Pumpkin Bars (More like Pumpkin Cake!)
From Better Homes and Garden Cookbook

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cloves
4 eggs
1 15oz. can pumpkin
1 cup cooking oil

Directions:
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and cloves. Stir in eggs, pumpkin and oil. Spread into ungreased cake pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cook completely and frost. I always use my standard cream cheese frosting recipe.

Peanut Butter Blossoms
From Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
Chocolate kisses

Directions:
Beat shortening and peanut butter. Add sugars, baking powder and soda. Beat until mixed. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla. Beat in flour.
Shape into 1 inch balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Place chocolate kiss in center immediately after removing from oven. Cool.

Holiday Treats

This year we decided to make cookies for the Air Force Base Cookie Drive. It provides treats for all the military that are in the dorms and away from thier families over the holidays. We had fun all picking our favorite treats and making them for the service men and women. On the menu were:


Santa Surprises
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Pumpkin Bars
Sugar Cookies


All the recipes except the Santa Surprises came from the Better Homes and Gardens Red and White Cookbook that is my standby cookbook. The Santa Surprises were one I found in a magazine a long time ago. I apologize for not giving credit for these delicious little babies!

SO YUMMY!!!

Recipe for Santa Surprises:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 cups flour

package of mini snicker bars

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Beat butter and sugars until combined. Add all other ingredients except snickers and chocolate chips and mix with beater. Shape dough into 1 inch balls (I use a pampered chef scooper that works perfect). Press in and wrap dough around the mini snicker. Bake @ 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes (until golden brown).

Melt chocolate chips in a glass bowl in the microwave. Cool a bit then put in plastic baggie, snip corner of bag with scissors and pipe chocolate onto tops of cookies.

These are so so so yum. I only make them at Christmas just because I could seriously eat a whole batch in one sitting!! Make with caution will ruin any diet you are on!!!

Stay tuned for the other cookie recipes!

Quinoa Garden Salad

I got this recipe off the internet the same time I found the avacado wraps but I can't remember where I found this one. . .sorry to whoever did this one, it's definately yum and a keeper.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup water

1 cup canned garbanzo beans (which I didn't add either but next time I plan to)

chopped peppers (yellow, green, orange, red. . .whatever you have, I used green and red-half of each)

tomatoes diced

chopped green onions

2 Tbs. parsley

2 Tbs. mint (I didn't have any so mine didn't have this in it)

Lemon juice

salt

pepper

3 cheese italian dressing (I added this for some flavor)

Directions:

I made the quinoa as directed, pretty much just like rice. Combine the water and the quinoa, bring to boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. I didn't really measure my mix ins. I just cut and chopped what looked good and tossed it in to my cooled quinoa. I cut a lemon and sqeezed in the juice salt and peppered and then tossed with the salad dressing (of which Dennis added more to his personal serving later, but I think less is sometimes more!) Then chilled it for about 2 hours. You can add whatever veggies you like and whatever you have on hand for this one. It's a great way to add some flare to your veggies and some protien too, especially if you're like me and don't eat a lot of meat protiens it's nice to add it this way! YUM and more YUM!! Light and fresh, perfect for summer.

Creamy Avacado and White Bean Wrap

I got this recipe from eatingwell.com the other day while looking for yummy healthy, easy and cool summer dishes. This one is totally yummy and I will most likely be adding white beans to my guacamole from now on. I loved the texture and substance it added. I used regular coleslaw mix instead of shredded cabbage and carrot and I used regular cheddar cheese. Turned out so yummy I could easily eat this every week.

Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 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.

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

This is a SUPER EASY and really yummy meal for summer. You don't use the oven at all and it's a complete and satisfying dish.

Pulled Chicken

Ingredients:

boneless skinless chicken breasts (as many as your family needs I do 3 to 4 and it provides left overs for the week - I have essentially 3 eaters)

b-b-q sauce any kind (I like the hickory smoked brown sugar kind)

Directions:

Pop ingredients in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours and switch to low for 1 hour.

Shread chicken and top on sandwich roll.

We just use mayo and more bbq sauce but you could get creative with your toppings, some people might add cheese or tomatoes or something that might be tasty too.

I served with fresh sliced fruit and pretzels but you could do potato salad and beans as a side or anything you like.

By the way, if you LOVE diet soda and dry flavors and want to try to drink less like I do, sparkling water is a yummy alternative.

Grandma Krause's Peanut Brittle

My Grandma used to make this every Christmas and was always one of my favorite treats. When I was twenty something I asked her to teach me how to make it. I will never forget that day cooking with my little grandma (literally, she is really a tiny person) as she told me the written directions but adding how she knew when the candy was ready by the smell and the color. I won't forget laughing with her and I will always think of her in her kitchen blessing me with her cooking knowledge and much advice she would always give me as we cooked together in her kitchen.

Recently I taught a lesson on heritage and made up batch of brittle to hand out. I figured I would add the recipe to the blog even though it isn't Christmas time, still it's coming soon and peanut brittle I found is good anytime of year!

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp. salt

4 Tbs. butter

2 1/2 cups raw peanuts

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Mix sugar, corn syrup, water, salt and butter in a large sauce pan. Cover and bring to boiling point. Remove cover and cook to soft ball stage on candy thermometer. Add peanuts. Cook to crack stage stirring frequently (my grandma says the candy will turn the color of a brown paper bag and smell will change). Remove quickly stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour onto prepared buttered baking sheets and spread as thin as possible. Cool completely and enjoy!! Yum Yummy!

Chicken Mango Salad

This recipe came from my friend Marissa Wall when we live on Guam. It is easily one of my favorites!! I have made this recipe for a family food contest and won, it is a perfect summer dish you just can go wrong with! LOVE it, so so yummy!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cucumber peeled and diced

1/2 green pepper peeled and diced

1/2 red pepper peeled and diced

1 can white corn drained

4 chicken breasts cooked and diced (I cook mine in italian dressing marinade)

2 tomatoes diced

1 avacado diced

1 can of black beans drained

1-2 mangos peeled and diced

Directions:

Pour oil and vinegar over chopped ingredients and toss. Serve over Fritos and top with dressing.

Mac and Cheese for Grown Ups!

My kids love Mac and Cheese and honestly I do too. We have this for lunch at least once a week. However, I don't think it's all that exciting sometimes and so to make it more "grown up" so to speak I like to add crumbled bacon and diced tomatoes. Just dresses it up a bit don't you think? Yum!

Carrot Cake

It was Dennis' birthday this week and since I didn't have time to make his #1 favorite (cheesecake) I had to go with #2; Carrot Cake. I think he likes the frosting more than the cake but I love them both. I don't like raisins in cake so my carrot cake is always raisins free. I use my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook as always. . .I did try to make it a bit more fancy adding the nuts around the edges and my filling is always just more FROSTING!

Ingredients:
4 beaten eggs
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 cups shredded carrots
3/4 cups cooking oil
chopped pecans and almonds

Directions:
Grease and flour 2 round pans (or one regular cake pan if you aren't doing layers). Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and baking soda. Set aside. In another bowl combine eggs, carrots and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until combined. Pour into pans.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

If you are doing layers, the cooling completely is neccessary. I frost a little on my cake plate to hold the cake in place and then add the frosting filling and then stack with 2nd layer and coat completely with frosting.
To get the nuts on, I don't know if there is an easier way, put I just palmed the nuts and pressed around the edges.
I ate about 1/4 of the cake my-self! Yum and more yum!

Cheese Burger Flat Breads

These were soo yummy!! I found the recipe on the site Kevin and Amanda. I rarely eat red meat so instead of ground beef I used 1 package of Morning Star Farms Veggie Meat and I didn't really measure but added 1 package onion soup mix, ketchup, mustard, minced garlic, apple cider vinegar (approx 1/4 cup) and water (approx. 1/4 cup) to the meat and simmered. While that cooked I rolled out Pillsbury pizza dough and cut into six pieces and toasted each side on my pancake pan until golden brown.

Simply top your flat bread with meat and grated cheddar cheese and YUMMY YUM YUM!! This is a definite repeat recipe. Fast, easy and good!



I served it with a Strawberry, Spinach and Almond Salad.



For this I just had spinach leaves, sliced strawberries, and sprinkled with slivered almonds and tossed with sweet dressing. Most use a poppy seed dressing but I didn't have any so I found another dressing recipe online:

Dressing:

From Kayln's Kitchen, I adapted just a little.
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. finely minced fresh garlic
1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper
1-2 tsp. squirt of mustard

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Roasted Veggie Pasta

I got this recipe from my Cooking Light cookbook. I added my recent attempts at roasted veggies. This was sliced zucchini, cherry tomatoes, red onions, yellow squash, and mushrooms but you could do whatever sounded good or was in season.
In a jelly roll pan lay out veggies drizzle olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic or garlic powder and 1/4 cup cooking wine.
Roast at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
I also added steamed peas after the other veggies were roasted.
Then top over cooked penne pasta (I used a whole wheat pasta).

Dennis said he liked it but would have liked the veggies mixed into a regular red sauce, but I liked it this way just fine. It was light and felt healthy so I enjoyed it. Yum.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

These were another try from another blog I visit and really like. I added 1 Tbs. wheat germ and 1 Tbs. flax which made them very hearty and filling. Yummy, yummy!!

Chocolate Banana Muffins:
Recipe by For the Love of Cooking.net

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup of canola oil
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a muffin pan with cooking spray. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl.
Combine the oil, sugars, egg, and mashed banana and mix until creamy. Slowly add the flour mixture into the egg mixture and stir until just combined.
Spoon the muffin batter into the prepared muffin pan.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Strawberry Shortcake

My grandma used to make this on occasion and it is something I start craving in spring time. I use the recipe from my old standby the Red Checked Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book!

Ingredients:
whipped topping
6 cups sliced strawberries (although I never measure, I just cut up what I want)
1/2 cup sugar divided (1/4 cup for bread, 1/4 cup for strawberries)
Splash of vanilla (I added this little bit and it's pretty tasty)
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup milk

Directions:
Stir 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla into cut strawberries and set aside. Stir together remaining sugar, flour and baking powder. Cut in butter until crumbly. Combine eggs and milk then add to flour mixture until moistened. Spread in greased round pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes. Cool, cut, split and top!!!

Brown Sugar and Banana Muffins

I found another great new food blog called For the Love of Cooking. This is the first recipe I have tried and and it turned out great!!! I didn't use the nuts because my kids don't like them but next time I might do 1/2 with the nuts for Dennis and I.

Brown Sugar and Banana Muffins with Pecans: Adapted recipe by For the Love of Cooking.net (see my sidebar) Original recipe from Southern Living ~ April 2006

• 1/2 cup of butter, softened • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar • 2 large eggs • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 large) • 1 tsp cinnamon • 1/4 cup buttermilk • 1 tsp vanilla extract • 1 1/4 cups of flour • 1 cup of whole wheat flour • 3/4 tsp baking soda • 1/2 tsp baking powder • 1/2 tsp salt • 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped* Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a muffin tray with cooking spray. Beat the butter at medium speed with a mixer until creamy. Slowly add the brown sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each one. In a separate bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, cinnamon, buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in another bowl; add to the butter mixture alternately with the banana mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended after each addition. Do not over-beat. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tray, filling two thirds full. Sprinkle the pecans over each muffin evenly.

Chinese Chicken Salad

I got this recipe from Hungry Girl 200 Under 200 that I just picked up the other day because let's face it, I'm hungry!!! I thought there might be some good ideas and this is one of them!!

Dennis and I both enjoyed this tasty salad, the kids of course turned their noses up to it but what's new?

Ingredients:

10 oz. Brocoli slaw package

12 oz. baked chicken cooled and chopped

green onions chopped (how ever much you like depending on your love of onions)

slivered almonds (my personal addition, recipe called for water chestnuts) I just added what looked good about 1/3 cup.

large can mandarin oranges (drained and chopped)

Lite Ginger Sesame salad dressing

Directions:

Bake chicken in sesame dressing (I just coat and cook on 350 degrees for about 40 -60 minutes). Cool and chop. Combine all ingredients. I just added enough dressing coat. Toss and let sit for at least 2 hours (important step, don't skip). Then enjoy!

Quinoa, Fruit, Nut and Cheese Salad

I found this recipe online looking for quinoa recipes this one looked interesting and I copied and pasted the recipe but forgot to get the website, so sorry to whoever's recipe this is I am not giving you credit but it sure is yummy!!!

Quinoa is another new food to me. It's pronounced Keenwa as my sister says and is made with a 2:1 ratio, so 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water and is basically made like rice. Put in pot and bring to a boil then turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes. I had my doubts but it really is a yummy food I will be using much more often.

Ingredients
2 cups quinoa (prepare as stated above, so 4 cups water. . .)
1 ½ cups green onions, sliced
1½ cups celery, thinly sliced
¾ cup pecans
½ cup walnuts
½ cup dried cranberries
8oz buffalo mozzarella, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
2 tsp minced garlic
3 T olive oil
4 T balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp ground cumin

Directions:
Prepare all ingredients and give time for quinoa to chill. Parsley through cumin combine as salad dressing. I used a Pampered Chef dressing mixer. When all ingredients are prepared combine and let chill or serve immediately.
Side note: I didn't have enough pecans so I added some slivered almonds as well that were perfectly yum! Dennis said he would add more of the mozzarella so next time I might do that.

My New Favorite Breakfast!

Seriously this is one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth!!! I don't even know what to call it other than SOO YUMMY! I got this again from Kath Eats and she didn't fail again. Every day she posts all three meals and most mornings is some variation of this bowl of . . .Stuff! She talked about Chia Seeds and I had never heard of them and I was really curious about these breakfast bowls, they looked weird with granola, the weird seeds, and peanut butter??? This week-end I went to the whole food store and located the Chia seeds. I got a mixed version that has apples and cinnamon in it that can be sprinkled in stuff or eaten alone (after mixing with water or milk). I was really excited to try these out but I wasn't sure exactly what Kath did with her bowls so yesterday morning I thought I would just try it out. This is what I did:


1/3 cup fit and light vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup granola
1 Tbs. Chia seeds
1 Tbs. peanut butter
1/2 banana sliced


The chia seeds need to sit for a few minutes so I mixed it up, let it sit and timidly took my first bite. It was so good I couldn't believe it. It may seem overly excited but seriously this was one of the best things I have put in my mouth. Plus, I used Skippy peanut butter and Kath uses the yummy fancy variety of different nut butters that probably makes this dish even better!!! Is that possible??? I was seriously full until lunch and even then I wasn't starving and I had worked out and moved boxes and such to my new house. This is like a miracle breakfast!!



Then, I researched a little better on Kath's site and this is what I did for this morning's breakfast:


1/3 cup yogurt
1/3 cup OATS
1/3 cup granola
1/3 cup skim milk
1/2 banana sliced
1 Tbs. Chia seeds
1 Tbs. peanut butter

I combined the yogurt, milk, oats, banana and Chia seeds last night and let is sit in the fridge through the night. This morning I added my granola and peanut butter and again it was so good I can hardly stand it. My stomach is so full and I feel healthy and satisfied. I love this Kath whoever she is, she is a mad genius!!!

This is after all the mix ins.

This is what it looks like out of the fridge after sitting all night.

I was curious about these Chia seeds which I have heard are some new super food and was curious to know more so this morning I looked up and found this:

Chia seeds:
7 Good Reasons To Start Eating Chia Seeds

1.Help weight loss. Chia seeds are popular for weight loss. They reduce food cravings by preventing some of the food that you eat from getting absorbed into your system. This blockage of calorie absorption makes them a great diet helper.
2.Feel fuller faster: They can also help your diet by making you feel full. This is because they absorb 10 times their weight in water, forming a bulky gel.
3.Hydration for athletes: They are also great for athletes because the "chia gel" can hydrate the body.
4.Reduce your blood pressure: There's evidence to suggest they can reduce blood pressure.
5.Omega-3: They are the richest plant source of Omega-3 (the vital fats that protect against inflammation—such as arthritis—and heart disease). In fact, they contain more Omega-3 than salmon!
6.Benefits for diabetes: Because chia seeds slow down how fast our bodies convert carbohydrates into simple sugars, studies indicate they can control blood sugar. This leads scientists to believe chia seeds may have great benefits for diabetics.
7.They are easier to digest than flax seeds, and don't need to be ground up.




NO WONDER I WAS SO FULL!!! This is no placebo, it really works to feel full for a long time. I am so happy to have discovered this yummy new food. TRY IT!!!

Granola Bars

As you can tell I am totally addicted to Kath Eats because here is another one of her recipes. I actually took hers and made my own little additions and whatnot to it and these turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. They are soft not crunchy and I ate one fresh and then put the rest in the freezer to make sure they would keep without going bad. I tried one right out of the freezer today and most likely I will let it thaw a bit before diving in next time even though it was still good I think I will like it better a little less frozen!

This is Kath's recipe:

Ingredients
• 1.5 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup dried fruit (I used 1/4 cup cranberry trail mix, 1/4 cup raisins, 1/4 cup chopped dried "just banana" from TJ’s)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1.25 cups skim milk
• 1 egg or egg substitute
• 1 tsp vanilla
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Mix dry ingredients.
3. Mix wet ingredients.
4. Pour wet into dry. Stir to combine.
5. Pour into a 9×9 baking dish either coated in cooking spray or lined with parchment.
6. Bake for 40 minutes.
7. Cut into 9 squares.
Makes 9 servings . Each bar is approx. 165 calories, 3 grams fiber and 5 grams protein.

The changes I made were; instead of the chopped walnuts and fruits she calls for, I did some walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, coconut, chocolate chunks, dried cherries and craisins. I didn't really measure but just added until approximately a cup+ of stuff was in there. Everything else I did was pretty much the same. I also cut mine into 12 bars instead of 9.

No Ordinary Pancake

Another recipe from Kath Eats, she calls these Pumpkin Oat Pancakes but they are not your ordinary pancake and if you want pancakes these aren't really what you want but they are really hearty and really good. This recipe also only makes about 5 pancakes so if you made them for your whole family you need to double and maybe double again depending on how hungry you are and how big your family is!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pumpkin

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup egg whites (or whole eggs if you want)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

(her recipe calls for 1/4 cups of first three and 1 tsp. for last three, I forgot to double the last 3 and it still worked for this I left the measurements as I did them)

Combine ingredients and cook up as you would pancakes, top with broken up sliced almonds or whatever nuts you like, butter and syrup. YUM!!

They weren't quite what I expected and it sounds a little weird but trust me, very good and very filling I only had 2 and a yogurt and I was totally full.

Minestrone Soup

This is another recipe from Kath Eats Real Food (see my side bar). I am lovin' her site and feeling good about what I am putting in my mouth!!! Not only is the food totally YUM, it's healthy and leaves me feeling energized and best of all NO GUILT!

Kath calls for whole wheat pasta shells but I didn't have that so I used macaroni noodles and she called for Klamata olives but I don't like those so I didn't add them either.

Ingredients
• 2 zucchini, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 2 cups fresh green beans, bite-sized
• 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 14 oz cans Diced Tomatoes
• 15 oz can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• tsp garlic paste
• 1 heaping tsp dried herbs of your choice, such as oregano and basil
• 1.5 cups macaroni noodles
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Cracked black pepper to taste
• 3 cups baby spinach

Directions:

• Toss first four veggie ingredients in olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Roast at 400* for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine broth, tomatoes, beans, garlic and herbs and bring to a boil.
• Add pasta. Cover and lightly boil until pasta is tender.
• Pour in roasted veggies. Cook for 1 minute more.
• Place spinach into bowls and pour soup on top.
• Garnish with Parmesan

Meatball Sandwich

We used leftover meatballs to make these yummy sandwiches. We just heated up the meatballs and sauce and topped them on our mozzarella toasted buns. We cut the meatballs in half so they would be easier to eat. Remember I am not a big meat fan but these were really tasty!

The Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich

When we lived in Maryland we had this little breakfast place we liked to go to called Market Lunch and they made the BEST breakfast sandwich in the WORLD! This is my feeble attempt to recreate it from memory 5 years later!

English muffin toasted with cheddar cheese, fried egg, hash brown patty and turkey bacon. Turned out pretty YUM! I love food! I totally miss Eastern Market!

I found some pictures of the Market Lunch at Maryland's Eastern Market at this website. Made me seriously homesick for Maryland. Great place to live and EAT!http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/SRGZ0oUgMoJrgAEDiKmbow?select=8qbUtjaQFUxmUw0QipaEtw

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Even though I am really picky about meat, I do like it, I just have to have it a certain way. I thought Spaghetti and meatballs sounded good and Dennis found a great recipe by Alton Brown online and adjusted it to our tastes. This is the recipe he altered for the meatballs.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground turkey

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 whole egg
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 cup bread crumbs,

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the meat, cheese, egg, basil, parsley, garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes, and the bread crumbs. Using your hands, mix all ingredients until well incorporated. Use immediately or place in refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1.5-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds, roll in the bread crumbs and place the meatballs in individual, miniature muffin tin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

The great thing about meatballs is you can do whatever tastes good to you. We don't like red meat so we used turkey, but you can use ground beef, lamb, whatever you like. You can also add a variety of flavorings and seasonings Dennis likes spicy so he kept the red pepper flakes but if you don't like spicy just omit that. Any way, they were really yummy and tonight for dinner we will be having meatball sandwiches with the left overs. YUM!

Baked Oatmeal

I'm on a mission to eat better. The problem is it takes effort and let's face it, I am just lazy sometimes or sometimes I really am just tired. Still, I know that healthy eating is critical to my health and my family's so I am really wanting to try and eat a little bit better than I have been. I went online and found some great healthy food blogs. This morning we tried one of the new recipes I found on Kath Eats Real Food.

This is baked oatmeal and it was really tasty. I added 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, applesauce instead of mashed banana and milk over the top of mine and that was the only difference to the following recipe:

Slice 2 bananas. You can add these however you like – in with the wet ingredients or arranged in a pattern on the top (and/or bottom!) of the dish. (You’ll need an additional mashed banana for the wet ingredients below)
2) Combine the dry ingredients:
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
3) Combine the wet ingredients:
• 1 egg, beat
• 1 mashed banana ( I used 1/2 cup applesauce)
• 1.5 cups skim milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
4) Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix well.
5) Line an 8″ pan (square or round) with parchment paper (for easy removal and cutting!). (I just sprayed my square pan really well and it came out fine)
6) Layer some banana slices on the bottom. Pour batter into pan. Top with remaining banana slices.
7) Pop into a 375* oven for about 26 minutes.
After 26 minutes, increase heat to broil, sprinkle oatmeal with 1 heaping tbsp brown sugar and broil for 3-4 minutes.
Makes 4 portions about 275 kcal, 6 grams fiber and 11 grams protein each.

Chocolate, Carmel, Shortbread Bars!

YUM, YUM, and more YUM!! I think I ate half the pan of these and that my friends is why I gained two pounds this week!!!!

Ingredients:

Crust

8 Tbsp. butter

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cups sugar

Filling

3/4 cups butter

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbsp dark corn syrup

14 oz. condensed milk

7 oz. semisweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cake pan. Combine butter, sugar and flour and mix until combined. Press into bottom of pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

For filling, place butter, sugar, dark corn syrup, and condensed milk in a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring, until the mixture becomes thick. Pour over the shortbread base and chill in the refrigerator until firm.

To make topping, melt chocolate and spread over carmel. Chill until set. YUM!

Grilled Asparagus

My mom introduced me to this one. . .

Ingredients:

Asperagus

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Scallions

Directions:

Spread asperagus on jelly roll pan, top with scallions, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Broil for 20-30 minutes.

SO EASY and a tasty side dish.

Chocolate Mint Cookie Sandwiches

I got this recipe from my newest cookbook called "1001 cupcakes, cookies and other tempting treats" I know it will be great for my diet!!!

Heres the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of salt

1/3 cup candied cherries, finely chopped

15 Andes mints (or more depending on how many cookies you can out of the dough)

semi sweet chocolate pieces (I used about a bag of chunk chocolate chips)

white chocolate chips (I used about a cup)

Directions:

Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Then, beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt and add into mixture along with cherries and STIR until combined (don't beat it makes it crumbly instead of binding it together). Halve the dough and chill for 30-60 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with wax/parchmant paper. Roll out dough between to sheets of wax paper (it is too sticky not to). Cut out cookies in square or rectangular shapes. Bake 10-15 minutes until cookies are firm. Place mints on cookies right from oven, then cover with remaining cookies. Let cool on baking sheets.

Melt semi-sweet chocolate. Place cookies on cooling rack and spoon chocolate over cookies, and let set. Melt white chocolate and pipe or drizzle over cookies.

YUMMMM!!!! SOOO Tasty!!!

Stuffed Potatoes

This is one of my favorite meals. It is a twofer meal to boot and that makes me love it even more. Day 1 you make stroganoff and serve over rice or noodles and then Day 2 is STUFFED POTATOES!

Use your left over stroganoff and serve over baked potatoes. Top with whatever you like, we use peas, cheese, sour cream, and tomatoes. You can also do onions, peppers, etc.

It sounds a little weird maybe (it did to me the first time I had it) but it is super delicious and great for cold weather meals!!! YUM!

The stroganoff Recipe is Dennis' and he is the one that always makes it (another reason for loving this meal, I don't have to cook much!!), here it is:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef or ground turkey

3 10 oz cans cream of mushroom soup

4 cubes crushed beef bullion cubes

1 packet dried onion soup mix

Worcestershire sauce

milk

16 oz. sour cream

Directions:

Brown meat with Worcestershire sauce to taste. Add soup, one can full of milk, 1/2 the sour cream, bouillon cubes, soup mix and more Worcestershire as needed. Stir and simmer.

UP COMING . . .

Stroganoff

Stuffed potatoes

Easy bbq pork chops

White Chili

Stay tuned, I know you're all excited!!

Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Parmesean

Dennis hates Brussel sprouts but I love them! I found this recipe in my Flexitarian Cookbook. I made it for a lunch but it could be a nice side dish.

Ingredients:
1 cup brussel sprouts cut in half
1 potato cut into cubes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup rinsed navy beans
parmesean cheese to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss brussel sprouts, potatoes, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Spread on baking sheet and cook 30-40 minutes until veggies are tender (turn veggies occasionally to cook evenly). Add beans for the last 15 minutes of baking and serve topped with parmesean.

Veggie Tortellini Soup

Taken from "Cooking Light: Fresh Food Fast"

This was really easy and really yummy. . .

Ingredients:

1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes

1 can condensed bean with bacon soup (undiluted)

3 cups water

1 16 oz. bag frozen italian style veggies

basil, oregano, parsley, pepper to taste (aprox. 1/4 teaspoon of each)

1/2 of 9 oz package fresh cheese tortellini

fresh grated parmesean cheese to taste

Directions:

Combine first 6 ingredients; cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Add pasta; reduce to medium heat. Cook 7 minutes until pasta and veggies are tender. Serve topped with parmesean.

Yield: 6 servings