Cuts Through Chicken Flesh!

Recently, I got some awesome Pampered Chef stuff and have been having all sorts of fun playing in my kitchen with new toys.  :-)

*This post is not in any way an advertisement for Pampered Chef, but here's how I used some of my items to make a pretty tasty Buffalo Chicken Lasagna!  (I'm all about lasagna and Mexican food right now.)

Salad Chopper?  Not just for salad.

Thankfully, I didn't even have to touch the chicken.  My hubby cooked it up for me and then dumped it into the bowl and I went at it with my salad chopper aka super sharp scissors that cut through chicken flesh!  ;-)

Spice it up!

Spread it into a dish.  I tried out a new baking dish.

Noodles, cheese mixture, then more meat...

Baked deliciousness!

Sprinkle blue cheese on top if you want!

We ate this as leftovers for most of the week and were both pretty excited about it every time we went to the fridge and saw it there.  I'd call that a success!  :-)

The below picture is of fresh salsa I attempted to make using a little manual food processor.  I didn't really follow a recipe, just threw some stuff in and hoped for the best.  Not generally the best way to go, but it sort of worked in this case.  I didn't enjoy the salsa just on chips, but it was AMAZING when added to tacos.

There is a Pampered Chef recipe for this recipe... I just didn't follow it.  I threw in onion, grape tomatoes, cilantro, lemon juice, and some cilantro.  You can throw in jalapeno, but I don't touch jalapeno peppers while pregnant.  See this post.

PS.  Six more weeks of winter coming our way... Happy Groundhog Day!  :-)

How Do You Roll?

Ahh... summer break... I can cook again!  (Not that I haven't been cooking... I just haven't been cooking too many NEW things and/or blogging about them.)  It's actually been kind of nice to have a repetoire of go-to recipes to make. 

I do like to try new things, though. 

I found this particular recipe on Pinterest:

Peanut Butter Rollup

I imagine that you make it in a similar way to making a pizza... except that you don't bake this... and you don't roll up a pizza.  I did say similar, not the same.  I've never made a pizza.  Maybe I should try that sometime!  I did once get a pizza delivered to my house that was still on the pizza pan.  Weird, huh?  Have I mentioned that I love Pinterest?

Anyway, these rollups were really good!  I liked them a lot with the jelly, but I would say that if you use jelly you should eat them the same day you make them.  Otherwise the jelly makes everything soggy and starts leaking all over your refrigerator.  Trust me on that one.  They just aren't as good without the jelly, in my opinion, so just keep your timing in mind.  I made them with jelly and then they were fantastic the next morning... but the NEXT morning, they weren't as good.  Does that make sense? 

Why do I feel like I'm rambling tonight?  I think I used the word jelly way too many times!  It's been a long day.  :-)

Happy Father's Day, by the way!  (If you're a Dad, of course).  I made my hubby some waffles from scratch, which I've actually never done before.  I usually use Bisquick for waffles.  I just like how they taste.  These were alright... but just not up to the Bisquick fluffiness standard that I've set for myself. 

Waffles from scratch!

Below are two salads I made this week... the first is a little overloaded in that bowl.  Haha.  I should have done it on a plate for a better picture.

Alissa's Crazy Salad

Alissa's Crazy Salad
Spinach leaves
Cherry tomatoes
Mushrooms
Broccoli sprouts
Hardboiled egg
Tofu
Cauliflower
Avocado
Ranch-flavored almonds
...with a little drizzle of ranch dressing on top. 

It's actually really good... despite all of the randomness that's in it.  ;-) 

I made this salad tonight:

Alissa's Taco Salad

Alissa's Taco Salad
Blue corn chips
Spinach leaves
Mushrooms
Grated cheddar cheese
Seasoned ground beef
Fresh salsa (YUM!  I discovered it this week... so good.)
...and whatever else you want to add.  I added a dollop of taco sauce, sour cream, and guacamole right on top.  I would have added some black beans and corn if I'd had any in the house.  I looked.  ;-) 

Thank you readers, if you're out there, for sticking with me through 100 posts!  :-)

Until next time...

Crab Melt Loaf

My lovely hubby went to the food store today while I worked on school stuff.  Yep, back to the grind.  I went back to work last Wednesday and have been thoroughly overwhelmed since then.  I'm hoping eventually I'll catch up with things and feel like I'm back on track.  ::crosses fingers::

I have all kinds of yummy plans for dinner this week.  :-) 

Here's what I made tonight:

Yep!  It's more fake crab.

Crab Melt Loaf

This was sooooo yummy.  You mix all the ingredients in a bowl to create kind of an imitation crab salad, spread it on the French bread, and then when it bakes in the oven the cheese congeals everything together in a hot, delicious mess.  The only problem with it was that it was kind of difficult to eat.  I ended up opening the sandwich and creating two open-faced melts.  If I make this again, I think I'll probably bake it that way so that the goodness bakes right into both sides of the bread. 

Here's my baby helping me in the kitchen!  Okay, so she might look a little terrified... but really, dinner was delicious.  Someday she won't look so skeptical. 

Helping me cook!  :-)

It smells delicious in here.

Spring forward!  Hey, at least it happens on a Sunday and not during the work week (for most of us).  I'm sorry if Sunday is part of your work week!  :-(  I mostly procrastinated today.  I've gotten pretty good at it, actually.  It kinda stinks when you're so busy that you start grasping every free minute you have to do absolutely nothing.  I won't know what to do with all my free time when summer comes around!

In between now and then, I'll be finishing up my Master's.  I know you know I've been taking two courses now and I'll be taking two more right at the end of the school year.  Sounds crazy, right?  ...but, at least I'll be finished!  :-)  Exhausted, but finished.  *whew*

Oooo, we watched Scott Pilgrim vs. The World last night.  Awesome movie!

Thanks for reading my rant.  Now I'll show you what I made today:

I used non-canned black beans in this recipe.  I was fascinated to watch them soak because they turned into what looked like a black soupy mess.  After an hour or two, you're supposed to add them to the crockpot.

...then I added the chicken...

...the salsa and chicken broth...

...the corn and mushrooms...

...and the cumin. 

Below is a picture of it 4 hours later.  It's still cooking.  In fact, it's supposed to cook until midnight!

Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

I think I'll take it out before then, though, so I can sleep.  Yeah, so I'll let you know how the soup is tomorrow.  :-)  It smells soooo delicious in my house right now.  (*side note: If you click on that link, it will take you to the recipe that I got from an amazing crockpot site.  I think everything I've made from that site has been delicious.)  For dinner, we had pretty little salads and dared to try another sweet potato recipe.

Alissa's Pretty Little Salad :-)

Sweet Potato with Orange-Thyme Butter

Sweet potato... uh, I won't say it was bad because if you like baked sweet potatoes it might be a good recipe for you to try!  I, however, am officially declaring that I do NOT like baked sweet potatoes.  Ah well. 

Pecans or Walnuts?

Well, we got our "ice storm", though it doesn't seem to be bad enough to cancel my first grad class tonight.  I should probably be leaving in a few minutes so that I can drive nice and slowly.  Beware people behind me!  I do NOT like ice (not even to drink).  You'll just have to go around me. 

First, here's the new recipe I tried today:

Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Pecans (WW recipe)

I'm going to have to stop using this particular book if I can't find the links anywhere!  ...but the recipe does include Brussels sprouts... and they're amazing.  *sigh*  You'll have to bear with me.  Here's the recipe for the version I made today:

-1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced
-cooking spray
-1/2 c. sliced red onion (I chopped mine so I didn't have giant chunks of onion.)
-1 T. balsamic vinegar
-1 T. brown sugar (...not sure if it matters whether it's light or dark.)
-1/4 c. chopped pecans (I used walnuts because that's what I had - still good!)
-salt and pepper to taste

Basically you spray a pan with cooking spray and then throw in the Brussels sprouts and onion until they are nice and tender.  Then you throw everything else in until the sugar dissolves and serve it while it's still hot!  Easy. 

I thought it had a nice sweet flavor.  A little different from just roasting Brussels sprouts.  I do wonder if it would have tasted much different if I'd used pecans instead of walnuts.  I figured they were both nuts and it probably wouldn't have a strong effect on the outcome.  ?  Who has a good Brussels sprouts recipe for me to try?  Anyone?  :-)

Chop, Chop, Chop!

Don't worry, I'm not super crazy cooking girl today.  Just moderately crazy cooking girl.  Just kidding!  I only made one new thing today (mainly because my fridge is already too full of leftovers) and I didn't even have to cook it.  I'd say that makes me crazy chopping girl today.  :-)

Here it is:

Tuna and White Bean Salad (WW recipe)

Please note that I'm using my red mixing bowl and it's almost too small!  It's times like this that green mixing bowl would have done the job nicely.  *tear*

Did you notice that there's actually a form of meat in this dish?  Yep, meat returns!  Don't worry, meat never really left my kitchen... just the blog for a few entries.  For those vegetarians out there, just ditch the tuna and you're good to go.  This recipe was pretty easy and another one of those from the WW magazine that is apparently not online.  That means no link.  I halved this recipe and only ate a half of that, so, here's what you put in whatever giant mixing bowl you have (I'm sure it's best if it's a green one) to make 4 servings total:

-2 6 oz. cans of albacore tuna, in water
-1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, or other white beans, rinsed and drained
-2 c. grape tomatoes
-1 cucumber, peeled and chopped (I didn't add this because I didn't have it on hand.)
-1/4 c. red onion, sliced
-4 c. fresh spinach
-2 T. white balsamic vinegar (I used regular because I didn't have white.)
-1 T. fresh lemon juice
-1 T EVOO
-1/2 t. pepper
-1/4 t. salt (I used garlic salt... because I <3 garlic.)

Chop, chop chop!  Toss, toss, toss!  Eat, eat, eat!  Yum, yum yum... happy tummy.  :-)

Oh Garbanzo!

I just realized that this is my 51st blog entry!  That means that I've actually blogged 50 times?!  That's a little insane.  Insane maybe, but it sure has been scrumptious. 

I was lucky enough to have another snow day today... I wasn't nearly as lazy as yesterday.  Played some wordfeud with my brother, got some work done that's due tomorrow, watched some Ellen, and even Jazzercised tonight!  I heart Jazzercise.  <3

Anyway, in the midst of all that I made some more hummus.  Here it is in the food processor:

Alissa's Green Olive Hummus (1st attempt!)

Now, I've decided that I'm not going to give you the recipe until I perfect it.  I basically added a bunch of stuff in there today just to see how it would turn out.  Pretty good, but it could be better.  Wouldn't you rather have a recipe that's perfected?  Yep, I thought so. 

I also made Turkey Tetrazzini tonight for dinner.  Mmmm... and I may have made this, too:

Garbanzo and Avocado Salad (WW recipe)

Wow.  Just wow.  Oh glorious garbanzo beans!  This was soooooooooo fabulous.  Jimmy and I ate the whole bowl of it between us and barely touched the tetrazzini!  Can you believe that?!  Awesome.  I will definitely make this again.  The bright side?  We have leftover tetrazzini... which I personally think is even better than fresh tetrazzini.  Yum!

*Side note: For some reason, all of the recipes that I get out of this one WW magazine that I have I cannot find links for the recipes.  I'll give you the gist of what's included in the salad... I eyeballed the amounts based on what I had available and the fact that I wasn't making this for a small army. 

You need: 
-1/2 c. grape tomatoes, halved
-2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
-1 avocado, pitted and chopped
-1 small can of diced green chiles
-1/4 c. feta cheese
-1 clove garlic, chopped
-salt and pepper to taste
-2 T. fresh lemon juice

Throw it all in a bowl, stir, and eat!  Easy!  If you plan to save some of it for a later date, add the avocado separately so it doesn't brown.  You'll have to add new avocado when next you eat... that is, if there's any left!

Here's hoping for 50 more blogs of delicious food!  Thanks for reading, readers... if you're out there... :-)

Saucy Goodness

Snow!!!  Finally!  Bring it on.  :-) 

We actually got out of school an hour early, as I'm sure some of you did, and I came home to watch the last 10 minutes of Ellen and the saddest Oprah show I think I've ever seen.  Then, I cooked some shrimpies (pre-butterflied!) on my George Foreman grill (just to see how it would work versus a grill pan-since I don't have one of those...).  I made that yummy shrimp salad again (recipe posted here!).  Go here to see my pictures of it's amazingness.  Jimmy got a turkey version this time.  :-)  Not too shabby:

 I just left it open and flipped them around.  It was fascinating to watch because shrimp are weirdly translucent before being cooked and then they turn all orangish.  Hey, at least you can tell when they're done!  That works for me. 

While working on my shrimp, I decided to finally cook the spaghetti squash (per Beth's instructions from our cooking date) and it was equally fascinating.  It just comes out in strings!  If you've never cooked a spaghetti squash before, here's what I did.

Step 1:  Cut it in half.

 Step 2:  Put each half in microwave for about 10 minutes. 

(Sorry, no picture!  Imagine it...)

Step 3:  Use a fork to shred the inside.

Step 4:  Dump insides into a casserole dish.

Step 5:  Add sauce and cheese and then bake til gooey.

Step 6:  Enjoy!  :-)

All in all, I think I'd make the spaghetti squash again.  I made kind of a creamy sauce to put on top of it and spiced it up with garlic salt and pepper.  Jim really liked it, but I think I prefer regular squash just steamed up.  Crazy, right?  Who doesn't like saucy, cheesy goodness!?  

Cooking Date! :-)

Where to begin!  Just to warn and possibly excite you, there may be several posts on their way... I did a lot of cooking to bring 2010 to a close.  What a good food year it's been.  :-) 

My friend, Beth, and I had a cooking date last Thursday.  She came over and taught me some tricks.  She's modest, but she is quite the master chef!  I don't think I've ever eaten anything that she's made that wasn't delicious.  Several things I learned:

1.  Always use fresh citrus. 
2.  Always use fresh herbs. 
3.  Grill pans are awesome. 
4.  How to butterfly a shrimp. 

Now, you should know that I've never cooked shrimp before.  Mainly because hubby is allergic to shellfish!  ...but, I love shrimp.  Now I know how to butterfly it, grill it, and put it on a yummy salad.  Very tasty!

That's the shrimp prior to being cooked.  Deveining them was quite interesting... and a little gross.  So worth it though.  I don't think I've ever touched a shrimp that was not cooked.  Now I have!

THAT is a grill pan.  Just in case you didn't know.  You probably did know because I think I might be the only person who didn't know what a grill pan was until I googled it.  Yeah, I'm definitely still learning.



Shrimpies all cooked!  :-)

Southwestern-Style Shrimp Taco Salad

There were lots of leftover shrimp, so I made this salad again the following day when hubby was home.  Instead of shrimp, I added leftover ham to his salad and he raved about it.  This would work with just about any kind of meat!  Or, obviously, you could leave it just veggies.  Yummy.

Southwestern Ham Salad

After that, we made the best pot pies ever.  I say that because I've typically never been a fan of the pot pie.  To be fair, I also haven't had a pot pie in at least 15 years.  I remember hating them when I was little... as I did with most things that contained any kind of chicken.  I'm working on my hatred of chicken.  It's getting a little better now that I'm cooking more...

Anyway, we made turkey pot pies.  Here are some pics:

Turkey Pancetta Pot Pies

You can probably see the progression there without my explanation!  Soooo good.  Either that means I've been sleeping on pot pies all these years or this recipe is just that good.  You be the judge.  Sorry for the tease, I really will link the recipes soon!  :-)

I shall leave you with a picture of the largest box of baking soda in all the land.  When I pulled it out of my pantry, Beth may have laughed for a good five minutes at the absurdity of this box.  Hehe.  This is what happens when you send your hubby to the store for baking soda.  (Love you, Jim! <3) 

Starting November off right...

What a good food month already!  Mmm...

I made my very first soup all by myself today!  :-)  *beams with pride*  ...in my brand new giant soup pot... so exciting!  Not to mention, tasty.  AND healthy! 

Summer Squash and Corn Chowder

I should tell you that I had off from school today for the election, so I went into a cooking frenzy mode.  I also made some eggsalad (my all-time favorite food) with some eggs that were on the verge of not being good anymore!

Every time I make eggsalad, it's a little bit different.  That's the beauty of it.  I just never add celery... or anything crunchy.  That ruins eggsalad.  Today I put in some light mayo, horseradish sauce, Old Bay, paprika, and garlic salt.  Amazing. 


Now, I just need some waffles.  :-)

The eggsalad waffle was concocted by my brother and I years ago.  It takes that long to perfect it.  Hehe, just kidding.  Seriously though, if you've never had eggsalad on a waffle... well, you just don't know what you're missing. 

Then, I went on to make the WW version of an Apple-Pear Crisp.  I used my new fancy microplane to zest a lemon and an orange!  Mmm... it smelled soooo good while it was baking.  The recipe said to let it cool for at least 2 hours, but I decided that I would probably have liked it better if it were still warm.  Don't get me wrong, it was awesomeness in a pan.  We ate it with some vanilla ice cream. 

Apple-Pear Crisp

...and finally, I made "Confetti Spaghetti"!  Basically, you cook the noodles and the meat and such separately and then you combine them and bake in the oven.  I used whole wheat noodles (which I love) and seasoned it up quite a bit more than the recipe called for.  We like spice! 

Confetti Spaghetti

It was soooo much fun to cook today.  I don't think I've ever bought that much produce at a grocery store.  The soup needed a lot!  I also got some acorn squash (which is shaped like little pumpkins) to try another WW recipe.  I love it when recipes come out just the way you want them to... and everyone gets to enjoy them!  :-)  Don't forget that the recipes are all linked to the captions!  (Just in case you didn't know that!) 

Happy cooking!  <3