August 22
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged beef, mexican/spanish, sandwiches
These sandwiches are perfect if you’re looking for a meal with minimum time and effort and maximum taste.
This recipe, originally from Robin Miller of the Food Network, was super easy and yummy. We made a few small improvements, though. Here’s our version:
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup onion, cut into strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces sliced roast beef, cut into strips
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 4-oz can diced green chiles (undrained)
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and ground black pepper
6 sandwich rolls, halved
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté 3 minutes, until soft. Add roast beef and saute, stirring frequently, 3 to 5 minutes until browned on all sides. Add tomatoes, jalapeños, lime juice, and cumin and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes to heat through and reduce slightly.
Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon onto sliced rolls, including plenty of sauce.
August 13
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged dessert, quick & easy
This is a simple dessert that looks really pretty and tastes even better. It’s perfect to bring to a party or potluck. We brought it to a family holiday dinner and it went over really well. The best part is that it’s so easy… I even gave the recipe to a girlfriend of mine who totally can’t cook, with full confidence she could pull it off. Ha ha! 
1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 3-oz package chocolate pudding
1 8-oz tub whipped cream
16 Oreos
1 1/2 cups cherry pie filling
Pour milk into a large bowl. Add pudding mix and whisk for 2 minutes or until well-blended. Gently stir in 1 cup of the whipped cream.
Cut remaining 5 cookies in half and place on top of dessert. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
Coarsely chop 11 cookies and stir into the pudding. Spoon half of the pudding into a 2-quart serving bowl. On top of the pudding mixture, layer 1 cup whipped cream, 1 cup pie filling, remaining pudding, remaining whipped cream, and remaining pie filling.
*Original recipe and photo courtesy supertarget.com.
August 4
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged beef, burgers, quick & easy
This is a Rachael Ray recipe that my husband found and made for the two of us and his mother. It was our first experience making an inside-out burger… and a blue cheese burger for that matter! But we liked them so much we’ve been telling everyone about them. Can’t wait to try the technique with other mixtures!
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 oz cream cheese
2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp butter
4 hamburger buns
In a small bowl, use a fork to mash together the blue cheese and cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the parsley. Divide the mixture into four disks about 1 1/2 inches across. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
In a large bowl, season the beef with salt and pepper and mix well. Form into four equally sized patties about 3/4 inch thick.
Form a deep cavity in the center of each beef patty. Place a cheese disk in each cavity and pull the meat together to completely cover the cheese.
In a large skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add the burgers and cook about four minutes on each side for medium. Serve on the buns with your choice of condiments and veggies.
September 16
· Filed under Recipes, Uncategorized · Tagged mexican/spanish, soup, vegetarian
I made this dish for a recent lunch with some girlfriends, and it turned out even better than I’d expected! They all seemed to enjoy it as well. Pair it with some yummy bread like we did, and you’ve got a satisfyingly cool and delicious lunch.
2 cups tomato juice, chilled
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 cup fresh corn
2 tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp lime juice
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowls.
I only made one change to this recipe: Instead of using fresh corn, I just thawed out some frozen corn, which worked perfectly. I love convenience!
August 7
· Filed under Recipes, Uncategorized · Tagged chicken, one-bowl
The husband and I made this Campbell’s casserole the other night as a quick and easy dinner after work. The prep time is almost nothing. It does bake for 45 minutes, though, so be warned…
Although this wasn’t exactly bursting with flavor, it tasted good and makes a fantastic comfort food. We only used half as much chicken and took the leftover rice and veggies for lunch the next day. Yum!
I’m tempted to try this with brown rice, but don’t know whether that’ll affect the baking time. Anyone??
1 can Campbell’s cream of chicken soup
1 1/3 c water
3/4 c uncooked long grain white rice
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 c frozen mixed vegetables
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c shredded cheddar
Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder, and vegetables in an 11 x 8-inch baking dish. Top with the chicken. Season the chicken as desired. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Top with cheese and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir rice before serving.
July 29
· Filed under Recipes, Uncategorized · Tagged italian, pasta, slow cooker, vegetarian
The cookbook describes it better than I can: Herb-infused tomatoes tango with garlic, artichokes, and cream–a dance that results in a sauce with Mediterranean flair.
I spent all day today on this pasta… Or rather, my slow cooker did. This recipe came out of my 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Recipes book.
3 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic
2 14-oz cans artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 Tbsp bottled minced garlic (6 cloves)
1/2 c whipping cream
12 oz uncooked linguine, fettuccine, or other favorite pasta
(optional ingredients)
Sliced pimiento-stuffed green olives and/or sliced pitted ripe olives
Crumbled feta cheese or finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Coat a 3.5- or 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Drain 2 of the cans of diced tomatoes (do not drain remaining can). In the prepared cooker, combine drained and undrained tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and garlic. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 4 hours.
Stir in whipping cream; let stand about 5 minutes to heat through. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Serve sauce over hot cooked pasta. If desired, top with olives and/or cheese.
As usual with slow-cooker recipes, I mixed this up this morning and let it cook all day while I was at work (9 hours). No optional toppings for us this time, and it came out great.
Bottom line: Good, unique pasta sauce. If you’re not a huge fan of artichokes, though, I’d recommend using only one can.
July 28
· Filed under Recipes, Uncategorized
My good friend at Bold.Blue.Adventure apparently finds my cooking blog to be brillante, because she’s nominated me for this award. In turn, I get to share with you some of MY favorite cooking blogs:
Cooking With Court – My personal friend shares some of her amazing recipes
Blogger Moms Cook – Five moms, one blog, TONS of great recipes
Five-Thirty Food Frenzy – Because after work is sure a tough time to decide Hmmm…what’s for dinner?
What A Crock! – MJ has some great slow cooker recipes to share.
Mommy, What’s For Dinner? – With lots of helpful tips and ways to get your kids involved
This Week For Dinner – Jane inspires me to plan my meals ahead of time
Lunch in a Box – Here’s a fun twist: Learn to “Build a Better Bento” with Biggie.
Congrats, winners! Here are the rules:
1. Post the award logo on your page.
2. Link back to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate seven other blogs, and add links to their blogs.
4. Make sure your nominees know they’ve won!
July 21
· Filed under Recipes, Uncategorized · Tagged asian, chicken, one-bowl, pasta, salad
I made this for dinner for the two of us and then took the leftovers to a friend’s house. Everyone loved it — the mix of flavors and textures is really fun. You’re welcome to alter the ingredients to your taste. The only thing I will change the next time is to up the amount of soy sauce in the recipe. It was fairly plain-tasting until I added a bit more.
(recipe courtesy of Pillsbury’s “Family Gatherings” Classic Cookbook)
1 1/2 c uncooked rotini
3 c fresh snow pea pods, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
3 c cubed cooked chicken (or turkey)
3/4 c sliced green onions
1 8-oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
3/4 c mayonnaise (or salad dressing)
2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ginger
1/3 c toasted slivered almonds
lettuce
Cook rotini to desired doneness, adding pea pods during last 1-2 minutes of cooking time. Drain; rinse with cold water to cool.
In a large bowl, combine cooked rotini and pea pods, chicken, onions, and water chestnuts. In a small bowl, combine mayo, soy, pepper, and ginger; blend well. Pour over salad; mix well. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours or until serving time.
To serve, line serving bowl with lettuce leaves. Spoon salad over lettuce. Sprinkle with almonds.
Makes 8 1-cup servings.
July 8
· Filed under Recipes, Uncategorized · Tagged dip, party food, seafood
I made this recipe for our recent housewarming party, and it was a hit! We were going for kind of a “seaside” theme, and this shrimp dip was a great choice.
The recipe came from user prissycat at allrecipes.com. The only change I made was adding a few drops of red food coloring at the end to give it more of a pinkish color. (Oh, and we made a quadruple recipe… ha ha!)
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
1 lemon, juiced (or 2 Tbsp lemon juice)
1/2 0.7-oz pkg dry Italian salad dressing mix
4.5 oz can shrimp, rinsed and drained
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and sour cream and blend with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add lemon juice and dressing mix; mix well. Add in shrimp and mix. Chill dip overnight and serve.
July 8
· Filed under Uncategorized
My apologies for the hiatus in posting! I’ve been moving into a new house (and a new kitchen!) and have had very little time to blog. I can assure you, though, that I’ve been doing plenty of cooking and have several new recipes to share.
Stay tuned! 
