5 Desserts I Am Loving Right Now!

I am an all about moderation girl, so dessert doesn't hurt if it's not every night! Right?

Here are five that are on my radar and make me want dessert every night of the week:

Chocolate Mint Bars
These tasty treats I think are great! They remind me of an andes mint and girl scout thin mints all in one. Oh and did I mention they are a recipe made by Cooking Light(so they aren't as high calorie as they could be!)? Yum!

Chocolate Hazelnut Lava Cake
Can you say better than nutella bliss? Well this cake is sure to please any chocolate or nutella fan. It is EASY to make and great for when entertaining(they will think you slaved away in the kitchen all day)!

Fruit Tart
Paula Dean knows how to cook, that is for sure, this is a great treat all year round (it makes me think of the fourth of July for some reason) and very simple.

Strawberry Shortcake
One of Joe's and my favorite desserts and with Valentine's Day coming up a great 'festive' end to a home cooked romantic dinner-for-two meal.

Vanilla Cream Roll
Allison, my soon to be sister in law, made a pumpkin roll at Thanksgiving that got me thinking, what other delicious rolls are out there? This one was a favorite and is sure to make people ask you for the recipe.

Chili Hot Dog 'Turnovers' and Pasta Salad; Great for the Big Game Next Week!

Everybody seems to not be able to resist the cute calling of a little sausage in a cresent roll. Nor the idea of a hot dog wrapped in one either, but the thing is with the hot dogs, if you add cheese or something else, everything spills out the sides so thusly my idea for the hot dog 'turnover'.

It is basically the same idea, but with the hot dog fully enclosed in the buttery goodness of a cresent roll or your favorite dough. My husband is a big fan of hot dogs so I am always trying to find ways to mix them up, so here is one of my many hot dog ideas(don't worry most of my meals do NOT consist of hot dogs, but if Joe cooked more often with out me they might; let me just put it this way, hot dogs for breakfast...)

This is also a "coupon" meal as I would put it because we had a coupon for the hotdogs, pizza dough and the chili that go into making the 'turnovers'.

Shopping List:

1)Hot Dogs (try not to go for the jumbos, they will be too large, and as you probably know, I went for the turkey dogs-I would like Joe to live a long life!)

2) A can of chili (with beans, without beans, whatever kind you like you can use!)

3) A onion (I am going to use some red onion)

4) Pizza dough

5) Penne Pasta (I get whole wheat just to make it a little healthier, you can do half and half as well I do that occasionally)

6) Jar of roasted red peppers

7) Green pepper

8) Can of olives

9) Packet of italian dressing mix

10) Can of diced tomatoes (the italian herb ones are great) or two fresh roma tomatoes

11) Artichoke hearts

Optional Item: Parmesan cheese and butter.

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To begin start a pot of water to boil for the pasta salad and preheat your oven to the temperature your dough or cresent rolls need.

Then get out a pan and place on medium high heat. In the pan place a little dollup of olive oil. Dice about 1/4 cup of teh red onion. Place into oil and let carmelize.

While the onion is carmelizing cut your hot dogs in to small circles. About 2 cups worth.

Once onions are becoming translucent add your hot dogs to it and let them brown.

Get out the dough and a baking sheet. Place some flour on them and get a rolling pin out. You are going to want to roll out the dough, but not so much that it becomes paper thin. Use a pizza cutter to make about 6 squares 4 by 4 inches.

When you are done place them on the baking sheet. If hot dogs are browned, just take them off the heat and set them to the side.

Open your can of chili and place about a spoons worth of chili on to the center of the cresent roll. Do this to all of the squares.

At this point your water should be boiling and place your pasta in the water. I normally use half a box and have leftovers. Set your timer so the pasta won't over cook and get mushy.

Now on your squares place about a spoonful of the hotdogs and onions on top of the chili. Then fold the the dough over the mixture diagonally so you make triangles, fold the edges and with a fork press the edges closed. PLEASE NOTE TO NOT OVER FILL THEM THEY WILL EXPLODE!!

***optional:
In the microwave melt about 2 tablespoons of butter (takes about 20 sec), wipe over the tops of the turnovers.***

Cut one to two slits in the top of the turnovers. Then place in oven for the time needed on the cresent rolls (normally 15-20 min)

While your pasta finished cooking, dice/drain your vegetables. You will probably want about a 1/2 cup of each.

Drain pasta then place in a large tupperware with lid or a large gallon plastic bag. Put in vegetables and the italian dressing packet and if desire a few sprinkles of parmesan cheese. Shake or stir until all the pasta is coated.

Now I think this pasta salad tastes good warm or cold so if you would prefer it cold you will want to make ahead of time so it can refridgerate.

Check to make sure your turnovers are looking ok and when time is up make sure the dough is cooked all the way through. Let stand for about 3-5 minutes once complete.

Happy end of the football season!

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

Tuna is a great source of omega-3's, but sometimes it can be a little boring. Here is a nice recipe that is not only quick and simple, but a nice jazzed up version of the traditional tuna salad.

Shopping List:

1) 2-4 Cans of Albacore Tuna (depending on how many people you need to feed, I normally assume one can per person, but you can assume half a can per person based on your own eating habits)

2) A red onion

3) A jar of capers

4) A jar of artichoke hearts(you can get in oil or water, I prefer water)

5) A jar of roasted red peppers(if your grocery store does not carry these you can use just a red pepper or follow these instructions to roast it)

6) a can of garbanzo beans

7) 1 green pepper

8) Fresh rosemary

9) Olive Oil

10) 2 Lemons or Lemon Juice

11) A head of romaine lettuce

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To begin:

Start by dicing up half of the red onion (you can use it all if preparing a large amount, but if only using two cans of tuna use half; don't worry the other half is going to be used in the pasta salad I am making later this week). Set aside. Do the same with the green pepper, dice up half of it (the other half again will be used later for the pasta salad). Set aside.

Open the can of artichoke heart and drain them. Once they are drained chop them up into bite size pieces. Place with other cut up veggies.

Now for the roasted red peppers if you got the canned ones you will only need one to two of them, if you roasted it yourself you will only need the one. Dice the red pepper. Set aside.

Once you have all the vegetables chopped up get out a medium sized mixing bowl and place them in it. With a spoon, measure out two scoops of the capers from it's jar and add to the bowl with the vegetables.

Drain your garbanzo beans and pour into the bowl as well.

Open and drain your albacore tuna and place contents into the bowl with the vegetables.

Take out two to three sprigs or rosemary and chop finely. The sprigs can be somewhat tough so make sure to use a sharp knife and really make them small!

On top of this you are going to add two tablespoons of olive oil, one tablespoon of lemon juice (or about one lemon; depending on how much you can squeeze out of the lemon), the rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Then mix up all the ingredients. If you feel a little more oil or lemon is needed go for it, depending on amount of tuna you may need more (remember I am only making two cans worth).

Set mixture to the side.

Clean your head of lettuce (easy tip is to cut off the bottom of the head and place the lettuce bottom side up under cold running water, this makes it so the water is getting into each leaf of lettuce) and pat dry. Chop your lettuce into bite size pieces and place in a large tupperware with a lid.

On top of the lettuce pour in two tablespoons olive oil, two tablespoon lemon juice and a dash of salt. Place lid on container and shake the lettuce until the salad dressing has coated all of the pieces.

Put desired amount of lettuce onto each plate and top with the tuna salad. Enjoy!

Easy Ideas for Healthy Choices

Everyone is trying to loss weight this time of year, but eating healthy can be hard. Here are some easy switches that still taste delicious, but just are better for eating on a regular basis.

1) Ground Turkey; like in my soup I try to use ground turkey more often over ground beef because red meat is good, but in moderation and also because ground turkey is just as satisfying but has less calories a lot of the time. Now I am not saying stop eating beef, it is a great source of iron and other nutrients, but sometimes if you want to switch it up give turkey a try! You can also buy turkey hot dogs, pepperoni and bacon which all have lower calories and taste just as good, but with half the grease!

2) Don't drink juice, eat fruit. Juice has way more sugar than fruit and is never as satisfying.

3) Like baking? Replace oil with plain(or even vanilla)yogurt. I find it makes muffins, brownies and cakes just as delicious and you get your dairy in!

4) I love my salt, instead find a seasoning that has lower sodium that gives just as much flavor. Right now I am loving paprika, it gives it a zing!

5) When buying canned anything look at the sodium levels, try to find items that have say low sodium and for broths make sure they are 100% Natural with no MSG

6) Salads are great, but dressings can be killer to the calories of a salad. Check how many calories your salad dressing has and then try to find one similar but with 50 calories or less. A way to make your salad dressing go further is to add a little dressing and shake up your lettuce in it so everything gets coated. You'll taste the dressing and use half as much.

7) Pork, the other white meat, lowest in fat and full of protein this meat is lean and tastes good!

8) Vegetables, you need to eat them! They provide fiber, vitamins and are already low in calories. However, adding tons of butter, cooking them to death and/or adding cheese to them makes them not as healthy. Try steaming them with some seasoning; they will retain their nutrients and taste just as good.

9) Bread, it is a weakness of mine, but be sure to look at your breads ingredients. Even supposed healthy wheat breads are made with not 100% wheat flour and have processed corn syrup and other unneeded sweeteners. A favorite bread of mine is Nature's Pride.

10) Potatoes, they are not as bad as you think, it is what you put on them that makes them calorie filled. Sweet potatoes and Normal potatoes are packed with nutrients, but don't always peel them! The skin is what carries most of the vitamins.

Turkey and Vegetable Soup with Grilled Colby Jack Cheese, Basil and Tomato Sandwiches

I always love a good soup and turkey and vegetable is a hard to soup mess up. Also most people like it and it is satisfying enough on its own, however, with soup I can also never resist a really good grilled cheese. All you need to add is a quiet, cool evening and this meal is sure to make everyone happy.

Shopping List:

1) 1 lb of ground turkey, beef or even chicken (all are good, but if you get ground chicken get chicken broth instead of beef broth)

2) 1 can of peas (all vegetables can be frozen ones if wanted)

3) 1 can of corn

4) 1 can of diced tomatoes

5) 1 can of potatoes or three red potatoes diced

6) 1 can of beef broth

7) 1 can of carrots

8) 2 cans tomato sauce (or paste if you want it VERY tomato-ish)

9) 1 onion

10) 2 bay leaves

11) 2 teaspoons Cumin

12) 2 teaspoons Paprika

13) 2 tablespoons of olive oil

14) Salt, Pepper, Garlic to taste


For Sandwiches:

1) Colby Jack Cheese

2) Fresh roma tomato (you will need about two slices per sandwich and each tomato will probably yield 4-5 slices, I am only making two so I only need 1 tomato)

3) Fresh basil

4) Butter

5) Your choice of bread

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To get started get out a high walled pot, pour the 2 tablespoons of oil into the pan. Dice the onion. Once the oil is warm, place onion pieces into the pan. Let them brown and caramelize on a medium high heat.

While onions are caramelizing, open cans and drain liquids from the vegetables (you can use fresh or frozen also, there was just a canned food special at my grocery store so that is the reason for my picking them. You can also add some sort of bean if you like).

After onions are translucent place in the ground beef and seasoning. Let meat completely brown.

Once meat is browned add beef broth (if you do not have broth you can use a bullion cube, just place it in a cup of water and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds to let it break apart) and then fill the can up with water and pour into the soup as well. Pour in vegetables.

Let the soup come to a boil, once it is boiling place a lid on the pot and then turn the stove to simmer (let simmer for about 20 min).

While the soup is simmering, get a flat pan to grill the sandwiches on, butter one side of each piece of bread, slice cheese and tomatoes. Also make sure to clean the basil in cold water and then completely pat dry with a paper towel.

For sandwiches on the unbuttered side place desired about of colby jack and tomatoes. On top of tomatoes place two to three leaves of basil (you can used dried, but it won't taste the same). Place other piece of bread on top (butter side facing up) and put on the pan. Cook at medium heat. About 4 to 5 minutes should do it on each side or until desired brownness is reached.

At this point the soup should have simmered for the twenty minutes needed, remove bay leaves and enjoy!

Souper Idea, and what is for Dinner Tonight!

When making soups or sauces, I always like to make an extra large batch so that I can freeze it in proportional servings for later use. Great on those nights you aren't sure what should be for dinner and need a quick and easy something.

Don't think you have time to make a fast spaghetti meat sauce? Oh you do! Here is a quick, simple throw in the crock pot recipe that will be ready when you get home and can be enjoyed later and is easy to double, triple, quadruple (whatever, however much you want!)

Shopping List

1) 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck or ground round (you can use ground turkey as well,
do very often!)
2) 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
3) 2 cloves garlic, minced
4) 1 large can (28 ounces) tomatoes, broken up
5) 2 cans (6 ounces each) tomato paste
6) 2 ribs celery, chopped
7) 2 teaspoons salt
8) 2 teaspoons dried leaf oregano, crumbled
9) 1 teaspoon dried leaf basil, crumbled
10) 1 small bay leaf

Quick Tip: Before placing the dried herbs inside the crock pot rub them in between your palms or mash them quickly to release their scents and flavor. (I promise you will notice a difference!)

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Preparation:

Brown ground beef in a large skillet; drain off excess fat. Place ground beef and remaining ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours.
Serves 8 to 10.


Later: A simple beef and vegetable soup with grilled colby jack cheese, basil and tomato sandwiches for dinner! (This can also be made in the crock pot, or in about 45 minutes, only about 15 of which you are doing anything with it!)

Chicken Pot Pie

On a cold and blustery evening what is better than a little comfort food that makes your insides warm and reminds you of home?

Here is a simple take on Chicken Pot Pie that won't take more than thirty minutes of your time!

Shopping List:

1) Rotisserie chicken (makes a fast dinner easier and left over chicken can be used for a quick and easy Waldorf Salad)

2) 3 carrots

3) 3-4 Stalks of celery

4) 1 onion (sweet preferably)

5) Bag of frozen green peas or a can (based on preference)

6) Cream or Milk

7) Can of Cream of Celery or Chicken

8) A tube of biscuits (you can get reduced fat if prefered, but they do not get as fluffy)

9) Chicken Broth

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Directions:


1) Place a pan on the stove; in it place the can of cream of chicken or celery, add 1 cup chicken broth instead of water to it and 1 cup milk/cream (you can add more or less depending on how thick you want the pot pie mixture to be). Bring to a boil.

2) Begin by chopping vegetables and removing the meat from the rotisserie chicken (can use other sort of chicken if preferred). All vegetables and meat should be in bite size pieces.

3) Put vegetables and chicken into the pan after the soup comes to a boil, place on simmer for 5-10 min, add salt and pepper to taste. Preheat oven to the temperature the biscuits call for.

4) Use a high walled round or square casserole dish, place the ingredients from the pan into the casserole dish and place biscuits on top (make sure to cover it all!)

5) Cook for the amount of time required for your biscuits (usually 10-15 min), however check at the end of the time to see if biscuits are fully cooked, I had this problem, I prefer to lower the temperature about 20 degrees and let cook a little longer so the biscuits won't burn and finish cooking (or you can turn off the oven and let sit in the heat until they finish cooking), but you can keep it on same temperature and just keep an eye on them closely.

6) Let stand for a few minutes and then dig in and enjoy!

If you want to mix it up:

Follow this recipe, but then instead of placing the mixture in a large casserole use small souffle bowls and make individual pot pies by placing one biscuit on the top of each, so cute!

One coupon, two coupon, three coupon, four

To begin with, I love coupons. I find them fascinating pieces of magic. Something that makes food cost less; but one thing I don't like is that more often than not they are for junk food or for food you don't normally eat. So don't just use a coupon because it makes it cheaper, use it because you want it.

My tips for coupons: 1) Plan a few meals for the week around coupons you have (i.e chicken breast coupon, bread crumbs coupon, spaghetti coupon: make Parmesan chicken). 2) Go to a grocery store that doubles coupons (ask the manager, a lot of grocery stores will). 3) DON'T use coupons that make you buy TONS of the item, especially if you know you won't use it in time, the only kind I suggest for this are canned items or stable items (i.e.: mustard, salad dressing, items that can be frozen or have a long shelf life).

So clip well and clip often because the savings will add up and maybe that can be for a nice dinner out when you don't want to cook (hello, we all have those nights).

FYI I will be giving coupon dinner recipes so stay posted!

In Search of Dinner

Life has a funny way of getting busy, as an American it seems that life moves constantly there is one thing after the other and like most Americans meals are the same way for me. You just kind of go for something quick, easy, and probably not cooked in your kitchen (Frozen meals included!).

However, in the past year I have been searching for the answer to the prominent question: What is for dinner? And I have decided that I am going to give it an answer. Maybe not Martha Stewart style (but I don't think I would want to be like her anyway), but from a real person perspective. One where meals are as simple and easy as I can make them, but also made at home.

Now, if I could only get my husband and I to eat at the table....