Sink Hash" by PaleOMG. It turned out really well! I topped it with a fried egg

1lb chorizo
½lb leftover chicken, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 shallot, diced
1 sweet potato , diced
1 package of button mushrooms, sliced
2 eggs, fried or poached

Cook chorizo over medium heat, using a spatula to break it up. Cook completely. Remove chorizo from pan and keep stove-side while you finish.
Place onions & sweet potatoes in leftover chorizo grease. Add EVOO if the pan gets too dry.
Once sweet potatoes begin to soften, add peppers. After about 5 minutes, add mushrooms for 5 more minutes.
Once the mushrooms are soft, add meat.
Keep stirring until sweet potatoes & mushrooms are soft.
Top with fried egg & serve.

Creamy Baked Corn

2012-10-11T22:34:00.000-06:00

I found two of these gems & decided to meld the two into one big happy recipe. It was delicious!

1 stick butter, melted
1 8 oz. container of sour cream
1 box Jiffy corn bread mix
1 can regular corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
optional: 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese to mix in or put on top
optional: crumbled bacon topping

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Pour into greased pan.

Bake for 45 minutes. Add toppings for last 10 minutes.

Yellow Box Cake with Fluffy Buttercream Nutella Frosting

2012-10-02T22:07:00.000-06:00

LUDICROUS! I know... Stop shaking your head at your computer screen. You look ridiculous.

This was an experiment to celebrate Matt & Dave's 28th birthday! Matt requested Nutella frosting so I decided to try & please them both with their own special recipes. The final decision was strawberry cake with Nutella frosting for Matt & peanut butter cake with a glaze & Nutella frosting.

I prepared the box cake as directed but added an additional egg (four total) & divided the batter in half.

For the strawberry cupcakes I added approximately 1 cup of chopped strawberries to the batter. For the peanut butter cupcakes I added 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter. Mixed both well & divided them into football cupcake liners.

Peanut Butter Glaze
4 tsp water
2/3 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

In the peanut butter cupcakes, I scooped out a teaspoon of cake & poured this glaze in the center.

Fluffy Buttercream Nutella Frosting*
1 c. butter, room temperature
2 c. powdered sugar
2/3 c. Nutella
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

Frost cupcakes once they have cooled to eliminate drips.
*Found at Kitchen Treaty. Next time, I think I would eliminate the salt, as the Nutella makes the frosting pretty salty & gradually add the sugar, tasting as I go. I obviously have a big sweet tooth, but I found this was too sugary. Maybe next time I'll add cornstarch with the sugar... haven't decided.

Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze & Nutella Frosting

Strawberry Cake with Nutella Frosting

Mini Birthday Cakes for the Twins

Baked Oatmeal with Berries & Bananas

2012-09-16T20:00:00.001-06:00

Yet another baked breakfast dish. So easy to make on Sunday & have warm breakfast for the two of us for a couple of days. I found this recipe on So Hows It Taste & loved it! The whole house smelled delicious.

1 c. oats
1/4 c. nuts (I use either almonds or walnuts)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 c. milk (I always use soy)
1 egg
2 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 bananas to cover bottom of pan
2 c. berries

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease baking dish. Slice bananas & place in a single layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Top with half of the berries.

In a medium bowl, mix oats, half of the nuts, baking powder, cinnamon, & salt. Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer. In a liquid measuring cup, combine syrup, milk, egg, butter, & vanilla. Pour over the oats.

Sprinkle remaining nuts & berries over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Baked French Toast

2012-08-04T13:05:00.000-06:00

Sorry Folks. No pix in this post! We were so hungry & it smelled so good that ........ well - WE ATE IT! Typically the recipe makes enough for 12. However, it's just the two of us now so I cut the recipe in 4.

Bread
4-5 pieces of bread
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
2 Tbsp whipping cream
3 Tbsp sugar

Topping
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
cinnamon
salt
2 Tbsp cold butter

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Tear bread into small pieces and place into greased 10 X 5 bread pan. Create egg mixture by combining egg, milk, cream & sugar. Pour evenly over bread.

In a separate bowl mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and any nutmeg or extra ingredients you may like on your french toast. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and slowly mix them into the cinnamon mixture while breaking them into even smaller pieces. Pour evenly over bread.

Bake for 45 minutes. Serve with fruit, eggs, bacon.. you decide!

Mini Broccoli Cheese Omelettes

2012-07-15T23:22:00.001-06:00

One of those late night, last minute ideas. I've been trying this diet out that my trainer gave me & it basically gives me 350-400 calories per meal with 100 calories per each snack totaling 1500 calories each day. Well -- his menu is straight up B-O-R-I-N-G! So I've been experimenting with better tasting recipes. Here's one of them.

4 eggs
2 reduced fat sharp cheddar string cheese, halved & chopped separately
1 c. frozen broccoli, chopped
4 reduced sodium turkey sausage, fully cooked

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray four ramekins with cooking oil. Ladle in a quarter cup of broccoli to each. Finely chop up half of a string cheese. Crack egg into ramekin. Bake for 15 minutes until the edges start cooking (turning white). Add sausage patty to each ramekin and continue baking for 15 more minutes.

Caloric breakdown for each serving:

90 calories - egg
30 calories - half of string cheese
10 calories - broccoli
60 calories - sausage patty

190 calories total!!

Put on a toasted English muffin for 100 extra calories.

Summer Pasta

2012-07-07T21:57:00.002-06:00

3 Tbsp butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 container of cherry or sunburst tomatoes

2 Tbsp parmesan

Salt & pepper to taste

1 package of your favorite pasta

I used the Barilla whole grain pasta. Per usual, after it was cooked al dente, I added butter and minced garlic and allowed it to melt as I mixed it in. Add raw sunburst tomatoes, parmesan, salt and pepper. It was DEE-licous & very light!

Lemon Roasted Shrimp

2012-07-02T19:28:00.000-06:00

1 stick butter
1 lemon
1 lb. shrimp
3 c. broccoli
1 red pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

Melt a stick of butter in the pan (about 3 minutes while oven is heating up). Slice one lemon and layer it on top of the melted butter. Put down fresh shrimp, red pepper & broccoli. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove & stir - making sure to get butter on top of the veggies & shrimp. Bake for 5 more minutes & serve with rice or pasta!

Crusty Bread

2012-06-24T00:10:00.000-06:00

This recipe was one of those Pins going around Pinterest for months so I decided to try it. The bread is really hearty & dense and an extremely easy recipe to follow. I misread the recipe & put the dough in the refrigerator. Big mistake! It never rose. The next day, I set it out on the counter overnight so the thickness might have been due to me not following directions. Next round, I'd love to add some rosemary, basil, thyme & garlic to make some focaccia-type bread! The blogger tried a few of her own creations here.

3 c. flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1 3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. yeast
1 1/2 c. water

Mix in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap & let sit at room temperature overnight (12-18 hours). Do not refrigerate!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Preheat dutch oven for 30 minutes. Put ball of dough on well-floured surface and lightly flour the ball on all sides. After 30 minutes, carefully place ball of dough in heated dutch oven. Bake for 30 minutes with lid on. Remove lid & bake for 15 more minutes.

Vegetable Tian

2012-06-09T15:35:00.001-06:00

Well -- if our oven wasn't broken, this probably would have turned out a lot better!

1 Tbsp EVOO
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
1 potato, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
1 tsp thyme, sliced
Salt & pepper
1 c. shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 400. Saute onion & garlic in a skillet with olive oil until onion becomes translucent.

Spray the inside of an 8x8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread onion in the bottom of the pan. Arrange vegetable slices in pan. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.

Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Hopefully your potatoes will be done by then! Ours weren't :0) Time to get the oven serviced.

Lemon Herb Shrimp

2012-06-09T15:24:00.003-06:00

So -- we have discovered that the oven thermometer is off. Lovely. I found this at Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice. This recipe was good, but her timing was a bit off.. even though our oven is broken. I used two lemons which happened to be a bit too lemony for my taste.

1/3 c. olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
3-4 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed
sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepper
3 Tbsp butter
1.5 lb shrimp

1 lemon, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 400.

In an 8x8 glass baking pan combine olive oil, lemon zest and thyme. Cooke for 5 minutes. Do not let it burn! Remove from oven. Add butter & allow to melt. Throw in minced garlic. Add lemon slices, pepper slices & shrimp. Season with salt & pepper. Bake for 10 minutes until shrimp is pink!

Serve hot!

Before

After

Herbed Goat Cheese Stuffed Thighs

2012-06-07T19:41:00.000-06:00

This recipe was fun for me because I started growing my own herbs! Currently, they are quite small so I just barely had enough to cover the three-quarter cup needed, but eventually I hope to have "too much." That will be the day! I bought a pound of chicken thighs & there happen to be 12 chicken thighs in the package... so we had a ton of leftovers for the next day. These were amazing.. and definitely easy.

12 chicken thighs with skin and bones
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
10.5 oz. cylinder goat cheese
3/4 c. fresh herbs, choppped - I used basil, parsley, thyme, sage
EVOO

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Wash and dry the thighs. Mix together the cheese and herbs.

Carefully create a pocket in between the skin and meat of each thigh. Insert a spoonful of cheese mixture in pocket.

Arrange the thighs in a single layer on an oiled baking pan then drizzle with oil & season with salt & pepper.

Roast for 30 minutes or until tender and golden.

Sticky Toffee Pudding in a Mug

2012-05-06T17:56:00.000-06:00

Absolutely DELICIOUS!!! & so easy to make!

2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. milk
Pinch salt
Handful of chocolate chips.

In a coffee mug, first melt butter (in the microwave). Stir in brown sugar, flour, milk and salt.

Microwave for 1 minute. Add chocolate chips. ENJOY!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

2012-04-22T13:39:00.000-06:00

Another great Pinterest find! This tasty recipe from The Naptime Chef was adapted from another recipe... and I (of course!) adapted it again due to lack of ingredients! The only issue I had was the bake time. After 35 minutes, the toothpick came out clean. I let the bread sit for 15 minutes -- and then it was all MUSH! Ugh! Threw it back in the oven for 25 more minutes and it is slightly.. "crispy". Maybe I should have followed the bake time that was mentioned & used yogurt instead of milk! :0) Lesson learned.

1 stick unsalted butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 bananas, mashed
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/3 c. full-fat plain yogurt (I used soy milk)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a standard 9×5 loaf pan.
In medium sized mixing bowl, mix together butter & sugar. Add eggs, vanilla extract, milk, and peanut butter, mix well. Add mashed bananas. In a separate small bowl combine flour, soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and chocolate chips. Slowly add flour mixture into egg mixture.

Bake for 45 – 50 minutes or until top is golden and toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, carefully remove it from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack before serving.

Chocolate Cake in a Mug

2012-03-18T23:03:00.001-06:00

Never did I EVER think this was possible....... BUT IT IS. And you NEED to try it. I tried two at the same time..... one for my Nutella lover & one for me! Surprisingly, we didn't finish! This recipe yields about two servings. Next time, we will either split one or cut the recipe in half.

Chocolate Cake in a Mug

4 Tbsp. flour

4 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. cocoa

1 egg

3 Tbsp. milk

3 Tbsp. oil

3 Tbsp. chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla extract

Thoroughly mix all ingredients in a microwavable coffee mug. Cook for 3 minutes on high. Let cool & serve plain or with whipped cream or ice cream!

Chocolate Nutella Cake in a Mug

4 Tbsp. flour

4 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. cocoa

1 egg

3 Tbsp. milk

3 Tbsp. oil

3 Tbsp. Nutella

Thoroughly mix all ingredients in a microwavable coffee mug. Cook for 3 minutes on high. Let cool & serve plain or with whipped cream or ice cream!

Slow Cooked Tortellini Soup

2012-03-11T22:21:00.001-06:00

Another great Pinterest find! I stole this from 365 Days of Crockpot and used what I had! I prepped it before hand and put the mixture in separate containers to easily cook the next afternoon. It's SO nice to come home to the smell of a great meal.... that you didn't have to slave over a stove for hours!

1 lb hot Italian sausage
2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 onion, chopped

5 c. water
5 tsp. chicken bouillon
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, with garlic, basil & oregano
1 24-oz can Mezzetta tomato sauce
2 9-oz packages of tortellini (I used cheese & garlic)
1 zucchini, shredded
1 orange pepper, chopped

Sautee sausage, garlic, and onion. Let cool & put into container. Pour tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and bouillon in an airtight container. Shred zucchini & chop up pepper. Place in a bag with tortellini.

To cook, throw meat mixture and tomato mixture into slow cooker and cook on low for 5 hours. Add tortellini, zucchini & pepper and turn slow cooker on high for one hour.

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

2012-03-11T22:08:00.000-06:00

More Pinterest recipes! I nabbed this one from Mama & Baby Love but decided to cut the recipe in half and edit it a bit. These are great for prepping the weekend before & freezing (YES! Freezer food!).

1 sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed
1 yellow pepper, cubed
1/2 red pepper, cubed
1 zucchini, cubed
1 medium red onion, cubed
1 Tbsp quick cooking tapioca
1 lb chicken breast (~ 4 breasts)
1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce (I used 3/4 of Mezzetta tomato sauce)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. salt

Chop everything up. Throw into a gallon size Ziploc freezer bag. To cook, toss into slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours.

Fresh veggies!

Rhubarb Pie in a Canning Jar

2012-03-11T21:51:00.000-06:00

Jeez! When am I not experimenting?! I've become obsessed with Pinterest and have found so many delicious recipes and great ideas. I had no idea you could bake cakes in a mug?! Let alone a canning jar?

So I took my Rhubarb Pie Recipe and put them in individual 4 oz & 8 oz canning jars. Next time, I'll be using 8 oz jam jars with less pastry as it was a bit too much pastry! I needed some more filling!

Slow Cooked Steal Cut Oats

2012-03-06T21:49:00.001-07:00

I found this recipe on Pinterest -- my latest obsession! You can find the original recipe at The Yummy Life. Really easy prep!

2 granny smith apples, cored & diced
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. water
1 c. uncooked steel-cut oats
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp butter, cut into 5-6 pieces
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/4 tsp salt
Optional garnishes: chopped nuts, raisins, maple syrup, additional milk or butter

Throw all ingredients into a greased, slow cooker. Cook on low for 7 hours.