Hop to It

Hope everyone had a super Easter—it was just good to be home even if it was just for a day. Oh and the good meal didn’t hurt things either :-) You know when you leave so stuffed you can barely move, it was a success!

Mom made a glazed spiral ham that she got from Sam’s Club.

Mom also made some mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows…a yummy classic!

 

My grandpa made my mom’s Stunning Sausage Stuffing to help her out a bit…

I also had to make my beloved Lean Green Bean Casserole…even the leftovers of this dish are to-die-for!

And last but not least, I am always looking for new vegetable side dishes, preferably roasted because I love the rich flavor vegetables develop after a long time in the oven. I came across a recipe for Lemon-Chive Roasted Vegetables and with lemons in season now, I paid just 0.50 for one. It’s the perfect excuse to try these out any night for dinner,  no special occasion required!

Lemon-Chive Roasted Vegetables

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, halved

1 bag frozen Brussels sprouts, thawed

1 pound baby carrots

2 medium Vidalia or other sweet onions, each cut into 8 wedges

1 tablespoon olive oil

Cooking spray

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425°.
• Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well to coat. Arrange vegetables in a single layer on 2 jelly-roll pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes or until tender and lightly browned.
• Combine vegetables, chives, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; toss gently to coat.

And saving the best for last of course is dessert! Cupcakes courtesy of Cassie’s Cupcake Creations.

Whopper Cupcakes

Chocolicious cake, whipped malted milk ball frosting, topped with whoppers.

Cookies n’ Cream Cupcakes

Cookies n cream cake, whipped vanilla frosting, Oreo cookie garnish.

I wish holidays came around more often—we all had a really great time!

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Even if your feast is outstanding, leftovers are usually inevitable, and in this case, we have tons of leftover ham. I’ve been brainstorming new ways to use it up and I came up with three. Today’s recipe is also going towards this-->Barilla is challenging Foodbuzz Featured Publishers to imagine an Italian-inspired recipe or meal created with Barilla Tortellini.

For my recipe, I am using Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini.

Italian Chicken Cordon Bleu Tortellini

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini
• 1/4 c flour
• 2 c milk, preferably 2%
• 1 Tbsp pesto
• 1 1/2 c shredded Italian blend cheese
• 2 c chopped roasted/skinless chicken breast
• 1 c cubed ham
• 1 c sliced jarred roasted red peppers, drained well
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• dash of red pepper flakes, if desired

Directions:

• Cook noodles according to Barilla’s package directions.
• While noodles cook, combine flour and 1/4 cup milk in a heavy saucepan, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Place the pan over medium heat; whisk in 1 3/4 cups milk and pesto. Cook 6 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low.
• Add the cheese, stirring until melted. Stir in the chicken, red pepper slices, ham, and seasonings.
• Serve over Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini

Keep an eye out for two more recipes on how to use up your leftover holiday ham!

Have you tried a new pasta dish you loved lately?—share!

Happy Easter!

 

Just wanted to “hop” by and say Happy Easter to all my wonderful blog readers!

I am headed north to be with the family today & we have a great  menu planned.

-Spiral Ham

-Mashed Potatoes

-Chive and Lemon Roasted Veggies

-Cheesy Cornbread Muffins

-Dinner Rolls

-Lean Green Bean Casserole

-Wild Rice Stuffing

-Tossed Salad

-Assorted Cupcakes

Stay tuned for the recap tomorrow!

Here’s to hoping the Easter bunny brings you something sweet!

Spring Break

Thursday already?

Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Lucky Charms Cupcakes

{Va-va-vanilla cake topped with whipped vanilla frosting, and garnished with Lucky Charms cereal.}

Andes Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

{Andes Chocolicious Cake studded with bits and pieces of chocolate mint candy bar, topped with a whipped mint frosting, and garnished with more chocolate candy bar pieces.}

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Wow, I guess time flies when you’re on the last stretch of the semester! I can’t complain though, I had a great spring break that was busy, yet relaxing in the way of just not having to get up and go to class. I spend the week down in Minneapolis which is always a good time. I’ll keep the words to this post on the sparse side and just fill you in with pictures. By the way, if you haven’t noticed I am playing extreme catch up with my Google Reader, so hang in there! =)

We kicked off spring break by going out to Dave and Buster’s, which if you don’t know, is like a big restaurant/arcade all in one. Tons of fun!

We also spent a day at the Mall of America doing some much needed shopping!

All of that shopping sure works up an appetite!

Healthy Express  strawberry frozen yogurt topped with bananas and a layer of strawberries.

Friday started off with lunch at Jimmy John’s, which I had never eaten at before. I decided on the Totally Tuna, which is fresh housemade tuna, mixed with celery, onions, their tasty sauce, alfalfa sprouts, cucumber, lettuce, and tomato. But instead of getting it on a sub, I opted for the JJ Unwich which is basically a lettuce wrap.

We had to make our way across the metro to get to the Xcel Energy Center for the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournaments. I picked up some new diet sodas for the ride.

I am in love with the blue kind!

I also tried a new-to-me yogurt…

Weight Watcher’s Amaretto Cheesecake—pretty tasty!

We had a lot of fun at the games—17,000 people total were there!

That night, we ate at one of my favorite places ever—Red Lobster!

I got the stuffed flounder and grilled shrimp with a baked potato—hit the spot as usual!

The next day we hit up Bunny’s Bar and Grill in downtown Minneapolis—it’s basically a sports bar with superb food!

I got their tomato basil soup with a spinach and egg salad—I would highly recommend both and cant wait to go back and try more dishes on their menu!

We spent the rest of the afternoon pretending we were in a tropical getaway, but instead just hit up the water slides at the indoor Water park of America.

Our last night we decided to go out to a really nice, authentic Italian restaurant. I had never been to a Buca’s so I was pretty excited! It’s a really fun dining experience; they give you a tour of the kitchen, and everything is served family style. So for example, you order 5 entrees and everyone takes a little of each—way fun!

We ordered the Chopped Antipasto Salad(Diced pepperoni, red onions, pepperoncini peppers, cucumbers, provolone, feta and Gorgonzola cheeses, tossed with our fresh lettuce blend in our signature Italian vinaigrette), Spicy Chicken Rigatoni (Awaken your taste buds with a new favorite - tender chicken breast sautéed with garlic and red pepper, tossed with peas, a spicy rosa sauce and imported Italian rigatoni pasta), Chicken Carbonara (Tender chicken breast, prosciutto and peas with imported Italian spaghetti tossed in our creamy Alfredo sauce), Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken (Breaded chicken breasts stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto, baked and topped with marinara, served on a bed of pesto cream sauce), and the Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Our famous mashed potatoes made with skin-on red potatoes and dare we mention…garlic).

Let’s just say when this meal was done, I was one  full girl!

After all was said and done, we made one last trip to Sam’s Club to stock up on food. To say we barely had any room in the car would be an understatement—we won’t need food for at least a month!

 

What did you do for St. Patrick’s Day??

Christmas Past

Oh the days of Christmas past--

 
How I wish them here again:

 
Sitting in Mom’s lap,

holding Daddy's hand.

The tree, the gifts, the food, the joy,

 
all of us together back then--

 
Off to college and back again--
there always was home.

 
There always was family.

There is always Christmas.

Hope you all had a few wonderful days filled with Christmas cheer!

Come back tomorrow for the food recaps!

Sharing the Sweets

It’s so great to be home at my parent’s for the holidays—we’ve been enjoying each other’s company being that this is the only time during the year where I am home for a whole month. I always feel sad to leave my apartment and all my college friends, but spring semester will come soon enough, so I’m not worried.

I’ve been enjoying everything Christmas related, besides just cookies of course. Like shopping, and taking random mall photos. This actually went on my cards this holiday season!!

This year, instead of buying individual gifts for all my college friends, I decided to spend a whole day baking away and give them goodie bags—after all, who doesn’t like a supply of sweets to help pound through the last week of finals. So here’s what I put into the bag..

• Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies (recipe here)
• Cinnamon Roll Popcorn (recipe below)
• Pumpkin Donut Muffins  (recipe below)

Responses were..

• “Best popcorn ever!”
• “Can I have all the recipes?”
• “Can you make more of those cookies?”
• “Did you make those donuts, or buy them?”

Needless to say, the recipes were all a great success.

Pumpkin Donut Muffins

 

Ingredients:

• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 14 ounces)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (original recipe uses nutmeg and allspice)
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/4 cups pure pumpkin puree (This is almost the entire 15-ounce can of pumpkin)
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. I used mini muffin pans. Spray the pan with Pam with Flour, or butter and flour the cups.
3. In a bowl, whisk together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
4. In a small bowl or measure cup, whisk together buttermilk and pumpkin puree.
5. With the paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
7. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions pumpkin mixture. Do not overmix.
8. Spoon into batter. I baked the mini muffins for 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. While the muffins are baking, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.
10. After the muffins sit for 5 minutes, remove muffins and brush the entire muffin with the melted butter. Toss and coat in the sugar mixture. Eat warm or let cool completely.
11. Hint: I wore disposable gloves and my left hand held the muffin for the melted butter basting and my right hand mixed the muffins in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
12. I got 46 mini-muffins from this recipe. The original recipe yields 12 regular size muffins. I think the mini-muffins are the perfect size...like donut holes.

Food Librarian

 Cinnamon Roll Popcorn

Ingredients:

· 12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)*

· 1 C roughly chopped pecans

· 1 C brown sugar

· 3/4 t cinnamon

· 1/4 C Karo syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)

· 1 stick real butter (1/2 C)

· 1/2 tsp. baking soda

· 1 tsp. vanilla

· 3 squares almond bark

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F

• · Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside. And by large bowl, I mean like, twice as big as you think you really need.

• Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a big, microwave-safe bowl. Like a 2-quart bowl or Pyrex measuring bowl. Again, use a bowl larger than you think you need to avoid scorching hot caramel goo accidents. It's really important to incorporate the cinnamon into the brown sugar at this point. For some reason, if you don't it does crazy things. I don't know why. Try it and then email Alton Brown and ask him if you really want to know.

• Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup (or honey) over the top of everything.

• Microwave on high for 30 seconds (just to soften the butter a bit) and then stir to combine.

• Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more.

• You can microwave it a little longer, but just beware that if you over cook it, it will reach the hard candy stage and you'll end up with a giant clump of tasty concrete-like substance with little popcorn pieces stuck to it.

• · Remove from the microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda.

• Pour it right over the popcorn and pecans. Stir right away, and stir lots. Take too long and the caramel will harden on you. Keep stirring until everything is well coated.

• Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan.

• Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

• After 30 minutes, take a piece out and let it cool. "Sample." If it's not crunchy enough, bake for another 5 minutes. "Sample" again. This will not be the end of "sampling."

• When it's done, give it a final stir and let it cool off for a bit while you melt your almond bark (just nuke it in the microwave according to the package directions).

• Now, just use a fork and drizzle the melted almond bark over the popcorn mixture.

Baking Bites

Stay tuned for a cookie-a-day till Christmas!

What treats do you make for your friends and family?