Too busy to cook...........

So are there days that you are too tired and too busy to cook??  I feel like over the past couple of weeks I have had MANY of those days.  It has been crazy at work, and I have had so much going on outside of work.  But here I go again. 

Over the holiday season one of my fantastic employees  brought a store bought cheese ball that I LOVED.  Now we went to our local grocery store where it was purchased and I was horrified to see that the one cheese ball was $10.  I knew that I could make it for less, and guess what--I did.  A few ingredients, and a little time, and this party pleaser was formed.  And as a little tidbit of info, I made four cheese balls for about $6.

Cranberry White Chocolate Cheese ball

1 package low fat cream cheese
1 12 oz bag of cran-raisins
1 12 oz bag of white chocolate chips
coconut for outside
1 stick of butter-softened
1/3 cup powered sugar

*Cream together butter and cream cheese
*Once creamy, mix in powered sugar
*Melt about half of the chocolate chips in the microwave until a little creamy, and then mix in with the cream cheese mixture.
*Once well combined, mix in the cran-raisins and 1/2 of the remainder of chocolate chips.
*Refrigerate for about two hours.  Once set, this will make four normal size cheese balls.  You should use wax paper, put a "pool" of the coconut in the center, and then put a fourth of the mixture in it.  Take the wax paper and form the ball with the coconut around the outside of it.  Bring all the outside of the wax paper up and form the ball in the bottom, squeezing it into a ball.

Enjoy this with crackers or even graham crackers.  This is definitely a sweet dessert, but is something everyone will love.  You could also use slivered almonds as the outside of the cheese ball. 


Expect a lot of from me in the next while.  I am working on putting together a small cooking class that we can get together and share ideas.  So look for more info on that.

Happy cooking, and enjoy your food!!!
Jennifer

Oreo Stuffed Cookies

Hey cooking friends.

A few days ago Mark sent me a link for this website that is called "Becky Bakes".  There are some wonderful recipes on that site.  And for all of you out there that love Oreos and fresh baked cookies, this is the perfect recipe.  Let me warn you though:  THIS RECIPE IS DEFINITELY NOT LOW FAT, BUT IT IS WORTH IT.

Oreo Stuffed Cookies

2 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp pure vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
10 oz bag of chocolate chips, or other favorite chips (for mine we used the Andes Mint chips)
1 pkg. Oreos

Preheat oven to 350.  Cream butter and sugars together with a mixer until well combined.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda.  Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined.  Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an oreo cookie.  Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of oreo cookie.  Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until oreo cookie is enclosed with dough.  Place onto ungreased baking sheet and bake for 9-13 minutes.  Cool and serve.


Okay so today the kids and I made these, and look at how delicious they look.  Trust you won't be able to eat more than one at a time, but they are soooooooo good.  Next time I make them I am going to use Nutter Butter cookies, and chocolate chip cookie dough.  Think of all the variations you can do.  But all will be great.

Happy cooking and enjoy your food!!!!

Recipes Online

Hey there all you fellow foodies.  So I hope you are enjoying this frosty Wednesday.  Here in San Antonio it is about 20 degrees outside and myself and two kiddoes are home sick with strep.  So I will be happy for warmer weather to hit.

Mark sent me an email from DC with this link that you can use to find recipes online.  What you do is type in what recipe you are looking for, and then it brings up several recipes that it finds online.  Its kinda like GOOGLE for recipes.  This is a wonderful tool.  Try it out and see what you think.

http://www.foodily.com/

Happy cooking and enjoy your food!!!

Carrot Souffle

Hey all!

Well I am back from Florida.  Had a little fun sun and a lot of rain.  But all in all it was a great week.  Came home to find out that two of the kids and myself have strep.  But the upside is that I have time to do some cooking. 

I had a wonderful recipe shared with me.  It was sent to me via my mom and given to her by her boss' wife.  So Nancy thanks so much for sharing.  I enjoyed it, and I am sure each of you will too.

Golden Carrot Souffle
1 lb. carrots
1/2 cup sugar
3 T. flour
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup butter
3 large eggs
1 t. baking powder

*Peel and cook sliced carrots in water and a little salt until tender.  Once soft, drain well.
*Put drained carrots and butter in food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
*Now add remainder of ingredients: sugar, flour, vanilla, eggs and baking powder.  Blend until smooth and well incorporated.
*Put in greased casserole dish, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until firm. 

This was also good with a touch of cinnamon mixed in the mixture.


Once again thanks to Nancy for sharing this.  I hope each of you enjoy this.  Happy cooking and enjoy your food.

Green and White Chili

Hey friends,

So tonight for dinner I took a recipe that I found in a cookbook that I have at home, and changed it up a bit to make it healthier.  Lets just say that this is sooooo good.  Everyone in my house ate it right up. 

Green and White Chili

1 lb. ground turkey
2 cans of white beans (Great Northern beans), drained and rinsed
1 can chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 small onion diced
1 bell pepper diced
minced garlic to your preference
2 tbsp. worcheshire
1 jar of green chili salsa

*Brown your ground turkey in a little (very little) olive oil.  Mix your onions and bell peppers with that, and cook them off too.
*Once that is cooked off, put a little worcheshire sauce (appx 2 tbsp.) in, cook for 2 minutes.
*Mix beans, green chili salsa, chicken broth together.  Once mixed put in seasoning.  You can put as much or as little seasoning such as chili powder, and even some cayenne if you like heat.
*Cook for atleast half hour on low heat. 

Serve with sour cream and cheese if wanted. 


This is a yummy recipe.  You can use any type of ground meat (chicken, beef, pork) that you prefer.  But we used the ground turkey, and LOVED it.  This recipe if four servings, and the good thing, each serving is only 400 calories.  That is a great value for your calories.

Happy eating and enjoy your food!

Cheesy Tortilla Soup

Last night we had this soup along with "do-over" chicken tacos.  It was great.  The only thing that I will do differently next time is that I will not cook it in the crock pot all day.  It doesn't need that long to cook.  It really only needs to cook for a couple of hours, so the stovetop is perfect.  But here is the recipe....

Cheesy Tortilla Soup

2 cups milk
1 can mexicorn, drained
1 can nacho cheese soup
1 4oz can of diced green chilis, undrained
1/2 diced onion
1/2 diced bell pepper
1 can diced tomato
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 oregano
Tortilla chips, crushed

*Mix the first ten ingredients together.  Cook on medium for about two hours, stirring frequently.
*You can add chicken, turkey or fish to this recipe if you like.  Add that cooked meat about half way through the cooking process.
*Serve with tortilla chips on top.

You can also serve with sliced avocado and sour cream.


This is a very easy recipe and doesn't take long to put together, or long to cook.  As I said, the crockpot wasn't the correct cooking vessel for this soup.  But when I make it next time I will do it on the stovetop.  Happy cooking and enjoy your food!!

Conversion Calculator

So how many times have you been cooking and it has asked for a certain measurement of something, and you either do not have a measure for that, or do not know what it is.  I just found a great website that not only lists the common ones, but it also has an auto converter.  Save this in your bookmarks.  It is a great site for all at home cooks.


http://www.cooks.com/rec/convert/

Jalapeno Lime Chicken Dinner

Hey there all you fans.  So in my house we eat a lot of chicken.  Mark could eat just plain grilled chicken breast with brown rice and broccoli every night for dinner.  Well me on the other hand, I need a little diversity, and am very bored with that meal.  So I essentially took that meal, and jazzed it up a little.  The nice thing is, that what I did added very few calories to the meal.  So try out different things with the "old stand by" and see what you can come up with.  Have fun with cooking and you will enjoy your food.

Jalapeno Lime Chicken
So this starts out being marinaded, and as with other marinades, the longer it sits, the better the flavor gets infused into the meat.  You could also do this with pork chops, or perhaps even turkey cutlets.

1/2 cup orange juice concentrate
2/3 chopped onion
1 cup lime juice
1/2 cup honey
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced (finely)
the grated peel of one lime
1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp ground cumin
12 boneless skinless chicken breasts

*Mix the first nine things together.  This is the marinade. 
*Put chicken in a ziploc bag, and then pour mixture over chicken.  Marinade for at least 2 hours, but as I said, the longer, the better.
*We grilled ours on our outside grill.  But this could also be cooked inside on a baking sheet in the oven.

Easy Rice Pilaf
1 red bell pepper diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced
1 orange or green bell pepper diced
1/2 large onion diced
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups uncooked brown rice
4 cups water
1 cup browned almond slivers

*Saute your three types of bell peppers, onion, and garlic in a touch of olive oil. 
*Once complete, add four cups of water, and bring to a boil.
*Once water comes to a boil, add rice, and mix. 
*Turn temp down to med low and cover with lid.  Cook for 25-40 minutes.  Different brands of brown rice take different times to cook, but cook for its standard time.
*Once completely cooked throw in your almond slivers and stir.  Adds a great crunch and flavor to the rice.  (to brown the almonds, put them on a baking sheet, put that in a 350 oven for 5 minutes or until browned)

Serve these two together. 

I served these two items with simple roasted zucchini (three different types).  We cut these into chunks, coated with a little olive oil, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and standard seasoning salt.  Cooked them at 350 for about 30 minutes.  This was wonderful, and relatively healthy. 

Check facebook in a few days for a "Cooking with Jennifer....." page.  Happy cooking, and enjoy your food.

My top 10 things you ALWAYS need to have in your kitchen.........

Okay, so I know that this is just my opinion, but there are several things that I think no kitchen should ever be without.  I know, my kitchen couldn't survive without these things.

1.  Chicken Broth-many recipes call for it, and you never know when you are going to need it.  You can use it instead of milk in mashed potatoes, use it as a base for soup, or a base for many sauces.
2.  Minced Garlic-okay, not the kind you keep in the kitchen cabinet, the kind that you keep refrigerated.  This is real minced garlic.  You can add this to burgers, to your spaghetti, or to any other recipe that calls for garlic.  Throw away that other junk.
3.  Onion-when I met Mark, he always had a bowl of chopped onions in the fridge.  I never understood why, but now I do.  These are something that you will find that I use in many recipes.  A little goes a long way, and you can saute them, and add them to frozen veggies like green beans for a little extra zing. 
4.  Rice-now in my house we have switched out the white rice for a healthier brown rice version.  But rice is an easy side dish to any meal.  You can also add some veggies to it, or throw some quick stir fry together and serve with it.  But definitely look at the brown rice version.  Much better for you.  And oh yea, you can cook it in that chicken broth that you have already for a little extra flavor.
5.  Canned tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes-what can I say about these two things......spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, soup, and so many other options. 
6.  Bisquick-Not only does the box have many recipes, but you can go online and find many other recipes at http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/product-recipes/bisquick-recipes/all-bisquick-recipes  Just know that you can make a lot out of a little.  And there is a heart healthy version that is lower in calories and not as bad for you.  I have a couple of recipes on the blog that use bisquick already with many more to come.  Bisquick has saved a many night at my house for sure.
7.  Ground turkey-the health benefits of turkey versus beef is incredible, and the taste difference is minor.  If you treat it like you would beef you will never know the difference.  Mixed with any number of the other top 10 items, you can make a great meal.
8.  Barilla whole wheat pasta-this is a pasta that you can feel guilt free about eating.  It is made with whole wheat flower, and you can't tell a difference in the taste. 
9.   Worcheschire Sauce-needs NO introduction, we use it for everything
10.  Mustard-no longer is mustard just for putting on a sandwich.  You can add it to mac and cheese to jazz it up, add it to a few other things for an easy marinade for chicken or beef,  or thin it out for a sauce. 

I know this list seems a little random.  But I challenge you to buy these 10 things, keep them in your kitchen, and see all the ways you use them.  Even if you have nothing else, you can make a meal with these things.  And oh yea, cut out some of the prepared foods that aren't so good for you.  Enjoy cooking!!  Think about what you are cooking, and think about what you are feeding your family!!!

Coconut Almond Custard Pie

So why am I cooking so much you might ask.  Well I am finally off, and I finally have a little time to do what I love.  Well that and Mark is out of town, so I can bake until my hearts content.  So I have "inflicted" my baking on my friends and my staff, and you are reaping the benefits because I have just been experimenting and playing around in the kitchen.

So this recipe is a twist on another recipe that I have.  I changed it because of ingredients that I did and didn't have.  And guess what, it worked.  The good thing is that I think it would work with just about anything you might have.  Its a basic custard pie without a crust, and this one has coconut and almonds in it.

Coconut Almond Custard Pie
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup melten butter
1/2 cup bisquick (no kitchen should ever be without this)

Mix these three things REALLY well.  Then add:

1/2 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp vanilla (or almond) extract
1 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Mix all ingredients well.  Put in greased glass pie dish.  This will bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out of center clean.  Pie forms its own crust, and coconut ends up on top browned.  Cool and serve.


So, this is my play around recipe, and IT WORKED!  We loved it.  I think you could do it with a whole host of things.  Once you get that basic custard pie down, you are set.  Try it and let me know what you think.  Happy baking, and don't be afraid to experiment.

White Bean Hummus

Okay, so we have found the ULTIMATE healthy bean dip (hummus-for those who want to call it by its real name).  Although, I will tell you that Sheyanne (my 16 year old) states, and I quote "it smells like butt", but she still eats it.  So I guess its good, and relatively healthy.  I took this to our Sunday School holiday party and it was eaten right up.  Someone even ate it right out of his hand.  So I guess that is something for you.

Now it does take a lot of random spices, but you will find that most of these are things that you either have in your cabinet from that "experimental" recipe, or are easily found at your local grocery. 

White Bean Hummus
2 can great northern beans drained and rinsed
1 tbsp of minced fresh garlic
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp Mediterranean seasoning
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp honey or light karo syrup

This is soooooo easy.  Drain and rinse your beans.  Measure out all your seasonings, and put it in your food processor or in your blender.  The thought is to make it very smooth, so I run mine for about 2 minutes, then scrape down the sides, and run it for another minute.  We serve ours with Pita chips and can garnish with some diced tomato.  This can easily be refrigerated and served the next day.  Since we are cutting out a lot of the oil of traditional hummus, it is much better for you.


Enjoy!!!!

Almond Joy Cake

Hey there all,

So today I am posting a "shared" recipe from one of the ladies in my mom's office.  And boy oh boy is it wonderful.  I made it and let me just say, it will be a recipe that I make over and over again.  It may seem like it has a lot of steps, but it is really easy.  Try it you will love it.  And don't worry if you don't like coconuts or the nuts it calls for in the recipe.  (It is definately better with them, but...)  You can leave them out, or sub them with a nut of your choice.

Almond Joy Cake

Step 1

Chocolate cake mix with pudding

Bake cake as directed on the box.

Step 2

1c. sugar

1c. evaporated milk

24 large marshmallows

14 oz package of coconut

Bring sugar and milk to boil.  Remove from heat.  Add 24 large marshmallows- stir until completely melted.  Add coconut.  Pour mixture over hot cake- covering completely.

Step 3

1½ c sugar

½ c evaporated milk

1 stick of butter

1½ c. chocolate chips

Almond slivers or pecans

Bring sugar and evaporated milk to hard boil- remove from heat.  Add butter- stir until melted.  Add chocolate chips- stir until melted.  Pour mixture over cake. Top with almonds or pecans.

I hope you all enjoy this, and happy cooking!!!!!!  (and thanks to Nancy who provided this recipe, I LOVE IT!!)

Holiday........

So the holidays are gone (thank goodness), and those of us in retail are very glad.  It has been a while since I have been able to post anything but thats the job of a retail manager.  Seventy hours a week from Thanksgiving through New Years.  But we made it, and now its done.  So back to what I love, and thats cooking.

So today for Sunday School I made sausage balls, and was asked to post the recipe for them, so here goes.  These are so easy, and can be made a day in advance, and heat in microwave.  They are great for potlucks, and parties, and we LOVE them for every holiday occassion.

Sausage Balls
3 cups bisquick
1 pound browned breakfast sausage (we love the Jimmy Dean SAGE sausage, not spicy, but has some good spice to it)
1.5 cups shredded chedder cheese
milk to moisten

*Brown your sausage prior to mixing with other mixture.
*Mix together bisquick and cheese.  Once sausage has cooled enough to handle mix in in too.  No need to drain it, the little bit of fat will supply moisture for the sausage balls.
*Use milk as needed to bind together.  But be careful!  Do not add too much.  I like to add about a tablespoon at a time, mix it and see if it needs more.  It is supposed to be a DRY mix.
*Once thats all done, form mixture into balls about the size of an average donut hole, and put on greased cookie sheet.
*Bake at 350 degrees for 13 minutes.

Enjoy.  We love to serve these with blackberry preserves. 

Lets just say that everyone loves these and will be asking you to bring them to everything.  They will be a hit for sure.  So whats next, white bean hummus.  Later I will post that recipe that I have dabbled with over the holiday season and boy is it delicious.

Everyone have a great Sunday!!!!!!!!