Saturday, December 14, 2013

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

It's cookie baking season and I was making chocolate crinkle cookies and Gooey Butter cookies and thought why couldn't I make lemon crinkle cookies so that is just what I did.

1 box Yellow Cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 package of lemon pudding mix
1 cup Powdered sugar (set aside)

Heat oven to 375°F

In large bowl, stir dry cake mix, oil, eggs and pudding until dough forms. (You can use a spoon, I used my mixer)

Refrigerate dough 15 to 30 minutes, or as needed for easier handling. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in powdered sugar.

Place balls about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 12 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack.

ENJOY

Makes approx 4 dozen cookies.


Saturday, November 9, 2013

Roasted Butternut Squash and Onion Bread Pudding


This recipe was all about leftovers and for me the leftovers were old bagels.  I had about 5 onion bagels left that I didn't know what I was going to do with, so in my mind I know I always make a bread pudding whenever I have leftover bagels so I thought why couldn't I make a savory bread pudding?  And thanks to Pinterest I came out with this awesome recipe.

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½” cubes (about 2 cups)
1 medium onion, thin sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbl. olive oil
½ tsp. thyme
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 tsp ground sage
1 cup lowfat milk (1%)
6 eggs
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (divided)
¼ tsp. pepper
8 cups (1-inch) cubed day-old bagels or crusty bread

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line shallow baking pan with foil, spray with cooking spray.

Toss butternut squash, onion, garlic, thyme, salt & pepper in olive oil and spread in single layer on baking sheet. Roast for 20 – 25 minutes until very tender.

(One thing I will mention as a helpful hint, before I cup up the squash I will throw it in the microwave for 5 minutes to soften it up, it makes life so much easier when you try to cut up the squash.)

Spread bread cubes onto a baking sheet and toast along with squash mixture for 8-10 minutes until cubes are firm and crunchy.

Whisk together milk, eggs, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, pepper and nutmeg and sage.

In a large bowl milk/egg mixture, and roasted veggies with bread cubes.

Pour into a 2 Qt. baking dish and bake 40 – 45 minutes until pudding is set and top is lightly browned. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving

Friday, July 26, 2013

Rainbow Cake

I tried my first rainbow cake.  I loved the way it came out and it tastes delicious!

Here is how it went down.









































Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Pineapple Chicken



I promise I will add a real picture next time I make it.  But I promise it's delicious and will be a go to dish.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 tbsp chopped garlic (to taste)
1 tsp dried ginger
1 bell pepper cubed (I use red/green)
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp crushed red chili pepper flakes, (optional or to taste)
1 can pineapple chunks in juice (divide juice and put aside)
1/2 cup Trader Joe's Island Soyaki, divided
cilantro leaves (for garnish)
1 cup uncooked rice  (I use Basmati rice)



Directions:

1.Cube chicken and marinate with 1 portion of Island Soyaki in ziploc bag.

1. Cook rice replacing water for pineapple juice I use 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water, so whatever juice you have replace the balance using water.

3. In the meantime, coat the bottom of a pan with balance of Soyaki, pineapple chunks (drained) onion, peppers and tsp of oil.  Saute veg until pineapple is caramelized.  Remove from pan and set aside. Heat remaining 1 tsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and chicken including marinade to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until chicken is done.

4. Return veg mixture to pan. Cook 1-2 minute until mixed and heated, and sauce will thicken.

5. To serve: Spread ½ cup rice over each plate. Top each with about 1 cup sweet and sour chicken.  Garnish with cilantro.

6. ENJOY!

Also you can experiment a little, I've done this with Pork Chops and I've also replaced the peppers with green beans.

Makes 4 servings (1 cup pineapple chicken plus ½ cup rice)

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Easy Peasy Pad Thai




















(makes 2 huge servings or 3 servings)

1 package of cooked pad Thai noodles
1 boneless chicken breast or 2 thighs, chopped up into small pieces (I used thighs this time and breasts last time)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. Ginger
4 green onions, sliced (save 1/2 for sauce)
1 egg
1 package of frozen stir fry veggies (Trader Joe's includes Carrots, bean sprouts, water chesnuts, edamame, snow peas)
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil for stir-frying
10 fresh basil leaves chopped. (put about a 1/4 of it in sauce)
1 cup coconut lime water

PAD THAI SAUCE:
1/2 cup coconut lime water (save 1/2 for sauce)
3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp of Red Pepper Paste with Garlic and Lime (bought at Whole Foods)
3 Tbsp. Peanut Butter (I used natural no sugar added)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce (really should be fish sauce but I forgot it)



Make Pad Thai Sauce prior to cooking you will need it.


Instructions:

Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in the oil and swirl around, then add the garlic, chili, ginger, basil and the 1/2 the green onions. Stir-fry 1 minute.

Add chicken to pan stir-fry until the chicken is opaque add coconut water and continue to cook if pan becomes dry, add 1-2 Tbsp. of the pad Thai sauce - just enough to keep ingredients frying nicely.

Push ingredients to the side of the pan add a little oil if necessary and crack egg into center and stir-fry quickly to scramble.

Add noodles then slowly add the pad thai sauce little by little then fold in frozen Stir Fry veggies.

Remove from heat and taste-test, adding more fish sauce or soy sauce to taste (if desired)

Top with remaining green onion and a small heap of chopped/ground nuts.

ENJOY!