Pantry Challenge Chowder

Last week was so busy with work- I didn't have time to post the rest of our pantry challenge.  We made lots of yummy food and I hope to post most of it soon!

M and I were in the mood for soup-last week the weather was cool and it almost felt like fall, which of course we are not ready for...it's still August!

Below is the recipe...just took a basic chowder recipe and added things we needed to use from the pantry and freezer!  Enjoy....serve with crusty bread!

Ingredients: 
-6 potatoes:peeled
-1 lb pork sausage
-1 onion: chopped
-1 tsp of salt
-1 can of whole kernel corn
-1 can of creamed corn
- chop up some zucchini and carrots and toss them in
-1 (12oz) can of evaporated milk
-a couple shakes of old bay and cajun seasoning salt

Combine potatoes, carrots, salt and water in a pot and boil-until tender

Meanwhile, cook sausage and onions and drain.  

Once potatoes are tender add sausage, both corns, zucchini and the evaporated milk.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Add the seasonings. Cook for 30 minutes then serve!!

Pantry Challenge Day 1-2

It has been awhile since I posted... ok not just awhile but 5 months.  I meant to post but then life gets in the way and I totally forget.  M and I have gotten in this bad habit of not planning our meals, picking up stuff at the grocery store day after day or just eating out.  It started at the beginning of summer when his schedule got easier and with me juggling 2 jobs- by the time I got home I just didn't want to cook anything.  

Well with school starting back up-which means M's schedule will be busy, I am working 2 jobs plus taking a class at the University: we will sure be busy-we have to get back on schedule with our meal planning and eating healthy. 

Last year we did a Pantry Challenge- which meant for a week anything we ate had to be made from within the pantry, freezer or fridge.  Also this meant not buying a coffee or pop out.  Everything had to come from the home.  It helped us figure out what we had in our pantry and helped us come up with interesting recipes to use all the ingredients in our home.  

Day 1 of our pantry challenge- Breakfast and Lunch were a mix of cereal and sandwiches, then for dinner we had mac n cheese with hot dogs: Not the healthiest but boy was it yummy!

Day 2 Pantry Challenge: Breakfast: Egg Special- English muffin with fried egg and mustard.  Lunch I had leftovers from the night before while M had a sandwich.  For dinner I made a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com.  Of course, I didn't have all of what it called for so I subbed what I did have.  

Cuban Chicken: I was a little nervous to add all these ingredients together but they actually mixed well together.  M was a little curious of the raisins but really loved this recipe and asked it be added to the rotation.  

Ingredients:
1tbs oil
1 onion- chopped
3 cloves of garlic- or 3 squares
1/2 c of chopped bell pepper
1 can of no salt added diced tomatoes-not drained
1 12 oz can of chicken chunks-drained
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c of stuffed olives-sliced (we used jalapeño stuffed olives
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp of oregano
1/4 tsp of cumin
2 bay leaves

Directions:   Heat oil over M heat.  Cook onions, garlic and peppers until soft.  Stir in tomatoes, chicken, bell  pepper, raisins, olives, vinegar, oregano and cumin.  Cook 5-7 minutes.  

Serve with rice.  Delicious!  Great for leftovers too!

Chicken Piccata with Zoodles

I love chicken piccata!  It is such an easy recipe to make!  I used to serve it with mashed potatoes or noodles but once I learned of "zoodles" thats all I make with this dish!  I usually double the sauce and  make garlic bread to dip in.... oh yummy!  

(sorry the picture is sorta blurry... love this dish!!)

Ingredients:
4 chicken breast or 8 tenders
flour
cayenne pepper
2 tbs of oil
1-2 tbs of capers- whatever your preference
1/2 cup of white wine
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1/4 cup of water
3 tbs of butter

Put flour and cayenne pepper together and dredge chicken tenders then heat in oil over medium high heat.  Brown then set aside.  Cook capers in pan for 30 seconds then add the wine and scrape bottom of the pan! Let cook for 2 minutes then add the lemon juice, water and butter.  Let thicken then add the chicken and serve! 

Zoodles-- Zucchini noodles! I sautéed mine! They are great in this sauce! 

Chive and Onion Pork Tenderloin

Back in January I purchased a container of chive and onion cream cheese but never did anything with it.  This morning when I was going through the refrigerator, I spotted it and realized it expired today! So before heading for the grocery store I looked up a recipe then adapted it to what I thought might be good.  Luckily for me, the grocery store had buy 1 get 1 free on pork tenderloins!  

Hope you enjoy it!!

Ingredients: 

• Pork Tenderloin- Mine was peppercorn marinated
• 1 package of Shake and Bake mixture- I used the one for pork
• 3 cups of noodles-uncooked
• 1/2 onion diced 
• 2 cubes of garlic (cloves)
• 2 tsp of olive oil
• 1 cup of fresh mushrooms
• 1 tub of chive and onion cream cheese- I used Philadelphia
• 3/4 cup of reduced sodium chicken broth

Optional ingredients: Sliced hot pepper and adding flour to the sauce to thicken

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400'
• Put pork in a ziplock bag and add shake and bake and "Shake Shake" 
• Put on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes

The last 15 minutes of baking time 

• Cook noodles according to package, drain and drizzle with olive oil so they don't stick together
• Meanwhile, in a medium sized skillet heat oil on m-high heat
• Add onions, peppers and mushrooms and cook for about 5 min 
• Add cream cheese and chicken broth and stir to combine
• Cook for 5 minutes and add a little bit of flour to thicken the sauce
• Serve- first with noodles then pork and sauce overtop both.  

I served this dish with steamed asparagus, strawberries and blueberries and milk!  It was delicious- will definitely be making it again.  

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut butter and chocolate are two of my favorite flavors together... who doesn't love a Reese's cup or TJ's dark chocolate pb cups!! I could literally eat all of them in one sitting. 
I also love peanut butter cookies but hate when they get hard the next day. 
I found this recipe and saw it had milk as one of the ingredients.  I haven't used milk in my chocolate chip cookies before but I thought why not.  At first I only used 1/2 Tbs but when i made the first tray they came out kind of dry, so I added another tbs... which made the dough really wet.  So I stuck them in the fridge for an hour.  
They are so delicious.  I made itty bitty cookies and they are so fun to eat.  Great dunked in milk or coffee!  Give them a try!  

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of peanut butter- I used Jiff creamy pb
1/2 cup of butter-softened 
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1 and 1/4 cups of flour
1 tbs of milk 
1/2 cup of chocolate chips- I didn't have quite enough chocolate chips so I added pb and white choc ones.

Directions: 
- Mix together butter and pb for 30 seconds.  
- Add the white and brown sugars to the mixture and beat for 2 minutes. 
- Then add in the baking powder and baking soda. 
- Once mixed beat in the egg and vanilla.  
- Beat in the flour- when it's tough add in the milk and mix.  
- Stir the chips in by hand.  

If it is sticky put in the fridge for 30 min - 1 hour.  Preheat oven to 375 and bake 8-10 minutes. 

Try not to eat all the cookies before dinner.  I had to send some to work with the hubby so I wouldn't eat them all!! 

Knorr Pasta Sides

I love easy side dishes!  Knorr Pasta Sides are almost always on sale at the grocery store and there is usually a coupon in the Sunday paper....so they are basically free! I buy them in all flavors!

So they are good on their own and if you are feeding children-they usually love them.  They have some flavor but not overwhelming.  Well my hubby and I like to spice them up.  They are great to add any veggies you have on hand to. You can also make them a meal by adding chicken, beef or shrimp to them.  

Last week we were having pork chops with stuffing and needed a side.  So i make the parmesan pasta side and added asparagus and tomatoes plus a couple spices and boy was it delicious!! 

Ingredients:

Knorr Pasta Side - Parmesan flavor

A handful of asparagus

2 cubes of garic

A handful of yellow baby tomatoes

pepper

Directions: I made the Knorr Pasta according to the directions on the package.  Meanwhile, I sautéed the asparagus in oil and threw in 2 cubes of garlic.  Once sautéed I mixed in the tomatoes.  Once the pasta was finished I mixed in the asparagus and tomatoes.  Added some pepper and voila had a great side dish!! 

Crunchy Tuna Salad

Growing up my Grandma Esther had a fabulous Tuna Salad recipe.  We would make it together and instead of measuring the mayonnaise or the mustard you just put in a spoonful and tasted it as you went.  Well this is how I do a lot of my cooking and every time I make something like this I think of her!

I have tuna salad a lot. It's an easy lunch recipe and lasts a couple of days.  Well lately, I wanted something with a little more flavor- so I made up my own recipe.  I used what I had in the pantry and boy did it come out good!!

Since it lasts a couple days... sometimes  I have it on two pieces of toast or with crackers or on top a of a salad!!

Ingredients:

1 can of tuna in water-drained
2 TBS of light Hellman's Mayonnaise
1 TBS of plain greek yogurt
1 TSP of mustard
2 cups of shredded cabbage- I used the coleslaw mixture which also had carrots.
2 TBS of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of green onions- See note below
Salt and pepper to taste
A sprinkle of sugar

Add all ingredients together and serve how you like!  If you get it too sweet add some apple cider vinegar!! Taste as you go!!

Green onions:  So why can't green onions come in a smaller package.  When a recipe calls for them you usually don't need more than 1/3 cup... ugh and the rest usually go to waste!! Not any more!  

I found this idea awhile ago and it totally helps-- When you get home from the store with your green onions, wash them and let them dry.  Then cut up in small pieces and put in a clean dry water bottle and freeze!  This way when a recipe calls for them you just shake them out of the bottle! It's awesome, I have started doing this with parsley and basil! Works great!! Enjoy!! 

Bahama Mama Chicken

Bahama Mama... is that a cocktail?  I would love one of those right now while sitting on the beach.. oh how nice that would be.  However, I am in my dining room while it's 20 degrees outside and earlier we needed something yummy for dinner.  I brought the Caribbean to us!  I found a recipe for Bahama Mama Chicken from Creme de la Crumb but had to change it a bit to what I had on hand.  The recipe calls for Jamaican Jerk Seasoning... well don't ya know the local Food Lion doesn't carry that spice--lame, so I had to make my own.  The recipe is below:

1TBS of garlic powder

1.5 TSP of cayenne red pepper--- Decrease to 1 TSP -it was too spicy

1 TSP of onion powder

1 TSP of thyme

1 TSP of parsley

1 TSP of sugar

1 TSP of salt

1/2 TSP of paprika

1/4 TSP of black pepper

1/4 TSP of red pepper-- Decrease to 1/8 TSP

1/2 TSP of nutmeg

1/8 TSP of ground clove

1/8 TSP of cinnamon

Mix all seasoning together.... it was quite tasty!! This makes about a 1/4 cup of seasoning!! Save and use later.  

The recipe suggested this dish be served with rice--but if you know me... I kinda hate rice! So instead I used zucchini and squash noodles--super delicious and a great pairing!  The pictures aren't the best... but the taste is amazing! 

As for the chicken I used 2 chicken breasts and rubbed the homemade seasoning on my chicken. Then I let them sit while I prepared the sauce.  Once I had the sauce on the stove I cooked the chicken  about 4 minutes on each side.  

The Sauce:

1/2 cup of canned pineapple--- the dog got the other half-- he was pretty happy!

1/2 TSP of minced garlic

1 TBS of apple cider vinegar

1/8 cup of sugar

2 TBS of soy sauce

1/3 cup of water

1 TBS of cornstarch + 1 TBS of cold water

Instructions: Add pineapple, garlic, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and water into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch and 1 TBS of water together until dissolved.  Once sauce begins to boil add the cornstarch, turn down the heat to simmer and cover pan.  Simmer until chicken is done 10ish minutes.  

I  sautéed the zucchini and squash noodles in some oil.  

I served the zucchini noodles on the bottom with the chicken on top and the sauce poured over it.  

Ours was really spicy but delicious!! We ate up every bite! I edited the ingredients for the seasoning so that it would not be so hot!  

Next time I am going to serve this with bread to scrape up all the extra sauce!  

Hope you enjoy and it warms up your winter night!! 

Until next time!!

Quinoa Orange Salad

When I hear the word Quinoa all I can think of is the Bud Light Commercial (click the link to see it) with the guy who pronounces it Queeno and talks about how terrible it is... haha.  How many times have you heard it pronounced differently?  Well I found a fabulous quinoa salad recipe by Damn Delicious and you have to try it! I served it warm for dinner last evening then had it cold today... boy was it delicious!! A great power punch of protein!!

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa (rinsed and drained)
2 oranges
1 red pepper- diced
1 jalapeno- diced
1 can of black beans- drained and rinsed
1/2 can of corn- drained
1/3 cup red onion-chopped
2 TBS of fresh parsley--- the original recipe called for Cilantro-- I hate cilantro so I used parsley!

Dressing
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of fresh orange juice
zest of 1 orange
1 TBS of sugar

Directions:
Cook quinoa according to the directions on the bag.  Mix together dressing using the juice and zest from one orange saving the other for the salad.  Set dressing aside to allow the flavors to mix.  Cut up veggies, cans of beans and corn and combine with quinoa.  Pour dressing and stir.  Enjoy now or save for later-- Even better the next day once the flavors really mix in.

Better than ever Rice Krispie Treats

I don't know about you but I love a good Rice Krispie Treat.  Somehow they are just so simple but amazing at the same time.  They are great if you don't like chocolate (although I love it) and are easy to make.  Growing up we made them all the time by following the recipe on the back of the box.  Well these are about to blow your mind!! They are so yummy I wish I had some left to snack on, but the hubby ate the last one :-(

I got the recipe from Cookies and Cups Blog. This gal makes some amazing things but boy these were just the best.  Could it be the extra marshmallows or the salt.... yes I said salt!! I barely have a picture of these because they went sooooo fast!! My husband said they were the best krispie treat he has ever had!!! They aren't dry and scratch the roof of your mouth and they aren't  the overly sweet store bought kind... they are the perfect Rice Krispie Treat and you need to try it... right now!!!

Ingredients: 

5 TBS of butter-- I used Kerrygold!! 

6 Cups of Rice Krispies

8 Cups of Miniature Marshmallows + 2 Cups of Extra Mini Marshmallows 

1/2 TSP of salt

Directions:  Melt butter in pan.  Add 8 cups of marshmallows and stir till melted.  Mix in Rice Krispies and salt. Once almost mixed add in the extra 2 cups of mallows.  Stir until coated then push into a pan!  (Her recipe calls for a 9x9 but I didn't have one so I did 13x9). 

Try as hard as you can to let them cool then cut! Ok so I couldn't wait!! I ate like 4 once they came out of the pan!! Watch out they are AMAZING!! Enjoy! 

Update: Made these again...just as delicious.... and I even got a picture!! Enjoy!!

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Blueberries were on sale at Martin's today! Yah! 2 for $5.00 which is a great deal especially in the winter.  They were huge too.  When I got home I knew I had to make something with my two pints of blueberries.  When looking at some recipes from friends and family I found lemon blueberry bread.  I love anything lemon flavored and blueberries are my favorite fruit... what a great combination.

The bread came out amazing...

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups of flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 cup of plain greek yogurt
2 tsp of lemon zest
1/2 cup of oil
3 eggs
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1 cup of sugar
1 and 1/2 cups of blueberries- plus a handful more for on top.

Directions: Preheat oven to 350.  Spray bread pan with Pam then sprinkle with flour-so the bread won't stick.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
In a larger bowl-whisk yogurt, eggs, oil, lemon zest, vanilla and sugar together.  Once blended slowly add flour mixture.  Then put blueberries in a small bowl and add 1 tbs of flour and stir.  After blueberries have flour on them add and fold into bread mixture.  (This is so the blueberries don't totally sink to the bottom of the bread)

Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle extra blueberries on top.  Bake for one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let sit in pan for 10 minutes then remove and cool on a rack.  Looks yummy doesn't it.... Don't eat it yet!

Mix 1/2 cup of powdered sugar with 1 tbs of lemon juice- stir.  Spread this glaze onto the bread. Let sit 5 minutes then indulge!!

Next time: I think I will use lemon yogurt as I didn't think the lemon flavor was strong enough.  I might also use raspberries and blueberries.  Overall this was an awesome bread! Most of it is gone already!! Great with a glass of milk or for breakfast with coffee!! Hope you like it! 

Oh.. and then find someone to do all the dishes!

Skinny Shrimp Scampi

I love zucchini! It's great in salads, as noodles or baked with other veggies. While I was shopping at Walmart this week-- yes sometimes I shop at Walmart for my groceries... I can get everything I need in one stop.  Well not this week, they were out of zucchini.  How can you be out of zucchini?  The associate said too many people were trying to be heathy and bought out her supply.

Any who... I make zucchini noodles at least once a week, what was a girl to do.  I went with broccoli slaw instead. I figured I could substitute them.  I came across this recipe on pinterest for Skinny shrimp scampi... um yum! The original recipe came from justataste but I of course adapted it to what I had on hand.

Ingredients: With my changes.
1 lb of shrimp- mine were frozen
3 cloves of garlic- I used the pop out ones.
1 tsp of red pepper flakes- we like spicy foods
2 tbs of oil
1/2 cup of white wine
2 tbs of lemon juice
a sprinkle of capers
1/2 bag of broccoli slaw

Directions: In a large pan cook oil on medium heat for 1 minute.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes stirring constantly for 1 minute.  Add shrimp.  Mine were frozen so they took about 5-8 min to cook.  Stir occasionally.  Once cooked, remove shrimp from pan and set aside.  Add white wine and lemon juice.  I used Angel Food Cupcake wine- it's what I had open. Simmer for 2ish minutes, scraping the bottom with your spoon.

Add in broccoli slaw and cook for 10-15 minutes until soft- (Note: they will never become as soft as zucchini noodles.  However, it is nice to have a little crunch in this meal) Once cooked sprinkle in capers. I love capers so any chance to use them, I do.

Then toss in the shrimp and cook for another minute. Serve immediately.  We enjoyed our meal with orange slices and milk.
Followed by lemon blueberry bread-recipe to come soon.  Enjoy!

Pop of flavor dinner

Are you looking for a wow your tastebuds dinner? Then I got one for you!  M and I love burgers on the grill, but just a regular beef patty can get kind of boring.  I was looking for a new way to spice up burgers and boy did I find it.  Let's start by switching out the beef for turkey.  I know, I know get rid of the beef :-( we all know I love red meat but trust me.  Then lets add whatever you have on hand... green pepper, feta cheese, spinach and arugula.... and make a yogurt sauce to go on top! Voila!

Greek Style Turkey Burgers:

1LB of ground turkey
1/2 of a green pepper-diced
1/2 of a red onion-diced
1/4 cup of feta cheese
4 hot and sweet peppers- jar from Tj's
A couple handfuls of fresh spinach and arugula- chopped
1 tsp of dried oregano
1/2 tsp of minced garlic
A sprinkle of bread crumbs

Directions: Mix together in a bowl and form patties.  I left two out and froze the other four. We grilled ours and topped with a yogurt sauce. Paired with our favorite spicy potatoes.(recipes below) I could have eaten two burgers!!

Yogurt Sauce: Yummy... I use this for sandwiches, dips etc.  It's a great topping on this flavorful burger.
4oz greek yogurt
1/2 lemon-juiced
1/2 tsp of garlic
1/2 tsp of dill
salt and pepper to taste.
Seriously taste as you go and make it your own.

Favorite Spicy Potatoes:   Throw in your spice pantry!

4 potatoes cubed
1/4 tsp of oil
1 tbs of garlic
1/2 tsp of dried basil, crushed red peppers, marjoram, dill, italian seasonings, oregano, parsley, crushed red peppers, salt.
Combine everything in a large bowl and mix.  Pour on a pan.  Preheat oven to 475 and bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy tastebuds!!

Cream Cheese Brownie Cookies...fail, but yummy!!

Today has just been one of those days, ok not just today.... M and I have been going through a lot.  With the death of my grandfather, the death of my goat, my big fall on the ice and Ollie going on a rampage and eating a whole bag of treats and a chunk of chocolate fudge, let's just say our lives have been a little crazy lately.

Today was one of those grey days though, it's one of the main reasons I hate winter.  Now don't get me wrong, no one loves snow more than I do.... but I do really hate just cold, grey, winter days.  Anyways, this afternoon I was craving a sweet snack and since we haven't been home a lot lately I hadn't made cookies in forever.

So this afternoon I was on the search for an interesting cookie recipe.  I came upon cream cheese brownie cookies-- they sounded so delicious and the gal's pictures looked so yummy, so I thought this is it, I'll make these.  That was at 2:00.  By the time I had taken the last batch out of the oven it was way over 3. ugh. They took forever to cook.

The recipe called for:
1 box of brownie mix
1/2 cup of butter
4oz cream cheese
1 egg
2 cups of white chocolate chips- I don't like white chocolate so I used half peanut butter and half regular chocolate chips.

I first mixed the butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Then added the egg and slowly mixed in the brownie mix.  The recipe indicated the batter would be tough... and it was.  Afterward, I folded in the peanut butter and regular chocolate chips.  The batter tasted so good... I might have had a tablespoon of it.  

I preheated the oven to 350 then dropped spoonfuls of batter onto parchment paper.  They looked fabulous.  The recipe said 10-12 minutes and they would be done.  So the pup and I cleaned up the kitchen and anxiously took them out at 12 minutes.

The recipe said the sides would look done but the middle a little gooey... I figured that is what I was seeing, boy was I wrong.  Anyways, when i tried to move them to the wire rack... they fell between and oozed everywhere.  What a mess.  So I put the batch back in another 5 minutes and another 5 minutes till finally at 22 minutes that one batch was done.



Only 2 more to go.... Needless to say the are delicious but what a mess they were.  I have no idea how this gal got her cookies to set in 10 min at 350.

I don't know how to fix this.  Other than to cook them longer... They are delicious.  My husband came home and ate 4 already. He loves the recipe, but had no idea how frustrating it was.  However, now that the chores are done and the dishes finally cleaned up... the pup and I are sitting down writing our first ever fail blog.

 Hope you enjoyed it!



Ps.  Have you read the book "Wild"?  I'm half way through it and it's awesome! Give it a try!  

New Year... Newish Blog

For the past couple of years I have used this blog to post recipes or products I loved.  I have been creative about using new ingredients and going out of my comfort zone.  I even snuck in some veggies and M will never know it.  I have enjoyed writing for it but haven't used it as often as I would like! Let's be serious, in the past week I have made 3 terrible and ok not terrible but not-amazing meals.  Did I post about those? no... but maybe I should have.  What I want to do is post some of those not-so-awesome recipes and figure out how I can make them better.  So here is to my newish blog... goals: Posting at least twice a week!  Keep trying new recipes and making my own twist to them! I would love to do a pantry challenge again- maybe in February! Thanks for those who read.... and any suggestions, please let me know!