Rate Manddi's Dinner

Creamy Chicken Stew

2008-11-02T16:49:00.003-06:00

3/4 lb. small red potatoes (about 8), quartered
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) reduced fat condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup Italian Dressing
2 cups frozen peas and carrots
1/2 cup Reduced Fat or Light Sour Cream

Place potatoes and water in microwaveable dish; cover with lid. Microwave on HIGH 7 min. or until they are tender. Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 7 min. or until evenly browned, stirring occasionally.

Add potatoes, soup, dressing and vegetables to saucepan. Bring to boil; cover. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 3 min. or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are heated through.

Stir in sour cream; cook 1 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Notes:
Super quick and delicious. I always have some already cooked chicken pieces in the freezer so that made it even easier. The first time we made it we didn't have Italian dressing so we used caesar instead and it was really good.

Apple Crisp

2008-10-26T14:08:00.002-05:00

8 medium apples peeled and diced
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. cinnamon or apple pie spice

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In small bowl combine sugar, flour and butter until crumbly. Place peeled, diced apples in a 8x8 square baking dish. Sprinkle cinnamon and apple pie spice over apples and stir. Crumble butter mixture over apples. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Notes:
Just double the recipe for a 9x13 pan. Also, you can add more or less cinnamon or apples depending on your preference.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

2008-10-26T13:51:00.002-05:00

Recipe in original form as I found it:

1/2 gallon canned tomatoes
1 qt. cream
1/4 cup dried basil
1 cup parmesan cheese
3 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauce pot, mix the cream and tomatoes together and bring to a boil.
Blend the soup with an immersion blender and add in the basil and cheese.
Season with the salt, pepper, and sugar.
Serve.

My way:

28 oz. Cans of crushed tomatoes, with basil & herbs(already pureed)
1 pint of heavy cream
1/4 C parmesan cheese
3 T sugar
salt and peppter to taste

In a large pan bring tomatoes and cream to a boil. Add in cheese. Season to taste with sugar,salt, and pepper.

Notes:
The already seasoned and pureed tomatoes are seasoned perfectly and really make the recipe simple & quick. This recipe does make a rather large batch of soup, however, it turns out beautiful and delicious-perfect for guests!

S'mores Brownies

2008-08-21T21:31:00.003-05:00

1 pkg. brownie mix
1 pkg. chocolate frosting
1 C graham cracker crumbs
1 pkg. miniature marshmallows

Prepare brownies as directed on package. Let stand to cool. Mix graham cracker crumbs into frosting. Frost cooled brownies. Cover with miniature marshmallows. Broil briefly until marshmallows are golden brown.

Notes:
It does not take very long to toast the marshmallows, so don't even turn away from the oven. I believe it took less than 2 minutes. The first time we tried this we totally burned the marshmallows, but were able to scrape them off and try again without ruining the brownies.

Fruit Pizza

2008-08-21T21:23:00.002-05:00

2 pkgs. cream cheese
1 roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. sugar (or to taste)
Assorted fruit suggestions: Kiwi, strawberries, mandarin oranges, bananas, black or blue berries

Spread cookie dough over pizza pan. Cook the crust as directed on wrapper. In a bowl, microwave cream cheese until soft. Add vanilla and sugar. Spread cream cheese mixture on top of cooled cookie. Cut and lay fruit in circles. Serve immediately.

Notes:
I use a 12-in round pizza pan designed for cookie pizza, but you could use a small cookie sheet with sides too. I prefer not to place the fruit in circles, but to arrange it randomly like a a normal pizza.

Peanut Butter Krispie Brownies

2008-08-21T21:16:00.003-05:00

1 Boxed brownie mix
1 C Chocolate Chips
1/2 C Peanut Butter
1 C Crisp Rice Cereal

Prepare brownies as directed on box. Let stand to cool. Melt chocolate chips in microwave. Mix peanut butter and cereal into chocolate. Spread over cooled brownies.

Notes:
The measurements on the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and cereal can be tweaked to suit your own taste. I think this is the most delicious way ever to make brownies!

Tangy Broccoli Salad

2008-08-21T21:08:00.002-05:00

3/4 C Salad Dressing, Light
2 T Sugar
2 T Vinegar
1 Bunch of broccoli, cut into florets(6 cups)
6 Slices of bacon, crisply cook, drained and crumbled
1 Small red onion, chopped

Mix dressing, sugar, and vinegar in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Notes:
Super easy, quick and delicious! Great to take to summer get-togethers! I found that one bunch of broccoli wasn't quite enough and used almost two whole bunches. I think it depends on the size of the bunch though.

Chicken Lasagna

2008-08-10T15:30:00.002-05:00

2 C(16 oz.) cottage cheese
1 Package(3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
4 C cubed cooked chicken
1 Can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 Can condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
2/3 C milk
1/2 C chopped 1/2 tsp salt
6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
1 package(6 oz.) stuffing mix
1/2 C butter, melted

In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese and cream cheese. In a large bowl, combine chicken, soups, milk and onion. Spread half of chicken mixture into 13-in x 9-in baking dish. Top with three noodles. Spread with half of cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Toss stuffing mix with butter; sprinkle over casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Notes:
Really needs to stand before being served or is a bit runny. Reheats very well.

Mediterranean Dip with Pita Chips

2008-07-20T17:43:00.004-05:00

6 pita breads(6 in), halved
1 3/4 tsp. garlic powder, divided
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 C(8 0z.) plain yogurt
1 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
5 pepperoncinis, sliced
1/2 C pitted Greek olives, sliced
1 medium cucumber, seeded and diced
1/3 C crumbled feta cheese
2 T minced fresh parsley

Cut each pita half into six wedges; place on ungreased baking sheet. Spritz both sides of wedges with cooking spray and sprinkle with 1 tsp of garlic powder. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-6 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, yogurt, oregano, coriander, and remaining garlic powder. Spread into a 9-in. pie plate. Top with tomato, pepperoncinis, olives, cucumber, feta cheese and parsley. Serve with pita chips.

Notes:
This was a huge success and everyone loved it. I forgot to put the feta on it, but didn't realize it till a couple of days later.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

2008-06-23T19:58:00.002-05:00

1 lb. extra lean ground turkey
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 14-ounce can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons hot sauce

Brown and drain ground turkey. Add onion and pepper to meat, while this is cooking combine brown sugar, vinegar, grill seasoning, worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce and hot sauce in a bowl. Add sauce to meat mixture and simmer for 5-15 minutes.

Notes:
I substituted white vinegar because I didn't have red wine vinegar and Konriko's jalapeno seasoning(can't purchase in Wisconsin's grocery stores-go online) for the grill seasoning. Also, the only hot sauce I had was in the Taco Bell packets so I used two hot packets. It could have used one more packet for extra bite.

Eric normally isn't a sloppy joe fan because they are very tomatoey-these aren't. He said they're hot saucey.

Creamy Lemon Squares

2008-06-22T14:38:00.002-05:00

20 Reduced Fat Vanilla Wafers, finely crushed
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold margarine
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. grated lemon peel, divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
2 tsp. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Combine wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup flour and the brown sugar in bowl. Cut in margarine with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min.
Meanwhile, beat Neufchatel cheese and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and 2 Tbsp. flour; mix well. Blend in 1 Tbsp. lemon peel, the lemon juice and baking powder; pour over crust.
Bake 25 to 28 min. or until center is set. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining 2 Tbsp. lemon peel just before serving.

Notes:
I forgot to include the eggs and these were still delicious!

Oreo No-Bake Cheesecake

2008-06-22T14:32:00.005-05:00

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tub (8 oz.) Whipped Topping, thawed

Coarsely chop 15 of the cookies; set aside. Finely crush remaining cookies; mix with butter. Press firmly onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping and chopped cookies. Spoon over crust; cover.
Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Notes:
It was hard to finely crush the cookies enough that 1/2 stick of butter holds it together. If the crust isn't holding together its really hard to spread the cream cheese mixture.

Blueberry Oat Muffins

2008-06-21T08:22:00.002-05:00

2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup fresh or Cascadian Farm® frozen organic blueberries

Heat oven to 400°F. Grease bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffin cups with shortening or cooking spray, or line with paper baking cups. In large bowl, mix milk, brown sugar, oil and egg. Stir in Bisquick mix and oats just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.

Notes:
This was a quick and easy recipe and made a dozen good-sized muffins. I liked adding oats so they are a bit healthier than the standard blueberry muffin.

Beef Stroganoff-Lite

2008-06-21T08:15:00.003-05:00

1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin steak, 1/2 inch thick
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (2 1/2 cups)
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons margarine
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free sour cream
3 cups hot cooked egg noodles

Cut beef across grain into about 1 1/2x1/2-inch strips. Cook mushrooms, onions and garlic in margarine in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender; remove from skillet. Cook beef in same skillet until brown. Stir in 1 cup of the broth, the salt and Worcestershire sauce. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir remaining 1/2 cup broth into flour; stir into beef mixture. Add onion mixture; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in sour cream; heat until hot (do not boil). Serve over noodles.

Notes:
I used venison instead of beef. Delicious! When using venison though because of the extremely low fat content, you should brown it in a bit of water so it doesn't get tough and dried out. I really liked it and it was realitively easy to make.

Home-baked Mac and Cheese

2008-05-14T19:42:00.002-05:00

1 pkg. (14 oz.) Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper or black pepper
6 Crackers, crushed (about 1/4 cup)
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare dinner as directed on package. Stir in 1/2 cup of the Cheddar cheese, the sour cream and pepper. Spoon into greased 1-1/2 qt. baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese and the combined cracker crumbs and butter. Bake 20 min. Let stand 5 min. before serving.

Notes:
I made this the night before and baked it at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. The ground red pepper was an awesome addition.

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

2008-05-14T19:32:00.002-05:00

8 oz. uncooked linguine or spaghetti noodles
1 C fresh or frozen broccoli
2 T butter or margarine
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1 in chunks
1 can(10 3/4 oz.) cream of mushroom soup
1/2 C milk
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. pepper

Prepare linguine as directed on package. Add broccoli for the last 4 minutes of cooking time; drain. In a medium skillet over medim high heat; melt butter. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, stirring often. Add soup, milk, cheese, pepper, and linguine mixture; heat through, stirring occasionally.

Notes:
This is really easy to make healthier. Instead of cooking the chicken in butter, I sprayed the pan with cooking spray. I used reduced fat soup and whole wheat pasta.

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

2008-05-14T19:19:00.002-05:00

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 C cold milk
1 pkg. vanilla istuant pudding mix
1 1/2 C thawed whipped topping, divided
4 squares Baker's semi-sweet baking chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake bater and bake as directed on package. Cool 10 min. in pans. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Pour milk into bowl and add dry pudding mix. Beat with a wire wisk for 2 min. or until well blended. Let stand 5 min. to thicken. Meanwhile, using a long, serrated knife, cut cupcakes horizontally in half. Gently stir in 1/2 C whipped topping. Spoon about 1 Tbsp. of pudding mixture onto bottom half of each cupcake and cover with the top part of the cupcake. Microwave remaining 1 C of whipped topping and the chocolate in a microwaveable bowl on high for 1 1/2 minutes or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is blended. Frost each cupcake with abotu 1 1/2 tsp. of the chocolate mixture. Refrigerate at least 15 min. before serving. Store leftover cupcakes in the refrigerator.

Notes: Everyone in Eric's department loved them!

Cheesey Chicken and Rice Wraps

2008-05-05T18:19:00.002-05:00

1 lb Shredded chicken(approx 3-4 breasts)
1 Can Nacho Cheese Soup, undiluted
1/2 C Salsa
1 C cooked white rice
sour cream(optional)
guacamole(optional)

Mix shredded chicken, soup, and salsa in crockpot. Set crockpot to warm and let warm through. Before serving mix in rice. Serve on warm tortillas. Garnish with sour cream and guacamole.

Notes:
I slow-cooked the chicken breast all day in the crockpot on low. Let meat cool a bit then shredded it.

Disclaimer: Recipes posted on this blog are collected from various sources and I cannot be credited with their creation. I only make them, possibly adapt them, and write about them. This recipe was given to by my Aunt Penny. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me contribute to my blog.

Italian Cheddar Bake

2008-04-27T19:59:00.005-05:00

1 pkg(14 oz.) Macaroni & Cheese dinner
1 lb ground turkey
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1/2 tsp oregano or basil
1 C shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Prepare Mac & Cheese as directed on package. Meanwhile, brown meat on medium-high heat and drain. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil.

Add meat mixture to Mac & Cheese and spoon into 2 qt. casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake 10 min. or until cheese is melted and casserole is heated through.

Notes:
I prepared this the night before and just did not bake it. The next night I baked it for 25 min at 375 degrees. Eric had two large helpings(about half the pan) and emphatically said he loved it.

Roasted Red Potatoes with Bacon & Cheese

2008-04-27T19:51:00.003-05:00

1/2 C Light Ranch Dressing
1/2 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 Real Bacon Bits
2 lb small red potatoes, quartered
1 T chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dressing, cheese, and bacon bits in a large bowl. Add potatoes and toss lightly.

Spoon into lightly greased 13x9in baking dish and cover with foil.

Bake 40 min. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 min. or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with parsley.

Notes:
I made bacon bits by frying bacon until crispy and then chopping in a food processor. Also, we made these on the grill instead of the oven because we were grilling steaks too. I just prepared like normal and wrapped in two foil packets. It really put a spin on the usual grilled foil packet of potatoes.

Pecan Pie

2008-04-27T15:18:00.003-05:00

1 piecrust
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 C light corn syrup
4 T butter, melted
pinch of salt
1 C packed dark brown sugar
2 tsps pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 C pecan halves, toasted and roughly cut(reserve a handful of full ones to decorate top)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fit the crust into a 9 in. pie plate. Crimp the edges with a fork. Mix everything but the pecans together well, then stir in the nuts and pour into pie crust. Scatter reserved pecans on top of pie. Bake 15 min. at 400 degrees, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes. If the pie crust is getting too dark, cover with a strip of tin foil. Transfer pie to a rack to cool.

Notes: To toast pecans-bake at 300 degrees for 5-10 minutes, tossing occasionally. To roughly cut pecans a couple seconds in the food processor is perfect. The pie crust darkens quickly, it worked perfectly to cover it with tin foil after the first 15 minutes of baking.

This pie was super easy to make and delicious!

Back to Work

2008-04-27T15:09:00.005-05:00

I've decided to make a renewed concentrated effort on blogging about my culinary creations. During the past few months I've been seriously slacking on cooking and been a bit lazy during the first part of pregnancy. However, now that we are planning on me being home full-time after the arrival of the baby we are in a serious budget crunch trying to save money. And of course I will have a lot more time for cooking now, so for those of you who benefit from this renewed effort feel free to leave your feedback and ratings!

New Year's Eve

2008-01-01T10:53:00.001-06:00

Eric had to work till 7:30 and we had little interest in going out. So I tried to throw together some of the household favorites with what we had on hand-Baked chicken breasts, party potatoes, corn, and fresh-baked rolls.

Chicken Breasts

I crushed Ry Krisps and added poultry seasoning for breading. Bake at 350 degrees until no longer pink. Super Easy and it could have been easier if I could have crushed the Ry Krisps in my new food processor but it came broke-and I was so excited for my new kitchen toy!

Party Potatoes

1 bag of frozen hash browns(or O'Brien cubes)
1 Container of Sour Cream
1 Can of Cream of Chicken Soup(or Mushroom)
1 Stick of Butter, melted
2 Cups of Shredded Cheese(approx.)
Corn Flakes

Mix hash browns, sour cream, and soup. Pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Cover with cheese. Sprinkle with corn flakes and then drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.

The corn was sweet corn frozen from this summer. It was just as good as it had been in August. Thank you Kristi for sharing your husband's prized sweet corn with us! And the rolls were just frozen dough balls from the store that you let rise then bake. Yummy!

Notes:
I was running low on Sour cream so I substituted some of the sour cream in the potatoes for cream cheese then added a bit of chicken broth so it wouldn't be super thick. To my surprise it was awesome!

Saturday

2007-12-22T21:58:00.000-06:00

I've been busy lately so when I've been cooking I haven't been able to post. Mostly though I've been wussing out on the cooking.

The homemade meals this week were centered around on very large pork tenderloin which cooked itself in the crockpot while we were at work.

Pork Tenderloin Day 1

I threw that bad boy in the crock pot with spices(mustard, garlic, seasoned salt, and various other random stuff on hand) and water. Let cook on low for 8-10 hours. It was then accompanied by homemade mashed potatoes. Kudos to Eric on that the tatoes. They were fab!

Pork Tenderloin Day 2

I shredded the remainder of the meat and mixed it with a can of Manwich. I then pressed some Pilsbury biscuits into a muffin tin and threw some meat and shredded cheese on top. Bake for 15ish minutes. I really didn't keep track of the time because I was making Christmas cookies at the same time so the oven was under constant observation. Eric liked them and I thought they were okay. I'm not a Pilsbury biscuit lover. I would have preferred Pilsbury crescents but there were none on hand.

Sophie's Birthday Cake

2007-12-12T20:36:00.000-06:00

The cakes was a monstrous masterpiece! My job was baking and assembly and Eric did the decorating. It took three cake mixes and five batches of buttercream frosting. On the bottom there are two nine inch round cakes and the top is two cakes mixes baked in a oven proof glass bowl. The bowl took almost three hours to bake at 25o degrees. I was worried the the outside would be crunchy and over cooked and the center still uncooked, but was done almost perfectly all the way through. This was my first attempt at Buttercream frosting. It was surprisingly easy and yummy. Sophie and everyone absolutely loved it, so definitely a big success!

Sunday Breakfast

2007-12-12T20:20:00.000-06:00

Breakfast Burritos

1lb. ground pork, browned and drained
5-6 Eggs, Scrambled
Tortillas
Shredded Cheese
Salsa

Notes:
I seasoned my the ground pork myself though it would have been easier to buy the already seasoned. Also, the pork was a bit greasy for me. I would prefer to use turkey or a combination of turkey and pork.

Chocolate Waffle Cookies

Notes:
These were fabulous when reheated in the toaster oven for a minute or two!

Sophie said, "You make really good breakfast, but I drank too much milk!" It was nice to see a five year old eagerly guzzle three glasses of milk.

Tuesday Night

2007-12-05T20:52:00.000-06:00

Chili night(or Chili week)

So there is a lot of chili! No matter what you do you can't make a two person batch of chili. And unfortunately I wasn't a huge fan of the chili. This happens every time I make it though. I think I just love my chili memories more than the taste. It was the first thing that I learned how to cook with my dad. I'd drag my chair back and forth from the cutting board and the stove adding ingredients and stirring under the supervision of my dad. Eric helped me which was really nice but it still didn't make me want to eat the chili.

On the other hand, Eric really liked the chili. I think the beef roast chunks in lieu of ground beef made a big impact on him. I hope he still likes it as leftovers!

Sunday Brunch

2007-12-02T11:17:00.001-06:00

Growing up my dad made brunch every Sunday morning, well I'm sure he still does I just no longer get to enjoy it. I have always wanted to continue this with for my family when Eric and I get to that point. However, Eric is not a breakfast lover but I figured as long as we were snowed in I might take a shot at making him a brunch lover.

Turkey Sammies on Bacon Cheese Waffles

2 C Bisquick

1 1/2 C milk

2 Eggs

1 C Shredded cheese

8 Slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled (1/2 C)

Sliced Turkey Breast

Slices of Cheese

Mix ingredients and pour into hot waffle iron(greased). Bake 3-4 min or until steam stops and waffle is golden brown.

Notes:

The waffle recipe is an adaptation of Bisquick's Bacon and Swiss waffles. We're good old Wisconsin cheddarheads and not big fans of Swiss so the waffle battter had cheddar. And for the cheese on the sandwiches we each used our favorite(Pepper Jack for Eric and Muenster for me.)

The turkey breast was a Jennie-O turkey breast tenderloin which already came marinated in a lemon garlic seasoning. I just drizzled EVOO on it and broiled it according to the directions on the package. Eric complimented its amazing moistness. The bonus was it was on sale for only $1.5o for a little 1 lb. piece of meat.

Orange-Almond Streusel Muffins

1 tsp. grated orange peel

1/2 C orange juice

1/3 C packed brown sugar

1/4 C vegetable oil

1 egg

1/4 Sliced almonds

Streusel Topping

1 T Bisquick mix

2 T packed brown sugar

2 T sliced almonds

1 T butter or margarine

Mix orange juice, brown sugar, egg, and oil. Stir in Bisquick and almonds. Pour into greased muffin pan. Make topping by mixing Bisquick, brown sugar, and almonds, then cut in butter using a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 400 degrees for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Notes:

My streusel topping didn't turn out well using I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Next time I'll use margarine or butter. Also, I think I may have added an extra egg to the batter and it turned out well, not over moist.

Friday Night

2007-11-30T19:18:00.000-06:00

Spaghetti and ManMan's Meatballs

Meatballs:

1 lb. ground turkey

1 egg

about 1/2 of Rye Krisps crumbs(healthier version of bread crumbs)

minced garlic

basil

italian seasoning

Mix ingredients(with hands). From approx. 1 inch balls. Simmer in sauce(organic Ragu tonight), turning frequently, until cooked through. Spoon over cooked pasta.

Notes:

Next time I need to remember to add Parmesan or Romano cheese into the meatballs. Also, I had used the already seasoned jennie-o ground turkey so I felt I could have laid off the basil a bit. However, Eric felt they were bland, but what does a German know about a meatball? If it was up to him we'd have bratwurst on top of pasta!

Sunday Lunch

2007-11-25T21:45:00.000-06:00

Hu-Hot:

My original goal was to document my culinary creations and their successes and failures, but I realized I may need reminders from time to time about past restaurant experiences. Take for example my continued dissatisfaction with the changes at Applebees. I used to love it, now they revamped their menu and had to two sub-par experiences.

However, today was a great experience! It was our second trip to Hu-Hot and the food once again was FABULOUS! I was more satisfied with the prices this time. Last time we had went for dinner which includes a salad or soup for $11.99, which the salad was good but I felt like I was wasting stomach space. Weekend lunch was just $8.99. In the future though I think we will try to go a little later in the day but before dinner to avoid the post-church crowd.

Tuesday Night

2007-11-21T18:58:00.000-06:00

Tuna Casserole:

3 Cans of Tuna
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup(Low Sodium or Reduced Fat optional)
Couple of handfuls frozen peas
Couple handfuls of smashed ripple potato chips(Cheddar Sour Cream preferred here!)

Mix and cover with more chips! 350 for about a hour.

Huge favorite and repeat performer!

How it works...

2007-11-17T22:08:00.000-06:00

Okay, I got this idea from Annie.

1. Log the daily meals.
2. Describe variables, as necessary.
3. Allow and receive feedback.
4. Use feedback for future meal decisions.

Part of this is addressing the problem that, although I'm a decent cook, I often get overwhelmed and cannot recall meal ideas that have delighted my family. Yet, I have some old-favorites (mine) that I can always remember--that doesn't mean anybody likes them. So, I'm listening to the analyst and posting and tracking data. Isn't that what good home economics is all about?

Comments encouraged by all that eat our food.
Comments also encouraged by everyone else.
That's the point.