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Out of ideas for dinner tonight

Mykie7 — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:30:30 -0800

Okay, so as many of you know I love to BAKE. Baking is my thing. Cookies, pies etc. I'm great at it. When it comes to dinner though I'm not so creative. My kids asked this morning what I would be making for dinner and I offered meatloaf, mashed taters and corn. Their very loud and irritated response was "Oh no mom, not again!" I have about 5 dinner dishes that I just rotate through, because my husband does most of the cooking. However, with the Christmas season upon us he's working later hours so dinnertime becomes my job full time until January 1st.

So, does anyone have a great dinner idea for tonight? I've already laid out a pound of hamburger, so it has to be something using that. I'm just not creative, can ANYONE help me? LOL

Awesome online tool to help you save $$ on groceries

yesteryear — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:30:24 -0800

So this is EXACTLY why the internet is awesome, because of tools like this one.

http://www.recipematcher.com/

You put in the ingredients you already have in your pantry/refrigerator, and they give you a list of recipes you can make with those ingredients - and highlight the items you still need.

To test it out I picked a few random things I have on hand right now:

peanut butter, Cheese - Cheddar, Chicken - Breast, canned tomatoes, olive oil,Rice - Brown

and it pulled up a bunch of recipes I only need a few more ingredients to make. This is a great way to save money! And, there's also an identical tool that asks what alcohol you have and then recommends mixed drinks you can make.

Enjoy!

Holiday Sweets!

justanerd1975 — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 12:14:03 -0800

Holiday Sweets!

Celebrate the season with decadent desserts. Keep cookies on hand for friends and family, make edible gifts of chocolate bark or surprise Santa with chocolatey Creme de Menthe brownies!

Creme de Menthe Brownies:

Ingredients
1 cups (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 (10-ounce) package Creme de Menthe baking chips (recommended: Andes)
Shaved Creme de Menthe thins (recommended: Andes)
Chocolate frosting
Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/3 cup cocoa
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.

Using an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, mixing well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Gradually stir into butter mixture. Fold in mint chips. Spoon into greased pan. Bake for 35 minutes.

While brownies are baking, prepare frosting. Combine butter, cocoa, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until dry ingredients are moistened. Beat at high speed until spreading consistency.

Remove pan from the oven and allow brownies to cool in pan on wire rack. Spread with chocolate frosting. Top with shaved mint thins.

Chocolate Cannolis:

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted pistachios
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 cup ricotta
14 cannoli shells
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toast the unsalted pistachios in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp. Pull from oven, cool and finely chop. Place chopped pistachios in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream with 1 tablespoon of sugar until it holds a soft peak. In a large bowl fold together the whipped cream, raisins, 1/3 of the chopped chocolate, 1/3 of the chopped pistachios and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Gently fold the whipped cream mixture into the ricotta. When ready to serve, spoon the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a fat round tip. Fill the cannoli shells from each end.

Blend the remaining chopped chocolate and pistachios on a plate.

To garnish: Dip each end of the cannoli into the chocolate pistachio mixture.

Cannoli can be filled and stored in the refrigerator no more than 1 hour ahead of time.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake:

Ingredients
3 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, plus 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick)
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup
1 pound cranberries, rinsed, picked over, and patted dry
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon minced orange rind
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup red currant jelly
Sweetened whipped cream, as accompaniment, if desired
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch cake pan with 3 tablespoons butter, sprinkle 1/2 cup of the sugar evenly over the bottom, and arrange the cranberries in the pan.

In a bowl with the mixer cream together the remaining 6 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Add the egg, vanilla, and orange rind and beat the mixture until well combined.

Into another bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, alternately with the milk until it is combined. Pour the batter over the cranberries and smooth the top. Bake the cake on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Transfer the cake to a rack and let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around the inside of the pan and invert the cake stand.

In a small saucepan melt the currant jelly over low heat, stirring, and brush it over the cake. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with the whipped cream, if desired.

Cheesecake Flans:

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Special equipment: 10 (3 1/2-inch) ramekins

Set a large bowl of ice water next to your stovetop. Place the sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Using a pastry brush, stir the sugar occasionally, being careful not to get any grains stuck against the sides of the saucepan, until it has all dissolved. Swirl the saucepan every minute until the sugar becomes a golden reddish-brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Shock the bottom of the saucepan by placing the bottom in the ice water to stop the cooking, and then equally divide the caramel into 10 to 12 (3 1/2-inch) ramekins and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer, beat the softened cream cheese with the eggs on low speed to combine. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until completely incorporated. Add the condensed milk, evaporated milk, whole milk and vanilla extract and continue to beat together until everything is well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Ladle the custard over the caramel into the ramekins filling them up to 1/2-inch from the rim. Place a kitchen towel in a deep baking dish or roasting pan and place the ramekins in 2 rows on top of the towel. Place the baking dish in the oven and using a pitcher, pour enough hot water into the baking dish to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins, taking care not to get water in the ramekins. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the flan is just set, about 30 minutes. When you tap the edge of the ramekin the flan should still wobble in the center.

Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven, remove the foil and let the ramekins cool slightly. Using tongs remove the ramekins from the water and set on a towel to cool for at least 2 hours before serving. Once cooled completely, the flan can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before un-molding and serving. To serve, run a thin knife around the inside edge of the ramekin to loosen the flan, and then invert onto a plate

sy pie - a recipe for disaster!

syako — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:32:48 -0800

Pardon the cheesy title - I could not resist.

In college I rarely cooked meals. I either ate something really simple (hamburger helper, anyone?) or I went out to eat. Needless to say, I gained a lot of weight the first couple years in college. The end of my junior year I realized that if calories consumed were more than calories spent, I gained weight. I started eating healthy and counting calories.

Fortunately, this led me to start actually cooking --- unfortunately it led me to have very boring meal selections. Baked chicken, broiled fish, brown rice, steamed veggies, and other very simple and very lite foods were a part of my weekly regulars. I was never adventurous in the kitchen, I rarely looked up recipes unless they were from a health Web site and had nutritional information. That limited me severely.

At some point I started cooking for my now-husband (then boyfriend). He would quickly tire of my baked chicken, so I started branching out a little and found recipes that were not from health Web sites (but did still have nutritional content!). I know, I was a maniac. After he'd shower me with compliments on my more risky meals, it inspired me to explore more.

My cousin (and roommate at the time), Liz, got me a subscription to the Rachael Ray Magazine back when it first came out in 2006. I smiled, and thanked her for noticing that I was learning to cook, but secretly I was disappointed because Rachel not only left out nutritional content --- but she also cooked with butter and olive oil! Quel Horreur!

Well, let's just say Liz opened up a floodgate. By that point I was no longer trying to lose weight, instead I was (and still am) just maintaining my current weight. That meant that using butter or olive oil was OK and hubby LOVED that fact. Then I got the Bon Appetit subscription from my sister, and it just added fuel to the fire. From that point on, I made dinner mostly every night and I tried at least one new recipe a week. I'm still doing it and loving it and finding recipes from all sorts of places.

Despite my excitement for new recipes, and despite the fact that I still try new things very often, I've been very timid in creating my own recipes. I have, in the recent past, modified recipes with success. Sometimes even changing a recipe quite drastically, but I still needed it written down and in front of me. And when it comes to baking, I'm even more weary of tweaking.

That is, until this weekend. I've started this new thing where every Sunday afternoon I bake a dessert and then hubby and I nibble on it all week long after dinner. We used to eat ice cream most nights, but now that we're no longer in Louisiana and there's no Blue Bell Ice Cream - well, it just aint the same. So this Sunday I'm looking through my cookbook trying to decide on what to make (well, more trying to figure what I have on hand that I can make) when I decided on peanut butter cookies.

I had a huge bag of marshmallows from last week's easy Rice Krispy Treats dessert, and I was really itching to include them. So I decided I'd make a cookie "pie" and then top it with marshmallows and chocolate chips. I put things in the bowl, in the oven, went through all the steps... and... well... it came out.... as a disaster!

My husband says I can only call it a disaster if it was so bad that we threw it away, and we didn't have to, so it wasn't a disaster per se, but it was not as I intended it to be. Regardless, I know what I did wrong, and I know what needs to be done right, so you can bet your bottom dollar that I will post this recipe as a success very soon!

So... I want to hear your messes and successes! SPILL!

New Year's Eve Bash 2009!

justanerd1975 — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:26:23 -0800

Top on the menu of course, is a bottle of Sparkling Wine- some are made with just as much care as Champagne, and full-size bottles of sparkling wine made in the methode- champenoise method can be had at BJ's for under $30.00

Put that baby on ice and make sure those wine flutes are on the tray with the bubbly or nearby .....

Get out one of your prettiest , round serving platters- or a big, pretty plate!- and arrange gourmet chewy cookies and decadent brownies in a circular fashion winding all the way into the middle, where one fabulous brownie will hold down the center of the fort

Next, set out fabulously warm and yummy appetizers, like those from BJ's and Tastefully Simple, and time them to be ready to pop out of the oven 10 minutes before guests are expected to begin arriving. I always include a big, festive bowl full of warm, spiced nuts -----(a whole tin of mixed nuts, tossed with 1 tbsp. melted butter(salted if salted nuts, unsalted if not ) and: 1/4 tsp. each Cumin, Ground Allspice and Chili Powder, 1/2 tsp. each Pumpkin Pie Spice and Cinnamon, and 1 tsp. brown sugar, toss gently and spread out on baking sheet, bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.) --- and mini chicken eggrolls(from BJ's) with the Apricot Dipping Sauce from tastefully Simple, which I make a very tasty variation of myself- it's one whole 5 oz. jar Apricot Jam(not jelly), 1/2 tsp. brown mustard, 1/2 tsp. worcestersire sauce and 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, mixed well, and do not chill. Serve room temp. Everyone always loves these app's......

Any body have any good dutch oven recipes?

tweet hotpants — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:27:09 -0800

I just got a dutch oven and I'm ready to try it out...I just don't know what to make! I'll take any suggestions... Thanks!

Rockin Moroccan Party Sunday, Oct. 26, 2007

eatme — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:13:01 -0700

I'm having a cooking party. Want to come for some good people, good food, & a good time?
Go to my website: http://www.healthy-fun-foods.com/Healthy-Party-Foods-blog.html to get all the details.

Classic Southern Flair

cmill38 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:36:03 -0700

Check out my friend's blog at http://classicsoutherflair.blogspot.com. She posts all of her favorite internet finds and let me tell you that she has some great finds! It's everything and anything from home decor, shoe sales, book releases, recipes, resturant openings, and all things fabulous and southern! The latest posts of her trip to Europe this summer is fun to read as well especially if you plan on visiting London. Enjoy!

Great Wedding Cake Ideas,Designs,Toppers,Decorations,and Accessories

wedding cakes — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:26:05 -0700

Great ideas of wedding cake designs,wedding cake toppers,wedding cake decorations,and other wedding cake accessories.These wedding cake creations,pictures,recipes,and articles from modern wedding cakes to traditional wedding cakes,from simple and easy made wedding cakes to unique and unusual wedding cakes,tropical wedding cakes to winter wedding cakes,all presented by the best wedding cake designer,baker,and maker.Please visit:http://greatweddingcakes.blogspot.com/

Cheddar N Ham Muffins

3ADay — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:13:41 -0700

Makes 9 servings
Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients

* 3/4 cup lowfat sharp Cheddar cheese
* 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 3/4 cup reduced fat all-purpose baking mix
* 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
* 1/2 tsp black pepper
* 1/4 cup lowfat ham, finely chopped

Mix cheeses, milk and baking mix together; add pepper and ham. Mix well and spoon into lined muffin pans 1/2 full. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe created by Get 3! subscriber Carolann Kline of Oklahoma
Nutritional Facts per serving for individual food recipe:
Calories: 140
Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 10 mg
Sodium: 470 mg
Calcium: 20% Daily Value
Protein: 8 g
Carbohydrates: 18 g
Dietary Fiber: 0 g

Escape to Nature’s Sanctuary

3ADay — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:16:27 -0700

Autumn’s golden hues set the tone for an exhilarating outdoor adventure.

Fall foliage is at its peak. Why not treat yourself to a long hike under an autumn canopy of red, orange and gold? Not only will you get a terrific workout; you’ll become more relaxed as the rustling-crunch of each step carries you further from the bustle of daily life and deeper into nature’s sanctuary. So go ahead and take a little time to reconnect with yourself or with your loved ones outdoors.

Take Time for You

It was a long, busy summer. You’ve earned a little time to yourself! Forget that load of laundry; leave your to-do list behind. This day is just for you. Send your husband and kids on a Saturday morning field trip. Set the mood with a Chocolate Comfort Sipper and hop in the tub for a long, luxurious bath. Once you’re refreshed and ready to go, pick a local hiking trail, grab your favorite music mix and hit the road! And please don’t worry what your family will eat for lunch while you’re away. You made a delicious pot of hearty Slow-Cooker Creamy Vegetable Barley Soup the night before.

Reconnect with Your Partner

Nothing rekindles romance like a warm autumn afternoon. Why not pack a basket of your favorite wine and cheeses and toast the day? Ask a friend or family member to take your kids for the day — or better yet, overnight. Before heading out, prepare a romantic pre-hike brunch of Cinnamon Swirl Yogurt French Toast just for two. Then pop online to find the best fall foliage, and you’re on your way! Remember, this outing is as much of an exercise in reconnecting as it is a physical workout. While you’re away, why not treat yourselves to a candlelight dinner at that quaint little inn you’ve always wanted to visit? Since you’re already there, you might as well stay the night and hike the trails again tomorrow!

Apple Picking with Your Family

Looking for a great way to have fun and get exercise as a family? Why not check out the fall foliage at your local apple farm? Not only will you get a fantastic workout from picking apples, climbing in trees and taking hayrides; you’ll also get to bring home all the sweet, delicious fruits of your labor! Those tart, green apples will taste great in a scrumptious Baked Apples with Cinnamon Yogurt Topping dessert. Golden, juicy apples are the perfect ingredient for a quick and easy Apple Yogurt Smoothie snack.

Now that you’ve gotten a taste of the great outdoors, you can’t wait to do it again! As you head for the door you hear the thump, thump, thump of an old familiar friend. Your dog knows you’re setting out for another wilderness adventure. His wagging tail begs “me too!” Why not bring him along? You might be inspired to take an even longer walk than usual. Plus, the added resistance as he pulls you along will help burn more calories and work your muscles. Happy hiking!

Scrambled Egg and Mozzarella Breakfast Pizza

3ADay — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:33:52 -0700

Makes 2 servings
Prep Time: 4 min
Cook Time: 9 min

Ingredients

* 1 whole wheat English muffin
* 2 mushrooms, sliced
* 2 green onions, finely chopped
* 4 tablespoons diced green or red bell pepper
* 1/2 cup egg substitute
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* oregano or Italian seasoning, dash
* 4 teaspoons pizza sauce
* 1/2 cup shredded low-moisture, part-skim Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Split English muffin in half and toast; set aside.

Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, green onions and bell pepper. Cook, stirring continuously for 2 minutes, or until vegetables are softened. Stir egg substitute, pepper and oregano into vegetable mixture. Cook, stirring continuously until egg substitute is set, about 2 minutes.

Spread 2 teaspoons of pizza sauce onto each English muffin half. Spoon a quarter of the egg mixture over pizza sauce and top with a quarter of the cheese. Spoon the remaining egg mixture and cheese evenly on top of the muffins. Place the muffins on a baking sheet and bake* for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

*Or, bake in a toaster oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes.

Recipe created by 3-A-Day™ of Dairy
Nutritional Facts per serving for individual food recipe:
Calories: 190
Total Fat: 5 g
Saturated Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 15 mg
Sodium: 520 mg
Calcium: 30% Daily Value
Protein: 17 g (7 grams from dairy)
Carbohydrates: 19 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g

Creamy Banana Walnut Oatmeal

3ADay — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:33:49 -0700

Makes 1 servings
Prep Time: 3 min
Cook Time: 3 min

Ingredients

* 1 cup fat free skim or 1% lowfat milk
* 2 packets instant oatmeal
* 1/2 ripe banana, mashed
* 1/2 tablespoon chopped walnuts

In a small bowl, combine milk and packets of oatmeal; Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes until steaming hot, but not boiling. Stir until creamy. Stir in mashed banana. Garnish with walnuts and serve.

Wake up to this tasty, satisfying bowl of oatmeal that is made with milk instead of water. Try using your favorite flavored oatmeal to add an extra kick.

This recipe is owned by 3-A-Day of Dairy and/or one of our partners. As a courtesy, we ask that you please contact us at 3aday@rosedmi.com if you would like to use this recipe in print.
Nutritional Facts per serving for individual food recipe:
Calories: 370
Fat: 2.5 g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Cholestero: l5 mg
Sodium1: 10 mg
Calcium: 25% Daily Value
Protein: 17 g
Carbohydrates: 61 g

Baked Pears with Vanilla Yogurt and Granola

3ADay — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:31:16 -0700

Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 35 min

Ingredients

* 2 medium pears (Bartlett or D'Anjou pears)
* 1/2 cup apple juice
* 1 cup water
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 3 (6-ounce) containers low-fat vanilla yogurt
* 1/2 cup low-fat granola
* mint leaves, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut pears in half lengthwise and remove core with a melon baller or small spoon. Place pears, cut side down, in a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold them.

Pour apple juice and water over pears; drizzle with honey. Cover pan loosely with foil and bake about 35 minutes or until tender. While pears are baking, place granola in a shallow baking pan or pie plate and toast in oven 10 minutes; set aside.

When pears are done, pour baking liquid into a small saucepan and reduce over medium heat until about 1/4 cup of syrup remains; set aside to cool.

Line a colander with paper towels and place over bowl to catch drips. Pour yogurt into colander and allow to drain about 30 minutes. Divide yogurt among 4 shallow bowls. Place warm pear half, cut side up, over yogurt. Top with toasted granola and drizzle with syrup. Garnish with a mint leaf, if desired.

Yield: 1/2 pear plus 1/4 of yogurt mixture, per serving

Recipe created by 3-A-Day™ of Dairy
Nutritional Facts per serving for individual food recipe:
Calories: 240
Total Fat: 2.5 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg
Sodium: 115 mg
Calcium: 25% Daily Value
Protein: 8 g
Carbohydrates: 49 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g

I need a recipe!

Mykie7 — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:48:29 -0700

I'm tired of making the same ole same ole for dinner for my boys. They are 10 and 17. the older one will eat just about anything. (I'm not kidding, I think he took a chunk outta the kitchen sink!) but my 10 year old is VERY picky about what he eats. I usually make thinks like Hamburger Helper, Pizzas, Meatloaf etc. You know, typical kid fare. But I'm trying to come up with something a BIT more creative for dinner tonight that isn't TOO complicated, and doesn't take too long to make. I give Piano Lessons on Tuesday Nights so I have to be able to prepare it, get it in the oven and then forget it. I also don't get home from work until 4:30 and my first lesson is at 6 so...

Can anyone help out? I've got TONS of things to work with, I just don't know what to do with them.

Pumpkin Yogurt Cheesecake Shake

3ADay — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:20:22 -0700

Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 10 min

Ingredients

* 1 can (14 ounces) pumpkin, chilled
* 3 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
* 1 container (6 ounces) lowfat vanilla yogurt
* 2 cups lowfat milk
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
* 6 teaspoons graham cracker crumbs, optional

Place all ingredients (except graham cracker crumbs) in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and top each serving with a teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs, if desired.

Yield: 1/6 of the shake, per serving

Recipe created by 3-A-Day™ of Dairy
Nutritional Facts per serving for individual food recipe:
Calories: 150
Total Fat: 3.5 g
Saturated: Fat: 2.5 g
Cholesterol: 10 mg
Sodium: 135 mg
Calcium: 20% Daily Value
Protein: 6 g
Carbohydrates: 23 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g

Fresh Berry Stuffed French Toast with Vanilla Yogurt Sauce

3ADay — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:38:29 -0700

Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 5 min

Ingredients

* 1/2 pound (2 cups) mix of fresh blueberries, sliced strawberries, raspberries or blackberries
* 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
* 1/3 cup fat free sweetened condensed milk
* 1 container (6 ounces) lowfat vanilla yogurt
* 1 small loaf (10 ounces) French bread
* 1 egg
* 1 egg white
* 1/3 cup lowfat milk
* 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* non-stick cooking spray

Place berries in a small bowl and sprinkle with powdered sugar. For the sauce, spoon about 1/4 of the berries, sweetened condensed milk and yogurt into a blender (or food processor) and puree until smooth; set aside.

Cut bread into twelve 1 1/2-inch pieces. Cut into each piece almost all the way through to create a pocket. Stuff the bread slices with remaining sweetened berries and press lightly to close; set aside. Reserve any unused berries to garnish top at serving time.

Whisk egg, egg white, milk, granulated sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Spray skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Dip stuffed bread slices in egg mixture to coat and cook until lightly browned on both sides, turning once.

Spoon sauce onto serving plate, arrange French toast on top and garnish with any remaining berries.

Yield: 3 pieces of bread with 1/2 cup berries and 1/3 cup sauce, per serving

Recipe created on behalf of 3-A-Day of Dairy by Chef Federico Elbl of Palermo Viejo, Louisville, Ky.
Nutritional Facts per serving for individual food recipe:
Calories: 370
Total Fat: 4.5 g
Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
Cholesterol: 60 mg
Sodium: 520 mg
Calcium: 30% Daily Value
Protein: 14 g
Carbohydrates: 68 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding with Vanilla Pudding Sauce

3ADay — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:23:09 -0700

Makes 10 servings
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 55 min

Ingredients

For the bread pudding:

1 pound challah or egg bread, cubed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup egg substitute
4 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar substitute for baking
4 cups fat-free milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup raisins

For the vanilla pudding sauce:

1 egg
1 egg white
1/4 cup sugar substitute for baking
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 1/2 cups fat-free milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the bread pudding:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 8-x8-inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.

Place bread cubes in a large bowl; sprinkle with cinnamon. In a medium bowl, whisk egg substitute, egg whites, sugar substitute, milk and vanilla until blended. Pour over bread, sprinkle with raisins and stir gently to mix. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Bake 45 minutes in preheated oven or until top is puffed and golden and tester comes out clean.

Cut into squares and serve warm with vanilla pudding sauce*.

*For the vanilla pudding sauce:

Whisk egg, egg white, sugar substitute and cornstarch together in a medium saucepan. Whisk in milk and vanilla.

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 10 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Yield: approximately 1/2 cup bread pudding plus 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt sauce, per serving

Recipe created by Chef Lisa Schroeder of Mother's Bistro, Portland, Ore., on behalf of 3-A-Day™ of Dairy

Crepes?

356UIK — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:44:24 -0700

Hi, I am thinking about making crepes for dinner tonight. Anyone have any good recipes or tips? I think I might do a bacon, mushroom, spinach one, with some sort of a cream sauce. Thoughts guys?

Download Dairy Connect!

3ADay — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:55:13 -0700

There’s just no substitute for some deliciously nutritious dairy – and when you can get it with exclusive deals and benefits, it’s even better! That’s why we’re inviting you to bring 3-A-Day Dairy Connect to your desktop today. Many of you have already downloaded this new tool and are taking advantage of all it offers. But don’t worry if you’ve missed out so far. It’s not too late to download Dairy Connect and start reaping the benefits.

In fact, now might be the perfect time to check out Dairy Connect. By booting up or downloading the tool, you’ll be able to take advantage of special money-saving coupons. This is an exclusive offer that is only being shared with our close network of friends!

In addition to coupons like these, you can use Dairy Connect every day to stay on top of new product information, delicious new dairy recipes, and other special offers. You can even save and print a shopping list so that you’ll never forget your favorite items when you go to the store. When made part of your daily routine, Dairy Connect makes eating healthy even easier.

Download today!

Baked Apples with Cinnamon Yogurt Topping

3ADay — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:09:06 -0700

Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 25 min
Cook Time: 40 min

Ingredients

* 4 Granny Smith or Gala apples (with or without skin)
* 1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice or apple cider
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the cinnamon yogurt topping:

* 2 1/2 cups low-fat plain yogurt
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 8x8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Core and thinly slice apples. Place apples in a medium bowl and toss with apple juice. Mix brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together in a small bowl. Sprinkle over apples and stir gently until apples are coated.

Pour apples into prepared baking dish. Bake 40 minutes or until apples are slightly browned at edges and sauce is bubbling.

For the cinnamon yogurt topping: Line a colander with several paper towels and place over a bowl to catch drips. Pour yogurt into colander and allow to drain, refrigerated, about 30 minutes. Spoon yogurt into a small bowl and stir in honey and cinnamon.

For each serving, top 1/4 of the warm apples with 1/4 of the yogurt topping.

Recipe Created by Chef Michael Bussinger on behalf of 3-A-Day™ of Dairy

Nutritional Facts per serving for individual food recipe:
Calories: 330
Total Fat: 2 g
Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
Cholesterol: 15 mg
Sodium: 270 mg
Calcium: 30% Daily Value
Protein: 7 g
Carbohydrates: 72 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g

Adding Dairy to My Marathon Diet

3ADay — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:37:01 -0700

Written By: Catherine C.
http://fitarella.com

My marathon training is in full force now. With less than 16 weeks to go, focus on my nutrition and workouts is key to ensure success. This will be my third marathon, so with this one my goals are more time and performance oriented, whereas previously the goal was to just cross the finish line.

I’ve been playing around with my nutrition the last few weeks (adding some new things, taking out others), and I am amazed at the difference in how much better I feel during training and throughout the day since I’ve upped my dairy. I’ve always been very conservative with my dairy intake when it comes to training, mostly because I wasn’t sure how my body would react. Sometimes it responds differently to foods during periods of intense training, so it’s a trial and error process. However, I have to say that with some small dairy additions I’ve felt more satiated and performance-ready lately.

Here are some of the additions I’ve made:

- Low-fat cheese to my egg white & veggie omelets: Sounds so simple and I’m sure most people already do this, but it’s new to my diet. This addition not only tastes really yummy, but the good amount of low-fat cheese has been keeping my hunger satiated until the next meal so I’ve been snacking less.

- Non-fat yogurt/cottage cheese with frozen berries: Again, probably a no-brainer for most people, but because I was so focused on keeping my dairy intake low before, I never gave these options a chance. Now I’m bringing a small portable cooler bag to work so I can keep my yogurt and cottage cheese handy.

- Adding new recipes to our ‘family meal’: My husband and I both work full time and are avid sports/health enthusiasts so we are always looking for fun, healthy recipes for our family. Our daughter will try anything once so if we are successful on the first try then the recipe goes on the ‘permanent list.’ Here is this week’s winning recipe that our 3 1/2- year-old absolutely loved:

Crustless Spinach Quiche

Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30-40 minutes

2 teaspoons canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 1/2 cups grated low-fat Cheddar cheese
6 large egg whites
1 large egg
1/3 cup fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Drizzle oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add spinach and stir for 3 additional minutes, or until spinach is dry. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly coat 9" non-stick pie pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle cheese in pan. Top with spinach mixture. In a medium bowl, whisk egg whites, egg, cottage cheese, red pepper, salt and nutmeg. Pour egg mixture over spinach. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set. Let sit 5 minutes. Cut into wedges. Serve warm.

If you have some great low-fat dairy recipes to share I’d love to hear about them. My long run this Saturday showed an 8 minute improvement on my time so I am positive that the changes I’ve made in my daily diet – including more dairy -- are a big part of the reason.

Enjoy!

Baked Pears with Vanilla Yogurt and Granola

3ADay — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:41:15 -0700

Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 35 min

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon honey
* 3 (6-ounce) containers low-fat vanilla yogurt
* 1/2 cup low-fat granola
* mint leaves, optional

When pears are done, pour baking liquid into a small saucepan and reduce over medium heat until about 1/4 cup of syrup remains; set aside to cool.

Yield: 1/2 pear plus 1/4 of yogurt mixture, per serving

My Fabulous Blog

jimmychoosgirl — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:52:31 -0700

This is my first post to my fabulous blog. Tonight i'm going to make my famous spaghetti and meat sauce. I want to share the recipe with you, so you can totally cook it too! ready!
Boil water. rachel ray says to add salt to the water, so do that.
Put a box of spaghetti in it and cook al dente. (that means not mushy, gross!)
Take your hamburger, put in a skillet and cook it all the way through. Or, "brown" your meat.
Drain all the nasty grease off of it, then return to skillet.
Open a jar of sauce.
Now warm it up and serve over your spaghetti!
Ta-da!

Meal Planning Saved My Marriage

3ADay — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:53:29 -0700

Written by: Stefania aka CityMama
http://citymama.typepad.com/

In my household, I'm the one who does most of the grocery shopping and all of the cooking. I work from home, so technically I have more free time to shop and cook, although my husband helps with the shopping when he can. As someone who was raised by a mother who made everything from scratch, shunned processed foods, and kept a garden, my core beliefs about food are that it should be good and good for you. I prefer my salad dressings and spaghetti sauces to store-bought and it hardly takes me any time to prepare them. My husband, on the other hand, is the one who manages the budget. His ideas of food mainly relate to how many frozen burritos can one get for $6. His favorite phrase is "buy one, get one free." As you can see, we have very divergent ideas about how to feed our family.

He's right, we need to watch our bottom line, but I want to be right, too. I want to be sure that I am feeding my family wholesome and tasty foods. Would we ever see eye-to-eye on the issue of feeding our family? That's where meal planning comes in.

I started meal planning seriously after the birth of our second child so I wouldn't—amidst all the nursing, diaper changes, and shuttling back and forth to preschool—forget to feed my family. Or, so I'd at least remember to go grocery shopping for actual food and not just diapers and coffee. But I soon discovered that even though meal planning was helping me to organize the three meals per day that I was preparing, it also helped us stick to our budget. Yes, it's nice to always have an answer to the question, "What's for dinner?", but making our wallets happy was the real benefit. I could still shop for the produce I wanted, but I only bought exactly what we needed. A container of plain yogurt was used for a cool, cucumber tzatziki one night and embellished with honey, figs, and granola for breakfast the next day. The five apples and 10 apricots were eaten up in a week. The roast chicken was dinner, then became sandwiches, and eventually, the carcass made into soup. The bag of mesclun lettuce was made into the salads. The milk went into cauliflower soup one night and mashed parsnips the next. Very little was thrown away, and nothing was left to spoil, forgotten in the back of fridge. Because I had planned every meal and knew exactly which ingredients I needed to prepare them, that meant that I was shopping wisely—healthfully, deliciously, and wisely. My husband could definitely support that. Crisis averted.

Mascarpone Cheese Recipe?

kiwitwist — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:03:30 -0700

Fellow Kitchen Goddesses,

Does anyone have any delicous mascarpone cheese recipes? I made Chocolate-Glazed Hazelnut Mousse Cake yesterday and now I have half a large container of the cheese leftover. Since it is very expensive I don't want it to goto waste. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Website of the Day - http://fabulousfunfinds.blogspot.com

ShopBabe — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:41:59 -0700

This girl is truly an esty stalker, so you don't have to be! She finds the best home decor, fashion, jewelry, recipes, craft ideas and kid items on the web. I love it! For great ideas I come here!

Mayan Waffles (vegan)

nicospitsjive — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:25:49 -0700

I have always loved experimenting in the kitchen and I have been a dietetic (health reasons as opposed to moral/ethical) vegan for a little over a year now -- while my diet has expanded to encompass vegetarian choices at present because my budget is somewhat limited while on the job search (^-^) I do plan on following vegan guidelines again as soon as possible, but I figured I'd share the wisdom I've garnered over my year-long journey as the Big V.

Today I've decided to share my own recipe for home-made, Mayan Waffles; chocolate with a little kick to get you going in the morning (but don't let me limit you -- some of my best dinners have circled around breakfast foods). The special equipment you'll need for this recipe is a handy waffle iron. If you can't find yours or don't have one available, feel free to turn waffle day into pancake day!

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
2 cups soy milk
.5 cup oatmeal
1.5 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
.5 cup baking cocoa*
.25 cup vegan chocolate, shaved
cayenne pepper

*for a richer, more intense depth of flavor, replace .25 cup baking cocoa with .25 cup vegan hot chocolate mix. A friend of mine living in Burlington, VT sent me "Aztec Spicy Hot Chocolate" mix from Lake Champlain Chocolates as a gift and it is still my favorite. Not only is it all-natural, but it has a little spice of its own which I think is delicious.

Directions:
Turn on your waffle iron/stove top and grease cooking surfaces of the iron or griddle. Mash your banana with a fork or your hands until most of its shape has left (leaving some texture only improves on the taste); Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl (leave some lumps -- if you over-mix it will toughen the waffles); pour enough batter of the iron to JUST cover the bottom reservoir (overfilling will result in spillage -- however, delicious spillage that is safe to eat as it will not contain raw egg) and close the iron; if cooking on the stove, I believe you know what to do from here out. When the iron light turns on, signalling completion, open iron away from face (steam safety) and remove the waffles; Immediately arrange on plate with shavings and cayenne pepper sprinkled over the top so as to melt; Serve.

Suggestions:
My personal favorite chocolate bar for this dish is Green & Black's "Mayan Gold" Chocolate (with orange and spices), found in most large grocery stores. It is Fair Trade Certified, vegan, and muy delicioso -- need I say more? If you're looking for a vegan version of the original or plain waffle, try my Blonde Waffle; substitute cocoa, chocolate and pepper for cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. A nice treat with So Delicious' vanilla dairy-free ice cream or even go crazy and opt for some pure Maine maple syrup.

xoxo
Nico

Something On the Way...

emilyplayscello — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:49:32 -0700

Hi readers,
I know it's been a long time since I wrote a post, but it's for a good reason. I am currently working on a BOOK for LifeTips (www.lifetips.com) that will be a 101 Tip Book on Healthy Eating. It will have all the main principles of this blog, plus tons of in-depth explanations, as well as recipes. It will cover topics on what to eat, deciphering nutrition labels, food preparation, physical wellness, food allergies, supplements, weight loss, vegetarianism, and more. My aim is to have the book available before the end of 2008. I'll keep information posted on the blog about its progress.

Spread the word, and thanks for reading!

-Emily

Times are tough all over

tundrababe — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:26:27 -0700

I haven't added to this blog in months, sorry peeps. I've been working full-time lately, without pay (grad school internship) and going to school. I think my excuse is good!

I'm broker than broke these days. I have little to blog about, purchase-wise. Times are tough all over, and not just for me. The economy is crap, gas is expensive, and our food is tainted. Yeah, that e-coli outbreak in the tomatoes and stuff? It extends to strawberries too. I got food poisoning from strawberries a few weeks back. My advice to you is to make some homemade veggie/fruit spray to prevent the plague. I rinsed the heck out of my strawberries, but it didn't matter; their acids make them resistant to foodborne viruses and a little nasty stuff can always sneak through.

Another sign that times are tough: my local dollar store is closing! Everything is 20% off, everything must go! I made a trip and it was so sad. I had good times at that dollar store. I bought out all the cheesy dvd's I could, picked up some yarn for crocheting, some fuzzy posters and markers for some kids I know, and said my goodbyes.

At work I get a free lunch, which I take advantage of. Unfortunately, I'm a vegetarian and there are no options. I miss out on the protein portion of the meal (side note: I hate the word meal. It reminds me of meal worms or corn meal. Yuck!), and am left with the veggies and the dessert. I'm thrown by the need for dessert. Growing up, we almost never got it. It was a treat to get one. Now the dessert is a major part of my lunch. It's sad, really. On Friday I was faced with a meal of green beans, apple sauce and a Twinkie. I saw the movie WALL-E recently (and I LOVE that movie, OMG) and his pet cockroach lived in a Twinkie 700 years in the future. So I didn't want to eat that, and made some Uncle Ben's Ready Rice that I keep for such emergencies. Garden Vegetable is good stuff!

I'm so broke that I'm eating Ramen Noodles again. Thing is, I actually got a craving for them. I think that must be a survival instinct of some kind. I need money, my body craves cheap food. I'm a vegetarian, and the Ramen is unfortunately on the meaty side. There is only one major store brand that I can eat, and that is Top Ramen Oriental flavor. My local Asian food market has a huge variety of Ramen Noodles that are vegetarian too, I need to make it over there pronto. This rambling post that has lead to me writing about Ramen Noodles has me thinking - I bet there are legions of college students out there that have come together over over Ramen, and exchange recipes over the internet. And I am correct. Ramenlicious pops up first on Google. It has a more upscale list of Ramen recipes, recipes that I am too broke to make. Dirt Cheap Ramen Noodle Recipes, that's more my speed. Creamy Veggies and Ramen sounds promising. Woah - this site has the balls to call itself The Official Ramen Homepage. It's a blog of all things Ramen. It has recipes, Ramen in the news, Ramen recipes from prison (!!!), and - okay, it's official to me now - vegetarian recipes. Woohoo!

I see it also links to another Ramen blog. I'm going to go check that out now. Later gators!

I need your expert culinary opinions!!! Yes, that means you!

cravinsugar — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:15:03 -0700

I am going to make my boyf some cupcakes for his birthday and show up at his job. yellow cupakes, choc icing as his fav cake is yellow with choc icing. Last night as I was drifting off to sleep, I thought...Why not put a hershey kiss in the middle before I bake them? Or a layer of milk chocoalte chips?

So, what do you think? Do you think they will cook ok? Taste ok? Which should I do? 1 hershey kiss per cupcake or a layer of chocolate chips?

Oh, and any advice as to how much cake batter to put in the cupcake cups so the cup doesn't runneth over? I can never seem to make cupcakes turn out and was going to try again!

recipes, help!

ebird — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:19:17 -0700

hey everybody and anyone. for anyone who is lingo with popsugar and such, can you like please tell me how to add a recipe, that would be a big help. Thanks!!!

Brazilian Carrot Cake

Sica — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:59:05 -0700

A traditional favorite in my family, Brazilian carrot cake is very different from the American version. The popular cake is topped with homemade chocolate frosting, and perfect to serve with a glass of milk or tea.

INGREDIENTS

* 3 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup cooking oil
* 2 cups white sugar
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
*
* 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 cup instant hot chocolate mix
* 3/4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 9x13 baking dish.

2. Place the carrots, eggs, and oil in a blender or bowl of a food processor. Process until carrots are finely chopped. Pour the carrot mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir in 2 cups sugar until well blended. Stir in the flour and baking powder; mix until well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.

3. Bake in preheated oven until top springs back when lightly touched, about 40 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the icing by placing the butter, 1 cup sugar, instant hot chocolate drink mix, and milk in a pan. While stirring, heat to almost boiling over medium-high heat until mixture thickens. When the cake is done, remove from the oven and immediately spread the icing evenly over the top.

Farmers Market Ideas

justanerd1975 — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:24:23 -0700

Good cooking starts with good ingredients.... and it's market season! Farmers' markets are a great place to find the freshest sweet corn, the reddest, ripest tomatoes and the most fragrant, flavorful strawberries...

You can taste heirloom varietals and sample hard-to-find items like ramps, morel mushrooms, cardoons and quince....

Many market vendors provide recipes and cooking tips for their products. Some markets sell house-made jams and hearth-baked breads, free-range chickens and fresh eggs, making gathering ingredients for tonight's dinner a snap....
..

Make the most of your Summer dining with these 10 recipes to try out in which fresh fruits and vegetables play a starring role:

1.Grilled Asparagus with Roasted Garlic Toast and Balsamic Vinaigrette
You'll need:
1 medium head garlic, unpeeled
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 1/2 pounds thick stemmed asparagus
4 slices sourdough bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Coat the head of garlic with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on a baking sheet, and roast 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Once the garlic is roasted, cut the head in half horizontally, exposing all the cloves. Squeeze both halves into a bowl, discarding any skin. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
While the garlic is roasting, place the minced shallot in a bowl with the balsamic and red wine vinegars for about 30 minutes to let the flavors blend. Whisk in remaining olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place asparagus spears in the mixture until ready to grill. Preheat grill for medium-high heat. Place asparagus in a large skillet or directly on the grill. Grill the asparagus, turning over once, until tender, about 10 minutes. While asparagus is grilling, spread the roasted garlic mixture on the bread. Grill bread until toasted. Arrange the bread and asparagus on a plate, and drizzle with the remaining shallot and vinegar mixture. Oh my gosh this is sooooo good!!! Make it for your friends, they will love you even more

2. Cool Cucumber Salsa
You'll need:
2 medium cucumbers - peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (12 ounce) package tortilla chips
In a medium bowl, stir together the cucumbers, tomatoes, green pepper, jalapeno pepper, onion, garlic, lime juice, parsley, cilantro, dill, and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve with tortilla chips. Yum-O!!

3. Japanese Style Seseme Green Beans
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound fresh green beans, washed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
garlic ( to your preference)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Warm a large skillet or wok over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, pour in canola and sesame oils, then place whole green beans into the skillet. Stir the beans to coat with oil. Cook until the beans are bright green and slightly browned in spots, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in soy sauce; cover, and let sit about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Very Good!

4.Cajun Style Stuffed Peppers
INGREDIENTS
6 large green bell peppers
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
black pepper to taste
3/4 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 links of andouille sausage, diced
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 lemon - cut into wedges, for garnish (optional)
Louisiana-style hot sauce

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 8x12 inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove tops and seeds from peppers. Blanch in boiling water 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent. Stir in garlic, and season with oregano, Creole seasoning and black pepper. Stir in shrimp and sausage, and cook until shrimp turns pink, 5 minutes. Stir in rice, and cook 1 minute. Pour in chicken broth and tomato sauce. Cook until thick, 15 to 20 minutes. Fill peppers with stuffing mixture, and place in baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until heated through. Serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce. These are great!

5. Escarole and Beans

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 large heads escarole
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
2 (16 ounce) cans cannellini beans, undrained
3 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss in escarole, turning to coat with oil. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes, or until tender.
In a separate skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Stir in garlic. Pour in beans with juices, and simmer until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in escarole and parsley; simmer 10 minutes more. Great with warm crusty bread!

6. Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar
16 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and large berries cut in half
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Place strawberries in a bowl. Drizzle vinegar over strawberries, and sprinkle with sugar. Stir gently to combine. Cover, and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour but not more than 4 hours. Just before serving, grind pepper over berries. I like them by themselves, but they are great over cake or ice cream too.

7. Fresh Tomato Salsa
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup finely diced onion
5 serrano chiles, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lime juice

In a medium bowl, stir together tomatoes, onion, chili peppers, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator before serving.
Just like at the restaurants!

8. Crab and Corn Chowder
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
2 cups half-and-half
1 3/4 cups whole kernel corn
1 cup chopped green onions
1 pound fresh crab meat
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped parsley

In a heavy-bottomed pot, melt butter, add flour, and stir gently until blended; do not burn or let it darken. Add milk gradually, stirring all the while, then add half and half, stirring gently while blending. Add corn and green onions, and cook for a few minutes until tender.
Add crabmeat, pepper, salt, and soy sauce and simmer until very hot and small bubbles form around the edge; do not let boil. Adjust seasonings to taste. Garnish with sprinkles of chopped fresh parsley when serving and serve hot.
Variations: You may use 4 cobs of fresh corn instead of frozen or canned. Cut the kernels off the cob, scrape cob for juices, and then add to soup. Cook until corn is tender. Canned crabmeat or imitation crab may be used instead of fresh crabmeat. Use one 7 1/2-ounce can crabmeat (drained) and 8 ounces imitation crab (cut into small pieces). Combine the two and cook as noted above. Great Soup!

9. Stuffed Grape Leaves
2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
2 quarts chicken broth
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice, divided
60 grape leaves, drained and rinsed
hot water as needed
1 cup olive oil

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the rice, onion, dill, and mint for about 5 minutes, or until onion is soft. Pour in 1 quart of broth, reduce heat to low and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until rice is almost cooked. Stir in 1/2 of lemon juice and remove from heat.
Take one leaf, shiny side down, and place 1 teaspoon of the rice mixture at the bottom (stem) end of the leaf. Fold both sides of the leaf towards the center, roll up from the broad bottom to the top, and place into a 4-quart pot. Repeat with all leaves, leaving no gaps as leaves are placed in pot (to prevent from opening while cooking). Sprinkle with remaining lemon juice and with olive oil.
Pour chicken broth over all to cover grape leaves. Cover pot and simmer for about 1 hour (do not boil, because this will make the stuffing burst out of the leaves). Remove from heat, remove cover and let cool for 1/2 hour. Transfer to serving dish and serve. They go great with some warm crusty bread and great alongside a big greek salad. At the farmers market is where you'll be alble to find grape leaves!

10.Baba Ghanoush
1 eggplant
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast it for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft. Remove from oven, and place into a large bowl of cold water. Remove from water, and peel skin off.
Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving. Good with pita wedges or veggies(I like it with baby carrots personally). Just like in the restaurants!

Leek & Goat Cheese Galette

bizzybee — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:08:42 -0700

I am always looking for great vegetable recipes. The following is a delicious main course that is especially good for a small brunch or dinner party. Serve it with a salad of greens and you have a flavorful and filling meal.

Taken from "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison. Serves 6.

6 large leeks, include an inch of green
3 tbs butter
1 tsp chopped thyme
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup cream or creme fraiche
salt and freshly milled pepper
1 egg, beaten
3 tbs chopped parsley or 1 tbs chopped tarragon
1/2 to 1 cup soft goat cheese to taste, approx. 4 oz
Galette Dough (posted below)

Thinly slice and wash the leeks. You should have about 6 cups.

Melt the butter in a medium skillet. Add the leeks, thyme and 1/2 cup water. Stew over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the leeks are tender, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and continue cooking until it's reduce, then add the cream and cook until it just coats the leeks and little liquid remains. Season with salt and plenty of pepper. Let cool 10 minutes, then stir in all but 1 tbs of the beaten egg and 2 tbs of the parsley.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Roll out the dough for one large or six individual galettes. Spread the leek mixture on top, leaving a 2-inch border around the edge. Crumble the cheese over the top then fold the dough over the filling. Brush with the reserved egg and bake until the crust is browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove, scatter the remaining parsley over the top and serve.

Galette Dough

Makes one large galette or twelve 3-inch turnovers

2 cups all-purpose or whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
12 tbs cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water as needed

Mix the flour, salt and sugar together in a bowl. Cut in the butter by hand or using a mixer with the paddle attachment, leaving some pea-sized chunks. Sprinkle the ice water over the top by the tablespoon and toss it with the flour mixture until you can bring the dough together into a ball. Press it into a disk and refrigerate for 15 minutes if the butter feels soft.

To form a galette, roll it out on a lightly floured counter into a 14-inch counter into a 14-inch irregular circle about 1/8 inch thick. Fold it into quarters and transfer it to the back of a sheet pan or a cookie sheet without sides. Unfold it. It will be larger than the pan.

*Addendum
There were some requests for photos. I found these on another wonderful foodie site The Garden of Eating. I'm including a link so you can see her step by step photos of the same recipe.

I didn't fold my dough over as much as in these photos. I folded my dough so that the borders were about 2 inches and neatly tucked and pinched together at the corners. This leaves an open center area of leek and goat cheese garnished with the fresh parsley that is very pretty to look at.

Buon Appetito!

http://gardenofeatingblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/leek-goat-cheese-galette....

Recipes I want to make...

Whiplash — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:15:51 -0700

I've had all of these recipes in my favorites for a long, long time but have never made any of them. Some of them were posted like YEARS ago.

So I put them in a widget - now they are easy to find and maybe I'll actually get off my ass and make them sometime.

Moroccan Eggplant Salad

bizzybee — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:59:14 -0700

Ever since I've returned from Marrakech, I have been craving more of the delicious food I ate while there. One of my favorite discoveries? Moroccan salads. The eggplant salad featured here is spicy and so tasty. It can be served warm or cold and is a great way to get your veggies especially if you're looking for something different from a traditional green salad. For summer, I'm thinking of grilling the eggplant rather than frying to get an added smoky taste.

You can serve the salad alone or with couscous. I like it with toasted pita, sliced cucumbers, some feta cheese, olives and chopped tomatoes as sides. Enjoy!

Eggplant Salad

2 pounds Eggplant
Salt
Olive oil, for frying
3 each Tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
3 each Garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Sweet paprika
1 tbs Cilantro, chopped, optional
3 tbs Lemon juice

Remove 3 vertical strips of skin from each of the eggplants, leaving them striped. Cut the eggplants into 1/2 inch slices. Salt them and then allow to drain in a colander for 30 minutes. Rinse well and drain, drying them on paper towels. Heat oil in a skillet and fry the slices until brown on both sides, removing them when cooked. Mash the eggplants with the tomatoes, garlic, spices and cilantro. Next, fry the puree in the oil remaining in the skillet until all the liquid has evaporated. Stir the puree to prevent any scorching, saute for another 15 minutes. Pour off any oil and season with lemon juice. Taste for salt and serve warm or cold.

Makes 2 cups

Taken from "Couscous & Other Good Food From Morocco" by Paula Wolfert.

Bake for the Cure, and other such ideas

kiddylnd — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:59:39 -0700

Okay, so now we all know that I got myself into a bit of an undertaking with the 3-Day. I have asked and been granted permission to hold a once weekly bake sale at work to raise funds. This is a two fold post: first off - I can bake, but am not the worlds greatest baker. I need easy but yummy cookie, cupcake, or single item savory recipes for my sale. I'm looking at up to 17 weeks of goodies. I've already got the first three weeks planned out. Anyone? Second, I need other fundraising ideas. Anyone go through something similar? I've been looking online and the like but almost everything I come up with requires a massive amount of money up front. Baking is one thing, but putting up big bucks is something I can't really afford to do. Please let me know what worked for you all.

Training starts Saturday! You know what that means? Shoe shopping this week!

For The Love Of Food

supermommie — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:49:17 -0700

You may have noticed that tonight I have been updating recipes and food items to teamsugar. I decided as one of my birthday rules that in the upcoming year I will cook more. I mean REALLY cook. I'm gonna bake cupcakes and decorate them with pastry bags. I'm gonna make chocolate popcicles. I'm going to cook dinners with sauces and gravies (all veggie friendly of course).

So please...bear with me as I dust off and pass on some of the many recipes and cooking sites. Perhaps I'll send some real pictures your way, like the one of ice cream that I made below.

(Oh how you have to love the cuisinart ice cream maker!!)

Delicious (Easy) Oreo Truffles

sue85 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:44:34 -0700

Oreo Truffles

This weekend, I made these delicious Oreo Truffles. I found the recipe at Bakerella. They were so easy to make and SO good! I originally used white chocolate for the shell, but it didn't cover so well, so I double coated with dark chocolate. Of course I could have double coated with white chocolate but I didn't have enough! My truffles are not so pretty (as can be seen in the pic) -- I've suggested how to make them nicer in the recipe now that I've learnt from my mistakes!

Next time I'm going to be (slightly) more adventurous and trying shaping the chocolates into kisses!

Ingredients
16 oreo cookies (use cookie including the cream center; I used peanut butter oreos because I love peanut butter!)
1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)
dark, milk or white chocolate (your choice!) - original recipe called for chocolate bark which I can't get where I live, so I used a bar of dark chocolate instead

Method
1. Finely crush the oreo cookies in a food processor.
2. Stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together. Refrigerate/freeze the mixture for about five minutes. This will make the mixture easier to handle and keep the ball-shape in the next step - do this if you don't want space-ship shaped truffles like mine were!
3. Roll the mixture into 1" balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.
4. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. Use a small teaspoon or fork for this. I used a large tablespoon which created lots of yummy chocolate mess but kind of ugly truffles! If need be, double dip the truffles or use a toothpick to cover up mistakes - especially if using white chocolate. Dark chocolate is quite forgiving to mistakes.
5. You can sprinkle the tops with the 7 crushed cookies for decoration. (I tried this but thought they looked nicer without it).
6. Once dry, refrigerate and enjoy!

Makes about 30 truffles.

Tonight's Menu

Jude C — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:07:38 -0700

Brandon's at work tonight, so it's just me in the apartment I don't have the energy to come up with a dinner from scratch, so tonight's feasting is courtesy of Trader Joe's.

I'm having Trader Joe's frozen French onion soup (which is incredibly delicious) and a couple of Trader Joe's Steakburgers with Trader Joe's Grass-Fed New Zealand Sharp Cheddar, all washed down with a bit of Jameson Irish Whiskey (which is also really cheap at TJ's). And you know what? It's all delicious

Recipes from Writers

Schaianne — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:17:03 -0700

I just hearted http://www.sugarloving.com/1543192 and wanted to share with ya'll! I found the one about Omelets by StumbleUpon but have found some other very interesting sounding recipes by perusing their main page!

Spaghetti Pie Recipe

humblebee24 — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 12:44:59 -0700

This is a great recipe shared with my by my mother-in-law. I like to make this on Sunday night so my husband and I have quick & easy dinners planned during the week (and he can eat something after he gets home from class real late).

1. Brown 1 pound of chop meat (we prefer chop lean turkey) in a frying pan. Drain the grease and return the meat to the pan.
Add 1 small can of Sloppy Joe mix to the meat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Put this meat mixture to one side.
3. Boil one box of spaghetti (we prefer whole grain) until cooked. Drain the water and return the spaghetti to the pot. Now add to the spaghetti 2 Tablespoons of butter or margarine, 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and 2 eggs, beaten.
4. Now put this spaghetti mixture into a greased, 10 inch pie plate/pan. With a large spoon, shape the spaghetti mixture like a "nest"....push it up along the sides of the dish, and make sure there is some covering the bottom of the pie plate.
5. Spoon enough cottage cheese, evenly on top of the spaghetti that covering the bottom of the pie plate.
6. Spoon the meat mixture on top of the cottage cheese, and fill the pie plate, but let some of the spaghetti show on the sides.
7. Bake in a 350 degree oven, for 30 minutes.
8. Take the pie out of the oven, and sprinkle some shredded mozzarella cheese on top, and return it to the oven until the mozzarella cheese melts.

ENJOY!

copycat recipes

pharm_chick — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 14:56:49 -0700

hey, ever go to a restaurant saying wow that was so good, i wish i had the recipe? well, on this site, there are alot of recipes from major restaurants. enjoy!
http://recipes.robbiehaf.com/Copycat.html