Asian Coleslaw

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This is so refreshing and yummy. I found this recipe on pinterest and had to try it. I tweaked it a bit and it was great!

Dressing:
1/4 c honey
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c unseasoned rice vinegar
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 tsp oil
1/2 TBSP peanut butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp hot sauce (optional)
1/2 TBSP ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced

Slaw:
4 cups prepared shredded coleslaw
2 cups prepared shredded carrots
1 red pepper,, thinly sliced into bite size pieces
1 cup pre-cooked, shelled edamame
2 med scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup choped salted peanuts (optional)
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro (optional -i did not add!)

I am not a cilantro fan, so that is the reason for the exclamation point.

Make the dressing by combining all ingredients in medum bowl. Stir until peanut butter is dissolved. Set aside.

combine all of the slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss well. Let sit at least 10 minutes so vegetables have a chance to soak up the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary…I needed to add salt to this. Chill the slaw in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Fiesta Lettuce Boats

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I would call it a “wrap”, except we decided it was much easier to eat it like a “boat” =)

Simple, healthful ingredients and it’s on your table in about 30 minutes!  
Ingredients:  
1lb Ground Beef
1/2 Green Pepper, diced
1/2 Red Pepper, diced
1/4 C Diced Onions, or 1-2T dried diced onions
2 tsp Emeril’s Essence BAM! seasoning (This stuff’s good)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1-2 Romain Hearts
1-2 C Shredded Cheese (We used colby jack)
Dice up your peppers and onions (or used dried like I did)
and toss them in with the ground beef.  Sprinkle on some BAM!
(It was really fun to say that) and cook until the beef is cooked through.
(Sorry…I forgot to snag a pic of the sizzling meat, but…) 
While the meat is browning, prepare your Romaine lettuce by 
slicing about 3-4 inches off of the bottom as shown above.  
Rinse the leafy greens in cold water and drain well.  
Fill your little lettuce boats with the seasoned meat, top with cheese
(and maybe a little sour cream, if you’d like) and enjoy!  
 
 
 
 

Meatloaf Cupcakes

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I recently found the ultimate meatloaf recipe (at least to our family).  Certain people in the family love it so much that, just today, it was requested for dinner today over pizza.  Pizza!  Yes, it’s that good.

But I have no patience to wait for meatloaf to be ready for slicing and serving when it comes out of the oven.  I always end up with a mess because of that impatience.  So when I saw the idea of making meatloaf in a muffin tin (thanks again, Pinterest!), I knew this was the answer.
Kids seem to love the idea of a dinner cupcake;  and because it’s a healthier version of a traditional meatloaf and because it is preportioned, it’s a win-win!

Paired with mashed potato “frosting” this dinner cupcake is sure to please.  And if you do half potatoes, half cauliflower for your mashed potatoes (like I do) you can even sneak in some extra veggies!
Ingredients:  
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup skim milk
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. sage
1 slice bread, diced very small (I always use sourdough)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 pound ground beef
Sauce:
1/3 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. Agave nectar*
1 Tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. prepared yellow mustard
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
2.  In saute pan, cook onion and celery in olive oil over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, or until the veggies are soft.  Set aside to cool some.
3.  In large bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, salt, pepper, and sage.  Add the bread and gently stir together until all the bread has been moistened.  Stir in the cheese and the onion mixture.  Crumble in the ground beef and combine with your hands until well mixed (DO NOT SQUEEZE to mix it together).  Divide equally into the muffin tin compartments and lightly pack down.
4.  In a small bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients.  Spoon over the “cupcakes”.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted into one of the cupcakes.  Allow to rest about 5 minutes before serving.
5.  Serve plain or top with your favorite mashed potatoes.
*Agave nectar is a natural sweetener made from the agave plant.  I use it for health reasons because of its lower glycemic qualities.  You can usually find it with the sugar substitutes in the grocery store.  For more information on agave nectar, visit this helpful site.
Source:  cupcake idea from Pinterest, recipe slightly adapted from Eating Well, Living Thin

Homemade Taco Seasoning

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Ingredients:
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4  tsp. onion powder
1/4  tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4  tsp. dried oregano
1/2  tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp.ground cumin
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. pepper (optional)

Mix all spices together and use for 1lb of meat.  Add pepper if you like more heat.

*The measurements listed above make around 2 tablespoons worth of seasoning.  You can quadruple this recipe (like I did) and store the leftovers in an airtight container.

*For taco meat, add seasoning to cooked beef with about 1/4-2/4 cups of water.

Source: Food Renegade

My Turkey Chili

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We are trying the Insanity Meal Plan at our house.  My daughter got the 60-Day Workout plan for Christmas so I agreed to make the food and we would all eat it.  One of the meals calls for White Chili so I thought I would just make some.  Well the recipe I clipped from a magazine the other day looked really good but I had some ground white meat turkey I had to cook today, so I substituted that for the shredded white chicken.  Actually, I just ended up substituting on quite a few things.  It ended up not being white chili at all but it is DELISH!

Ingredients:
1 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound ground white meat turkey, browned
2 (14.5-oz.) cans chicken broth
1 (4.5-oz.) can chopped green chilies
1 pkg. (1.75 oz.) chili seasoning mix
2 (19.5-oz.) cans frijoles charros
1 (16 oz.) can kidney beans
1/2 can (14.5-oz.) refried pinto beans

Desired Toppings:  chopped fresh avocado, sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack Cheese.

1.  Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
2.   Stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Heat to a boil, stirring often; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.  Serve with desired toppings.
TIP–I served this with a salad consisting of arugula, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and sliced hard-boiled egg whites and dressed with red wine vinegar and olive oil.

Snickers Cheesecake Brownies

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My husband had a stressful week in St. Louis and his favorite candy bar is snickers and he adores cheesecake so………….Oh heavenly welcome home day! These are divine. You should definitely NOT skip the ice water bath for the brownie layer. It makes for a very fudgy experience. This is super easy to make. Enjoy!

Preparation: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cover 8×8 pan with baking spray.
Ingredients:
Brownie Layer:
8 T. unsalted butter
4 0z. unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
Cheesecake Layer:
1 large egg
1 T. vanilla
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 T. powdered sugar
8 fun size snickers, coarsely chopped*
Directions:
1. Place butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over simmering water. Stir frequently until mixture is melted. Remove chocolate mixture from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and salt.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until each is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in flour and beat with a wooden spoon until mixture is glossy about 1 minute.
3. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until the brownie starts to pull away from the sides of pan. While brownies are baking prepare ice bath. Fill a pan with ice cubes and water 3/4 inch deep. When the brownies are done baking, remove the pan from the oven and place it in the water bath. Allow brownies to cool completely in the water bath.
4. Place cheesecake ingredients (except snickers) in a bowl and mix to combine. Pour on top of cooled brownie and bake for 25-30 minutes or until set. Cool to warm then press chopped snickers into cheesecake layer. Keep refrigerated.
*I used 13 bars for complete coverage.
Source: Brownie portion adapted from Alice Medrich, Pinterest

Lazy Lasagna

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This is actually a baked ziti recipe, but at my house it has been dubbed “Lazy Lasagna.” Who wants to spend all that time carefully layering delicate noodles and filling? Not Me! This tastes just like a lasagna. In fact, take this basic recipe and mix in your favorite lasagna veggies for real kick! You could try zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, and/or peppers. This is a great make-ahead dish and can be frozen for a future dinner.
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

1 lb. bag or box of uncooked ziti
15 oz. ricotta cheese
3 C. shredded mozzarella, divided
28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 C. parmesan cheese
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the ziti as directed on the package. Place ziti in a large bowl. Add ricotta cheese and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella. Grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Spread half the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan. Add the ziti mixture and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and the remaining mozzarella. Bake covered with foil for 20-30 min. Remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes til cheese is bubbly on top.

Serendipity Moments

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I serve on the Power of Moms board.  We have a great goal-setting/reaching program called The Bloom Game where we are able to go up and set goals for ourselves in many different areas and it is kind of fun because you get to do it as a game.  Recently our board was put to a two month Bloom challenge by site co-founder Saren Loosli.  She needed some peer pressure to work on her goals, and I sure did as well, so we are all having fun doing this together–I was doing pretty well until this week, but that’s beside the point.  Anyway,  we set goals in 3 areas each week as well as sharing 2 “serendipity moments”–times when out of the blue we learn something or realize something or are able to stop and take a teaching/nurturing moment with our children.  I have actually experienced a couple of those kinds of moments since starting this challenge and it has been a truly good experience.  I will share one of those:
One of my goals one week was to really pray about what message the Lord wanted me to learn during my scripture study time and I set a goal to do that 3 times that week.  Now, this goal for me had two purposes–one was to actually study the scriptures 3 times (I am so slack in this area) and one was to actually look for something the Lord wanted to tell me.  One day I was reading from the ENSIGN–church magazine–in an issue that was all talks from our November 2010 (yes I am behind in my reading there as well) General Conference.  The particular talk was really more focused on the responsibilities of the men of the church.  It was a really good message for anyone, though, and when I got to the end I was thinking that maybe there was no specific thing there for me to take away.  Then it hit me!  An answer to a question that I had about how to recognize our young women in our congregation, as they accomplish milestones in their auxiliary of the church while they advance to the next level or age group.  That was my Serendipity Moment–seeing that the Lord does answer any question we have when we take the time to ask to receive his messages for us.
Other moments can be stopping what you are busily doing when your young child wants you to read with him and enjoying that time without worrying about getting the laundry done on time or finishing that scrapbook page or getting that blog post done on time.  Here are some others you might enjoy reading about.

Spinach-Artichoke Dip

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A party favorite!
Ingredients:
1 8-oz. block cream cheese
1 10-oz. box frozen cut or chopped spinach, thawed (you can also use the majority of a 16-oz. bag)
1 12-oz. jar artichoke hearts, drained
3/4 Cup sour cream
1 Cup grated mozzarella cheese (original recipe called for cheddar; I used a combination of Monterey jack and cheddar b/c it’s what I had)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Soften the cream cheese (I think I micro-waved mine for 30 seconds). Whip the cream cheese with a mixer.
3. Squeeze the spinach between paper towels to remove excess moisture and then add it to your mixing bowl with the cream cheese.
4. Roughly chop the artichoke hearts; add the artichoke, sour cream, and cheese to the mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix together.
5. Scrape the mixture into a small oven-safe baking dish. Bake until lightly golden and heated through, about 15 minutes.
6. Serve warm with pita chips or bread.

Oatmeal Cream Pies

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I LOVE Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Cream Pies. I enjoy them so much that I limit myself to one purchase a year of those little sweeties… (if I bought them more, I’m pretty sure I’d have a much larger waist line).

I saw this recipe, and knew I had to try it. These are delicious! A grown-up version (and much less processed) of Little Debbie’s creation. And sadly, these cookies didn’t last more than 48 hours in my house!!

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cream Pies
(Makes 18 Pies)

Cookie Ingredients:
1 cup margarine
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups quick oats

Cream Filling Ingredients:
2 teaspoons very hot water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow cream
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
– In large bowl, cream margarine, sugars, molasses, vanilla, and eggs.
– Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add to the creamed mixture; mix in the oats.
– Drop dough by TBS on ungreased sheets. (I used a small cookie scoop.)
– Bake at 350 degrees F. Bake for 10-12 minutes,or until just starting to brown around the edges. They will look moist; don’t overcook.
– While the cookies bake prepare the filling. In small bowl, dissolve the salt in the hot water. Allow this to cool.
– Combine marshmallow cream, shortning, powdered sugar, and vanilla in med bowl; mix on high until fluffy.
– Add the cooled salt water and mix well. Spread filling on flat side of one cookie, press 2nd cookie on top.

(Source)

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