Sunday, May 31, 2009

Recipe Swap Monday 6/1

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So I was going to use my stuffed bell pepper recipe but when I sat down I had developed a sweet tooth and so I borrowed a from the wonderful Paula Deen a recipe that I have made countless times.


Gorilla Bread

Serves:
12 to 14 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count)

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.




Copyright 2009 Television Food Network G.P., All Rights Reserved





For more great recipes check out Our Chaotic Life.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

The Goodies I found today..

So I took a trip to Trader Joe's today and I can always find something new there to try so these are the wonderful items I picked up today.



I got the pita cracker to go with my White Bean Hummus ( I like hummus just don't care for the chickpeas so I swapped out white beans for the chickpeas. It's really good I think I will post a couple different variations of my White Beans Hummus this week.)

So do you shop at Trader Joe's? If so, what are your favorite things to get?

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Souplantation Review

I like food, and I equally like talking about food. Me and my good friend Trina whos page you can check out over at Mother of Twins have started (without planning it, it just happened this way) to take monthly lunch outings with just us, no kids, or significant others. Yesterday was our second lunch date and we have so far been trying out places that either one or both of us hadn't visited. So I figured I would add another element to my foodish ways blog by adding a monthly Restraraunt Reviews so every month unless something comes up (which stuff frequently does I will try and post another review) So bare with me this is my first one and I am open to suggestions on what you would want to know about a restrauant so if i am leaving key elements out please let me know. So without further ado: May Review goes to... Souplantation which I noticed is also known as Sweet Tomatoes in other states.




I have to say I was really skeptical, I checked out the website before we went and I called up Trina and said "You know they only sell soups and salads." I just couldn't see a place that didn't at least have a sandwich option really being my cup of tea, but shame on me for jumping to assumptions. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised when we finally arrived. To start it is a buffet style restaraunt so you pay a flat fee of about $9.00 per person and then you can have your fill of salad and a variety of soup and baked good choices. I tried my best for research sake to try as many as the items as I could ;). Since it was a buffet I just went ahead and grabbed the Souplantation lunch menu from today edited out the items they didn't have or I didn't try and then I will rate each item 1-5 1= being wouldn't try it again 5= Can't get enough keep it coming and (E )will denote the items I tried and ( T ) the ones Trina tried

Tossed Salads:

Caesar Salad Asiago (Non-Vegetarian) 3 - (T) didnt really care for their dressing
Won Ton Chicken Happiness 4- (T) thought it was very good, but 1 serving was enough


Prepared Salads:

German Potato Joan's Broccoli Madness (Non-Vegetarian) 1 - (T) tried it for the 1st time and wouldn't try it again
Poppyseed Coleslaw (Vegetarian) 4-( T) Good and well worth trying out.

Soups:

Deep Kettle House Chili (Low-Fat) 4-( E) It was good but I did add onions & cheese
Golden Yam Bisque (Vegetarian) 1 -( E) Just didn't float my boat, 3 -( T) different, unique
Yankee Clipper Clam Chowder with Bacon 5 -( E) I can eat a good clam chowder e'erday
Classical French Onion (Non-Vegetarian)3- (E) along side a good roast beef sandwich, 2- (T) as a stand alone soup not impressed
Cream of Mushroom (Non-Vegetarian) 4 (T) Really good!!!

Pastas:

Macaroni & Cheese (Vegetarian) 3- (T) Liked it, thought it would be a good option for kids
Vegetarian Marinara w/ Basil (Vegetarian) 4 -(T) Also very good and a great option for the little ones


Muffins:

Buttermilk Cornbread (Low-Fat) 2- (T) didn't really care for whole corn kernals in the cornbread.
Chocolate Brownie Muffin 5- (E) chocolate!!!, need I say more
Garlic Asiago Focaccia 5 -(E) (T) We are both big on bread good alone or dipped in soup.
Wildly Blue Blueberry Muffin 3- (E) okay but not memorable
Cranberry Orange Bran Muffin (96% Fat-Free) 3- (E) It was good, just a little to thick and heavy for my liking.

Desserts:

Vanilla Soft Serve 5- (E) with the right toppings you can't go wrong
Chocolate Soft Serve 1- (T) tried both chocolate and vanilla but even with topping couldn't finish it, wasnt good.



My favorite part of eating, dessert =>




Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes are not at this time located in all of the states. You can find out if there is a Souplantation or Sweet Tomatoes, also you can check out full menus at their website http://www.souplantation.com/.



A few more ratings:

Family Friendly 4 (E) I saw a lot of high chairs, most of the seating was booth style which works well for my family, but I would have liked to see a few more items my kids would have liked. 4 (T)

Restrooms: 4- (E) clean and stocked, a little small though only two stalls. 2- (T) felt they could have been cleaner.
Staff: 5- (E) Friendly and helpful 3- (T) would like to have seen a greeter/hostess
Dining Room: 5- (E) food stations were clean and well stocked. 5- (T)

Overall I would rate the place at an A-. I really enjoyed eating here (I ate way more than I should of definitely got my money's worth) I would absolutely go back again. :)






Sunday, May 24, 2009

Recipe Swap Monday- Memorial Day!!!

Since I know along with 3 day holiday weekends come a lot of traveling and if you are anything like my family a lot of bbq's so I decided to post a simple and quick dip recipe that is a crowd pleaser at all our gatherings. :)

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. grated parmesan
1 c. shredded part skim mozzarella
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1 (14oz) can artichoke hearts, drained

  • Squeeze all excess liquid from spinach, place in a food processor with sour cream, parmesan, 1/2 c. mozzarella, cream cheese, garlic, pepper, and hot sauce.
  • Process until just blended but still slightly lumpy. Add artichokes and pulse to form a chunky mixture.
  • Place in a 1 quart baking dish. Top with remaining mozzarella. Bake until bubbly, about 30 mins.
I like to serve with sour dough bread or tortilla chips



Head on over to Anissa at Our Chaotic Life for more Recipe Swap Monday.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

May's Cheesecake of the Month

Now that it is starting to warm up I think a nice tangy citrus cheesecake would be appropriate so this month cheesecake is an oldy but goody around my house.


Key Lime Cheesecake

2 pkg. cream cheese
1 tsp. key lime peel*
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. sugar
3 tbs fresh key lime juice*
2 eggs
1 honey maid pie crust
1 c. cool whip

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese, sugar, peel, lime juice and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, mix until just blended. Pour into crust.

Bake 40 mins. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate at least 3 hrs. overnight if possible. Top w/ cool whip just before serving.

*You can substitute regular limes if key limes aren't available (turns out just as good. )

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Sweet And Sour Meatloaf

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Yeah it's Monday again and that means Recipe Swap Monday. I found lots of yummy looking recipes to try last week. Head over to Anissa at Our Chaotic Life to check out more wonderful recipes. :)

So this week I am sharing a recipe that helped me to appreciate how good meatloaf can be. I was never a meatloaf person, when I thought of comfort food meatloaf never came to mind, however my family all seems to really like it and I got tired of making a dinner that I didn't want to eat so I tried out a few meatloaf recipes before I found this one and ever since I've found it I can now enjoy meatloaf night with the family. I am going to try adding cheese next time though after seeing Sandra's over at Full Bellies, Happy Kids cheese stuffed meatloaf I've decided one more addition couldn't hurt.

Anywho here it is:

Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

Meatloaf

1 pd. ground beef
1 1/2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. onion powder
1/4 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. bread crumbs
2/3 c. milk

Sauce

1/2 c. Ketchup
2 tbs. cider vinegar
4 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs. onion powder
6 tbs. water



For the meatloaf, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine the ground beef, worcestershire sauce, salt, onion powder, oats, bread crumbs, and milk. Place the meat mixture in a loaf pan. Bake for 20 mins.



For sauce, combine the ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, onion powder and water. Pour the sauce over the meatloaf after it has cooked for 20 mins. Reduce the over temp. to 375 and bake the loaf for an additional 40 mins.












Lemons Anyone???

This weekend I was using quite a few lemons to cook with so I decided to look up other everyday uses for lemons and here are a few of the ideas I found at gomestic.com:


~Cut a lemon in half and place in dishes for air fresheners.


~Clean and deodorize your microwave by placing 4 tablespoons of lemon juice in 1 cup of water. Place in microwaveable bowland boil for 5 minutes. The condensation from the boiled mixture will enable the microwave to be wiped out easily, and will deodorize the oven.


~By adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to rice while cooking you can prevent your rice from sticking.


~Lemon or orange peels tossed regularly into the garbage disposal will keep the garbage disposal smelling fresh.

~Dry and achy hands and feet can be relieved with a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil used as a massage. The skin will feel softer too.


~Remove the foul odor of fish or the stain of berries from your hands by washing them first in lemon juice and then with soap and water.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Recipe Swap Monday

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This is my first Monday participating but Anissa over at Our Chaotic Life is hosting a recipes swap and since I like food I thought this would be a perfect way to share and get some good recipes. So Here goes I don't have pics hopefully next week but here is the recipe


Creole Shrimp w/ Garlic and Lemon


1 pd. large shrimp, shelled and deveined


1 1/2 tbs minced garlic


1 tbs creole seasoning


1 red bell pepper


2 tbs. vegetable oil


Juice of 1 lemon


1/4 c. chopped parsley


  • In a bowl, toss the shrimp w/ the garlic, creole seasoning and bell peppers


  • In a skillet, saute the shrimp in the oil over moderately high heat, turning the shrimp once, until just white throughtout.


  • Add lemon juice and parsley and serve.


There it is 7 ingredients 3 steps quick easy and good I ate it over rice. :)



Before & After

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Shrimp Ceviche


This recipe since I got it a couple years ago has become one of my husbands favorites so I figured today would be as good as any to share it.

Shrimp Ceviche

3lbs shrimp cleaned
6 limes juiced
1 c. cilantro leaves
1 serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cucumber peeled and diced
4 lg. tomatoes, diced
4 lemons juiced
1 red onion
3 tbs. tomato paste
Salt and Pepper to taste

  • Layout shrimp in bottom of dish. Pour lemon and lime juice over them.
  • Refrigerate 3 hrs.
  • Toss w/ remaining ingredients and refrigerate for one hour longer

That's it simple and tasty we usually just eat it with tortilla chips.


Sorry bout the after picture didnt realize my camera wasn't focused. It's about time to upgrade.

Happy Cinco De Mayo

Monday, May 4, 2009

Meatless Monday Roundup

Interested in sharing your meatless monday recipes, experiences or just get some good recipes visit Native American Momma's page and sign up for her Meatless Monday Roundup.

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Meatless Monday

Well it's week two for our household doing Meatless Monday.

So for me I did oatmeal for breakfast, subways veggie delight for lunch

The kids did cereal for breakfast, grilled cheese and fruit for lunch

For Dinner the menu will be:

Spinach Lasagna
Salad
Garlic Bread


Spinach Lasagna Recipe

1ts. extra virgin olive oil
1 (10 oz) pkg of fresh spinach
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
2 cloves garlic
1 (32 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 c. water
2 c. ricotta cheese
1 (8 oz) pkg. mozzarella
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1/4 c. fresh parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
12 lasagna noodles

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

  • In a large pot over medium heat saute spinach, oregano, basil, and garlic in olive oil. Pour in spaghetti sauce and water; simmer 20 min. In a large bowl mix ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.

  • Place a small amount of sauce in the bottom of a lasagna pan. Place 4 uncooked noodles on top of sauce and top with layer of sauce. Add 4 more noodles and layer with 1/2 sauce and 1/2 cheese mixture, repeat for one more layer.

  • Cover with foil and bake in preheated over for 55 mins. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Let sit 10 mins. before serving.


A cell phone pic of the finished product :)

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Cheesecake Like I've never had it before.

Yesterday eating dinner at a friend's house she has cheesecake for desert. Cheesecake I love cheesecake, but this cheesecake had a layer of plain sour cream, jello, and fresh strawberries, on top of the cheesecake filling. So I have said before I haven't found a cheesecake I didn't like and this is no exception. Now in fact I am on a mission to find this recipe, duplicate it, and probably list it as my Cheesecake of the Month