I Want That Recipe Blog

Fabulous Tilapia Skillet

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:40:00 +0000

I made this recipe this evening for dinner and wanted to write it down before I forget what I did. It was one of those use what you have on hand dinners.

Ingredients

6 Tilapia fillets
6 to 7 garlic cloves chopped chunky
1/2 cup of chopped onion (I used frozen to be quick)
A couple of handfuls grape tomatoes, halved
2 to 4 Tbsp of Olive oil
Tony Chachere's creole seasoning
garlic powder
Marsala cooking wine (or any white wine you have on hand ... I don't think Marsala is considered white wine ... I have no clue about wine, but I really like cooking with it and a white wine would work with this, too, I'm sure)
lemon juice
black pepper
parsley

Of course I didn't measure anything so these will all be estimates.

Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a LARGE skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions, garlic and tomatoes. Let that cook a minute or two. In the mean time, put some garlic powder (not garlic salt) on one side of the fish. Then spinkle the Tony's over it (if you don't like too spicy, go gently with this). Put the fish down in the tomato/onion/garlic mixture seasoned side down. Sprinkle the unseasoned side (which should be up) with the garlic powder and then Tony's. Cook the fish a couple of minutes (until you can see it whitening up on the sides) and then flip it over. Pour about 1/2 to 1 cup of Marsala (or a white wine would work, too) over all of it. At this point I thought I needed some more olive oil, so I added another couple of tablespoons right over the top of everything. Turn the temperature to medium and cover the skillet. Let it cook down a little (about 3 minutes or so) and then add a few squirts of lemon juice (I just had bottled, but I'm sure fresh lemons would be even better) and sprinkle some parsley and black pepper on top. Cover again and let it cook until the fish flakes apart.

I served this over instant brown rice that I cooked in the microwave with fat free beef broth and a few shakes of Tony's. I also served a Caribbean Blend frozen vegetable mix (broccoli, green beans, carrots & red peppers) that I cooked on the stove top with just some olive oil, garlic powder, chopped onion, salt and pepper. I just put it all in a big skillet, covered it and let it cook until the veggies were tender.

A very quick, easy and healthy meal.

Calzones

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:59:00 +0000

This recipe is my version of a recipe from "The Magic Kingdom Cookbook" that my 6 year old bought at his book fair. The recipe in there is called "Pizza Planet Cheezy Calzones," and it has the little alien looking toys from Toy Story (I think) in the picture. Anyway, this is my version of that recipe.

Ingredients

Turkey Pepperoni (or Canadian Bacon or cooked meat of your choice)
Pizza dough from this recipe or 1 package of refrigerated pizza dough (I make my own ... you can make this up ahead a day or two and keep in the frig covered or in a ziploc bag in the frig until you are ready to use it)
1/3 cup of pizza sauce (I use Kroger brand 4 Cheese Spaghetti Sauce and this is an estimate on amount used)
1 C. of mozzarella cheese (this is also an estimate on amount used)
1 T. of fat free milk
Parmesan cheese
Garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray it with cooking spray.
Roll pizza dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle (or unroll your store bought dough into a rectangle.
Cut the dough into 6 or 8 rectangles. Sometimes I roll them out thinner and bigger once they are cut.
Use a spoon and spoon a small amount of spaghetti sauce in the middle of each rectangle.
Sprinkle each rectangle with mozzarella cheese and then place some pepperonis on each rectangle (the recipe calls for cut up Canadian bacon or cooked ham ... and you can cut up the pepperoni if you really want to ... I usually skip this step ... it is just whatever you prefer).
Fold each rectangle over in half over the filling (you can make a triangle or a long rectangle ... I think the long rectangle works better than the triangle, but do what you like).
Use a fork to go around the edges and seal each one. Arrange them on your baking sheet as you get each one sealed.
The recipe calls for you to prick the top of each calzone (but I forgot to do that tonight and it worked just fine without being pricked ... you can see what a "precise" chef I am! :o).
Brush each calzone with fat free milk. Then sprinkle each one with Parmesan cheese and then sprinkle on some garlic powder to taste.
Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool for about 10 minutes before trying to eat them, because the inside will be super hot!
My boys love them served with ranch dressing, but you could serve with extra spaghetti sauce.

Best Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe EVER!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:45:00 +0000

I found this recipe on recipezaar.com, and it is fabulous! I don't know if we'll order pizza in again. It makes a dough that is crusty on the outside and bottom and soft on the inside. I followed the recipe exactly (I did the non-bread machine version). It was really easy.

When it was time to bake, I sprayed my Pampered Chef pizza stone with cooking spray. Then I just pulled the dough out into a circle while going around it and patted it out to the edge of the stone (making a little raised area around the edges for the crust). I think it would be too sticky to roll. Then we topped it with Four Cheese Pizza sauce, mozzarella, lite pork sausage, turkey pepperoni, and onions. Oh, I also sprinkled garlic powder around the crust, too. It bakes a LARGE, thick crust pizza that covers that whole large pizza stone.

I made two batches the first time I made this, because I didn't realize how MUCH it made. I just kept the other batch covered in the refrigerator a couple of days and then baked another pizza. It was just as great.

Click here for the recipe:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Basic-Pizza-Dough-26181

Do Ahead Breakfast Burritos

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:34:00 +0000

I cannot believe I have not posted this recipe earlier. It is based on a recipe I got from my super sweet mother-in-law. It makes about 50 breakfast burritos that you wrap in foil, put in zip loc bags and then warm up in the microwave. I like to keep them on hand for cold mornings when I want to give my boys something hot for breakfast but fast and easy. They are also great to have when company is coming. Everyone can quickly warm up their breakfast as they wake-up ... the early birds and the late sleepers all get a yummy hot breakfast.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

Ingredients

50 soft flour tortillas (if you can find the kind that say "homestyle" they are soft enough that you don't have to butter the tortillas, saving you a step)

One Dozen Large Eggs

One Bunch of Green Onion Tops, Chopped (I use my kitchen scissors to cut them up)

1 Pound of Light Sausage

6 Pieces of Thick Bacon

2 Pounds of Shredded Hash Browns

Butter

Reynold Wrap foil sheets (come 50 to a box ... can be found with the foil and plastic wrap)

Shredded Cheese (optional)

1. In a large skillet brown the sausage. When it is finished, pour it out on a paper towel lined plate and let it sit. After the sausuage has drained, pat the top of the sausage with another paper towel to help absorb some more of the fat.

2. While the sausage is browning, cook your bacon in the microwave until crispy. Break into small pieces. Pour the drained sausage and the crumbled bacon into a LARGE bowl.

3. Put a couple of tablespoons of butter or canola oil in a skillet and pour the frozen shredded hashbrowns in the pan along with your cut up green onion tops. Stir and cook them until the hashbrowns are tender and a little browned. Add the cooked hashbrown and green onion mixture to your bacon and sausage mixture and mix well.

4. Crack a dozen eggs and beat them. Cook them until soft (not too hard) in a skillet. Add the scrambled egges to the hashbrown and meat mixture and mix well.

5. If you bought soft enough tortillas, you can skip this step. You know they are soft enough if you can roll them and they don't crack. If they crack when you roll them, put a stack of tortillas in the microwave and heat for about 30 seconds to a minute ... to where they are soft. Then butter the tortilla on both sides. Fill it with a small amount of egg, pototo and meat mixture. Add a little cheese if you like. Then put the loaded tortilla in the middle of a foil sheet. Bring a small amount of the right and left side towards the middle (maybe an inch or so). Then while holding the right and left sides in with your index fingers and middle fingers, roll the stuffed tortilla away from you with your thumbs. Hold the tortilla in a rolled position. Take the right side of the foil sheet and fold it in over the top of the rolled burrito. Fold the left side in over the rolled burrito. Roll the whole burrito up. Next time I make some, I'll take pictures fo the whole process and post some steps.

Once you get all 50 burritos rolled in foil, put them in some large ziploc bags. Store in the freezer and use in about 6 months. To reheat, take the foil off of the burrito and place the burrito on a microwave safe plate. Microwave at 60% power for about 2 minutes to 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Serve with salsa. I also have family members that love them queso on top, too.

Old Fashioned Icebox Oatmeal Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:04:00 +0000

My mother gave me this receipe she got from her cleaning lady who is from a long line of Czech families. Her cleaning lady's mother used to make these and keep them in the "ice box," so she would have them ready to bake when her children got home from school. These cookies are WONDERFUL and SO easy!

Ingredients

1 cup of shortening (my mother used 2 sticks of Smart Balance 50/50 margarine)
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of oatmeal (my mother used quick cooking oatmeal)

Directions

If you use margarine, let it come to room temperature (or you can cut it into tiny cubes and that will soften it quicker). Cream the margarine or shortening with the sugars in a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla to the sugar mixture and mix well. Mix the flour, salt and soda with a whisk and then blend the flour mixture into the sugar mixture. Add the oatmeal all at once and mix well with a spoon.

Turn the soft dough out onto a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap. Shape into a log roll inside of the wax paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight then slice and bake. Bake on parchment paper lined cookie sheet or one sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes. When baked, remove from the cookie sheet and cool on a cooling rack. This recipe makes 30 BIG cookies.

You can slice and bake as many as you want and just store the remainder in the refrigerator still wrapped in the wax paper or plastic. You can put the wrapped cookie dough in a big Ziploc bag so it won't dry out if you are not going to use all of it soon.

Easy Chicken Enchilada Pasta Skillet

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:36:00 +0000

I was looking for something fast and easy to cook for dinner tonight. We were blessed in that we didn't suffer too much damage here from Ike, but lots of the communities around us did ... and they are packing our grocery stores and gas stations ... so I'm staying away from the store and wanted to use what I had on hand. I came up with this recipe. The whole family loved it ... which is rare. I wanted to get this posted before I forget what I did. :o) Add a salad or a green vegetable to this and you have a complete meal.

Ingredients

1 thirteen ounce can of chicken breast, drained
1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped frozen onion
1 can of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 can of green echilada sauce
2 or 3 shakes of garlic powder (or to taste)
2 cup of shredded cheese, divided (4 cheese mexican blend, monterey jack, pepper jack ... whatever you have on hand)
1/2 of a twelve ounce bag of cooked whole wheat blend egg noodles (or any other noodle you have on hand)

Directions

1. Cook noodles according to package directions (I put the noodles in boiling water and then started with the next step while the noodles were cooking to tender)

2. Drain chicken and mix with onions in a skillet that is heating on medium high. Once onions are soft, add the soup, enchilada sauce and garlic powder. Mix well and heat through. Add one cup of cheese and mix until melted. Turn the heat to low.

3. Drain the pasta and gently stir into the chicken mixture in the skillet.

4. Sprinkle the remaining one cup of cheese on top of the chicken and noodle mixture and serve.

Sour Cream Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:22:00 +0000

I don't have a photo of this one. But, next time I make it, I'll take a picture to post. This is one of our famiy's ALL time favorites. It is my mother-in-law's recipe. This cake is wonderful served warm out of the oven with some Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream. There is not a thing low fat about this cake, but it is a delicious treat!

Ingredients

2 sticks of butter, softened (told you it wasn't low fat!)
3 cups of sugar
6 eggs
8 oz. of sour cream
2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups of flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
cinnamon and sugar and shortening (for greasing and flavoring your bundt pan)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease a bundt pan with shortening. Then sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon over the greased pan. Set aside.

Cream your butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. If you haven't softened your butter, a tip is to cut it into tiny sqaures before you put it in your mixing bowl. Once, you've creamed your butter and sugar (beating it together until it is a creamy texture), then add your eggs, sour cream, almond extract and vanilla. Mix until well mixed and creamy. Add your flour and baking soda and mix just until well combined. Don't overbeat or it can make it tough.

Pour the cake batter into your greased bundt pan and bake for about and hour and a half or until a knive inserted comes out clean. This is easy to do and wows guests everytime!

Angel Biscuits

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Sat, 03 May 2008 12:53:00 +0000

These are an old time family recipe. I can remember watching my great-grandmother in Northern Louisiana making these, and she would tell me how to do them. She lived until she was 101 (passed away in 2000) and always had "little ditties" for us when we would come visit. She had 39 great-grandchildren. I wonder if she ever showed them how to make Angel Biscuits? Anyway, my mother-in-law makes these, too. I have never made them that people did not rave over them. They are pretty easy and ALWAYS a hit! You just have to allow some extra time. You can make the dough a day ahead and store in the refridgerator then roll them out and bake them the next day which saves time.

Ingredients

5 cups of flour

1/2 cup of sugar

1 tsp. of baking powder

1 tsp. of baking soda

1 tsp. of salt

3/4 cups of shortening (tip: buy the sticks of shortening ... they are pre-measured and much neater and faster to work with)

2 cups of buttermilk

1 and 1/3 Tbsp of yeast

1/2 cup of warm water

pinch of sugar

Combine the yeast, warm water and a dash of sugar in a glass bowl. The sugar will proof the yeast and make sure it is still good. If the yeast mixture starts expanding then it is good ... the yeast is eating the sugar and is still alive. Set this aside.

In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening to the dryin ingredients until the shorting is blended in. Use a pastry cutter/blender to do this or you can use two knives to cut it in ... but the paster cutter is well worth the small amount of money they cost. Wal-mart or Target will have them.

In a large bowl (or I use a very tall glass) add the two cups of buttermilk. To the buttermilk, add the yeast.

Make a well in the bottom of the dry ingredients (just move the flour mixture to the edge of the bowl until you can see the bottom of the bowl in the middle). Add a little bit of the buttermilk/yeast mixture to the well in the flour mixture. Stir with a fork until well blended. Then add a little more buttermilk/yeast and blend that with the fork. Keep doing that until all of the buttermilk/yeast mixture is mixed in with the flour mixutre. The dough will be sticky.

You can now put plastic over the bowl with the dough and store it in the refridgerator over night. The dough is usually easier to work with if it has been refrigerated for and hour or so ... but you don't HAVE to do the refrigeration step.

When you are ready to roll out your biscuits (which are really more like bread than biscuits), heat the oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of flour on a CLEAN kitchen counter (one that has been santized and then cleaned with clear water and dried). Turn the dough out onto the floured counter. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough that is on the floured counter and knead the dough a little. Take a floured rolling pin and roll out the dough to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Use a floured glass or a biscuit cutter to cut out your biscuits. Remove those cut out biscuits and put them on a cookie sheet that has a layer of parchment paper on it. Then knead the remainder of the dough ... adding flour if it starts sticking to things but try not to add too much flour or they will be tough.

Once you get all of the biscuits cut out and put on the cookie sheet, I sometimes melt some butter and brush over the top of the biscuits and let the biscuits rise a little ... maybe 20 or 30 minutes (but you don't have to do either of those steps).

Put them in the oven for about 15 minutes until they are golden brown on top. Serve warm with butter, honey and/or jelly. DELICIOUS!

Dorothy's Chocolate Meringue Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:11:00 +0000

Over Easter, I was on a baking roll! (pardon the pun.) I got this recipe from a dear friend of my in-laws'. She is known far and wide as a pie maker. Everytime she comes to see my boys, she brings a homemade banana meringue pie because that is my boys' favorite. Dorothy grew up in a very large family, and her job was to make the pies for the family as a young girl. I sat and picked her brain before Easter, and this is the recipe she gave me. I made it and it turned out WONDERFULLY! Not quite at pretty as hers, but just as tasty. I need to practice on the pretty part. This recipe makes 1 pie.

Crust:

1/2 stick of crisco

1 cup of flour

Dash of salt

2 Tbsp of sugar

3 to 5 Tbsp of ice water

Mix the flour, salt and sugar together in a small bowl. Cut in the crisco and add the ice water. Roll out crust and put it in your pie plate. Poke holes in the bottom of the crust to keep it from bubbling up. Bake at 350 degrees for abotu 20 minutes until lightly brown.

Pie Filling:

3 Tbsp. of cocoa

Dash of salt
1 C. of sugar

1/4 C. of flour

2 C. of milk

3 egg yolks, beaten (save the whites for the meringue ... leave at room temperature)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 stick of butter, cut up

Mix all of the ingredients in a pan (if you have a double boiler, you can use this, but I just used my hard anodized pot) adding the butter last. Continually stir it until it comes to a boil and bubbles. Turn the heat down, continually stirring it, until the mixture thickens up like pudding. If you are using an electric cooktop, you may want to remove the pan from the burner while you stir the mixture and it thickens ... I'm used to cooking on gas which I like much better, but for the time being, we are in a house with electric burners and it is taking some getting used to.

Pour the hot mixture in the baked pie shell.

Meringue:

With your mixer (stand mixers are best for this), beat three egg whites, 2/3 cups of sugar, 1 tsp. of vanilla, and 2 tsp. of cream of tartar. Beat it until it forms stiff peaks. Smooth the meringue on top of the warm pie filling, smoothing it all the way to the edge of the crust to prevent shrinking. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 8 to 12 minutes ... watching to make sure you don't burn it but that the peaks are delicate brown.

A BIG thank you to the anonymous poster who asked how much sugar was needed in the filling!!! I forgot to put that ... I surely hope no one tried to make this without the sugar. I would feel TERRIBLE! My sweet mother-in-law made a pumpkin pie one year and forgot the sugar ... not so good ... actually pretty AWFUL. Anyway, a big thanks to the commenter who noticed!

Tossed Spinach Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:12:00 +0000

This is a wonderful recipe I got from my mother-in-law. It is one of our family's favorite salads, it is easy to make and always a crowd pleaser.

Salad Ingredients

1 package of baby spinach (10 oz.), torn

1 pound of mushrooms, sliced (I bought mushrooms already sliced ... I don't like them, but the slices were big enough that I could pick them out)

1/2 pound of sliced bacon, cooked & crumbled (I used about 1/2 cup of Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon ... I got a big bag of this at Sam's and love it! So easy to use!)

3 ribs of celery sliced (I "stripped" my celery before I sliced it ... I took a veggie peeler and peeled all the strings off of it and get it down to the tender white part ... it is much tastier and easier to slice this way)

1 c. of shredded cheddar (I used about a cup and 1/2 of Kraft Sharp Cheddar Crumbles)

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped (I love egg in my salad)

3 to 4 green onions, chopped

Dressing Ingredients

1 Cup of Ketchup

3/4 c. of white vinegar

3/4 c. of vegetable oil

1/2 c. of sugar

1 tsp. of salt

1 tsp. of Worcestershire Sauce

In a LARGE salad bowl, combine the salad ingredients and toss. You'll need a large bowl to start out, but once you add the dressing you could transfer it to a smaller bowl.

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together or put them in a jar with a tight lid and shake. Wait to toss the salad with the dressing on until you are ready to serve the salad. And, when you do, only put about 1 and 1/2 cups to 2 cups of dressing on it at the MOST. The recipe makes about three cups, but that is WAY too much dressing!

Creamy Italian Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:27:00 +0000

I get in a side dish rut. My "go to" is always instant brown rice cooked in chicken broth. It is good, but it gets boring after a while. So, I found this recipe and adapted it a little bit. All three of my little boys LOVED it and asked for seconds. You could add cooked chicken to it and make it a main dish.

Ingredients

1 (8 oz.) package of whole wheat pasta (the original recipe called for wide egg noodles, but I used whole wheat penne pasta)

1 package of dry Italian salad dressing mix

1/2 cup of milk (I used whole milk but you could use whipping cream or fat free milk)

1/2 stick of butter

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook noodles according to package direction and drain. I didn't rinse mine ... just drained it.

2. Cut the butter into chunks so it melts easier. Stir that up in the hot noodles. Add the remaining ingredients and stir.

3. Serve hot.

Best Light Salad Dressings

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:06:00 +0000

I cannot tell you how many light and fat free salad dressings I have bought only to end up throwing them away because they tasted SO bad. I know one good tip is to water down your favorite dressings ... that at least cuts the calories down a little and you get the taste.

Anyway, I thought I would share five of my favorite light dressings, and therefore I think the best. I have not found a good light ranch dressing, yet. I don't like the bottled full fat ranch dressings, though ... so that may not be possible. The ranch dressing you make from the package of dry mix is my favorite.

My favorite light salad dressings in no particular order:

1. Wishbone Balsamic Breeze Spritzer ( I have not tried the others, but this dressing is fabulous ... even my husband who will eat NOTHING low fat - he's skinny and hates low fat stuff ... go figure - likes this dressing.)

2. Newman's Own Light Honey Mustard (I just found out they even have recipes at this site using this dressing ... I'll have to give those a try)

3. Ken's Steak House Lite Ceasar

4. Ken's Steak House Lite Honey Mustard

5. Ken's Steak House Fat Free Raspberry Pecan

Crockpot Thai Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 02:08:00 +0000

Here is a new recipe I tried today, and my family loved it. It was easy and different than the usual, and I was getting stuck in a rut!

Ingredients

6 chicken breast halves
1/4 C. of smooth peanut butter
1 C. of hot salsa (I used 3/4 of mild picante sauce and 1/4 cup of Thai Garlic Pepper Sauce)
2 T. of lime juice (I had lemon juice, so that is what I used)
3 T. of lite soy sauce (it called for one, but it needed more)
1/4 c. of lite corn syrup
2 T. of chopped fresh cilantro (for garnish)

1. Put chicken in a cooking sprayed crockpot. I put mine in frozen.

2. Mix together salsa, peanut butter, lime or lemon juice, soy sauce and corn syrup. (Note: if you are using just plain salsa you may add a little extra garlic ... I got that taste in the Garlic Pepper sauce)

3. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

4. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.

5. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro if you would like. My kids don't like cilantro, so I left it off of theirs but added it to mine and my husband's.

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 04:54:00 +0000

Quiltermama, this recipe is for you. You requested some veggie side dishes for a Christmas dinner ... I have several good ones already listed here (check the labels to the left). But, here's another one that is very impressive when served but very easy! You will probably want to double this recipe. As listed below, it serves 4 to 5 people.

Ingredients

1 can (15 oz) of WHOLE green beans (make sure you get the whole green beans, the long ones ... not the cut or French cut)
4 to 5 slices of breakfast bacon
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
Course ground black pepper to taste

Drain beans. Arrange beans into 4 to 5 bundles and place each bundle on a slice of bacon. Wrap bacon diagonally around beans and tuck ends under or secure with toothpicks (remember to remove the toothpicks before you serve them). Put the bundles in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle vinegar over bacon and grind course ground pepper over the bacon. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes until bacon is brown.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:39:00 +0000

This is one of my favorite salads. When my mom's family used to get together for a Thanksgiving and Christmas meal (before all of her siblings ... all 6 of them ... started having grand babies), one of my aunts would make this every year. My mother is working on a family recipe book and got this recipe from my aunt. We were thrilled to get it. It makes a large batch so make it when you know you are going to have a big group or you are going to your next potluck.

Ingredients for Salad

1 head of raw cauliflower, diced
3 to 4 crowns of raw broccoli, diced
1 onion chopped or one bunch of green onions chopped (I prefer green onions ... in the picture, my mom used red onions and green onions)
1 large stalk of celery, cut up
2 cups of shredded cheese (Longhorn or Cheddar is the best because of the stronger taste ... you can also buy crumbles at the grocery store that works well, too)

Toss the above ingredients together in a large bowl.

Dressing for salad:

1 cup of mayonnaise (not salad dressing like Miracle Whip ... you could probably use low fat mayo if you wanted)
1 Tbsp of Salt
1 Tbsp of sugar

Toss the dressing with the salad ingredients. Let is set overnight before serving for the best taste ... but when my mom made a batch the other night, we just had to eat some right away and it was still yummy ... though it was better the next day. :o)

Broccoli Rice & Cheese Casserole

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:56:00 +0000

I cannot believe I have not posted this sooner! With Thanksgiving being tomorrow, I thought I would share. Happy Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for!

This is one of the items I'm bringing to my parents' Thanksgiving meal (along with Do Ahead Mashed Potatoes). It is the best I've ever eaten, and I got it from my sister-in-law, Terry. She is also a fabulous photographer and you can see and buy her work at Art.com.

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped
1/2 c. of chopped celery
1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 Tbsp. butter
16 oz. of Velveeta - can use the light version and save some calories
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (undiluted) - could use 98% fat free
1 can (5 oz.) evaporated milk
4 cups of cooked rice (2 cups uncooked) - could use brown rice and up the fiber

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion, celery and broccoli in butter for 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in cheese, soup and milk until smooth. Place rice in a 9x13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Pour cheese mixture over; do NOT stir. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

I've done this with all low fat items and it is just as wonderful and no one knew ... even the picky eaters.

You can add chopped, cooked chicken for a complete meal if you don't want to serve it as a side dish.

Blog Content Stolen

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:50:00 +0000

UPDATE (11-19-2007): Since I posted this, itsyourrecipe.com has taken out all of the curse words from their posts that are posts from other people's recipe blogs. I haven't heard from them, and they removed my comments from the post that contained my content. So, they may not have known that the word replacement plugin was running on their site? I don't know how all of that works, but I really appreciate them cleaning up the content they took from my blog and others' blogs. They've got some really good recipes there that now make sense.

I went to Technorati to look at some blogs I have saved there and to see what was up with my blogs. I noticed that there were two blog reactions to this recipe blog that looked odd. I clicked on them, and it took me to a website called itsyourrecipe.com. It had a link back to my original post. I guess they think that makes it legal?

It had my exact blog entry posted on this blog (along with my photos), but they have used the word replacement plugin for WordPress to replace words in my post with curse words. Nice, I know. If you go to the the link above, the fellow who created the plugin is very proud of the fact that you can do that and suggests that it is more fun if you use it for that, but I don't think he intended it to be used on stolen, copyrighted material.

I don't want to judge these people. I don't know where they are in life or what they have been through or why they think a small and limited vocabulary is so funny ... but I understand that people find different things funny. I really do and can appreciate that uniqueness. I just do not want my material used in this way. I posted on my content that was used and asked them nicely and respectfully not use use my posts like that anymore. They must have some program that steals the post immediately, because I had just posted right before I went to Technorati and that post was already there all "doctored up" with foul language.

I also wanted to let you know that this person has a BUNCH of recipes on his or her blog ... all of which have curse words in them. So, you may want to go there and check to see if any of your content is there.

Does anyone know if there is anything you can do about it? Of course, there was no information about the person on their blog. Just wanted to give you a warning that your recipe posts may have been stolen, also.

My New Favorite Kitchen Gadget - Microwave Egg Boiler

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:30:00 +0000

I love boiled eggs on my salad and in my tuna salad, and my five year old is always asking for deviled eggs (I like them, too). But, I never think to boil eggs ahead and by the time I think of it, it is too much hassle and time. Well, the other day I was in Wal-mart and I happened across this microwave egg boiler for about $6! It is very cute in that it is shaped like an egg AND it makes four perfect hard boiled eggs in about 8 to 9 minutes! It doesn't dry them out, they are just right. I did a Google search and found this list of microwave egg boilers. Mine is the Nordic Ware version. Oh, another plus, when you are finished, you can just pop all three pieces in the top rack of your dishwasher. It is definitely my new favorite kitchen gadget!

BTW, I added a picture to my Cranberry Chicken recipe. I made that for dinner last night. I didn't have any General Tso's seasoning so it wasn't as spicy as I normally make it, but is it SOOO good. It is one of my all time favorites! The sauce is so good, and I'm not normally a cranberry fan.

Beef & Potato Casserole

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:41:00 +0000

I was looking for something to make with potatoes, because I picked up a 10 pound bag for $2.88 the other day and had lots of potatoes on hand. I found this recipe, did my own thing to it, and here it is. Sorry I don't have a picture, but I was late getting dinner on the table and didn't have time to get a photo. It was VERY good though. Because I was doing this in a hurry, so I didn't take time to stop and measure some of this stuff for you ... so just do it to taste.

Ingredients

1 pound of ground beef (I used 97% lean)
3 to 4 baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1/4" thick)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (I used 98% fat free)
Worcestershire Sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
Red cooking wine
Shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Put sliced potatoes in a medium sauce pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook until just tender ... about 5 minutes and drain. Be careful not to over cook these because if you do, they will fall apart, and you want them to retain their shape and not be mashed potatoes.

2. While potatoes are heating to a boil (be sure to set your timer when they start to boil), brown ground beef with ground pepper and garlic. Drain if necessary (I didn't have to because the beef I used was so lean)

3. Add soup, about 1/2 c. of red wine, and a few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce to the ground beef and mix it until combined. Then add potatoes and gently mix to coat the potatoes with the meat mixture.

4. Pour the meat mixture into a 2 and 1/2 quart casserole dish that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. If you want to do a 9x13 dish full, I would suggest doubling this recipe.

5. Sprinkle enough cheese over the top to cover it, then bake it in a 350 degree preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes.

This amount will serve about 4 people.

I served this with fresh green beans cooked with butter and some drop biscuits brushed with garlic butter. The whole family plus our one dinner guest REALLY enjoyed it. Hope you do, too!

Take Along Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 17:54:00 +0000

I made this cake for our church potluck, too. It was easy and SOOO moist and chocolaty without being WAY too rich. It is rich but not sickeningly rich. It was wonderful tasting and easy to "take along" because it didn't have icing (and doesn't need it). I got it out of The Cake Mix Bible.

Ingredients

1 package of Devil's Food cake mix (the recipe called for swiss chocolate cake mix, but I used devil's food)
1 twelve ounce package of semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup of miniature marshmallows
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1/2 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts (I used walnuts)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray. Prepare the cake mix as directed on package. Add chocolate chips and marshmallows to batter. Pour into prepared pan. Drizzle melted butter over batter. Sprinkle with brown sugar and top with pecans. Bake at 350 for 45 or 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm with ice cream or cool completely in pan. Makes about 20 servings if you slice it 4 x 5.

Crock Pot Enchilades

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:19:00 +0000

I made this recipe for potluck last Sunday. I was out of town all day Saturday, so I knew I needed something I could make ahead easily. I browned the meat and added the soups and seasonings, and then put the crock in the fridge Friday night. Sunday morning, I put the crock in the "pot" and heated it for about 4 hours and it turned out great.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds of hamburger meat
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 can of cheese soup (any flavor)
1 can of golden mushroom soup
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of red enchilada sauce (mild or hot)
1 tsp. of ground cumin
1 four ounce can of chopped green chilies
12 corn tortillas

Brown hamburger meat and onions. Drain and put into a Crockpot you have sprayed with cooking spray. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the tortillas. Cook for four hours on low. One hour before you serve it, tear up the tortillas and add to the soup mixture in the crock pot. Cook an additional hour and serve.

Waffle Iron

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:45:00 +0000

This is for Jill or anyone else who might be wondering what kind of waffle iron I use to make my French Toast Waffles. The waffle iron I am using now is a $14 Belgian Waffle maker I picked up at Kroger on a whim. It makes the thick, and yet seemingly trendy, Belgian Waffle (my husband and I don't like these because they don't get crispy enough for our taste), but it works great to make the French Toast Waffles. My in-laws have one of those big $80 kind of Belgian waffle makers, and they have made this recipe successfully with that. My husband and I REALLY don't like the waffles made with these ... not that I won't eat them, mind you, I just don't like them as much as the classic, crispy waffles.

I want one of those old, classic waffle makers that my mom used to makes us waffles with. I've been too cheap to buy one of the classic ones, though ... they are usually about $50. Maybe I'll add that to my Christmas wish list this year. I see the one linked above is on sale for $30. I don't know how well the classic waffle maker would work on the waffles made with bread slices. It may work beautifully, I just don't know.

Anyway, there is the scoop on my waffle iron that I use to make French Toast Waffles.

Let me know if you've tried this recipe and how it turned out for you! :o)

Easy & Fast Chicken & Dumplings

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:31:00 +0000

Since cold weather has arrived in Texas, here is a super easy recipe I've adapted for my family. You can have this yummy, comfort food ready for your family in 30 minutes or less. This is my 5 year old's favorite dish, and he asks for it often.

Ingredients

2 large cans of chicken breasts (you can cook your own chicken breast and cut it up, but I like using the canned because it is so easy)

2 cans of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup

2 teaspoons of chicken base (or chicken bouillon)

2 cups of water

1/2 teaspoon of black ground pepper

2 cups of Bisquick mix

2/3 cup of milk

1/2 tsp. of thyme

In a large pot, put the chicken (and the broth included), the two cans of soup, the pepper, the chicken base or bouillon) and water. Stir and bring that to a boil. In the meantime, mix the Bisquick, milk and thyme together. Once the soup mixture has come to a boil, make little balls of dough (a little larger than a marble) and drop them one by one into the soup mixture. Stir as necessary. This will make a lot of dumplings but they are our favorite part (especially my 5 year old's). Once you have dropped all of the dumplings, stir good, cover and turn the fire down to simmer. Let simmer ten minutes, stir again and serve. Be careful serving this to little ones right out of the pot ... it is SUPER hot and especially the dumplings (even if the soup part is cool enough to eat, the dumplings usually stay hot in the middle for quite a while ... I usually cut up the dumplings and serve just a shallow serving to my littlest ones ... it cools off quicker that way).

Santa Fe Pinto Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:27:00 +0000

Here is my version of a recipe I got off of a can of Bush's Pinto Beans. It was a nice change for a side dish. The boys wouldn't even try it, but my hubby and I really liked it.

Ingredients

1/2 C. frozen chopped bell pepper
1 C. of frozen chopped onion
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 T. of olive oil or canola oil
1 T. of chicken base or bouillon
1/4 c. of water
1/2 tsp. of cumin
2 cans (16 oz.) of pinto beans (drained and rinsed) - the original recipe called for one can of pinto beans and one can of black beans. Since I only had pinto, that's what I used, but you could use one of each.
1 can of rotel tomatoes, undrained
1 and 1/2 C. of frozen corn

In a large skillet, saute the green pepper, onion, and garlic in the oil. Stir in the chicken base, water and cumin. Bring to a boil and add the beans, tomato and corn. Reduce heat and simmer until heated through.

To see what else is cooking on Wednesday, check out What's Cooking Wednesday.

Double Quick, Super Easy Dinner Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Laura Brittain) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 23:43:00 +0000

This is basically what I think some call a spoon roll recipe. I could be wrong, and I don't even remember where I found this recipe. It is really good and SO easy. People are so impressed when you serve HOMEMADE bread, but this is such an easy recipe. Most bread recipes that you have to knead I end up making like a brick. You don't have to knead these, so I'm safe there. :o) Start making them an hour or so before you want to serve them.

Ingredients

2 1/4 C. of all purpose flour (split into 1 and 1/4 cups and then save the other 1 cup for later in the recipe)
3 T. of sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 T. of quick active dry yeast
1 C. of very warm water
2 T. shortening
1 egg

Mix 1 and 1/2 cups of flour with sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add warm water and shortening and mix until the shortening is mostly melted. Add egg to the mixture and mix until smooth. Stir in remaining flour until smooth. Scrape the batter from the side of the blow. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Spray 12 regular sized muffin cups with cooking spray. Be sure to get not only the inside of the muffin cups, but the top of the tin, too (these rise pretty high). Stir down the batter by beating about 25 strokes. Spoon into muffin cups. Let rise for 20 or 30 minutes or until batter rounds over the tops of the cups. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Your guests or family will be so impressed with fresh, homemade rolls that taste like you spent half the day working on them! A yummy crowd pleaser!