So, the following is a fruit salad I learned from a previous roommate. It is relatively simple and I think it's pretty good- even though I have found other recipes I like as well. :)
You will need:
Fruit (things I've used before- grapes, strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, apple slices and bananas)
a jar of Marshmallow Creme
a stick of cream cheese
a large bowl
One jar of Marshmallow Creme and one stick of cream cheese can go a long way, so unless you are making enough for 10+, you probably don't need to double it. Especially if you use strawberries which adds fruit juice to the mixture and allows it to spread thinner and further.
Steps:
1. warm up Marshmallow Creme in the jar. Take off the lid, stick in the microwave- I usually set it for a minute- but you HAVE to watch it. What you're looking for is to wait til it starts puffing up over the rim and looks pretty rounded. If you just forget about it in the microwave it might explode and let me tell you- it's a pain to clean up.
2. Scoop out Marshmallow Creme into a bowl (whatever you want to mix everything together in). And add the cream cheese (make sure it's soft enough that you can mix it).
3. Mix the Marshmallow Creme and cream cheese together. My roommate used a hand mixer, but I've also done without it, with the aid of a fork- it takes much longer to get it smooth and fully mixed but still works if you don't have a hand mixer available.
4. start adding the fruit. Make sure it's all sliced, if needed. (Examples- pineapple needs to be sliced unless you bought them in chunks. Bananas need to be sliced. Strawberries I usually slice in half. Grapes you can slice if you have extra time and want them sliced. Apples should be sliced).
5. Enjoy! My sister and I went on a road trip and this is what we wanted to bring. Not the wisest idea with kids, it could end up all over your car, but my sister and I thoroughly enjoyed our snacks that trip. :)
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Garlic Shrimp Alfredo
This is one of my favorite, easy dishes.
Ingredients:
A jar of Alfredo sauce that you like (I like Ragu's Alfredo sauces)
Some Pesto sauce (my favorite is Classico's Pesto sauce)
A box of frozen shrimp scampi
Pasta (I prefer Barilla's Mostaccioli noodles for this)
*Tony Chachere's Seasoning (optional)
*Milk (optional)
*Salt (optional)
Directions: (Parts A and B can be done simultaneously)
Part A:
1. Cook pasta as normal. (Boil water, add salt if you wish, it helps the noodles not stick as much as well as adds flavor)
2. Drain the pasta. Rinse with cool water.
Part B:
1. Once the pasta is in you can start the sauce in a frying pan. Cook the box of shrimp scampi you bought as directed on the box/bag.
2. Once it is cooked add in the Alfredo Sauce and 1-2 spoonfuls of Pesto sauce.
3. If you want to make the Alfredo Sauce spread a little bit more- add a little milk to the empty jar of Alfredo sauce, shake it and empty into the frying pan with the rest of the sauce. Add Tony's if you wish (it adds a little more spice. It is sometimes considered spicy to some but even some of my siblings who hate spicy foods don't notice it when I sneak a little in- the Alfredo sauce cools it down or something)
4. Mix all of it together til the sauce is warm.
Last Part:
Put the pasta back in the pot and pour the sauce over it and mix it all together.
Ingredients:
A jar of Alfredo sauce that you like (I like Ragu's Alfredo sauces)
Some Pesto sauce (my favorite is Classico's Pesto sauce)
A box of frozen shrimp scampi
Pasta (I prefer Barilla's Mostaccioli noodles for this)
*Tony Chachere's Seasoning (optional)
*Milk (optional)
*Salt (optional)
Directions: (Parts A and B can be done simultaneously)
Part A:
1. Cook pasta as normal. (Boil water, add salt if you wish, it helps the noodles not stick as much as well as adds flavor)
2. Drain the pasta. Rinse with cool water.
Part B:
1. Once the pasta is in you can start the sauce in a frying pan. Cook the box of shrimp scampi you bought as directed on the box/bag.
2. Once it is cooked add in the Alfredo Sauce and 1-2 spoonfuls of Pesto sauce.
3. If you want to make the Alfredo Sauce spread a little bit more- add a little milk to the empty jar of Alfredo sauce, shake it and empty into the frying pan with the rest of the sauce. Add Tony's if you wish (it adds a little more spice. It is sometimes considered spicy to some but even some of my siblings who hate spicy foods don't notice it when I sneak a little in- the Alfredo sauce cools it down or something)
4. Mix all of it together til the sauce is warm.
Last Part:
Put the pasta back in the pot and pour the sauce over it and mix it all together.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Stacey's Pork Chops
These I learned in Louisiana from a very good friend of mine. He barbecued them, and I must say they do seem to taste better when barbecued, but I don't own a barbecue and so every time I've made them, I've done them in the oven and they work just fine.
Ingredients:
Pork chops (or another meat- I've done sirloin steaks too)
Bell Peppers (any colors you like, I do red, orange and yellow)
Onions
Pineapple Rings (canned slices that are still round)
Teriyaki Sauce
Tabasco Sauce (or another hot sauce you like)
Bacon
Toothpicks
Prep:
1. Make sure that you will be able to fold over the meat, or cut it in half (do not cut completely in half- keep one side attached). I usually cut it open.
2. Marinate the meat in Teriyaki Sauce and a little bit of Tabasco Sauce and also the pineapple juice (open the can with the sliced rings in it and drain the juice into the marinade). If you don't like your meat as dry, marinate it for longer. For the pork chops I've done anywhere from 2 hours to all day.
3. Slice the bell peppers and onion(s).
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. For each piece of meat, fill the inside with a selection of your bell peppers, onions and either half or a whole ring of pineapple per piece of meat.
2. Fold over, and wrap in bacon (it usually takes 3-4 slices per piece of meat). When you wrap the bacon around, this is when you use the toothpicks. Try to completely wrap your piece of meat, use the toothpicks to keep the ends of the bacon slices where you want them.
4. Place the finished pieces in a pan/casserole dish/cake pan. Pour the marinade over the finished pieces. Use the extra pineapple rings and drape over the toothpicks.
5. Throw the extra vegetables in the pan in the marinade to cook them with the meat.
6. Cook for however long the meat takes to cook. With the pork chops it seems to take about 45 minutes.
Ingredients:
Pork chops (or another meat- I've done sirloin steaks too)
Bell Peppers (any colors you like, I do red, orange and yellow)
Onions
Pineapple Rings (canned slices that are still round)
Teriyaki Sauce
Tabasco Sauce (or another hot sauce you like)
Bacon
Toothpicks
Prep:
1. Make sure that you will be able to fold over the meat, or cut it in half (do not cut completely in half- keep one side attached). I usually cut it open.
2. Marinate the meat in Teriyaki Sauce and a little bit of Tabasco Sauce and also the pineapple juice (open the can with the sliced rings in it and drain the juice into the marinade). If you don't like your meat as dry, marinate it for longer. For the pork chops I've done anywhere from 2 hours to all day.
3. Slice the bell peppers and onion(s).
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. For each piece of meat, fill the inside with a selection of your bell peppers, onions and either half or a whole ring of pineapple per piece of meat.
2. Fold over, and wrap in bacon (it usually takes 3-4 slices per piece of meat). When you wrap the bacon around, this is when you use the toothpicks. Try to completely wrap your piece of meat, use the toothpicks to keep the ends of the bacon slices where you want them.
4. Place the finished pieces in a pan/casserole dish/cake pan. Pour the marinade over the finished pieces. Use the extra pineapple rings and drape over the toothpicks.
5. Throw the extra vegetables in the pan in the marinade to cook them with the meat.
6. Cook for however long the meat takes to cook. With the pork chops it seems to take about 45 minutes.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Heart- stoppers
This recipe I learned while spending time in the South. That was actually the beginnings of cooking for me really, before that time I was too preoccupied with recipes that cooking wasn't fun. Most of my recipes no longer have exact recipes because I just experiment. Tip that I learned in the South, if they smell good together uncooked, they usually work together when cooked. So I just add things that sound good and/or smell good. This recipe though is relatively simple.
Things you need:
Rolls (I guess you could make your own, but I just buy store bought ones, normal dinner rolls or Hawaiian sweet rolls are the favorite of my family. I think the best are Pistolettes, but I haven't seen them in a store since being back from the South. The only requirement for the rolls is they have to have a softer outer covering, not hard like a sourdough crust.)
And Butter!
And then a cookie sheet or cake pan, anything as long as it has a lip on it, a cookie sheet with no lip will NOT work.
Directions: Melt butter (approximately one stick of butter for every 12 rolls you want to make)
Arrange the rolls in the pan and pour the butter over the tops. I usually use a big spoon and spoon it over and do approximately 2 spoonfuls of butter per roll.
Stick them in the oven. Do NOT broil. I have never used a set temperature. 200 works, but I usually use these rolls as a side and if I've been cooking meat in the oven I often just keep it at that temperature. You are basically putting the rolls in the oven to warm them up and allow the butter to crystallize on the top and soak into the rolls.
About half-way through (I know that may kill some people who like exact times but I've never timed it, but if you need a time, anywhere from 2-5 minutes into cooking them) pull them out and tilt the pan, use a spoon to spoon the melted butter that comes to the bottom and re-spoon it over the top of the rolls.
*If you want to get creative you can sprinkle Parmesan Cheese over the rolls before putting them in the oven, or a garlic powder of some sort, or Tony Chachere's (a Cajun seasoning that I LOVE to use).
Overall, if they don't taste good, chances are, you didn't put enough butter on them.
Side story: My Mom used to make these amazing 'orange rolls' for Thanksgiving every year. One year she was too tired and mine are much simpler and easier to make. So we made mine. A lot of family members will sneak into the kitchen and start eating various items before dinner officially starts, my Uncle happened to come in that year and picked up one of my rolls while I was watching. He then picked up a knife and went to get some butter. I opened my mouth and said, "Umm... that roll doesn't need more butter." He looked at me and said, "There's no such thing as too much butter". Then he spread the butter on his roll and walked out to enjoy his roll. A short while later he came back in to steal another roll. I watched him as he avoided the butter this time and I guess he felt my eyes on him. He turned back to look at me and said simply, "You're right, it didn't need more butter." They've become a favorite in my family, but if you're watching your carbs or fat I would advise only making them for special occasions and trying to get everyone else to eat them so you're only left with one or two to satisfy your craving.
Things you need:
Rolls (I guess you could make your own, but I just buy store bought ones, normal dinner rolls or Hawaiian sweet rolls are the favorite of my family. I think the best are Pistolettes, but I haven't seen them in a store since being back from the South. The only requirement for the rolls is they have to have a softer outer covering, not hard like a sourdough crust.)
And Butter!
And then a cookie sheet or cake pan, anything as long as it has a lip on it, a cookie sheet with no lip will NOT work.
Directions: Melt butter (approximately one stick of butter for every 12 rolls you want to make)
Arrange the rolls in the pan and pour the butter over the tops. I usually use a big spoon and spoon it over and do approximately 2 spoonfuls of butter per roll.
Stick them in the oven. Do NOT broil. I have never used a set temperature. 200 works, but I usually use these rolls as a side and if I've been cooking meat in the oven I often just keep it at that temperature. You are basically putting the rolls in the oven to warm them up and allow the butter to crystallize on the top and soak into the rolls.
About half-way through (I know that may kill some people who like exact times but I've never timed it, but if you need a time, anywhere from 2-5 minutes into cooking them) pull them out and tilt the pan, use a spoon to spoon the melted butter that comes to the bottom and re-spoon it over the top of the rolls.
*If you want to get creative you can sprinkle Parmesan Cheese over the rolls before putting them in the oven, or a garlic powder of some sort, or Tony Chachere's (a Cajun seasoning that I LOVE to use).
Overall, if they don't taste good, chances are, you didn't put enough butter on them.
Side story: My Mom used to make these amazing 'orange rolls' for Thanksgiving every year. One year she was too tired and mine are much simpler and easier to make. So we made mine. A lot of family members will sneak into the kitchen and start eating various items before dinner officially starts, my Uncle happened to come in that year and picked up one of my rolls while I was watching. He then picked up a knife and went to get some butter. I opened my mouth and said, "Umm... that roll doesn't need more butter." He looked at me and said, "There's no such thing as too much butter". Then he spread the butter on his roll and walked out to enjoy his roll. A short while later he came back in to steal another roll. I watched him as he avoided the butter this time and I guess he felt my eyes on him. He turned back to look at me and said simply, "You're right, it didn't need more butter." They've become a favorite in my family, but if you're watching your carbs or fat I would advise only making them for special occasions and trying to get everyone else to eat them so you're only left with one or two to satisfy your craving.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Grilled Ham, Pastrami and Cheese Sandwich
Alright, so I was craving a sandwich the other day. And I really wanted grilled cheese- just plain and simple. But I was out of bread and had no cheese. So I had to wait. I finally made it to the store and bought some bread and cheese and also ran across some meats that I used over this past summer. I love ham and pastrami which generally are fattier meats for sandwiches. But these ones, (on the old points system for Weight Watchers were 1 point, for 6 slices of ham or 7 slices of pastrami- so I would mix three of each together for one point- I don't know how many points it would be now, but I imagine it's still good). So anyways, I'm going to write the ingredients down for a lower fat, good cheesy sandwich, and the fattier versions.
Ingredients:
1. bread (for lower fat Sara Lee has a really good 90 calories loaf of bread that works really well)
2. ham and pastrami (the lowest in points for Weight Watchers was a Deli Select made by Hillshire Farms)
3. 1-2 slices cheese (I prefer 2% normal American cheese slices, but you can do non-fat if you prefer, and 1 slice if you don't like things so cheesy or want a lower fat sandwich)
4. butter (for lower fat you can use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! or olive oil and salt if you just want the buttery taste)
5. and then Pesto sauce! I love Classico's pesto sauce which comes in a small jar, but it's not the greatest as far as low-fat goes, so you can use an alternative if you wish or skip it.
(On the old points system for Weight Watchers, without the Pesto and all the lower fat options it was a 3 point sandwich!)
Directions:
Get out a frying pan, place the bread in the pan and then spread pesto on the back of one of the slices, and pile the meat and cheese in between each slice of bread. Flip and cook both sides and you're done!
Ingredients:
1. bread (for lower fat Sara Lee has a really good 90 calories loaf of bread that works really well)
2. ham and pastrami (the lowest in points for Weight Watchers was a Deli Select made by Hillshire Farms)
3. 1-2 slices cheese (I prefer 2% normal American cheese slices, but you can do non-fat if you prefer, and 1 slice if you don't like things so cheesy or want a lower fat sandwich)
4. butter (for lower fat you can use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! or olive oil and salt if you just want the buttery taste)
5. and then Pesto sauce! I love Classico's pesto sauce which comes in a small jar, but it's not the greatest as far as low-fat goes, so you can use an alternative if you wish or skip it.
(On the old points system for Weight Watchers, without the Pesto and all the lower fat options it was a 3 point sandwich!)
Directions:
Get out a frying pan, place the bread in the pan and then spread pesto on the back of one of the slices, and pile the meat and cheese in between each slice of bread. Flip and cook both sides and you're done!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Cake Bites
Unfortunately I can't claim that I came up with the idea for these, but they are very good, and I'm going to share my first experience with making them.
Things you'll need:
Cake mix (and anything the box says you need... eggs, oil, water... if you want to make a cake from scratch that's up to you, but just generally you need a cake mix)
Frosting
Melt-able chocolate (Candy Coatings, I don't like the chocolate chips for these, but you could use them if you can't find anything else)
Steps:
1. Mix and bake the cake as you would normally.
2. Let the cake cool.
3. Empty the cake into a mixing bowl and break up into little tiny pieces... Just use your hands and mash it up.
4. Let the cake cool some more. The cooler it is the easier and better the next steps work. If you want to speed things up, put the bowl in the refrigerator for a bit. My sister and I actually got impatient and so we tried it both ways. Let me tell you, it ends up taking longer if you don't wait for the cake to cool and although they still taste good they look like a MESS.
5. Add the frosting, you will need a whole container for each broken up cake. The frosting allows the little pieces to stick together so you can form little balls. Your hands WILL be messy after this step.
6. Roll the cake mixture into balls. You want them to be about bite size, but you can choose your preference of size. We placed them on wax paper over a cookie sheet which made it easier to stick them in the freezer so the balls could become a little more solid- just so they're not so mushy and easy to destroy their shape. It's CRUCIAL for the next step that they aren't too mushy. (I've seen these things made into Cake Pops- if you wish to make them on a stick, place a stick in each ball now. You can buy the lollipop type sticks at the store.)
7. Melt the chocolate or candy coating. Coat the cake balls with chocolate. You want to completely cover them though. We tried several different methods of coating them with chocolate. Rolling them in the chocolate seemed to make them fall apart, and use WAY more chocolate than we wanted. We tried drizzling the chocolate over the top and then "finger-painting" the sides. (Because when it drizzles down it never seems to go far enough or down each side equally) What I found worked best was taking a spoon and starting to drizzle the chocolate over the top with the spoon, then try to even it out using the back of the spoon and then I used the indent part to wrap around the bottom sides of the ball. Kind of a swirling motion as if you were trying to get the very last bit of yogurt or pudding out of the plastic containers they come in. I found this way to be the quickest and most effective way of doing it.
Sadly we ate them all before I blogged about them. So I will have to take pictures and add them the next time I make them, sometime in May.
Things you'll need:
Cake mix (and anything the box says you need... eggs, oil, water... if you want to make a cake from scratch that's up to you, but just generally you need a cake mix)
Frosting
Melt-able chocolate (Candy Coatings, I don't like the chocolate chips for these, but you could use them if you can't find anything else)
Steps:
1. Mix and bake the cake as you would normally.
2. Let the cake cool.
3. Empty the cake into a mixing bowl and break up into little tiny pieces... Just use your hands and mash it up.
4. Let the cake cool some more. The cooler it is the easier and better the next steps work. If you want to speed things up, put the bowl in the refrigerator for a bit. My sister and I actually got impatient and so we tried it both ways. Let me tell you, it ends up taking longer if you don't wait for the cake to cool and although they still taste good they look like a MESS.
5. Add the frosting, you will need a whole container for each broken up cake. The frosting allows the little pieces to stick together so you can form little balls. Your hands WILL be messy after this step.
6. Roll the cake mixture into balls. You want them to be about bite size, but you can choose your preference of size. We placed them on wax paper over a cookie sheet which made it easier to stick them in the freezer so the balls could become a little more solid- just so they're not so mushy and easy to destroy their shape. It's CRUCIAL for the next step that they aren't too mushy. (I've seen these things made into Cake Pops- if you wish to make them on a stick, place a stick in each ball now. You can buy the lollipop type sticks at the store.)
7. Melt the chocolate or candy coating. Coat the cake balls with chocolate. You want to completely cover them though. We tried several different methods of coating them with chocolate. Rolling them in the chocolate seemed to make them fall apart, and use WAY more chocolate than we wanted. We tried drizzling the chocolate over the top and then "finger-painting" the sides. (Because when it drizzles down it never seems to go far enough or down each side equally) What I found worked best was taking a spoon and starting to drizzle the chocolate over the top with the spoon, then try to even it out using the back of the spoon and then I used the indent part to wrap around the bottom sides of the ball. Kind of a swirling motion as if you were trying to get the very last bit of yogurt or pudding out of the plastic containers they come in. I found this way to be the quickest and most effective way of doing it.
Sadly we ate them all before I blogged about them. So I will have to take pictures and add them the next time I make them, sometime in May.
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