Stuffed Zucchini

To go with our Parmesan Encrusted Chicken and Artichoke Dip, we made Stuffed Zucchini.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI
Modified from: Williams-Sonoma Bride and Groom Cookbook
Servings: 2
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5-7 minutes

Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:
2 Zucchini (4-5 inches long)
Olive Oil for greasing
1 cup Ricotta
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Tbsp flour
dash of lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese


Instructions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add whole zucchini and reduce heat to simmer.  
2. Simmer 10-15 minutes until tender.  Drain and let cool.
3. Mix together ricotta, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, flour, and lemon.
4. Slice zucchini in half lengthwise and scope out the seeds.
5. Season zucchini with salt and pepper.  Add ricotta mixture in soft mounds.  Top with remaining parmesan cheese.
6. Broil 5-7 minutes until cheese starts to brown.

Enjoy!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

In addition to the Artichoke Dip, Tony and I made Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Stuffed Zucchini.  They were both yummy.  Here's the super easy recipe for the Parmesan Crusted Chicken!

PARMESAN CRUSTED CHICKEN
Servings: 2
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:
2 Large Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup Mayo
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
4 tsp. of Italian Bread Crumbs

Instructions:
1. Preheat over to 425
2. Mix the Mayo and Parmesan cheese in a bowl.
3. Place chicken in a baking dish and top with the mayo mixture.
4. Top with bread crumbs.
5. Bake for 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Enjoy!!

Orange Medley

I'm trying to do better with what I am eating but I have a huge sweet tooth.  This is an old family favorite, usually during the summer.  It's cool and light.

ORANGE MEDLEY

Servings: 6-8

Prep time: 10 minutes

Orange Medley

Ingredients

8 oz. Cool Whip

16 oz. Cottage Cheese

20 oz. Can of crushed Pineapple, drained

3 oz. Orange Jello

Instructions

1. Mix together Cool Whip and Orange Jello.

2. Mix in Cottage cheese and drained pineapple

*Drain the pineapple juice into a glass and enjoy it plain or in a smoothie!

Enjoy!

Artichoke Dip

Sunday night, Tony and I went all out and cooked dinner.  We started with a super easy Artichoke Dip.  Here's the recipe!

ARTICHOKE DIP
Modified from: Williams-Sonoma Bride and Groom Cookbook
Serves: 2-4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes

Artichoke Dip

Ingredients
12 oz can/jar of artichoke hearts
1 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup mayo
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp cream cheese

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Drain artichoke hearts and cut into pieces.
3. Mix together artichoke hearts, lemon juice, mayo, 3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, parsley, and cream cheese.
4. Place in a baking dish and top with remaining (1/2 Tbsp) Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes
6. Serve warm with Naan, Frito-Lay Tortilla Chips, or pita.

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Fajitas

Here's a super easy recipe for crock pot fajitas.  It's so quick and very yummy!

CROCK POT FAJITAS
Servings: Many!
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8+ hours

Crock Pot Fajitas

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken (~2 breasts)
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 onion
1 can Ro-tel (tomatoes and green chilies)
1 package fajita seasoning

Instructions:
1. Cut peppers and onions into slices.
2. Put chicken, peppers, onion, Ro-tel, and seasoning into a crockpot.  Stir.
3. Cook on Low for 8 hours (or until the chicken is done) *I cooked it on low for 8 hours and then it sat on warm for ~4 hours.  It was perfect!
4. Remove and shred chicken.  Return to crock pot until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Apple Crisp

A few weeks ago my sister and a good friend came to visit.  Sunday morning, we went apple picking!  I had never been apple picking before so I didn't know what to expect but it was a lot of fun.  I purchased some apples to bring home. 

Here's the first recipe that I tried...

APPLE CRISP
Serves: 5-6
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 45 min

Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
6 medium apples
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup of flour
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of butter

1. Peel, core and slice apples.
2. Arrange in a baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. In a large bowl, mix flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter. Be sure to blend this mixture until crumbly.
5. Pour over the top of the apples.
6. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until apples are tender.

 Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Tony's parents came to visit during our pantry challenge.  When they were here, we did go out an buy a few things.  Sunday morning, we were planning eggs and sausage for breakfast.  I wanted to do something else with what I had.  Since I didn't have any fruit, chocolate chips were really the only mix in that I had.  They were quite yummy and I've made them a couple times since!

CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS (from Taste of Home)
Makes: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Sugar crystals (optional) *my add

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients.
2. In a small bowl, beat egg, milk and oil.
3. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
4. Fold in chocolate chips. 
5. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.  Sprinkle with sugar crystals (optional)
6. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Enjoy!!

Pantry Challenge: Completed!

Live has been crazy the past few weeks and I really haven't had time to post.  I'm getting back into it now.  We've gone on vacation, I've traveled for work, and Tony has officially moved to first shift!

We completed our pantry challenge at the end of July.  It worked out really well!  For the month of July, we only spent $38 on groceries.  Here's the final comparison!

Freezer

Fridge

Cabinets

Thanks for stopping by!

Pantry Challenge: Update - Week 3

Tuesday was the completion of week two of our pantry challenge.  It is going pretty well!  Last week, we ran out of milk and eggs (and dryer sheets and hair gel).  I had to make a grocery store run to grab those few items. 

In the past two weeks, Tony and I have cleared out our crackers, tuna, yogurt, ground beef, lean pockets, juice and pop.  We ran out of bread so I made wheat bread from some flour we bought when we went to Tennessee.  Last Friday, we had Chicken Continental for dinner.  My mom made it a while ago and it's been in our freezer since.  Since Tony's parents came into town this past weekend, we picked up a few items (milk, cheese, and crackers) at the store before they came in.  We still kept it pretty minimal.

Here's where we are:

Freezer

Fridge

Cabinet #1

Cabinet #2

Cabinet #3

I think that we'll last until Friday but after that, I think we may need to end this and make a run to the store.  It's getting pretty sparse!

Stay tuned for the final outcome!

Fruitshakes

Have you seen the Yonana's product where you take frozen fruit and turn it into ice cream? Why couldn't I turn frozen fruit, specifically bananas, into a milkshake? 

I'm very picky about when I eat bananas. If there is any brown on them, they're bad. I know that they are not really bad but I can't bring myself to eat them. 

I took my magic bullet, a frozen banana, milk, and a little Hershey's syrup and viola, a banana milk shake!

BANANA FRUITSHAKE
Serves: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
Frozen Banana
Milk
Chocolate Syrup

Directions:
Blend together.
If you add a few frozen strawberries, it tastes like a banana split!

BANANA SPLIT FRUITSHAKE
Serves: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
Frozen Banana
Frozen Strawberries
Milk
Chocolate Syrup

Directions:
Blend together.

Enjoy!!

Grammy's Crab Dip

One of my favorite appetizers is my grandmother's crab dip.  This is something super quick and easy.  There's two ways to serve it and they're both yummy!  If you want something more formal, layering them is the way to go.  If you want something for a larger group, kids, or to take to a party, mixing everything together is the way to go.

GRAMMY'S CRAB DIP
Serves: 2 -8
Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
Bar of cream cheese
Can of Crab meat
Bottle of Cocktail Sauce

Directions:
1. Layer cream cheese, crab meat, and cocktail sauce. 
               - or - 
   Mix cream cheese, crab meat, and cocktail sauce.
2. Serve with crackers (I prefer Sociables)

Enjoy!

Pantry Challenge: Update - Week 1

Today marks one week of the pantry challenge.  The weekdays went well but the holiday weekend not so much.  While we were home, we were good.  I made spaghetti with meat sauce a couple times and had sandwiches, yogurt and oatmeal.  With us traveling 5 1/2 hours Friday, this led to lunch in the car (~$15).  Saturday night, we went out to dinner with friends which added to our food bill for the month (~$20 thanks to having a gift card).  Then traveling home on Sunday, things fell apart.  We stopped at the Italian bakery where our wedding cake was from and picked up way to many sweets (cannolis, wedding cake, cookies) (~$18) and then we stopped for dinner (~$15). 

This week should be better since we'll be home all week and Tony works next weekend.  This week, I plan to do something with the frozen ham in the freezer and finish up the ground beef that I cooked and re-froze last week.

Here's where we are now:

Freezer

Fridge

Cabinet #1

Cabinet #2

Cabinet #3 

We'll see how long we can hold out...

July Pantry Challenge: Day 1

I have seen Pantry Challenges all over social media.  Tony and I decided to give it a try.  From January - June, our average spending on food is $650 per month.  This includes eating out, lunches, and groceries. 

The (30-Day, New Mom, The Great) pantry challenges all have different ground rules.  If you read through them, they talk about well first you have to re-organize, then plan your meals, and sometimes fill in the gaps.  This fill in the gaps is the thing that get's me the most.  If you are trying to not spend money and empty your pantry, then why do you fill in the gaps?  I wanted to do something more passive.  With Tony and I working opposite hours, it's hard to plan big meals.  Our pantry challenge would make do with what we have.  It'll force us to clean stuff out but also get creative with what we make.

Here's the ground rules that we agreed upon:

1. The pantry challenge would last as long as possible without running out of food.
2. When Tony's parents come to visit, we will take a 3-day pause.  During this time, we will only buy what we need for those meals.
3. Okay to buy only if/when we run out and it is needed - milk, eggs, yogurt, bread (if Jen's homemade bread doesn't come out), meat
4. Try to cut back on eating lunch at work and eating out (plan ahead)

Fortunately for us, we don't have a large pantry so we are limited to our fridge and freezer and three small cabinets.  I'll be surprised if we make it past week 3.

I did a quick survey of what we had where and did a quick date check.  This whole process only took me about 15 minutes.  The biggest concern I have is with our meat supply.  We'll see how things go.

Freezer

Fridge

Cabinet #1

Cabinet #2

Cabinet #3

With today being day 1, here's where I started:

Breakfast - yogurt and iced coffee
Lunch - yogurt and oatmeal
Dinner - pasta (cabinet #1) with meat sauce (freezer ground beef & pasta sauce)

Since I cooked a pound of ground beef, I didn't mix it all with pasta sauce.  I only used a what I needed for dinner.  This allows me to have ground beef for the next few meals.

I think Tony's probably looked like this:

Breakfast/Lunch - yogurt with granola
Dinner - Sandwich (bread, turkey, ham, cheese) and yogurt

Stay tuned for updates on our pantry challenge!

Grandmom's Baked Mac and Cheese

One of my go to comfort foods is Mac & Cheese.  Normally, I settle for the Kraft variety but let's face it, it tastes like it's out of a box.  Growing up, every once and a while, we'd get the "special" mac and cheese that took over an hour versus 12-15 minutes. 

Here's the yummy recipe.

BAKED MAC AND CHEESE
Makes: 3-4 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 45 minutes

Baked Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:
1 cup pasta - elbows
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2-3/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
Velveeta cheese
butter

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cook pasta.
3. While the pasta is cooking, melt butter in a sauce pan and brown the bread crumbs.  You'll need enough butter (~2 Tbsp) to coat all of the bread crumbs.
4. In a greased baking dish, put 1/2 of the pasta on the bottom.

5. Layer with slices of Velveeta cheese.

6. Top with the remaining pasta.
7. Layer again with slices of Velveeta cheese.

8. Mix milk and eggs in a separate bowl then poor over the casserole.

9. Top with bread crumbs.

10. Bake for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Coffee Ice Cream

I was feeling nostalgic so I created this coffee ice cream recipe.  You can modify it to fit your preference for how strong you want the coffee to taste.  I think that a hazelnut coffee would taste amazing!

COFFEE ICE CREAM 
Makes: 2 quarts
Prep and Cook Time: 3 hours

Coffee Ice Cream

Ingredients: 
1 cup milk 
2 cups heavy cream 
1/2 cup strong coffee, chilled (I used Vanilla Flavored Coffee)
1/2 cup granulated sugar 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)


Instructions: 
1. Mix the milk, cream, coffee, sugar, and vanilla together. 
3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. 
4. Freeze for at least 2 hours and store your remaining ice cream in an air-tight plastic container in the back of the freezer. This will help preserve the flavor and texture of the finished ice cream. 

If you add a bit of chocolate and make a milkshake, it'll taste just like a Jamocha Milkshake from Arby's. 

Jamocha Milkshake

Enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

It's approaching the end of May and I have still not purchased ice cream since last year. I'm quite proud of myself! Here's a recipe for Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. 

After making the Chocolate Ice Cream and cutting out 1/2 cup of the milk, I realized I liked the creamier texture compared with the Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. I also reduced the amount of sugar and vanilla since the cookies will add some extra sweetness.  I did think that the Chocolate Ice Cream was my favorite but this one tops it!

COOKIES AND CREAM ICE CREAM 
Makes: 2 quarts
Prep and Cook Time: 3 hours

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups milk 
2 cups heavy cream 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
1/2 tsp salt 
2 cups crushed Oreos (about 20 cookies) 

Instructions: 
1. Crush oreos. You can use a plastic bag with a rolling pin or a bowl with a potato masher. Both work 
2. Mix the milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla together. 
3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. 
4. After about 15-20 minutes of freezing, add the cookie pieces and continue to freeze for another 10 minutes.
5. Freeze for at least 2 hours and store your remaining ice cream in an air-tight plastic container in the back of the freezer. This will help preserve the flavor and texture of the finished ice cream. 


Enjoy!

Chex Mix

With an impending 11 hour road trip, I started planning what snack food we would take with us.  I had the normal cheerios, raisins, almonds, and string cheese.  I wanted something salty.  I settled on chex mix.  Below are two different ways to make it.  I always make it in the oven but I am sure the microwave directions work just fine.  I left out the mixed nuts in the original recipe since Tony's allergic to peanuts.

CHEX MIX
(modified from Chex website)
Makes: 10 cups
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Peanut-Free Chex Mix

Ingredients:
3 cups Corn Chex-type cereal 
3 cups Rice Chex-type cereal 
3 cups Wheat Chex-type cereal 
1 cup  pretzels 
6 tablespoons butter or margarine 
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt 
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder 
1/2 teaspoon onion powder 

Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 250°F. 

2. In large bowl, mix cereals, and pretzels. 

3. In ungreased large roasting pan, melt butter in oven. I used my dutch oven.

4. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in cereal mixture until evenly coated. 

5. Bake 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. 

6. Spread on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes. 

7. Store in airtight container. 

Quicker Instructions:
Total time: 25 minutes
1. In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals, and pretzels
2. In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted. 
3. Stir in seasonings. 
4. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated. 
5. Microwave uncovered on High 5 to 6 minutes, thoroughly stirring every 2 minutes. 
6. Spread on paper towels to cool. 
7. Store in airtight container.

Enjoy!

First (Stress Free) Dinner Party

Since Tony and I bought our house, we've had family visit, a few friends over to hang out, and one Christmas Party.  I've wanted to have a dinner party but timing was always an issue.  We looked at the next several weekends and they were booked.  We decided this past weekend was the weekend to do it.  We invited over two other couples.  That was the easy part.  Next, I had to decide on the menu.

Here's what I wanted: 
- something simple and not too different/exotic 
- easy, casserole type meal where it cooks and can't overcook 

Here's where I ended up: 
Appetizers: 
Cheese, Pepperoni, and Crackers (prepared that morning) 

Main Meal: 
Ceaser Salad 
Rolls 
No Work Chicken with Rice (prepped Friday night, switched to casserole Saturday mid-day, put into oven when guests arrived) 
Broccoli 

Dessert: 
Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream 
Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream 
Easy Classic Brownies 

All that was left was to set the bar and the table. 

We had a great night and I can't wait to hold another dinner party!

Strawberry Ice Cream

With all the nice weather, I wanted to do something more springy.  I modified the Chocolate Ice Cream into Strawberry.  I dropped the milk content since the strawberry was going to add some liquid.  It's quite yummy and perhaps my favorite so far.  Here's the recipe!

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM
Makes: 2.5 quarts
Prep and Cook Time: 3 hours

 

Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients: 
1 cup milk 
2 cups heavy cream 
2 cups strawberries 
1 cup granulated sugar 
1 tsp vanilla extract 

Instructions:
1. Blend the strawberries until they reach a consistency you like.  I blended mine until it was mostly blended with a few chunks.

2. Mix everything together.

3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. 

4. Freeze for at least 2 hours and store your remaining ice cream in an air-tight plastic container in the back of the freezer. This will help preserve the flavor and texture of the finished ice cream.

Enjoy!

Tune Noodle Casserole

With it being the middle of Lent, Tony made a meat free meal last Friday.  This is one of our favorites and a go to when it isn't lent.  I grew up with Tuna Noodle Casserole as a staple that we had at least once a month.  Here's the recipe.

TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE
Makes: 6-8 Servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Ingredients:
2/3 box of Rotini
1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup (or Cream of Celery to make it Lent friendly)
1 large can of Tuna
1/2 can of milk (fill one of the soup cans half way)

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F.
2. Cook Rotini until al dente.  Drain water.
3. In a casserole dish, mix rotini, soups, tuna, and milk.
4. Bake until warmed through, ~20 minutes.
5. Top with a garnish, if you wish. (I top mine with Ruffles potato chips and Tony tops his with cheese.)

Enjoy!!