Almost April

Glad you all enjoyed the re-cap on my latest cooking class! The next one is coming up on April 8th and is titled Spring Fling—it’s going to be all on how to prepare a spring themed five course meal highlighting produce that is in season now, so stay tuned for that! =)

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The past week has been a busy one which is the norm lately. Friday I was down in Minneapolis again at the Kenny Chesney concert! It was a great show—Billy Currington and Uncle Kracker opened for him and the show ended up being 5 hours long—it was Kenny’s birthday the next day, so he insisted on jammin’ till midnigh. We definitely got out money’s worth at the concert!!

Before the concert though, we decided on Red Lobster for dinner. I was dying to try their new Lobster Feast! After much debate, I decided on the Grilled Maine Lobster and Shrimp. “A wood-grilled split Maine lobster tail, paired with two skewers of garlic-grilled shrimp topped with creamy lobster butter sauce. Served over wild rice pilaf.” I got it sans rice and subbed a baked potato instead.

Two words: excellent choice!

Then we were off to the concert.

Had to have the right apparel of course—cowboy hats!

Here’s a few videos from the concert too—Kenny Chesney ones coming soon!

Being that the concert was on a Friday, we had the whole weekend to fill yet. We ended up spending it at the Mall of America and just hanging out. There was some giant chef’s cook-off going on at the mall this weekend, we caught a few glimpses.

Shopping and eating out—I’d say that’s a guaranteed good weekend, right?!

Speaking out eating out, Saturday night we went to a new-to-me place called The 5-8 Club in Champlin. It’s actually been featured on Travel Channel’s Food Wars and Man Vs. Food. They are famed for their “Juicy Lucy Burger” which is basically a 1/2 lb burger stuffed with cheese. Did I go with their most popular item? Nope. But what I ordered was still pretty amazing!!

The Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with Jojo Fries

 

We came home with some leftover food like usual, so I already had my thinking cap on for what to do with the half of a baked spiral ham we had. I decided to use it two different ways so that we didn't get bored!!

First up: Ham, Broccoli, and Pepper Jack Stuffed Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon (1 turn around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1/2 pound baked ham from a deli ham, sliced 1/8-inch thick, cut into 2-inch thick strips

4 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons butter, in small pieces

1/2 cup milk

1 cup chopped and cooked broccoli florets

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Rub potatoes with a drizzle of oil and pierce skins with the tines of a fork. Microwave on high 12 minutes or until tender.

While the potatoes cook in the microwave, heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and saute chopped onions 2 to 3 minutes or until bits are just tender.  Add in broccoli and ham to heat through. Set aside.

Cool potatoes for 5 minutes, split potatoes down the center, and scrape flesh into a bowl. Set skins aside on a non-stick baking sheet. Preheat broiler to high with oven rack 6-inches from the heat source.

To the cooked potato in the mixing bowl, add shallots, ham strips, broccoli,  grated cheese, butter, milk, and season with salt and pepper. Mash mixture with a potato masher or dinner fork until mixture is combined, but not entirely lump-free.

Scoop mixture in even amounts into skins and broil 2 or 3 minutes to lightly brown stuffed potatoes on top.

Second up: Ham and Pineapple Bisquick Bake

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups chopped fully cooked ham
• 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, drained
• 4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
• 1 cup Original Bisquick® mix
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
• 1 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (4 oz)

Directions:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.
• Sprinkle ham, pineapple and onions in pie plate. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk, eggs and mustard until blended; pour over ham mixture.
• Bake uncovered about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 3 to 4 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

 

What is your favorite recipe featuring ham?

Hankering for Hummingbird

 

Growing up I can always remember lazy summer days, sitting in the kitchen and looking out the window at all of the birds coming to the feeder. As far back as I can remember, hummingbirds were my favorite. I was intrigued by how fast their wings moved and how swiftly they could come and go. Now that I am in an apartment, I don’t get to enjoy watching the hummingbirds, but I know it’s something to look forward to when I visit home along with many other things of course!

But obviously this isn’t a blog about birds, but instead a blog about food, so how does that tie together with hummingbirds you ask? With the one-of-a-kind hummingbird cake of course! :-)

Even I questioned how a cake and a hummingbird have a similarity, but supposedly this confection descended from Jamaican roots and the hummingbird is one of the national symbols. Regardless  of where it came from or how it got its name, there’s no arguing that this fruit-filled sweet is definitely something you want to try if you haven’t already!

Hummingbird Cake

*Recipe adapted by me*

Ingredients:

3  cups  all-purpose flour

1  teaspoon  baking soda

1  teaspoon  salt

2  cups  sugar or Splenda

1  teaspoon  ground cinnamon

3  large eggs one large egg + 2 egg white, beaten

1  cup  vegetable oil 1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2  teaspoons  vanilla extract

1  (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained

1/2 c  chopped pecans

2  cups  chopped bananas

Cream cheese frosting:

1  (8-ounce) package  fat-free cream cheese, softened

1/2  cup  butter or margarine, softened

1  (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted

1  teaspoon  vanilla extract

 

Directions:

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and applesauce, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat.) Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1/4 cup pecans, and bananas.

Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cakepans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake; sprinkle 1/4 cup chopped pecans on top. Store in refrigerator.

*I sprinkled these on top instead of pecans*

-Sweet plantain chips-

As you may have noticed, I tried to lighten this up a bit by using applesauce in place of the oil, and a few other substitutes. Here are some secrets of eggs concerning baking lighter:

• Packaged cake mixes usually contain ingredients that help with texture, tenderness, etc. so using only egg white often works fine.
• One large whole egg has 70 calories, 5 grams fat, and 213 mg cholesterol. 2 egg whites have 30 calories and no cholesterol.
• When reducing eggs in a from-scratch recipe, substitute 2 egg whites or 1/4 c egg substitute. It’s best to leave at least 1 whole egg.

Have you tried hummingbird cake?

p.s. Get your hands on this cookie if you can!

Nana’s Peanut Butter Cookies

(Disclaimer:free product)

*It’s sweetened with fruit juice sweetener, but you’d never be able to tell if I didn’t tell you! ;-)

*Fresh-baked and super cake-like.

*Great peanut butter flavor.

 

My Pizza Project

“Ideas are like pizza dough, made to be tossed around.”

Well, it’s Monday folks. And that means for most people, myself now included, that it’s back to the work week. Sometimes during the summer, by the end of the day when suppertime rolls around, not only are you hot/tired, but you don’t even want to consider firing up appliances and making dirty dishes in the kitchen. So instead you pull out your handy list of pizza delivery numbers, and you’re just a phone call away from a hot and tasty dinner on your doorstep. Pizza has always been one of my favorite foods, but for some reason, I have yet to hit all the pizza places in my college town, which being here almost 3 years, you think I would have made a significant dent. But, I suppose it’s never too late to make the rounds and find a favorite. Lately, I’ve gotten the chance to try out three local pizza places in the past couple weeks—I blame it on my busy schedule, and it isn’t going to slow down anytime soon, so I hope to make it to the other 8 or so in the duration of summer—I am going to label it “My Pizza Project”! So I hope you’ll follow along, or maybe start your own!?

Did you know : Pizzerias represent 17% of all restaurants in the US?

My favorite so far: Keith’s Pizza

I got their Spinach Pie pizza minus the olives and added pineapple, fresh tomatoes, and mushrooms. I am a thin-crust kinda girl, so this pizza was right up my alley. It wasn’t greasy at all, had a generous amount of topping and overall was two thumbs up in my book!

Also tried their new Aloha wings which were a fantastic combo of sweet, salty, and spicy—I wish I could remake them at home!

My 2nd favorite so far: Green Mill

The Green Mill offers three types of crust; thin, Pescara (hand-tossed), and deep dish. I decided to go with the Pescara instead of the thin. I’ve always been a huge fan of Green Mill’s special tomato sauce, and I was also impressed with the variety of topping choices they had. The pizza ended up with smoked ham, pineapple, caramelized onions and mushrooms. Turned out to be a fabulous tasting pizza, except next time I think I would go with the thin, just because it was a lot of crust!

My 3rd not-so-favorite: Giovanni’s

We actually ordered this pizza at work the other day, and I was the least bit impressed. To me it seemed overly greasy and the cheese was a rubbery texture. Maybe if I tried some of their veggie pizza or something? I’m not sure, but don’t think I’d care to order from there again.

In non-food related news..

I got a chance to go to the Moondance Jammin’ Country Fest this past weekend! It was so awesome, and even better, the weather cooperated!

On Saturday night, the main stage had Kellie Pickler, Sammy Kershaw and the Zac Brown Band performing—they all put on a fantastic show!!

And another highlight of the day…this delicious banana vanilla swirl soft-serve ice cream!!

Where is your favorite place to get pizza in your town and why!?

Comfort Food Fix

First off, thank you all SO SO much for your kind words regarding the unfortunate event with my cat. I wish I could come and hug you all. So here’s a *virtual hug*! I have never been good at dealing with death, but I just really need to remember all the great times I had with him and then I feel truly blessed. Some of my favorite memories with him were always giving him at least a handful of my Cheerios in the morning because he wouldn’t leave till I did, playing for hours with bouncy balls in the kitchen, trying to discreetly open tuna cans so he wouldn’t meow until he got a hefty serving, and most of all just having a snuggle partner to always keep you warm. This week will still be hard, but my Tuesday made it much better. Here’s why..

• First off, my mom came to visit me as I said before, and came not only bringing her smiley face, but this…

She obviously  knows what can cheer me up! I can’t wait to get started with this gem. Looks like I can check one thing off of my Christmas list  a little early!

So here’s some other things that were rather comforting during this sad week…

Homemade Hawaiian Pizza

Ingredients consisted of:

• One recipe of my homemade whole wheat crust
• 3/4 c pizza sauce
• 1/2 c mushrooms
• 1/2 c chopped green pepper
• 3/4 c precooked/cubed ham
• 1 small can of chunk pineapple, drained
• 2/3 c mozzarella cheese

Directions are simple:

• Preheat oven to 450 F.
• Prick dough with fork after rolling out onto pan and bake for 8-10 minutes.
• Take out of the oven, add toppings, and bake again for about 10-12 minutes.

Easy does it!

Obviously this week I am on a ham kick…

Breakfast Bonanza Tomato

Ingredients:

• 1 tomato, medium to large
• 1/4 c shredded cheese, your choice of kind, I used a fiesta blend
• 3 slices of thicker deli ham
• 1 egg + 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp chopped mushrooms
• 2 tsp hot sauce, optional

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 F. Get your tomato all shiny any pretty. Just kidding, but make sure to wash it good!

• Pulp out the inside leaving a 1/2’ shell. Discard seeds and liquid, but reserve the pulp.

• Now take the three slices of ham and place inside the tomato so the ham goes up the sides.

• Meanwhile, scramble one egg ,one white,  and mushrooms in a sprayed skillet until they are no longer watery.
• Stuff mixture into tomato once it has cooled. Top with cheese and hot sauce if you choose.

• Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and tomato has softened to the touch.

In other news:

• Yesterday I viewed the beyond gorgeous Home-Ec room I will be teaching my classes in which made me even more excited for this new opportunity!! My classes need to be finalized by Sunday, so I am busy planning away.
• I have some really REALLY good bars you are not going to want to miss and a soup that my old Italian neighbor lady used to make which is divine to say the least.
• Tomorrow in lieu of all this sadness hanging around here, I decided on a giveaway to make you all  a bit happier =) I will give you one hint….

Or two I suppose..

Fruit + Veggies = ?

It seems these days we are always hearing messages whether it be in print, on tv, or from your doctor that we should be meeting our quota of daily fruits and veggies. (Find out how many you really need here) For me, it’s never been a big deal, because thankfully fruits and veggies are always welcome on my plate! There is never really a meal that I eat that doesn’t have some type of produce.(Either fresh, frozen, or canned.) But for others who can’t down broccoli, or moms that have picky kids, you need to find recipes that can “sneak” produce in foods in unlikely ways. Today’s recipe contains one veggie and two fruits, so if you eat a slice (which is not hard to do!), you’ll knock off some out your daily fruit & veggie quota.

Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes: 16 slices

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 2 c cake flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 2 egg whites, room temp
• 1/2 c granulated sugar (or Splenda if you prefer)
• 1/2 c apple butter (I used 1 jar of carrot baby food instead)
• 1/4 c canola oil
• 1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 2 carrots, coarsely shredded (about 1 1/2 c)

Frosting:

• 1 (8 oz) package fat-free cream cheese, at room temp
• 1 1/2 c confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 c plain reduced-fat (2%) Greek yogurt (I used Yoplait Thick and Creamy Cinnamon Roll yogurt instead)
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (nuts are optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 2 8-inch cake pans with nonstick spray.
• Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl—set aside. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs and egg whites on high for about 2 minutes, or until thickened. Gradually add the granulated sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour mixture and beat until just blended. Stir in the pineapple, carrots, and raisins.
• Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let pan cool on racks completely.
• To make frosting, with an electric mixer on high speed. Beat the frosting ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth, about 1 minute.
• Place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, on a serving plate. With a narrow metal spatula, spread 1/2 c frosting over the layer. Top with remaining layer, rounded side up. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle walnuts on the top of the cake.

[[Recipe adapted from here.]]

Carrot cake has to be one of my favorite cakes out there! I think my mom may have passed her love of it on to me—but I’m not complaining! What is your favorite cake to eat? Or are you just a frosting eater? Any super recipes?

Lunch in the Kitchen With Me!

Hey everyone! Hope your Sunday is ending on a good note! I originally planned to have this video posted this morning, but good ol’ Youtube was not cooperating—don’t you just love technology and all its’ glitches surprises? Eek! But, Tinypic came to the rescue and was on my side, so I’ll stop chatting and let you get to the video. [Recipe and pictures below]
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Seaside Pasta Dish w/Yellow Bell Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 oz angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
• 3/4 c mix of prepared shrimp and tilapia, chopped to your liking(if frozen, previously thawed)
• 1/4 canned pineapple chunks, drained
• Parmesan cheese, if desired

For sauce:

• 1/4 c yellow bell pepper and onion,chopped and sautéed
• 1/4 c canned stewed tomatoes + 2 Tbsp liquid from tomatoes
• Preferred seasonings

Directions:

• Cook pasta according to box—strain and set aside in bowl.
• Sauté chopped bell pepper and onion until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
• Once done, put into food processor along with tomatoes, tomato liquid, and seasonings of your choice. Pulse for about 1 min, or until sauce consistency forms.
• Meanwhile, chop your mixture of fish however big or small you like it. (I left my shrimp whole and cubed the tilapia.)
• Spoon sauce mixture (yields about 1/2 C) over pasta, top with fish, shrimp, and pineapple and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese if you wish!!!

Homemade Semi-Gourmet Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 slice of sandwich bread, white or wheat
• 1/2 clove of garlic
• 1 Tbsp butter spread
• 2 Tbsp shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven or toaster oven to 450 F.
• Mix garlic and butter spread together and spread evenly on bread.
• Top with a sprinkling of cheese and bake for 5-8 min—watch carefully, it browns fast!

Have a super start to your work or school week!

And keep an eye out for gorgeous fall leaves :-)

I Am a Self-Confessed Bowlaholic!

It’s true! But before I explain, let me quick shout out to two awesome giveaways you need to enter before I forget!

Gena over at Choosing Raw is hosting her first raw giveaway—up for grabs is a cool spiralizer that makes fruits and veggies magically turn into pretty ribbons.

The 2nd giveaway is over at Fitnessista and up for grabs is two chances to win the Ani’s Raw Food Desserts Cookbook—any cookbook is a gem in my eyes! =) Plus who doesn’t dig free stuff?!

Also, a little pat on the back for me—your girl won a cereal creation/naming contest over at Me&Goji which specializes in letting you create your own custom artisanal cereal. I was so pumped when I found out because I am a cereal hound. I love collecting and EATING different kinds. I will just reveal the name to you so far, but you’ll have to wait for the grand appearance of what it consists of! It’s called-“Berry Spice ‘n Everything Nice”! Can’t wait to try it out!!!

Speaking of cereal, that leads me to thinking about bowls, which is what my post refers to. I just recently noticed that almost all of my meals lately have been eaten from BOWLS! Not that it’s a bad thing, I just thought it was rather funny and wonder if this happens to anyone else?! Here’s what I mean--Breakfast=Great new cereal find(discussed below) in a bowl. Lunch=Great new bowl creation(I’ll share below also BTW). Snack=Yogurt/Fiber One/Fruit Mess in a bowl. Dinner=Included a giant salad in a bowl along with other random things. Snack=Popcorn in a bowl. What can I say besides that I am a bowl diva?! Did I mention I have quite the collection of bowls also. I will have to get around to snapping a picture once I round em’ all up.

New Cereal Find Alert!

I don’t know about you, but I love eating tons and tons of cereal. Sometimes the 1/2 C or 3/4 C serving size just won’t cut it—for me it’s all about bulking it up but still being plump full of nutrients. I think I found my main man. Nature’s Path Kamut Puffs are simply great! I avoid rice puffs because they don’t retain their puffy shape and often get so soggy in my milk before I even finish making for an unpleasant cereal splurge. Kamut Puffs completely stand up to my soy milk even better than my Cheerios and Chex I mix with them!(Variety is the spice of life!) They’re low fat, vegetarian, no trans fats and of course whole grain for a whole grain lovin’ girl! Honestly, with some cinnamon this is the best, although plain looking cereal. It has a natural wheat taste that is just hard to beat! I found mine at my local Health Food Store, you can order online too!

It had me at the 2g of fiber PER CUP—yay + vitamins, no sugar, and no sodium. =) Happy day!

Oh yes, and how can I forget I said I’d share my lovely new lunch bowl! It stemmed as an idea that I realllly wanted Hawaiian pizza, but don’t like to order out (I prefer making my own), and unfortunately I would rather not use our rather disgusting dorm kitchen to roll out dough, etc. So then came the idea of making it on a pita—but no, I didn’t have time to let the oven heat up. So I resorted to this--

Tropical Bonanza Bowl

Serves:1 Prep Time: Like 10 mins! =)

• 1 1/2 C Spinach
• 1/2 C Mushrooms
• 1/4 C Chopped Pineapple
• 3 Slices Thin Deli Ham
• Desired amount of Pizza Sauce
• Sprinkle of your fav Cheese
• One Pita Bread(I use Joseph’s)

1. Steam spinach and mushrooms(I used a steamer bag).
2. Meanwhile, chop pineapple. Cut ham into strips and do the same with the pita bread.
3. Once things are done steaming, take and pour it into a BOWL =) and top with pineapple and ham. Then mix in pita strips and cheese & top with marinara sauce.
4. Mix, mix, chop, and EAT!

If you try this—lemme know! By the way, What’s your favorite thing to eat in a bowl?