Shepards Pie

Totally took this from Alton Brown but OMG it is delicious. Fresh herbs are a MUST. 

Ingredients
For the potatoes:
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
1/4 cup half-and-half
2 ounces unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
For the meat filling:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 carrots, peeled and diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb or beef
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas
Directions
Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the canola oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the lamb, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.

Add the corn and peas to the lamb mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2008

Rigatoni Bake

This was really good!
I used spaghetti sauce in place of the tomato sauce, for added flavor. I also added garlic salt and italian seasonings to the white sauce.
I also cut the recipe in half (didn't wanna make one to freeze since it was my 1st time making it and didn't know if we'd like it) ☺
Here's the link.

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package rigatoni or large tube pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and salt until smooth; gradually add milk and water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
2. Drain pasta; place in a large bowl. Add eggs. Spoon into two greased 8-in. square baking dishes. Top each with one can of tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Spoon white sauce over top; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
3. Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months. Bake second casserole, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

Footnotes

• To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 7-10 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

Cheesy Potato & Corn Chowder

This was really good and easy to make! (the girls didn't care for it, but whatever, they never like anything!) ☺

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth (or vegetable broth if u really wanna make it vegetarian)
• 3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
• 1 (2.5 ounce) package country style gravy mix
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup shredded Mexican-style processed cheese food (IDK what this even means! LOL, I just used shredded Pepper Jack Cheese and it was yummy!)

Directions

1. In large saucepan, melt margarine over medium high heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add chicken broth; bring to a boil. Add potatoes; cook over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in corn and chiles; return to boiling. Dissolve gravy mix in milk; stir into boiling mixture. Add cheese; cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted.

Here's the link to the recipe as well. Enjoy!

Ratatouille Polenta Bake

This is what we are having for dinner tonight. I'm excited to try it. :)

Ingredients

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)

1 medium bell pepper, coarsely chopped (1 cup)

1 small unpeeled eggplant, (1 pound), diced (2 cups)

1 medium zucchini, diced (1 cup)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 tube (16 ounces) refrigerated plain polenta (or any flavor) - I'm making my own.

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese (3 ounces)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Step 1 - Heat oven to 375ºF. Spray 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook onion and bell pepper in skillet 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in eggplant, zucchini, salt and pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomatoes, breaking up with spoon; reduce heat to low. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2 - Spray rectangular baking dish, 11x7x1 1/2 inches, with cooking spray. Cut polenta into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange slices on bottom of dish, overlapping and cutting to fit where necessary. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Spoon vegetable mixture evenly over top.

Step 3 - Cover and bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and parsley. Bake uncovered about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Cheese Enchiladas Verde

So we have decided to stop eating meat at night for the most part. Only because we generally eat really late and it's not very good for the body to try and digest meat when you are sleeping. Does this mean we are NEVER eating meat at night? No, of course not. Occasionally we will and in all reality we will still eat it on the weekends as we USUALLY eat earlier in the day and I have time to prepare. During the week it's sometimes like running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Yes I do prepare, no it's not always the greatest preparation, and sometimes I am just exhausted and meat takes much longer to prepare anyways so ha!

With all of that being said here is the recipe we tried last night. For the most part we really liked it. Sam and I did. The girls somewhat picked at the salsa, I don't know why they usually like it. Maybe because Jadyn wasn't feeling well and was being grouchy and Jakayla was... I dunno being a weirdy LOL!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican 4-cheese blend (6 ounces)

1 small zucchini, shredded (3/4 cup)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

8 soft corn tortillas (5 or 6 inch)

1/3 cup soft cream cheese with roasted garlic

1 jar (16 ounces) green salsa (salsa verde) (2 cups)

1 medium avocado, diced

4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

Directions

Step 1 - Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray rectangular baking dish, 11x7x1 1/2 inches, with cooking spray. Mix shredded cheese, zucchini and cilantro.

Step 2 - Spread each tortilla with about 2 teaspoons cream cheese. Spoon about 1/3 cup shredded cheese mixture onto each tortilla; spread to within 1 inch of edge. Roll up tortillas; place seam sides down in baking dish. Pour salsa over tortillas.

Step 3 - Cover and bake about 25 minutes or until hot. Top with avocado and onions.

SPAGHETTI AGLIO, OLIO, E PEPERONCINO

I came across this recipe on pinterest and decided to try it. SOOOO glad I did, it was AWESOME. I made a single serving, so I will give you exactly how I made it and the link to the original recipe as well.

2oz uncooked whole wheat thin spaghetti (I'm watching my protions, so I used a scale and actually measured)

1/4-1/2 teaspoon roasted garlic - use as much garlic as you like

1/2 - 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil - make it as oily as you like

2-3 shakes of red pepper flakes - make it as hot as you like

2 teaspoons Parmesan cheese (I only had the Kraft style, so it was a couple of shakes from the shaker, I can't wait to try it with real freshly grated Parmesan cheese) 

salt and pepper to taste (I used neither)

Cook spaghetti to al dente - don't over cook the pasta, that would not be good for this dish

Drain and put back in pan, turn heat on low

Add garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes, stir and cook just until all is heated together.

Turn into a bowl, add cheese, salt and pepper, stir together

NOTE: Parmesan cheese was not part of the original recipe, so to save on calories, you could leave this out. I'm glad I added a little :)

ENJOY!!

Full Recipe Here

Black Bean Burgers

I'm just adding the link to the recipe I like.

Black Bean Burgers

Salsa Chicken

This is a rip off of a Pinterest recipe I found, with a few mods of my own


I made it today and it was darn good.


1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 plump breasts)
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup (I used the healthy no fat cream of chicken)
1 cup salsa (make sure you like the salsa you use, it's going to have this flavor)
1 package taco seasoning (or it could have been this taste, make sure you like this too lol)
1 cup sour cream or greek yogurt (I use greek yogurt everywhere I can in place of sour cream)
1 can black beans (because black beans should go in everything lol)
cilantro to taste
shredded cheddar-jack cheese


Directions: 


Put chicken, soup, and salsa in crock pot. Sprinkle taco seasoning over everything. Cook on low for 8 hours. If shredding the chicken, pull the breasts out and shred; return back to crock pot. Stir in black beans, greek yogurt (sour cream) and cilantro and heat just until everything is combined.


Serve over rice, it will be "soupy" and rice absorbs it nicely. Sprinkle on desired amount of cheese.

I couldn't think of a gluten free idea for this one, it needs to be served on something because of the consistency.

Chicken Avocado Salad

Since 2011 is almost over and there hasn't been a recipe yet, I thought I better get one in there.

This one goes in the "fast, easy, and yummy" category.

Chicken Avocado Salad

1 can canned chicken
1 ripe avocado
1/2 bag shredded lettuce (I cheat and buy already shredded lettuce)
mayo - just a little (you could use greek yogurt, that's good too)
salt and pepper to taste

optionals, all to taste
green onions
celery
cilantro

Drain and flake chicken. Dice avocado into small bite sized pieces, add lettuce, stir to combine.
Add mayo, salt, pepper and cilantro to taste.

You can leave the shredded lettuce out, but I like to add lettuce to recipes like this to make them go further.

Put on bread or crackers or if looking for gluten free, grab a fork and eat it right out of the bowl.

Mint Chocolate - Or Chocolate - Cheesecake

I made this for my work party a couple of weeks ago & it was a HIT!! :) (In fact it was gone before I could have a piece.....)

Ingredients:

3 Packages (8 oz.) of Reduced Fat Cream Cheese

1/2 c. Sugar

1 Container (8 oz.) of Reduced-Fat Whipped Topping (Thawed)

1 1/2 c. Chopped 3 Musketeers or 3 Musketeers Mint

Graham Cracker Pie Crust (You can either make or buy)

Directions:

Beat cream cheese & sugar together until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Fold in whipped topping & 3 musketeers into the cream cheese mixture.

Spoon mixture over Graham Cracker Pie Crust (You can make your own or buy it.) Refrigerate until set (About 4 hours)

Serve & enjoy.

Cinnamon Sensation Cake

Now that the holidays are here you might all enjoy making this cake - I know I do!

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. Butter

1/4 c. Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 c. Pecan Halves (Optional)

1 Tube of Cinnamon Rolls (I use the Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls w/icing)

1 Hershey's Chocolate Bar

1 bag of Snicker's Mini's - or 3 King size Snicker's Bars (chopped)

Directions:

Melt butter & brown sugar together. Spread across bottom of a greased 8-inch round pan. Spread pecans across the bottom of the pan. Unroll cinnamon rolls place Snicker's evenly between the cinnamon roll & roll back up. (You can put as many or as little as you like here - I used the chopped snickers the first time but liked the Mini's better because there was less mess & less clean-up) Place the cinnamon rolls around the pan.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until golden. (About 20 - 25 minutes). Let cool for 5 minutes then tranfer to serving plate. (I flip them upside down so all of the stuff on the bottom ends up on top. :) )

Place Hershey's chocolate bar (broken up) into a microwave safe cup/bowl - along with either the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls - or with 2 tbs. of powdered sugar & 2 tbs. of milk. Heat until chocolate is melted (about 35-40 seconds). Stir until all the ingredients are mixed well then take your spoon & drizzle the chocolate over the top.

Cut like you would a cake/pie & enjoy!!

(Serves about 12)

Rosemary Sweet-potato Steak Fries

For all of those who don't like sweet potatoes give these a try. My husband hates sweet potatoes and he couldn't get enough of these. We ate them with ranch dressing I made myself with light sour cream and the hidden valley ranch dry packet mix.

You will need

2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into steak fry sized pieces
1 1/2 TBSP freshly minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp EVOO
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Preheat oven to 450

Place sweet potatoes in a zip lock bag and add the garlic, rosemary, EVOO, and salt. Seal bag and toss until the potatoes are evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer, not touching, on a large nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the potato pieces and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until tender inside.

Makes 6 servings

Again I got this from the Biggest Loser cookbook, I am loving it by the way :).

Per serving there are 120 cal, 2 g protein, 24 g carbs, 2 g fate (trace saturated) 0 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 169 mg sodium.

Peppered Pot Roast

Ok so pot roast in the slow cooker is great but it takes forever! I discovered this new recipe in the biggest loser cookbook. It's super yummy and is HEALTHY :)

1 tsp EVOO
1 (1 3/4 lb) trimmed top round roast
2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
salt, to taste ( I didn't use and it was great)

Preheat oven to 350

Rub the olive oil evenly over the roast and season with the pepper and seasoned salt. Let stand for 15 minutes

Place a medium nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the roast and sear on all sides, including the ends, until just browned, 45-60 second per side. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for about 15-20 minutes for medium rare.

Take out of oven and loosely place a piece of foil over the roast (not the whole pan just the roast) and let stand for 10 minutes.

Slice the roast against the grain into thin slices and serve immediately.

This makes about 6 4-oz servings.

137 cal, 28 g protein, trace carbs, 5 g fat (2 g saturated), 58 mg cholesterol, trace fiver, 123 mg sodium.

I paired this with Rosemary sweet-potato steak fries with ranch, and about a half cup of steamed zucchini with a touch of smart balance. The whole dinner was only 431 calories. Not to shabby and it was plenty filling. :)

Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, (see Note)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded red cabbage

1 medium carrot, shredded

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons minced red onion

4 8- to 10-inch whole-wheat wraps, or tortillas

Preparation

1.Whisk vinegar, oil, chipotle chile and salt in a medium bowl. Add cabbage, carrot and cilantro; toss to combine.

2.Mash beans and avocado in another medium bowl with a potato masher or fork. Stir in cheese and onion.

3.To assemble the wraps, spread about 1/2 cup of the bean-avocado mixture onto a wrap (or tortilla) and top with about 2/3 cup of the cabbage-carrot slaw. Roll up. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut the wraps in half to serve, if desired.

Tips & Notes

Ingredient Note: Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeños packed in a flavorful sauce. Look for the small cans with the Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, they'll keep at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

Stuffed Jalepenos.

Ok so after the Auntious posted her recipe for stuffed jalepenos it made me think of one of our favorite appetizers called La Bomba's they are jalepenos stuffed with cheese bacon and a whole shrimp. I decided to look and see if I could find a recipe that was kind of like them to try and I found a recipe but I modified it a bit and this is what I came up with.

12 oz softened cream cheese
4 oz shredded pepper jack cheese
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
3-4 pieces of bacon crisped and chopped
1-2 c flour
1-2 c milk
1-2 c bread crumbs
15-20 large jalepenos halved and seeded

Combine the first 4 ingredients. Stuff your jalepenos with this mixture. Dip the stuffed jalepenos in milk and then roll in flour covering them completely. Let them rest for 10 minutes. Dip them in the milk again and roll them in the bread crumbs. Let them rest for 10 minutes. Dip them again in milk and roll again in bread crumbs, making sure it is completely covered. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. If you want to give them a crisp outer cover you can either spray them with Pam before putting them in the oven or you can deep fry them for a couple of minutes after taking them out of the oven.

These are great served with ranch! I didn't stick the shrimp in them but it would be so easy to do. They are a little spicy so you can always cut out the pepper jack and just use cheddar or whatever other type of cheese you would like.

The resting time in between the steps is crucial! Also please remember to wear gloves when handling the peppers!

Easy-Cheesy Stuffed Jalapenos

8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 2 x 1/2 x 1/4-inch strips
15 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup real bacon bits

Be VERY careful when you handle jalapeno peppers.  Use gloves and be sure to NOT touch your eyes

Place a cheese strip in each pepper half; sprinkle with bread crumbs and bacon. Grill peppers, covered, over medium-hot heat for 4-6 minutes or until peppers are tender and cheese is melted.

Hunny's Yummy Tri-Tip

Get a tri-tip roast poke holes all over in it with a big serving sized fork and set aside.
Mix (in a BIG bowl) 1 large bottle of Famous Dave's Original BBQ and a 1/2 bottle of the Zesty.
Add about 2/3 cup of no pulp orange juice, 1/3 cup honey, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon each of onion powder and garlic powder.
Put the roast in and cover completely then cover the bowl and let it marinate for at least 6 hrs but overnight is better. Grill it outside turning it often. The sugar in the sauce carmelizes and makes a REALLLLLLY yummy crust type outside and juicy tender inside. It's the BEST!!!!!!! Slice thick and ENJOY!! :)

Low Carb Cheesecake Cupcakes

These are soooo easy and really good!

For Cupcakes:
3-8oz packages of cream cheese
1 cup Splenda
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

For Filling:
6 oz Sour Cream
5 tsp Splenda
1/8 tsp vanilla

Brink cream cheese to room temperature. Place cream cheese in a bowl and add one egg at a time beating with a mixer. Slowly add the Splenda and vanilla. *The batter will be thin* Pour into cupcake liners about an 1/8 inch from the top. Bake in a 300F oven for 30-35 minutes or until large cracks appear on the top. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.

Mix all ingredients for filling in a small bowl.

After the cupcakes have cooled for five minutes add 1 tsp to the top of each cupcake and stick back in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

I would put them in the fridge or freezer and keep them cold until you eat them. Mine were a bit soggy on the bottom but they were sitting on the counter and I used cream cheese that was previously frozen so that may have been a factor as well. They were still good.

This makes 15 cupcakes. I calculated the nutrition for each and they come out to be 200.9 Calories, 19.9 g of Fat, 125.8 mg of Cholesterol, 161.4 mg of Sodium, 91.4 mg of Potassium, 4.1 g Total Carbohydrates and 5.9 g of Protein.

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

1 - 16 oz container of fat free sour cream
1 packet of dry Hidden Valley Ranch original dressing
Half of a medium sized onion
1 tomatillo
1.5 tbsp cilantro
1 tsp of garlic

Directions: combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

This makes 18 servings :)

Chicken Salad with Mango Salsa

Chicken filling/topping ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 c Salsa
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 can black beans drained

Pico de Gallo
1 medium sized tomato
half of a medium sized onion
2 tbs chopped cilantro
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp lime juice

Mango Salsa

half of a mango, cubed

1/2 med sized tomato chopped
1/3 of a red onion chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp lime juice
1 tbsp chopped cilantro

6 cups of shredded romaine lettuce

Chicken filling - Cube the chicken and cook in a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tsp of garlic and 1 tsp of lime juice while cooking.
Start your rice cooking (if you are doing instant should be about 10 minutes if not then you need to start it about 45 minutes prior to cooking your chicken)
When the chicken is done add the salsa and the can of beans, lower heat, cover and simmer until the rice is done.

Pico de gallo -
Chop one tomato, half of an onion and 2 tbs of cilantro. Combine in a bowl add 1 tsp of garlic and 1 tsp of lime juice. Let sit to let the flavors combine.

Mango Salsa -
Chop one half of a large mango, a third of a large red onion, and half of a medium sized tomato. Combine in bowl with 1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp of lime juice.

Divide the lettuce among four plates. Add 1/4 of the chicken mixture, 1/4 of the pico and 1/4 of the mango salsa. Top with 2 tbsp Tomatillo Ranch Dressing.

This only has 256 calories, 2.7 g fat, 232.3 mg sodium, 45.9 g carbs (and complex ones at that) and 14.9 g protein per serving :) and that includes the Tomatillo Ranch Dressing in the other post :)