Recipe #261: Chicken Parmesan

Or "chicky chicky parm parm" as our friend on Parks and Rec loves to say! :)

I made another version found here but this was actually crusted.

You need:
2 chicken breasts cut into three pieces
2 eggs
1/4 cup parmesan
1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
oil
garlic
noodles
pasta sauce
1 cup mozzarella

• mix together parmesan and bread crumbs
• coat chicken in flour, then egg, and finally bread crumb mixture
• heat oil and garlic in pan then start to add chicken
• fry until both sides are brown
• place on rack when done
• in at 9x13 dish, layer bottom of pan with pasta sauce
• top with chicken and sprinkle cheese on top
• bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.
• while baking, cook noodles and enjoy!

Recipe #260: Baked Taco Rice

another twist on a tacoish meal.

you need:
1lb ground beef
 rice
1 cup cheese
1 cup spaghetti sauce
lettuce, sour cream, salsa, chips for toppings

• make rice
• brown meat and add spaghetti sauce.
• mix rice and beef together in an 8x8 dish
• top with cheese
• bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted
• serve with your favorite taco toppings!

Recipe #259: Teriyaki Fried Rice Ball

I had this at an amazing sushi restaurant in Charlotte and tried to replicate it. I do have some work to do to master it though! :)

You need:
1 cup of rice
teriyaki sauce

• take hot rice and put it in a saran wrap.
• shape into a ball or triangle
• heat a fry pan with a little bit of teriyaki sauce 
• heat rice ball on both sides until a little brown.
• it may fall apart so be careful not to saturate it too much with the sauce!

recipe hiatus

Well, thanks to my mid-winter break and us traveling to the wonderful cities of Indy and Chicago, I am now a lot more behind on my recipes! But our travels have also provided inspiration for new recipes, thanks to the various restaurants and delicious food we have eaten!
So be on the lookout for Irish Nachos, Chicago deep dish pizza (or at least attempting), bagels, peanut butter and jelly bread, and stuffed hamburgers.
I also have about 3 recipe books I think I need to buy :) but I guess I should check the library first!

That's all from snowy Chicago!
Be on the lookout for recipes as early as Sunday!

Recipe #257 and #258: Cinnamon Twists and Pinwheels

These are some more real simple recipes (see here and here) using the basic sugar cookie recipe. I tweaked them a bit.

First the pinwheels.
You need:
Sugar cookie dough recipe
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

• divide dough in half.
• Roll out the dough in to a thin rectangular shape.
• mix cinnamon and sugar. cover top of rectangle.
• Starting with one of the long sides, roll up.
• Refrigerate until firm.
• cut into 1/4 inch rounds 
• bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes

Twists:

You need:

Sugar cookie dough

cinnamon and sugar

• divide dough in half. 
• take each half and roll into a long snack,about 3/8 thick. 
• cut into 6 inch pieces and twist up. 
• dip both sides in cinnamon and sugar mixture
• bake at 350 for 15 minutes

Recipe #256: Tomato Sauce Chicken

This was a super easy recipe! I stuck the chicken in frozen. I just forgot to tell Will to stir or check it while I was gone so it was ready to fall off the bone at about 4 and we were going to eat at 6. But it worked out just fine!

You need:
4 bone in chicken thighs
1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 green pepper
rice

• stick chicken in crock pot.
• cut green peppers into strips and add to crock pot
• pour sauce on top and mix up.
• cook on low for 8 hours.

sorry, the picture was blurry and I was too tired to really care! :)

Recipe #255: Nachos

This was Monday's dinner. I used the leftover meat from Sunday's lunch but I am sure any leftover taco meat would be great! It was just nice to have beans, onions, and tomatoes already worked into the recipe! I also used some of the homemade tortillas because we were almost out of chips.

You need:

chips
taco meat
cheese
others: beans, tomatoes, onions
lettuce, salsa, sour cream

• on a baking sheet layer chips. spread meat (and beans, onions, tomato if not already included)
• sprinkle cheese on top and bake in oven for about 10-15 minutes at 450 or until cheese is melted.
• take out and cool for a couple of minutes
• top with lettuce, salsa and sour cream

Recipe #254: Valentine's Sugar Cookies (and Recipe #255: Butter Frosting)

To not get too far behind in posting recipes and to not be too far removed from the holiday, I will share the sugar cookie recipe I made for Valentine's day. This was totally a last minute thing, but it was fun to have a reason to make cookies. Unfortunately my kids never got to taste them (that is a long story) but we shared them with other deserving people instead! ;)

I have to say, I haven't made sugar cookie I think in the last year or two, but this recipe turned out fabulous! I found it in a real simple magazine and it will be my go to from now on! I doubled it, but this is the original recipe.

You need: 

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup butter, room temperature (I softened mine in the microwave, it is really important to have butter that is not right out of the fridge!)

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla 

• in a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.
• in a mixing bowl beat butte and sugar until smooth.
• add in egg and beat until fluffy, then add vanilla.
• slowly add flour mixture and mix until just blended.
• form into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
•  to roll out dough take to sheets of wax paper. sprinkle powdered sugar on both sheet.
• take one half of dough and flatten with your hand.
• place between two sheets of wax paper and roll out until about 1/4 inch thick.
• cut out the shapes of your choice
• place on a non stick sprayed cookie sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle some decorating sugar on top if you don't feel like frosting!
• bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.
• allow to cool slightly on pan but don't wait too long to put on a cooling rack or they will be hard to get off the pan! 
• if you want to frost cookies, see delicious frosting recipe below!

BUTTER FROSTING

I ended up frosting some of the cookies but using just a colored sugar topping for others.

Here is my go to frosting recipe. I halved it because I wasn't decorating a lot. But I am writing out the full recipe. I also now realize I totally didn't follow the directions, but it still turned out okay! 

You need:

3/4 cup butter

9 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk *you might need extra if too stiff

2 tsp vanilla

food coloring if you want to decorate with color (I did not this time!)

• beat butter until smooth
• gradually add 2 cups of powdered sugar, beating well.
• add in milk and vanilla
• gradually beat in remaining powdered sugar
• add extra milk if needed to reach spreading consistancy.

(what i actually did was put in sugar, milk, then butter and mixed it all up...it was fine, just next time i would sift the powdered sugar first)

Recipe #253: Roasted Corn and Bacon Pizza

Some good recipes develop as you go and this was one of them! :)

You need:
1 cup corn
8 slices of turkey bacon
paprika
red pepper flakes
1/8 cup cilantro leaves
mozzarella
pizza sauce
pizza dough

• fry bacon and put to the side
• in same fry pan, add corn and mix until it heats up. add paprika and red pepper flakes (sprinkle it in and add more if you like! )
• crumble up bacon and add to corn.
• roll out pizza dough to make a thin layer (it was still not as thin as I wanted, but that is something to keep working on!)
• add sauce, corn/bacon mixture, cilantro leaves and then cheese
• grill on high for about 15 minutes (or bake, which ever is easier for you!) or until done!

we need to get a bigger pizza stone because I always make the crust too big! hence the curled up corners on the right side! :)

Recipe #252: Hummus

This is my aunts recipe. I have always wanted to make it and finally got Tahini to make some thing else so got to make this too! At first I thought it was too lemony, but that flavor kind of evens out after a while!

You need:
16 oz can of chick peas, drained
1/4 cup liquid from chick peas
4 Tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp tahini
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil

• blend until smooth.
• top with a drizzle of olive oil and red pepper flakes

Recipe #251: Baked Sweet Potato Chips

I had one sweet potato left and used the long slicer on my grater to cut thin slices of sweet potato.

You need:
1 sweet potato, skin peeled off (it makes it easier to grate...i found that out about half way through! :) )
olive oil, salt and pepper

• slice sweet potato with the long slicer on grater (or with a mandolin slicer)
• toss wiht some olive oil, salt and pepper
• lay in a single layer on cookie sweet
• bake at 450 until they start to brown, turning one time

Recipe #250: Tortilla Pie

I found the recipe here but made some changes.

You need:
1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
1/4 cup onion
1 garlic cloved minced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp hot sauce
taco seasoning
3 Tbsp or more minced cilantro
4-6 tortillas (I used my homemade ones so they were a little smaller)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup shredded cheddar

• cook meat, onion and garlic. drain fat
• add tomato, beans and spices, and a couple Tbsp of cilantro
• mix cheeses and remaining cilantro together
• spray the bottom of a round 9 inch cake pan. 
• layer bottom with tortilla
• top with meat mixture than another tortilla
• next cheese and another tortilla, more meat, and a tortilla then rest of cheese on top
• bake at 400 for 15 minutes

enjoy with sour cream, lettuce, and salsa!

Recipe #249: Easy Belgian Waffles

I made whole wheat waffles a long time ago...that post is found here, but today I decided to do an even easier one with just plain white flour.

You need:
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp oil (I substituted with apple sauce)

• mix dry ingredients in a large bowl
• combine small ingredients in a smaller bowl
• add wet mixture to flour mixture.
• follow the directions of your waffle iron and enjoy!

Recipe #248: Whole Wheat Torillas

Well, I had all the different stuff I needed to make something Mexican, except for the tortillas that is! And while it might have been faster to go to the store and get some, I didn't feel like having to get into the car and drive anywhere, so instead I decided to make them from scratch! I used a recipe I found here and loved the fact that they were whole wheat.

It was definitely a work in progress but I look forward to making them again. I think it will start to get easier too, or rather, that hopefully my tortillas will look more normal the more I make them. It wasn't until half way through that I figured out a good system...rolling them all out at once did not work so great!

You need:

2 1/2 whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp salt

1 cup warm water 

• heat tap water in microwave for a minute
• using a dough hook on your mixer, mix flour, oil and salt together until crumbly
• gradually add warm water
• roll with hands into a log and divide into 12 equal pieces
• roll into balls and flatten tops
• cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes (I used this time to make a batch of boule bread dough! :) )
• on a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into and 8-10 inch circle. (tip: I set up a space to roll out the tortilla on the stove right next to where i was browning them so I was rolling one out while one was in the fry pan)
• grease a warm 12 inch pan and cook until puffy and slightly brown 30-45 seconds on each side.
• eat, refrigerate, or freeze!

Recipe #246 and #247: {Bruschetta} and {Sweet vs Spicy} Grilled Cheese

It was the night of the Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear Grilled Cheeses!

We all started with the same base...Alex's sandwich:
You need:
2 pieces of bread (we used our homemade boule bread)

butter
mozzarella

For Will's Bruschetta Grilled Cheese you also need:
roma tomatoes
olive oil
basil

For Katie's Sweet vs Spicy you also need:
apple, thinly sliced
spicy brown mustard

• butter the outsides of the bread then lay on top of each other
• top some cheese
• add in your other special toppings (i spread the spice mustard to the inside of one of my pieces of bread)
• add a little more cheese on top so that when you heat it up it will melt together nicely
• warm up your fry pan and heat until both sides are a nice golden brown. Be careful when you flip them!

tastes great with some baked sweet potato rounds (basically this recipe here, but parsley instead of garlic) and edamame. I am trying to make my plate as colorful as possible to make sure we are eating a variety of veggies with each meal!

Recipe #245: Egg Griddle Sandwich

This week was not a good one in the world of trying new recipes. Will was not at home most evenings and I didn't have the energy to cook a full meal for just me, so Alex and I had some pretty basic meals!

This morning I snapped out of my rut thanks to random leftovers in the fridge and not having any bread! :) 

Pretty much it was an scrambled egg between two thick pancakes. Will had made up the rest of the pancake batter and stuck the extras in the fridge for alex's breakfasts...he just needs to work on not burning the outside, but all in all they tasted pretty good.

You need:

1 egg and 1 egg white

1 slice of cheese

a tiny handful of shredded cheese

2 thick pancakes

• mix egg, egg white and shredded cheese and scramble
• heat up pancakes 
• add slice of cheese and scrambled egg to the middle!

Recipe #244: Baked Avocado Fries

These made me so happy to eat! Even if Alex dumped them on the floor and spilled the dipping sauces, which then I had to clean up! :) I found the recipe here thanks to pinterest!

You need:
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cup panko
2 firm/ripe avocadoes

• Pit and peel the avocados, cut into 1/2 in wedges
• coat slices in flour, egg then panko
• lay on a cooling rack that is sprayed with non-stick spray
• when all are finished, put on a baking sheet and spray with olive oil and sprinkle on salt
• bake at 450 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. you can turn up heat to 500 for last 5 minutes.

Enjoy the crunchy goodness!!

Recipe #243: Brownies

If you like chocolately brownies, these are just right for you! super easy to make too. I found the recipe here

You need:
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
3/4 cup butter melted
1/2 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
3/4 cup chocolate chips

• combine all the ingredients in a bowl
• stir until all the dry ingredients are wet.
• pour into a 9x13 pan (I might use a smaller one next time because they were pretty thin)
• bake at 325 for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (make sure you aren't testing on a chocolate chip! :) )
• allow to cool and then cut and enjoy!

Recipe #242: Spiced Apple Cookies

Yay for the Super Bowl that made me have to try out some new recipes!
Here was the spread...my part at least, my mother in law added the burgers and fixings!

It included:
the chocolate rice crispy football
brownies
apple cookies
baked avocado fries
























But back to the Spiced Apple Cookies. I found this apple cookie recipe here. It is pretty delicious...mostly the dough, I could have eaten this cookie dough all day!
You need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 egg
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup apple, peeled and chopped

• beat together butter and brown sugar until well combined
• add eggs and milk and mix well
• in a separate bowl combine flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.
• slowly add to wet mixture until everything is well combined.
• stir in apples
• drop by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet
• press tops of cookies down so they are a little flattened
• bake for 12-14 minutes at 350, until they hold their shape and are light brown on the edges

Recipe #241: Peppermint Hot Chocolate

In my books, peppermint should not be a christmas only flavor!  I finally had a chance to make some peppermint hot chocolate my sister made over christmas. You can find a post about it here on her blog!

You need:
2 cups powdered milk
2 cups powdered coffee creamer
2 cups cocoa powder
1 1/2 chocolate chips
24 crushed candy canes
(her recipe also called for 1 tsp salt which I completely forgot to add!)

• crush candy canes
• mix powders together
• add chocolate chips and candy canes
• use about 1/4 cup with a mug of hot water!

the chocolate chips and peppermint chunks melted right away with the hot water! delicious!

Recipe #240 and 241:Spicy Grilled Chicken with Garlicly Sweet potatoes

I love the fact that we are grilling in February because the weather is so nice! 

I found the recipe for the chicken rub here and OH MY. It definitely has a kick to it! Delicious, but my mouth was burning. Will loved it though so if you are a spicy, spicy food person, I think you will like it!

you need:
1 1/5 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 Tbsp thyme
1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1/2 Tbsp rosemary
1/4ish Tbsp pepper
2 chicken breast, cut in half.

• mix spices together.
• use about 3 Tbsp to rub on top of chicken
• grill until both sides are done!

Alex LOVED the grilled sweet potatoes! He couldn't get enough of them!

You need:

2 sweet potatoes

olive oil

garlic powder

sea salt

• cut sweet potatoes into rounds and put into a ziploc bag
• pour in a little olive oil, garlic powder, and sea salt
• grill until well done!

Recipe #239: The Healthier Pancake...

So pancakes have become a regular Saturday morning breakfast in the Plunkett Household! Alex of course always helps me out! In light of my new goal, I decided to try and make our normal pancake recipe a little healthier!
Of course I am sure some people could find more substitutions for stuff, but this was a good start. I am also kind of new to the world of Flax Seed. I know if it a good source of fiber, but I need to keep playing around and learning more about it!

You need:
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp milled Flax seed
2 cups milk
2 eggs
3 Tbsp apple sauce (instead of oil)

• Mix dry ingredients together, then add wet ingredients and mix well.
• heat fry pan to about 325 and make your pancakes.

I ate two medium sized pancakes and had an egg for some protein. Of course coffee too! :)

A new goal...

As I was walking/running yesterday afternoon, I decided that I needed a goal to actually start getting rid of this extra weight that was hanging around. January hadn't really been a very consistent month for me. I wanted to start something, but then there were some stresses that never really helped me to keep on track, but that will not get me down!
 Then I realized it.
                   I am really wanting to to lose 30 pounds. Why not do it by the time I turn 30?


So before the big 30 I will get rid of the extra pounds and celebrate my 30th birthday feeling FIT!

Here are the plans:

• eat less--portion control is a HUGE issue for me! 
• I am using My Fitness Pal to help track my calories
• eat more greens...starting the meal with a salad would help me to eat less carbs and meat.
• water and coffee. only. The only other thing I really drink is diet coke, but that is not great. I will never give up coffee!
• exercise 3 times a week (at least). Right now the best thing I can do is walk/run because it is something I can do with Alex. I am doing a program called couch to 5K to help me get started running. I like the abs/core portion of P90X too. I can't commit to that whole program, but the abs part will be great!

Challenges I foresee:

• tight food budget 
• cold/bad weather
• stress snacking
• boredom snacking

But, they don't really seem so bad when you list them out! I will overcome.

Hopefully I will have some good news to report before too long! :)

Recipe #238: Baked Tacos

I found the recipe here but did some tweaking!

You need:
ground turkey
1 can pinto beans
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 cup spaghetti sauce
10 hard tacos
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
other toppings you like!

• brown meat
• drain pinto beans
• add beans, taco seasoning, and sauce to the meat and mix on low heat.
• arrange tacos in a 9x13 pan
• add meat and cheese to taco shells
• bake at 400 for 10 minutes
• add your favorite toppings!

Recipe #237: Seaweed Burger

It may sound weird, but it was delicious. I even made a cute little pile of rice like they do at restaurants in Japan! My rice is topped with curry furikake, absolutely the most amazing stuff ever!

You need:
ground beef
teriyaki sauce
square of seaweed
rice

• make the hamburger into a small patty
• start frying it, add a little bit of teriyaki sauce while cooking.
• cook until juices run clear, put on plate
• cover with a square of seaweed
• put some rice in a little bowl to make it come out in a cute shape! 
• enjoy! :)