Super excited for today to be here for several reasons:
1) I don't have to work at the part time job tonight, WOO.
2) Its wine night Wednesday with the girls and I'm super excited to see them! Since this week feels a little crazy I'm not making a full dinner for all of us, we are doing dessert and wine at our house. I found a delicious recipe for peanut butter bars and I'm really hoping they turn out well!
3) I get to do another day of C25K tonight after work! I have been taking it easy after this weekends yard work overload, my right leg is not going to like me tonight but I think it will be good for it!
4) I'm making a new recipe for dinner. I found something that is a little bit outside Spencer's comfort zone but he's willing to try it. I doubt he eats the pepper but whatever, I'm excited to make something a little different (for us at least).
5) I finally got up on time for work and got here when I planned to!
Here are tonight's recipes in case you care!
PB Bars:Ingredients
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup peanut butter
Topping:
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I'm using dark bc I like it better....)
4 tablespoons peanut butter
Directions
In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan. (place in freezer or fridge to cool while making topping per the reviews)
In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.
Peppers:Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice (I'll be using instant rice as that's all I have and the reviews said it works fine, I'll also just make the rice while the meat is browning)
4 green bell peppers
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place the rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the beef until evenly browned.
Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the bell peppers. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward. (Slice the bottoms of the peppers if necessary so that they will stand upright.)
In a bowl, mix the browned beef, cooked rice, 1 can tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Spoon an equal amount of the mixture into each hollowed pepper. Mix the remaining tomato sauce and Italian seasoning in a bowl, and pour over the stuffed peppers.
Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, basting* with sauce every 15 minutes, until the peppers are tender.
*One of the reviews I saw said to cover the peppers while baking and then you don't have to worry about basting, I think I'll use this method as frankly I'm a busy lady and have dessert to make as well! I have an onion I need to use and so I'll probably use fresh onion and garlic that I'll cook w the ground beef to soften.
**the recipe calls for 6 peppers, but the reviews said that this doesn't make a lot of sauce/filling so I'm using 4 so I can really get em stuffed.
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Wine Night Wednesday
Wine Night Wednesday (or Thursday, or Monday or pretty much whatever evening the girls and I can get together) is happening this week and I am so excited. WNW is one of my favorite times of the week, an evening of girl talk, some --ok maybe a lot-- of wine and dinner with some of my favorite ladies.
I found a new recipe for this week and I'm pretty excited to try it out.
Chicken with Garlic, Basil, and Parsley Ingredients
1 tablespoon dried parsley, divided
1 tablespoon dried basil, divided
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tomatoes, sliced
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon parsley and 1 teaspoon basil evenly over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange chicken breast halves in the dish, and sprinkle evenly with garlic slices. In a small bowl, mix the remaining 2 teaspoons parsley, remaining 2 teaspoons basil, salt, and red pepper; sprinkle over the chicken. Top with tomato slices.
Bake covered in the preheated oven 25 minutes. Remove cover, and continue baking 15 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear.
* from reading the reviews on this recipe I think I'll use fresh herbs instead of dried and will probably create a little marinade from the herbs that are supposed to go on the bottom of the pan (I'll probably add some more garlic and Cayenne pepper too), some lemon juice and a small amount of chicken broth. I'm thinking that marinating the chicken for an hour or two will get some more flavor into the chicken before I bake it, and I'm hoping the added juices in the pan will ensure it stays moist during cooking.
The reviews also mentioned adding a splash balsamic vinegar and cheese to the chicken in the last few minutes, so that's a consideration as well.
I found a new recipe for this week and I'm pretty excited to try it out.
Chicken with Garlic, Basil, and Parsley Ingredients
1 tablespoon dried parsley, divided
1 tablespoon dried basil, divided
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tomatoes, sliced
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon parsley and 1 teaspoon basil evenly over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange chicken breast halves in the dish, and sprinkle evenly with garlic slices. In a small bowl, mix the remaining 2 teaspoons parsley, remaining 2 teaspoons basil, salt, and red pepper; sprinkle over the chicken. Top with tomato slices.
Bake covered in the preheated oven 25 minutes. Remove cover, and continue baking 15 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear.
* from reading the reviews on this recipe I think I'll use fresh herbs instead of dried and will probably create a little marinade from the herbs that are supposed to go on the bottom of the pan (I'll probably add some more garlic and Cayenne pepper too), some lemon juice and a small amount of chicken broth. I'm thinking that marinating the chicken for an hour or two will get some more flavor into the chicken before I bake it, and I'm hoping the added juices in the pan will ensure it stays moist during cooking.
The reviews also mentioned adding a splash balsamic vinegar and cheese to the chicken in the last few minutes, so that's a consideration as well.
Friday, March 18, 2011
beer cheese soup
seriously does anything sound better than this? I like beer. I like cheese. I like soup. I like them all together. The other evening I decided to make this delicious recipe from Allrecipes.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Wisconsin-Natives-Beer-Cheese-Soup/Detail.aspx
As written:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cups diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups beer (Boulevard Wheat)
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
4 cups milk or half and half
6 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard --didn't have so I just used extra Dijon mustard
Directions
In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together carrots, onion, celery, and garlic. Stir in hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Pour in chicken broth and beer; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, heat butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Stir in flour with a wire whisk; cook, stirring until the flour is light brown, about 3 or 4 minutes. Gradually stir in milk, whisking to prevent scorching, until thickened. Remove from heat, and gradually stir in cheese. Keep warm.
Stir beer mixture into cheese mixture. Stir in Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard. Adjust for hot pepper sauce. Bring to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes. Serve topped with popcorn.
Changes made:
I don't really measure spices very well, I know what we like and I tend to add more of those things. In this case I added more Cayenne, more hot pepper sauce (franks hot sauce), and more garlic.
I also cooked the veggies for more like 30 min so I was sure they were soft, the carrots took forever.
I did add a little more flour to the soup toward the end, Spence thought it was a little thinner than he wanted it.
I decided to just cook the veggies in the butter for the first part of the mixture, no particular reason it just seemed better, and two different mixtures, a "beer mixture" and a "cheese mixture" seemed like an added step that I didn't need so I omitted that. I cooked the vegetables in the butter for about 30 minutes, added the flour (dissolved in some of the chicken broth because otherwise I end up with lumps that never go away), then cooked that another couple of minutes. Stirred the milk in gradually, added the beer, chicken broth, mustard and Worcestershire sauce, brought it to a boil and simmered for about 15 minutes, stirring fairly constantly, until creamy and thickened. I turned off the heat, then stirred in the cheese a little at a time until combined.
I planned to also add a little bacon on top of the cheese but turns out that didn't work out so well. Not because I don't think bacon would be good in this, it would. But the bacon I had in the fridge was just a little off in color, so I didn't want to risk it. I bought a loaf of Italian bread served that on the side. Next time I make it, I'm totally adding in a little bit of bacon though. And I may shred the carrots instead of dicing them, they didn't get to quite the consistency I wanted.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Wisconsin-Natives-Beer-Cheese-Soup/Detail.aspx
As written:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cups diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups beer (Boulevard Wheat)
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
4 cups milk or half and half
6 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard --didn't have so I just used extra Dijon mustard
Directions
In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together carrots, onion, celery, and garlic. Stir in hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Pour in chicken broth and beer; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, heat butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Stir in flour with a wire whisk; cook, stirring until the flour is light brown, about 3 or 4 minutes. Gradually stir in milk, whisking to prevent scorching, until thickened. Remove from heat, and gradually stir in cheese. Keep warm.
Stir beer mixture into cheese mixture. Stir in Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard. Adjust for hot pepper sauce. Bring to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes. Serve topped with popcorn.
Changes made:
I don't really measure spices very well, I know what we like and I tend to add more of those things. In this case I added more Cayenne, more hot pepper sauce (franks hot sauce), and more garlic.
I also cooked the veggies for more like 30 min so I was sure they were soft, the carrots took forever.
I did add a little more flour to the soup toward the end, Spence thought it was a little thinner than he wanted it.
I decided to just cook the veggies in the butter for the first part of the mixture, no particular reason it just seemed better, and two different mixtures, a "beer mixture" and a "cheese mixture" seemed like an added step that I didn't need so I omitted that. I cooked the vegetables in the butter for about 30 minutes, added the flour (dissolved in some of the chicken broth because otherwise I end up with lumps that never go away), then cooked that another couple of minutes. Stirred the milk in gradually, added the beer, chicken broth, mustard and Worcestershire sauce, brought it to a boil and simmered for about 15 minutes, stirring fairly constantly, until creamy and thickened. I turned off the heat, then stirred in the cheese a little at a time until combined.
I planned to also add a little bacon on top of the cheese but turns out that didn't work out so well. Not because I don't think bacon would be good in this, it would. But the bacon I had in the fridge was just a little off in color, so I didn't want to risk it. I bought a loaf of Italian bread served that on the side. Next time I make it, I'm totally adding in a little bit of bacon though. And I may shred the carrots instead of dicing them, they didn't get to quite the consistency I wanted.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Another recipe! and workout update.
*Giveaway alert* check out "shut up and run" at http://twentysixpointtwoormore.blogspot.com/
Super cute headband being given away. The headband is moisture wicking headbands with inspirational sayings on them. There is a small plastic strip sewn into the front of the band so these babies never slip.
Last night I searched AllRecipe again for something to make for dinner. The winner was "Chicken with Mushrooms" http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-With-Mushrooms/Detail.aspx
Ingredients
4 cups sliced mushrooms
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter
6 slices mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup chicken broth \
+3/4 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. (Saute mushrooms with butter and garlic) Place half of the mushrooms in a 9x13 inch pan.Dip chicken into beaten eggs, then roll in bread crumbs.
3. In skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Brown both sides of chicken in skillet. Place chicken on top of mushrooms, arrange remaining mushrooms on chicken, and top with mozzarella cheese. Add chicken broth (and cream mushroom soup) to pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
I modified the original recipe based on the reviews I read, I sauteed the mushrooms with some garlic before I browned the chicken, and added a can of 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup to the chicken broth before I added that. I also usually don't do any kind of a wash on my chicken before I dip it in the breadcrumbs. I don't know why, but I don't really notice a huge difference in the coating I get. So I skipped the egg wash portion.
All in all it was pretty good. I will probably add double the mushrooms next time, Spence and I both really like mushrooms, and serve over pasta instead of rice. But its been added to the recipe box!
Workout: fail.
I managed to go to the gym for a whopping 20 minutes on Saturday. I was not mentally there and finally gave up before I fell off the treadmill and killed myself. Sunday was a wash, I was a bum.
Today however I got up despite not getting a lot of sleep last night (kept waking up for no apparent reason) and got my happy little tushy moving. I did 2 miles on the treadmill and then 15 minutes on the bike, stretched and called it good. I'm feeling like I could have done more so I am considering a spin class tonight to burn some more calories.....
In the back of my head though I'm wondering if that will kill my legs for tomorrow.....
Super cute headband being given away. The headband is moisture wicking headbands with inspirational sayings on them. There is a small plastic strip sewn into the front of the band so these babies never slip.
Last night I searched AllRecipe again for something to make for dinner. The winner was "Chicken with Mushrooms" http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-With-Mushrooms/Detail.aspx
Ingredients
4 cups sliced mushrooms
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter
6 slices mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup chicken broth \
+3/4 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. (Saute mushrooms with butter and garlic) Place half of the mushrooms in a 9x13 inch pan.
3. In skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Brown both sides of chicken in skillet. Place chicken on top of mushrooms, arrange remaining mushrooms on chicken, and top with mozzarella cheese. Add chicken broth (and cream mushroom soup) to pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
I modified the original recipe based on the reviews I read, I sauteed the mushrooms with some garlic before I browned the chicken, and added a can of 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup to the chicken broth before I added that. I also usually don't do any kind of a wash on my chicken before I dip it in the breadcrumbs. I don't know why, but I don't really notice a huge difference in the coating I get. So I skipped the egg wash portion.
All in all it was pretty good. I will probably add double the mushrooms next time, Spence and I both really like mushrooms, and serve over pasta instead of rice. But its been added to the recipe box!
Workout: fail.
I managed to go to the gym for a whopping 20 minutes on Saturday. I was not mentally there and finally gave up before I fell off the treadmill and killed myself. Sunday was a wash, I was a bum.
Today however I got up despite not getting a lot of sleep last night (kept waking up for no apparent reason) and got my happy little tushy moving. I did 2 miles on the treadmill and then 15 minutes on the bike, stretched and called it good. I'm feeling like I could have done more so I am considering a spin class tonight to burn some more calories.....
In the back of my head though I'm wondering if that will kill my legs for tomorrow.....
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Cooking and running
I am making it a goal to focus on cleaning up as I cook. I think it will help with the overall cleanliness of the kitchen.
Here is the recipe I used for the shrimp etouffee: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/shrimp-etouffee-ii/Detail.aspx
Its in the rotation for this winter, I think it will be a good hot meal for when the good 'ol KS winter hits and we are covered in ice and snow.
Well the second part of my title was "running". Its a misnomer. I don't run. (YET) Currently, I sorta-kinda jog. With a lot of walking added in for good measure. Today was the first day of the 3 weeks I am giving myself to get into shape and start the training program I have in the top bar of the blog. I've decided to post my times once a week to track my progress. The first week of the program I need to be able to do a 4 mile "long run". I am nowhere near being able to do that currently! I have a lot of work ahead of me. Here is the first picture of my progress. I jogged/ran at a 14.45 minute pace:
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