The Life & Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch

Baked Ziti - Cook This! Not That!

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Tue, 22 May 2012 17:21:22 PDT

Grumpy was very skeptical when I made this dish. He's the kind of guy that if there is any "watery-ness" to his pasta sauce, then he wants nothing to do with it. So, needless to say, for the most part, the only sauce he will eat and not complain about is Prego. He doesn't care for homemade sauce in any way because he swears its watery. I don't know what he's talking about by the way - I don't think my sauce is watery! When we went grocery shopping (and normally he does NOT go with me) he told me to get a good spaghetti sauce for the baked ziti. Well, he was none too happy when I told him I was making the sauce and not buying pre-made. His words were - it better not be watery! For the record, I used Hunts tomato sauce (not the spaghetti sauce) and it was not watery.

This turned out delicious and so flavorful! Grumpy? He even went back for seconds and as he got up to get his seconds, he said, make sure you tell your "blog people" (don't you just love it? ha ha) that I went back for seconds. Sounds to me like it passed the "Grumpy test", what do you think?

This is my submission Presto Pasta Nights for this week. Rachel (a fellow NY'er and local to me!) of The Crispy Cook is hosting this week. (BTW, we are so close we should really have a meet up Rachel!) Make sure to check out her blog on Friday for the round up!

So for the calorie comparison facts: This recipe was compared to Olive Garden's Five Cheese Ziti al Forno which comes in at a whopping 1050 calories, 48 grams of fat, and 2,370 mg of sodium! By following the Cook This! Not That! recipe, you come out with 410 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 600 mg of sodium. So, not only is the nutritional counts better for you but its quick and easy to make and Grumpy loved it. This one's a definite keeper!

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Cook This! Baked Ziti

by May-22-2012

a recipe compared to Olive Garden's Five Cheese Ziti al Forno in Cook This! Not That! Cookbook

Ingredients

10 oz ziti
1 tablespoon olive oil
pre-cooked chicken or turkey sausage 2 links
medium onion, diced 1
garlic, minced 2 cloves
red pepper flakes 1 tsp
(1 can) tomato puree 28 ounces
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil leaves 1 cup
cubed mozzarella 3/4 cup
parmesan for grating

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until a minute shy of being done. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add sausage and cook for about 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper flakes and cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Stir in tomato puree, plus a good pinch of salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.Drain the pasta. Add to the skillet and toss with the sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil and mozzarella. Place in a 12x9 baking dish and sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and cover with foil Bake 15 minutes then remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, until the top is crusty and browned. Garnish with basil leaves.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 4 servings

Happy Mother's Day 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Sun, 13 May 2012 07:35:16 PDT

Happy Mother's Day!

Legacy of my mother and the women in our lives.

I am thinking of 3 special women in my life - my Mom, Aunt Ann & Aunt Marlene. My mom for being my mom and my Aunt's for being someone I can also turn to when I need someone to talk to. I'm very blessed and so lucky to have so many special people in my life.

Happy mother's day also to these special people....my female cousins on my mom's side who I grew up with and spent many a days together playing as kids. The tradition goes on as they have their own daughters - and some who have had children of their own! (btw I am the ONLY one of these girls who did not have a daughter of my own!)

Michelle Whitton Stott

Amanda Whitton Abrantes

Pamela Whitton Leonard

Andrea Jefferson Clementz

Nichole Whitton Morse

I also want to remember my Great Aunt Helga Clark, she wasn't a mom but she sure treated us all like her children at some point in our lives!

And lastly, but not least, to remember my Grandma Mae Iris Whitton. The woman who gave to and taught me to love unconditionally.

Maple Oatmeal Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Mon, 07 May 2012 09:00:05 PDT

Today is Secret Recipe Club reveal day. This month it came upon me very fast and before I knew it we were upon the weekend before reveal day and it hit me I hadn't done anything yet. Story of my life. I'm either too early or cutting it close. There is a lot going on right now so it wasn't hard for it to happen to me I guess.

This month I was paired with Margaret of Tea and Scones. Margaret is another long time blogger who I met through participating in other events like Tuesdays with Dorie, My Kitchen, My World, and Presto Pasta Nights! We have a lot in common other than the fact that she lives in the south and I am from the north! She loves shrimp and pasta and has several combinations of it on her blog - and I can promise I'll be back and making them!

However, because we couldn't be home over the weekend I fretted about what I was going to make. I finally decided on the Maple Oatmeal Bread. Kind of ironic because after the fact I was looking over her blog again some this morning and realized that she blogged the Italian bread I have on my blog! lol Definitely was not intentional. My reasons for going with the bread were because we needed bread in the house and I figured homemade bread made with whole grains would be much healthier for Grumpy and me than a processed store bought loaf. The only thing I did different was I used white whole wheat flour. This is a delicious recipe and it is low in fat as well! Grumpy will be taking his sandwiches made with this bread all week and will be better off for it!

I had a great time reading through Margaret's blog - her blog may be titled Tea and Scones (because of her love of both!) but she definitely has a lot of variety to share with us all and I'm sure there is something for everyone there!

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Maple Oatmeal Bread

May-7-2012

Whole grain bread sweetened slightly with maple syrup

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1 package dry yeast
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon oil
3 cups white whole wheat flour
2 cups flour

Instructions

Measure the water into a 4 cup measure and bring the water to a boil in the microwave (about 3 minutes on high). Add oats and give a stir. Set aside to cool about one hour. Mix the yeast, syrup, salt, and oil into the oats. Mix in 3 cups of the flour. Cover the bowl and let rise for an hour.Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is the correct consistency. Knead for 10 minutes. Cut the dough into two pieces, then shape it into loaves and place in greased loaf pans.

Cover and let rise another 45 minutes or put loaves in refrigerator and let rise during the day while your busy elsewhere like I did :)
When ready to bake, preheat oven at 350 degrees. Spray tops of loaves lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with some whole oats.

Bake at for 40 - 50 minutes.

Details

Prep time: 2 hour Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 2 hour 45 mins Yield: 2 loaves

Pineapple Cookies with Orange Glaze

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:15:03 PDT

Before I get to the cookies I need to announce the winner of my Price Chopper product giveaway! The comments were printed out and Grumpy drew one of the comments out of a bowl for me. The winner is....

susies1955 Apr 27, 2012 03:15 AM
I've bought their pancake mixes before and they are good.
Your donuts look great. I absolutely LOVE bacon and maple. :)
Susie

Congrats Susie! I'll be contacting you soon!

One thing Nanny was well known for was the cookies she would have in her cupboard; and if her cupboard happened to be bare, you could almost bet there were cookies in the freezer. You couldn't go to Nanny's & house without finding a treat of some kind.

Nanny's recipe had a lot of sugar and oil in it and while I absolutely love her recipe, I decided to create these with less fat and less sugar so they wouldn't be such a sin for Grumpy to eat. I totally cut the sweetener in half and on top of that, when I did so, I used half regular sugar and half Splenda. I then cut the amount of oil and egg in half. I went with a light orange glaze to get that orange-pineapple flavor that is so irresistable. They are soft and flavorful - especially with the fresh orange juice and zest in the glaze. They went excellent with a cup of hot green tea.

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Pineapple Cookies with Orange Glaze

by Shelby Law Ruttan May-3-2012

My Nanny's Pineapple Cookie recipe redone

Ingredients

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
1 large egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup crushed pineapple (do not drain)
3 to 3-1/2 cups flour
2 cups powdered sugar
1 medium medium orange, juiced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla until well blended.Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.Stir in flour and pineapple alternately, starting with flour and ending with flour.Scoop by tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake 7-9 minutes. Cool on cookie rack.Mix confectioner's sugar and orange juice. Dip tops of cookies into glaze and set back on cookie sheet to dry. Notes: These cookies get moister as time goes by - if these last more than a couple of days the tops of the cookies will get very moist and almost wet-like. Therefore, these are best eaten within the first few days.

You can freeze un-glazed cookies to keep them longer and remove from the freezer and glaze prior to eating.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 35 mins Yield: 3-1/2 dozen

Rudy Rut-ton....another Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:46:00 PDT

Blood Orange Cranberry Baked Doughnuts with Bacon Maple Glaze

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:37:01 PDT

Recently I was contacted by Liz at Price Chopper and was asked if I would like to be part of a group of bloggers that they would share some of their products with and also give us the opportunity to give those same products away to one of my readers. I quickly wrote Liz back and told her I would love to be part of their group! So, this last weekend after my trip to the gym, I went over to my Price Chopper store in Glenmont to pick up the goodies that were waiting there for me. I knew ahead of time what I was going to be receiving from the store and my mind had already been working on what I wanted to do with them. While we were not required in any way whatsoever to make and blog a recipe, there was no way I wasn't going to challenge myself to do so.

Being that this is the "Pancake House" it would have been too easy to have just made pancakes. You see, one of the products that I received was a Buttermilk Pancake Mix (Central Market Brand- which is Price Chopper's brand). I also received some of Price Chopper's brand pure maple syrup (dark amber) as well as the Central Market Brand Blood Orange Tea. My mind was working and the very next morning I made some baked donuts!

I wanted to flavor the doughnut with the tea and of course, the glaze had to be maple. If the glaze had to be maple, then I also had to top them with bacon. So we had our pancakes and bacon in a much different way...and it was also delicious and not super fattening. While Grumpy really couldn't eat much, he did try a mini one and declared them yummy.

Now for the giveaway, which is really very simple. What do you need to do? Just leave a comment. You could tell me what you might do with the products should you win, maybe it would be to create some scones or a cake, or maybe you would just make pancakes :) Maybe you will even make these doughnuts and share them with your family on Mother's Day! So, whip up some doughnuts and serve them with some of the tea. You won't be sorry and everyone will be happy!

The giveaway will end on May 1, 2012 (my brother's birthday!) and winner will be announced on May 2nd.
In return for promoting the giveaway of Price Chopper's Central Market Brand products, I received the following (which is also what the giveaway winner will receive): 1 box of Pancake Mix, 1 box of Blood Orange Tea, 1 bottle of Pure Maple Syrup. I am not being compensated in any other way by writing this post.

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Blood Orange Cranberry Baked Doughnuts with Bacon Maple Glaze

by Shelby Law Ruttan April-27-2012

quick and easy recipe for baked doughnuts using pancake mix!

Ingredients

2 cups buttermilk pancake mix
1/2 cup sugar or splenda
1 cup blood orange cranberry tea, cooled
1.2 cups dried cranberries
1/2 cup maple syrup
2-3 tbsp fat free half and half (as needed to thin glaze to desired consistency) fat free half and half
2 cups powdered sugar
3 crisp bacon slices, broken into pieces

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prep baking pans by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix pancake mix, sugar or splenda, cranberries, and cooled tea just until combined. Place pancake mixture into a large ziploc baggie, cut the corner to create a piping bag and squeeze batter into doughnut pans.Bake 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into doughnut. Cool slightly, then glaze with maple glaze and top with bacon pieces.To make glaze: combine powdered sugar and maple syrup. Mixture should be combined but thick. Add fat free half and half as needed to thing to glazing consistency. Top with bacon pieces immediately after glazing. Let doughnuts sit for a few minutes to allow glaze to harden.NOTES: These could also be made as mini muffin doughnuts, then rolled in powdered or cinnamon sugar immediately after removing from oven. Try adding different flavors to the doughnut mixture as well as different flavor glazes. This is a very quick and easy way to make a baked doughnut!

This would be a fun and easy recipe to make with your kids!

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 20 mins Yield: 1-1/2 dozen

Chubby Wubby - Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:15:03 PDT

Bachelor's Pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:01:23 PDT

In all these years that I have been blogging I have never blogged a recipe that Grumpy made. Mainly because Grumpy basically hasn't made anything except boil from the bag cheese ravioli or ground beef mixed with Prego pasta sauce since we have been together. Oh, he will heat up a can of soup or grill a couple of cheese sandwiches, and will even make boxed Velveeta Shells & Cheese....but don't hold your breath waiting for much more than that!

Last evening Grumpy was aggravating me by sitting in his chair while I was working around the house and getting ready to cook dinner. He was not happy I was going to make a quiche for our dinner (even though I reminded him that he liked the broccoli quiche I made ages ago - he just has CRS and insisted he couldn't have). Since the quiche had no meat in it I asked him to go grab a hotdog from the freezer to go with so he could have his meat....and guess what? Grumpy said he was going to make his Bachelor's Pasta dish instead. Granted, I ended up having somewhat of a hand in it by adding fresh garlic to the butter, but other than that, Grumpy made it his way and by golly, it turned out delicious! We decided that I would have to share his recipe with you....so today you are getting a very rare and special treat...a dish cooked by Grumpy himself! Oh, and Katrina, there is just no way I would ban you from his recipe like he said I had to. ;) See, I love you enough to rebel from Grumpy telling me what I can and can't do for my buddies! lol

To top all of that off, I am submitting Grumpy's recipe to one of my very favorite events, Presto Pasta Nights. This week PPN is being hosted by Simona of Briciole. To join in with the rest of us pasta lovers, you can submit your post to Simona by this Thursday, April 26th. She will have a round up of all submissions on her blog on Friday, April 27th. The guidelines for submission can be found on the Presto Pasta Night's website. Ruth is also looking for volunteers to host a week of PPN so if you haven't hosted before and think you might like to, please make sure to let Ruth know!

Before I leave you with the recipe, I will leave you with this Instagram photo I grabbed of Grumpy one night when he was "cooking" his Velveeta Shells & Cheese. ;) You can see how happy he was to be cooking!

A-hem, that is NOT an Al Bundy hand....LOL (rolling eyes)

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Bachelor's Pasta

by Phillip Ruttan aka Grumpy April-23-2012

What Grumpy used to cook for himself when he was single, very basic and very delicious....however I did have him add some garlic to the mix to give it more of a flavor boost. Great side dish!!

Ingredients

1/2 lb dry pasta, your favorite shape, cooked until al dente
4 tablespoons salted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup dried parmigian cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package until al dente. Drain. Set aside.In a large skillet, melt butter and add fresh minced garlic cloves. Cook for about 1 minute and remove butter from heat. Add pasta to butter and toss with cheese. Garnish with parsley flakes.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 8 mins Total time: 13 mins Yield: 4 Servings

Tastefully Simple Merlot Swiss Burger

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:56:01 PDT

It's been a while since I've made a Cook This! Not That! recipe. I happened to be straightening my cookbooks up the other day and it caught my eye....again. :) I love the Cook This Not That books. Its amazing the amount of calories saved by making your own take out favorites at home.

It's that time of year again....you know, grilling season! So, when I was going through this book and I saw this very simple recipe for the A.1. Swiss Burger I knew that was going to be our dinner that evening. I also knew that Grumpy wouldn't go for it, but it was a burger that I could make enough of just for myself and he could have just a regular grilled cheeseburger. It was so easy to make that I would definitely do it again - and would you believe I didn't bury it in ketchup? Nope, I ate it without any ketchup whatsoever! Definitely try it out if you like mushrooms, onions, and swiss cheese!

In the Cook This! Not That! book this burger is compared to Applebee's Steakhouse burger. You would consume 1,190 calories, 82 grams of fat, and 2,070 mg of sodium by eating the Applebee's burger. With the A.1. Swiss Burger, you will be consuming only 340 calories, 15 grams of fat and 580 mg of sodium. I'd say that's a significant reason to make this burger at home and skip Applebee's all together!

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Tastefully Simple Merlot Swiss Burger

by Shelby Law Ruttan April-22-2012

slightly adapted from Cook This! Not That! A.1. Swiss Burger - I did not use the salt and pepper and I did not fry the burgers as the original recipe does. I also did not have A.1. Sauce but I did have Tastefully Simple Merlot sauce which I used in place of the A.1. Sauce. My changes probably lower the sodium and fat content however because we grilled the burgers and I used a salt free seasoning on the burgers. I also made my own Potato Rolls, recipe is linked.

Ingredients

1/2 tbsp Canola Oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
2 cups sliced white or cremini mushrooms
to taste Badia Seasoning
1 lb ground sirloin
4 slices reduced-fat swiss cheese
4 potato buns, split and lightly toasted
2 tbsp Tastefully Simple Merlot Sauce

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large skillet and saute onions for 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 6-7 minutes more, until mushrooms and onions are browned and caramelized. Add merlot sauce, coat mushrooms and onions, and set aside..While veggies are sauteing, shape burgers and Grill them until meat is to your preference (Grumpy likes his slightly red while I need mine to be well done). Top with cheese, turn off grill heat, and lower cover to allow heat to melt cheese on burger. Prep and cook times are approximate. Prep time will depend upon if you buy your veggies presliced or slice them yourself. Cook time depends upon your preference for how well you like your burger cooked.

Details

Prep time: 015 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 35 mins Yield: 4 burgers

Mom's Potato Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 02:30:01 PDT

I wanted to make hamburgers for dinner over the weekend but had no buns. I also wanted to make Mom's Potato Roll recipe, so I combined the two and made Potato Hamburger Buns!

Growing up mom was always making bread (and she still does) and she tended to make it in large batches for our family of five. After all, we all loved it and would fight over who would get the warm "heel" once the bread was cool enough to cut and have a slice. I swear we must have been like vultures standing around waiting for our nice warm slice of bread. Because I grew up with this, the smell of bread baking can make me homesick for younger days, warm bread and my Mom. However, now that I'm older and it's just Grumpy and me, there's no fight over who gets the heel! ;-) I still miss my mom though and look forward to every visit home where I can walk into her home and feel like I never left and will always belong!

Since this was Mom's recipe, I never thought about the fact that it was going to be a huge batch of dough. So I made 1 large loaf and a couple mini loaves as well as hamburger rolls! I ended up adapting my mom's recipe some because I did not have the soy flour or wheat germ, but in any case, the rolls and bread turned out delicious! I also used less flour. Her original recipe calls for 8 cups of flour, I used more along the lines of 6-1/2 -7 cups.

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Mom's Potato Rolls

by Gwen Law April-17-2012

Mom's recipe - makes a lot of dough! I adapted this by using flax in place of wheat germ and whole wheat pastry flour in place of soy - as I did not have either ingredient.

Ingredients

1 package Instant yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
8 cups flour (as needed, you may need less)
1 cup warm mashed potatoes, firmly packed
2 eggs
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup flax meal

Instructions

Beat together sugar and eggs. Melt the margarine and add to sugar mixture with water. Place 2 cups flour in sifter with yeast, salt and whole wheat pastry flour. sift altogether into liquid mixture and eat with electric mixer.
Add mashed potatoes and flax meal, beating until smooth. With wooden spoon, stir in enough remaining flour so dough is able to be placed on a floured surface. Knead until dough is elastic and not sticky. Return dough to oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Rise until doubled. Punch down, shape into rolls or loaves. Bake at 350 for35-45 minutes or until bread/rolls are golden brown.

Details

Prep time: 2 hour Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 2 hour 45 mins Yield: 3 loaves or 36 rolls

My precious Rudy Rut-ton - Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:04:50 PDT

Traditional Deviled Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:53:00 PDT

Last week I shared the awesome recipe for Buffalo-Style Stuffed Eggs with you. This week I am sharing a traditional recipe that I found on all recipes.com - only with a slightly different twist (for me anyway). We ended up going next door on Easter Sunday to our neighbor's house and I took these eggs. I don't know too many people who don't enjoy deviled eggs! Since this is slightly different to me from how mom always made them I decided that I should share this with you - and the difference with these eggs would be there is sugar and vinegar in them. I went with Splenda instead of sugar Have you made eggs this way?

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Traditional Deviled Eggs

by Shelby Law Ruttan April-16-2012

Traditional deviled egg recipe with a tangy sweet edge - adapted from a recipe found on allrecipes.com

Ingredients

10 hard boiled eggs, halved and yolks removed
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp splenda
1 tsp seasoned rice vinegar

Instructions

Cook eggs and cool. I put my eggs in a pot of cold water, bring them to a boil, then turn the heat off and let them sit for 15 minutes. Drain the water and run cold water over top and add a couple scoops of ice to water to chill quicker. Once eggs are cool, you can peel them.

Halve eggs and place whites on serving platter.

Mash egg yolk and mix well with mayonnaise, dijon mustard, splenda, and seasoned rice vinegar. Garnish and chill until ready to serve.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 20 mins Yield: 20 halves

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 03:47:05 PDT

My day started out terribly in the kitchen yesterday. First thing that happened was I made an egg breakfast recipe that was a total flop. It came out pretty, but tasted terrible. Next, I decided to go ahead and make the granola I had been thinking about for weeks now; and I burned it beyond recognition. The last thing I did wasn't as terrible - but it turned out that I ended up with a lot of bread dough - because without thinking I started to make my mom's recipe for Potato Rolls and ended up with enough dough to make 3 loaves of bread. Not planned at all but once the wet ingredients were mixed there was no going back. I don't know where my mind was yesterday morning. So, needless to say when I made these cookies I had an apprehension that I would mess up - and I did but only on baking the last 3 that I couldn't fit on my cookie sheet with the last full batch. I totally forgot I had them in the oven and they got way too dark.

My mind just totally was not with me in the morning whatsoever. I even told my hairdresser I could make a 1:30 appointment without even remembering that I had the bread dough rising. Fortunately I made it to the appointment, but not without a minute to spare. I guess its a good thing that she is only 5 minutes away from me!

I also followed this recipe to a T for two reasons. Its the recipe that Grumpy likes and you don't mess with something that he likes as is and secondly I was scared that if I did make changes that I would mess the cookies up since my pattern that morning was to be a failure! Thankfully, the cookies that I didn't burn turned out fabulous.

This is Grumpy's favorite cookie ever and the recipe is right off the Quaker Whole Oats Oatmeal box. If you have never made this recipe you should. They are not crunchy (which is why they are Grumpy's favorite) and the raisins give them a chewiness that I love!

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Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

April-15-2012

recipe from the Quaker Oats box, sometimes you just don't mess with perfection!

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned)
1 cup raisins

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
Add oats and raisins; mix well.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on wire rack.The prep and cook time includes baking ALL batches of cookies and are an estimate as all ovens are different. Please use your own judgement when baking the cookies and watch them carefully.

Details

Prep time: 6 mins Cook time: 24 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 4 dozen

Blueberry Almond Cream Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:21:28 PDT

The other morning I decided that it was about time I made some blueberry muffins again. I couldn't remember the last time I had made blueberry and they are my favorite kind of muffin ever. Unfortunately, they aren't Grumpy's favorite. I guess whats good for the goose is good for the gander eh? Grumpy doesn't get lasagna all that often either and that is because #1 its not my favorites and #2 I hate making it. So it makes sense that I don't get something I love that much either. However, after eating this muffin Grumpy may have changed his mind....as long as I don't try to make blueberry every time I make muffins.

I still have blueberries in my freezer from last season so I also decided I really should use them. I need to make room for this season's blueberries when they get here anyway! In my mind blueberries and almonds just naturally go together so I decided that this recipe would not only be healthy for us and diabetic friendly so Grumpy could have a couple but that it would have the almond/cream flavor I think they deserve!

I used half regular sugar and half splenda, used all white whole wheat flour, and light sour cream. These aren't fat free by any means because I did use oil in my batter this time also, but they have to be lower fat than if I had used regular full fat sour cream and lower calorie and carb with the splenda and wheat flour. Like I have said before, I'm no expert in diabetic cooking, I'm in a learning phase, but I like to think that I'm doing a good job trying to make it much more friendly to Grumpy's diet. While I don't have carb counts for the muffin, I'm pretty sure its probably better than a bakery style muffin!

These were nice and tall, sweet and moist with that creamy, nutty, almond flavor. Definitely will make these again when I'm in the mood for a blueberry muffin!

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Blueberry Almond Cream Muffins

by Shelby Law Ruttan April-13-2012

A recipe adapted from allrecipes.com to fit into hubby's diabetic lifestyle by making it lower carb.

Ingredients

2 cups White whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup splenda
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp almond extract
1 heaping cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
2 tbsp slivered almonds
almond glaze (recipe below)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, splenda, almond extract and 1/2 cup of the sour cream.

Fold in half of the flour mixture, then fold in remaining sour cream and then the last half of the flour mixture. Do not over mix. Gently fold in blueberries.

Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop batter into muffin cups evenly. Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Bake for 20 minutes or until muffins have slightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into center of muffin.

Top with glaze made of 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, 1/2 tsp almond extract, and 1-1/2 tbsp milk. Alternatively you can mix confectioners sugar with pure amaretto (which is what I did) for that little bit of special/special to be added to your morning muffin :)

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 12 muffins

Chicken Noodle Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 02:48:49 PDT

Sometimes you just feel like you want soup and soup out of a can just does not work for me. I roasted a whole chicken not long ago and when we were cleaning up the kitchen Grumpy mentioned that I should make soup with what was left over. Funny he should say that because I was thinking the same thing. So, I froze what was left until I was able to be home for a period of time long enough to make it.

I made my own broth by simmering the bones with carrots, celery, onions, garlic powder, and thyme for about 1-1/2 hours however you can easily use canned broth also. I went light on the noodles to keep the carbs down for Grumpy. This was dinner last night and today what is left is going to be lunch! This is a simple, basic recipe that packs a lot of flavor thanks to the Better than Boullion that I love to use. You can use a couple cubes of concentrated chicken broth if you don't have access to the Better than Boullion, but I really encourage you to look for it. It is located in the same place you would find all the other boullion cubes and mixes in the grocery store. I am not being compensated for telling you that by the way, its just what I love to use!

This is my submission for Presto Pasta Nights. You can view the rules for submission on the PPN website if you would like to join in. Submissions need to be sent to our host by end of the day tomorrow (April 12, 2012). This week's round up will be hosted by Gillian of So So Simple Food so make sure to check out her post on Friday to see what everyone is cooking up!

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Chicken Noodle Soup

by Shelby Law Ruttan April-11-2012

Nothing says comfort more than homemade soup!

Ingredients

1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 large Carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 Large Onion, diced
2 stalks Celery, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
1-1/2 cups Chicken, cooked and diced
5 cups Chicken stock or store bought broth
1 cup water
1/2 tsp Thyme
1-2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tbsp Parsley
2 tsp or 2 cubes Chicken Boullion concentrate
4 oz dried egg noodles, cooked until al dente

Instructions

In a large pot heat olive oil over medium high heat. When hot add carrots, onion and celery and cook 2-3 minutes stirring frequently. Add some parsley, thyme, and minced garlic cloves. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.Add the chicken, broth, and water. Bring to a boil then turn heat down to simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir in the chicken boullion concentrate once the soup is simmering.While soup is simmering, cook egg noodles according to package until al dente.Add cooked noodles to soup and serve with crackers if desired.Notes: Prep time does not include making your own stock. If making your own stock add about 1-1/2 hours to your time.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 35 mins Total time: 45 mins Yield: 6 servings

Chocolate Irish Cream Coffee Biscotti

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 02:59:12 PDT

It's a Secret. There's a recipe involved and there is a club consisting of so many food bloggers involved that there has to be four groups of us! It's time for my group's Secret Recipe Club reveal!

I was lucky enough to receive Isabelle, author of Crumb: A Food Blog this month. Isabelle has been blogging for a long time now....she's been blogging before I knew food blogs existed :) Since 2006! So, as you can imagine, I had a lot of fun going through her back catalogue. After spending several hours reading and pondering over what I wanted to make I finally decided on something I knew I wouldn't eat all by myself in one sitting and would be able to share with my coffee loving friends! Isabelle has a recipe for Cappuccino Biscotti. I am a huge coffee lover and while I thought her flavors sounded awesome, since I was making these when it was near St. Patrick's Day, I went with one of my most favorite flavors: Irish Cream! I also had some assorted white and chocolate coated coffee beans that I used along with some of the white chocolate M&M's (chopped slightly because they are big!). Dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with some pastel colors and I had a spring like biscotti! I'll be back to Isabelle's blog, mostly because there are two recipes there I hope to make soon. One is a new on that she's posted since I did all my searching, Red Lentil Patties with Spicy Tomato Jam - just the title makes my mouth water, Chorizo Hash, and Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp. Gotta try those SOON!
Inspired and Adapted from Crumb: A Food Blog - Coffee Break: Cappuccino Biscotti

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Chocolate Irish Cream Coffee Biscotti

by Shelby Law Ruttan April-9-2012

adapted from Crumb: A Food Blog

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp instant coffee granules
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chocolate coated coffee beans, coarsely ground
1/4 cup white chocolate M&M's, chopped
3 room temperature eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
3 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream Liquor
2 tbsp almond milk
1 egg

Instructions

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Mix first 9 ingredients in a large mixing bowl (flour thru M&M's). Set aside.

Melt butter in the microwave - approximately 40 seconds, until almost melted but not bubbly hot. Let cool for 1 minute, then whisk in Irish Cream Liquor and eggs. Whisk until well blended.

Make a well in the center of dry ingredients. Pour liquid mixture into center of well and stir until most of the dry ingredients have mixed in. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead 8-10 times until dough comes together. Divide into quarters.

Shape each section into a log shape, squeezing together and flattening until desired thickness. I made these a little smaller than I normally do - about 1 inch thick if that. I wanted smaller biscotti! :)

Place log on cookie sheet spacing each log about 2 inches apart. You may need to use two cookie sheets if you don't have one large enough for the spacing. Whisk together egg and almond milk and brush tops and sides of biscotti liberlly. Bake in oven approximately 20 minutes, or until log feels firm to the touch and looks dry.

Remove from oven and cool about 10 minutes, until just cool enough to handle. Once cooled, cut each log crosswise in a diagonal shape approximately 1/2" thick. Line up on cookie sheet cut side down and return to oven. Cook for 10 minutes, remove cookie sheet and turn biscotti over. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes more. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 55 mins Yield: 40 cookies

Buffalo-Style Stuffed Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 05:19:11 PDT

Now why didn't I think of this one?! Considering that we are buffalo style fans, I can't believe I didn't. This is an awesome way to use your eggs for Easter! Different and yummy. I will definitely be making them this way again, and the best thing? They are diabetic friendly!

Not too long ago I was asked if I would be interested in receiving the Kitchen Diva's Diabetic Cookbook by Angela Shelf Medearis to review. Absolutely! With Grumpy's diagnosis I have been attempting to find ways to feed him to help control his diabetes. Since I am totally stupid when it comes to this disease I have a lot to learn. Most everything Grumpy puts in his mouth comes from my doing so I need to make sure I'm feeding him right to keep him healthy and around for a long time. This is an awesome cookbook. It has easy everyday recipes that you don't need a lot of special ingredients in order to make. I have received permission to share some of these recipes with you as we try them out however I'm sure you could buy the cookbook when it goes on the shelf on April 24, 2012 if you are interested!

While these have blue cheese in them you can omit it if you don't care for the flavor or the chunks that are in it - however to us that was some of the best part of it. Blue Cheese and Frank's Red Hot just are a natural pairing in this household! I'm sure you could put some other kind of cheese in it to replace the Blue Cheese if you want cheese in it - shred some sharp cheddar or a milder cheese if you prefer.

Thank you to Angela and her publisher for sharing this book with me and giving me a resource to go to for my Grumpy!

**While I did receive the cookbook as a gift, I was in no way required to blog about it and am receiving nothing else in return for this post.

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Buffalo-Style Stuffed Eggs

by Angela Shelf Medearis April-5-2012

a recipe from "The Kitchen Diva's" Diabetic Cookbook

Ingredients

6 large eggs, hard cooked
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tbsp low-fat mayonnaise
1-1/2 tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1-1/2 tbsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 stalk stalk celery, diced

Instructions

Shell and cut the eggs in half lengthwise. Remove the egg yolks and place them in a bowl. Mash the yolks and mix well with the cheese, mayonnaise, parsley, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Spoon the yolk mixture back into the shells. Garnish with the celery.Please note the prep time listed below is the time I have estimated to make this recipe as it is not stated in the cookbook.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 12 mins Total time: 17 mins Yield: 12

Asparagus Tart

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:27:16 PDT

I have been looking at this recipe since I received the most recent Light & Healthy magazine and when I was able to buy asparagus on sale I had no reason to not make it!

I was a little unsure how I would feel about it since there are 4 eggs in this and it seemed pretty quiche like to me....and we all know how I feel about eggs.

My first bite reminded me somewhat of the Butternut Squash Galette - probably because of the cayenne....but I really liked this dish!! The bite from the cayenne, and the sweetness of the pastry crust itself mixed with the asparagus, swiss cheese and nutmeg just pulled the whole thing together.

Grumpy ate his a little on the cool side (he was late getting home) and he wasn't crazy about it - BUT he also has a cold, and doesn't care for swiss cheese. Maybe on a different day he would like it better. I know I will enjoy some for lunch today! I'll send some home with Chris and give mom and dad some (they eat mainly vegetarian themselves!).

Personally, this gets a 9 out of 10 rating from me. I would make it again....if I didn't have to eat it all by myself.

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Asparagus Tart

by Light & Tasty Magazine April-2-2012

Light & Tasty Magazine

Ingredients

1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed

2/3 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss Cheese, divided

1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

4 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup half and half

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

Cut 2 in. from the top of each asparagus spear; set tops aside. Cut stem ends into 3/4 in. pieces. In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil Add the 3/4 in. asparagus pieces; cover and boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain and immediately place asparagus in ice water. Drain and pat dry.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry into a 13-in. circle. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 11 in tart pan with removable bottom; trim edges. Place the blanched asparagus, 1/3 cup cheese and pasley in crust. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, cream, salt, cayenne and nutmeg; pour into crust. Arrange asparagus tops over egg mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 8 servings

Simple Sauteed Mushrooms

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 08:44:09 PDT

Simple, delicious and if you are a mushroom lover, crave-able. Not much else to say except you really need to make them this way. It can't get much easier!

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Simple Sauteed Mushrooms

by Shelby Law Ruttan March-31-2012

Sauteed Mushrooms glazed with a Mushroom Soy Sauce

Ingredients

16 oz. package mushrooms - button or baby portabello
1-2 tbsp Mushroom Soy Sauce

Instructions

Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Quarter and sautee in a non-stick skillet until browned and most of the water has evaporated from pan. Add soy sauce and give a good stir to coat. Remove from heat. Serve as a side dish to any beefy meal - its delish!

Details

Prep time: 7 mins Cook time: 7 mins Total time: 14 mins Yield: 4 servings

The Monte Cristo with Strawberry Habarnero Jam

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 03:38:37 PDT

Sunday was a quiet day for Grumpy and me. Saturday we left the house to do some furniture and truck "window shopping". We have been doing a lot of furniture window shopping, talking about what we want to get when we finally can buy our own home again. We are hoping that now its not that far off in the distant future anymore!

I hung out in the house with Grumpy doing housework and working on my blog some throughout the morning. Then early afternoon I went to our bedroom and watched The Sandwich King on Food Network. (yes, I have to leave the living room to watch certain channels and the Food Network IS one of them. Sigh.) I record this show every week. When Jeff was competing on The Next Food Network Star, I never really thought I would like his show. Then, one day I happened to turn on the TV and his show was on. I watched him make his sandwiches and thought that they looked way too good and that his show was actually something I was interested in continuing to watch. This last weekend one of the sandwiches he made was the Monte Cristo. Oh yeah. Accompanying the sandwich was a Strawberry Habanero Jam. Oh bigger yeah! Tempt me with sweet heat and I'm ALL yours!

After I watched the show I finished getting around then headed out the door to the grocery store. I planned to feed this to Grumpy so I didn't dare use Guyere cheese and I didn't dare use a whole pepper. I already knew I was going to get a response that I didn't want when he asked me what I was going to make. As far as I knew, he had no idea what a Monte Cristo was (and he didn't) and when he asked me to explain what it was and I tell him its a ham and cheese sandwich toasted between french toast with a spicy jam dip, well, I knew he wasn't going to be really happy that was what his dinner was going to be. Fortunately, he didn't gripe too much and he tried it - and he did eat it all. When I asked him how it was, his response was that it was good. Of course, Grumpy isn't very adventurous as we all know so the fact he tried it and didn't say it was terrible was a good thing. I am here to tell you however that it was very good, delicious in fact, but I would have probably have loved it even more with the Guyere cheese and a spicier jam. The jam is really awesome and I already have other ideas about how I'm going to use what I have left over. I just wish Grumpy could handle spicier foods!

The Monte Cristo with Strawberry Habernaro Jam
adapted from The Sandwich King
Makes 2 sandwiches
Printable Recipe

4 slices French Toast Bread (thick cut)
Deli Ham (I used Boars Head Honey Ham - it was on sale!)
Thinly sliced muenster cheese
1 large egg
4 tbsp half and half
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

*Note: Use your judgement on how much ham/cheese you want to use for your sandwich - but be generous! :)

Strawberry Habanero Jam

1-16 oz package fresh strawberries, stemmed, washed and cut into chunks
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 small habanero pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp lemon (or orange) zest

Place strawberries, sugar, pepper, orange juice and lemon zest in heavy sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until temperature reaches 200 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and let cool.

Whisk together egg, half and half, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Dip french toast bread in egg mixture on each side and place on hot griddle. When bottom side is browned, flip over and place cheese, meat and then another layer of cheese on top. Place toasted side of other slice of french toast bread on top of meat cheese mixture. Cook low and slow to allow the heat to get through the sandwich and melt the cheese. When the cheese on the bottom looks melty and bottom of sandwich is browned, carefully flip over to toast top of sandwich and cook until toasty. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and jam if desired.

Individual Bacon Wrapped Baked Eggs with Jalapeno Cheese, Peppers, and Green Onion

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 07:08:48 PDT

I am not sure why and it confuses me, but I have been wanting to eat eggs in the morning more often. Quiche is really appealing to me a lot lately too and I'll probably be making one of those soon! I went for so many years not wanting to ever touch an egg because the thought of doing so made my stomach turn. The nutrition label that I was reading for an egg has me convinced that they really aren't all that bad and I should probably eat more since my body is in need of the nutrients it provides.

I went back to one of my trusty sources for recipes (http://www.allrecipes.com) and did a baked egg search. I found a very basic recipe and decided to start with that and put some add-ins that would give it some more yumminess. I served some of Mom and Dad's homemade salsa alongside my baked egg and think this would be a great meal to pre-bake and freeze so that it would be handy to take to work with me!

Individual Bacon Wrapped Baked Eggs with Jalapeno Cheese, Peppers, and Green Onion
adapted from allrecipes.com Individual Baked Eggs

Printable Recipe

Makes 2 Individual Eggs - serves 1 person (Grumpy) or two people (me, two different days!)

2 large eggs
1 tbsp red or yellow pepper, diced
1 tbsp diced green onion, including tops (set tops aside for garnish)
1 Weight Watcher's Jalapeno Cheese Wedge, diced
3 slices microwaveable bacon
cooking spray

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk two eggs until well blended. Add pepper, onion and diced cheese and stir to combine.

Spray 2 cups in muffin tin with non stick cooking spray. Line cup with 1-1/2 slices bacon. I use the pre-cooked bacon that you microwave to complete the cooking. It is already soft and since its pre-cooked you don't need to do anything but line the baking cup with it.

Divide egg mixture up between muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until egg is puffed up and no longer jiggles when you tap the muffin pan.

Carefully remove from muffin tin - you will need to slide a knife around the edge of the egg cup and pull inwards slightly with the knife to release the egg from the sides and bottom of the pay. Once it is loosened you can easily tip it upside down and let the egg cup fall into your hand then place on your plate. Garnish with green onion tops and salsa.

Deep Dish Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 05:43:11 PDT

I'm feeling good...good enough to make homemade pizza on a weeknight!

The other night we had bbq hamburgers for dinner. Then yesterday morning I was thinking, what can I make for dinner tonight? I left the house thinking I was going to make Shrimp Po' Boys. I left my office 8 hours later and it hit me that I could make pizza and use the leftover hamburger. The outcome was Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe Pizza! I wanted to use up that last hamburger instead of letting it sit in the fridge for a few days and then end up tossing it because nobody wanted it.

I've made a bacon cheeseburger pizza before way back in the beginning of my blogging days. I thought about the sauce and what could I do that would go well with what I wanted to make. The pizza I made before had a ketchup-y sauce. I decided it couldn't be a cheeseburger pizza without that kind of sauce. So, I decided that I would make a sauce the way Grumpy would eat his burgers and then, after mixing the ingredients, decided to toss a little of the flavor I used when making the burgers themselves. The result was yummy! Grumpy, he ate his pizza naked. Me, I had to make it deluxe!

Deep Dish Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe Pizza

printable recipe

For the crust:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1-3//4 cups white flour
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 packet rapid rise yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
Cornmeal to coat the bottom of pan

For the sauce:
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Tastefully Simple Merlot Sauce (or Worcestershire sauce)

For the toppings:
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 large left over hamburger, cooked
4 slices bacon, cooked until crispy and broken into pieces
Lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion to garnish, if desired

To make the crust, combine the whole wheat pastry flour and 3/4 cup of white flour with the salt, sugar, and yeast. Pour the warm water and tablespoon of olive oil over flour mixture and stir to combine. Mix in remaining 1 cup flour. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour as needed. Spray a mixing bowl (I usually use the one I mixed the dough in - I just wash it out first) with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and then turn over. Cover with a towel and let rise approximately 45 minutes or until dough doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Punch down dough and let rest for 10 minutes. While dough is resting, make sauce. Mix together in a small bowl the ketchup, mustard, Merlot sauce and mayonnaise.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. I use a glass pan, I like how the crust turns out crispy in this dish. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place dough in pan and press the dough out, making sure to have the dough go up the sides of the pan to create the dish effect.

Spread sauce over top of dough. Layer toppings as follows: Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, spread broken up hamburger over top of cheese, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and then lastly top with cheddar cheese.

Bake in oven approximately 20 minutes or until crust is browned and topping begins to brown lightly. Remove from oven and top with bacon pieces. Garnish with lettuce, tomato, onion and more bacon if desired.

Peppery Beef with Cabbage over Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 05:16:24 PDT

Short and sweet today! Grumpy wasn't too happy with the peppers in the recipe - he's not a big fan of them. However, this to me was yummy! I love peppers! He said if I had left the peppers out it would have been better to him and I guess I was heavier on the Black Bean with Garlic Chili sauce than normal as he told me it was spicy. I thought it was perfect. This was my take on beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day. I guess next year I will go traditional for Grumpy!

I'm submitting this post to Presto Pasta Night's which is being hosted by Juli over at Pictures of all my Princesses. There is still time to join in - just send your submission to Juli by end of the day on Thursday. Rules and Guidelines are on the Presto Pasta Night's page.

Peppery Beef with Cabbage over Noodles
Inspired by Black Pepper Beef and Cabbage at allrecipes.com

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 small head cabbage, shredded
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips

1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
2 tablespoons Maggi sauce (or soy)

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (unflavored)

1 teaspoon Black Bean Chili Garlic Sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water

your favorite pasta shape, cooked according to package - I used linguine since that was what I had on hand and cooked about 1/2 of the package (4 oz. dry)

In a small bowl mix Maggi sauce, rice wine vinegar, black bean sauce and brown sugar together, set aside. In a separate small bowl combine cornstarch and water. Set aside.

In a large skillet, brown ground beef and garlic until beef is no longer pink. Season with black pepper.

Add cabbage and cook &stir until cabbage begins to wilt. Add bell peppers. Cook and stir for about 3-5 minutes until vegetables are crisp tender. Add sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Sauce will begin to thicken. Remove from heat and serve over pasta.

Carrot Cupcakes - Diabetic Friendly

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 05:16:24 PDT

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Did you realize you could make absolutely delicious, diabetic friendly desserts that do not have sugar substitute in them? I didn't, not until I started to read Diabetic Living Magazine. The key to keeping your sugar count at the desired level is in the carbohydrate consumption. Sugar is carbohydrate so it makes sense that you need to watch the amount of sugar you eat, but you also need to pay attention to all the other foods we consume that contain carbohydrates! I am still learning and by no means am I an expert in this lifestyle. I'm learning as I go, and doing what I can to feed Grumpy well and make him happy with the food I do make that is also good for him! While you don't have to use the sugar substitute in this recipe, to make it even more diabetic friendly, you can use Splenda Brown Sugar substitute equivalent to the amount in this recipe and lower the carbs from 30 to 24. I went with regular brown sugar for two reasons. It is less expensive than the substitute and it was what I had on hand. I'm hoping that someday soon I can have Grumpy sitting pretty right where he belongs to the best of my ability. The rest of it is up to him.

Easter is coming, and while I have no idea if we will be alone or with family, I decided I was going to try some different carrot dessert recipes that I found in the most recent issue of Diabetic Living. I can definitely say, that it won't be the last time I make them! When these were baking our home filled with such a lovely smell of home baked spiciness that is carrot cake. The frosting, surprisingly consists of two ingredients: 1/3 less fat cream cheese and Agave Nectar (which the magazine does state you can use honey instead of agave)! The recipe states you will get 15 cupcakes and that is exactly what I got. I stored these in the refrigerator and I seriously think that two days later they are better than the day they were made. So, whether you need to watch your carbohydrates or not, these are definitely a cupcake worth making and keeping around!

Carrot Cupcakes
slightly adapted from Diabetic Living Spring 2012

printable recipe

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup cinnamon flavored applesauce (unsweetened)
1/3 cup canola oil
6 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese
3 tablespoons agave nectar

Preheat oven to 350 degress. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners or coat cups with cooking spray (use the spray without the flour).

In a large bowl combine flour through cloves and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, applesauce and oil together until combined. Stir in shredded carrots. Pour wet ingredients over dry and stir to combine. Scoop batter into muffin cups using ice cream scoop (I use my large pampered chef cookie scoop and it portions it out perfectly!). Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes then transfer to cookie rack to continue cooling.

When cookies are cool, make frosting by blending the softened cream cheese and agave nectar until smooth. Spread on cupcake and garnish with desired toppings.

This cupcake has 207 calories, 8 grams of fat, 30 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, and 17 grams of sugar.

Weekend Hash Browns

noreply@blogger.com (Shelby) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 06:31:14 PDT

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Weekends are for Hash Browns, aren't they? Weekends are about the only time I have time to make "special" dishes. Most of the time we eat pancakes with pure Northern New York made Maple Syrup (made by one of the best syrup making families, my cousin's!). My dad just informed me that I have 2 gallons of syrup coming to me in the near future. I can't wait to get my syrup and I love syrup making season!

While I didn't use maple syrup in this recipe, I did make another treat that we don't normally have on a regular basis at home. The closest I get to a hash brown, although I hate to admit it, is McDonalds. Then I don't know if it will be greasy, soggy, or cold. I don't buy those too often mind you.

I decided that this Saturday morning I would make our own hash browns in honor of it being St. Patrick's Day. I've never made them like this before and I'm pretty darn pleased with how they turned out. They have an onion and garlic flavor and eaten directly out of the hot frying pan, they are crisp and delicious! Like any fried food item these are best eaten freshly made. They were quite easy to make and I will definitely keep this on a weekend breakfast rotation! This recipe was adapted from one I found on allrecipes.com for Amish Hash Browns.

Weekend Hash Browns

printable recipe

3 medium russet potatoes
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tbsp diced onion
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
small amount of vegetable oil for frying

Peel and shred potatoes. Lie shredded potatoes on a triple layered paper towel and roll the towel up tight. Squeeze the paper towel to release water that is in your potato shreds. Place the potato shreds in a medium sized mixing bowl.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk egg and oil. Add to potato mixture.

Sift together flour, cornmeal, salt, and garlic powder. Stir into potato egg mixture.

In a large non stick skillet, coated with a small amount of oil, drop by tablespoonfuls into pan over medium-high heat. Flatten patty some and cook until crisp and browned on bottom. Flip patty and cook until well browned. Pictured served with a sprinkling of parsley, scrambled eggs, and some cherry tomatoes!