Martha Stewart's Tamale Pies

It's hard to get good tamales and they are very difficult to make (so I'm told). Here's an easier alternative if you are craving something tamale-ish.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds ground dark-meat turkey
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 minced jalapeno chiles (seeds and ribs removed for less heat, if desired)
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups fresh (from 6 ears) or thawed frozen corn kernels
• Cornmeal Crust
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make filling: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. In two batches, brown turkey, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet. Cook onion, jalapeno, and cumin, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes; season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Return turkey to pan; stir in tomatoes and corn until combined.
3. Make Crust. Pour 1/8 of the crust (1/4 cup) into the bottom of each of eight 10- to 12-ounce ramekins. Smooth tops with a spoon; cool 5 minutes. Top each with turkey filling, dividing evenly; sprinkle with cheese.
4. Bake on a rimmed baking sheet until filling is bubbling and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes.

Paula Deen's Old-Time Beef Stew

Fall is coming or rather it's here but it's still warm outside and the air conditioning is on so it doesn't feel like fall at all. When it does show up, I'll still be eating Paula's stew which was given 5 stars on the Food network site.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds stew beef
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preparations:

1. Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. 
2. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer. 
3. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. 
4. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.

Easy Cheesy Ravioli

We really love this local Italian place but I'm finding these days that I can't justify eating out. It's just too expensive. So here's a quick way to make cheese ravioli that serves 4 for a cost approximately $6.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of frozen cheese ravioli (1lb 9oz.)
• 1 jar of creamy Alfredo sauce (the one pictured is very good or you can grab a cheaper brand with a coupon)
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Preparations:

1. Cook ravioli as directed in a pot. Drain. 
2. Add entire jar of Alfredo sauce to ravioli in pot. Cook over medium heat until sauce bubbles.
3. Serve and top with shredded cheese.

Martha Stewart's Baked Ravioli

I thought for the longest time that ALL of Martha Stewart's recipes were hard and time consuming and yet, here's another recipe that proves me wrong. I made this for family friends that just welcomed their first child. (Because really the two best gifts you can give a new mom are sleep and pre-made food.)

Note the honey in the background because it's still overwhelming my kitchen!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, or oregano
• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 2 pounds store-bought frozen ravioli
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thyme and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with spoon, until sauce is thickened and reduced to about 5 1/2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water just until they float to the top (pasta will continue to cook in oven). Drain pasta; return to pot.
3. Toss sauce with pasta. Pour pasta into a large gratin dish or 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with cheeses. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Honey Pumpkin Muffins

I made this recipe with a 23lb baby in one arm. So it's pretty easy if you have both hands free. :) The muffins turned out really dense and moist. They were so good that I hope to make more soon. (Makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 cup solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Preparations:

1. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg; set aside. 
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter until light; beat in honey, egg and pumpkin. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until just blended; stir in walnuts. 
3. Spoon into 12 greased or paper-lined 2-1/2 inch muffin cups. 
4. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 
5. Remove muffins from pan to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The National Honey Board's Cranberry Oat Bread

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Preparations:

1. Combine honey, oil, eggs and milk in large bowl; mix well. 
2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl; mix well. 
3. Stir into honey mixture. Fold in cranberries and nuts. 
4. Spoon into two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2-inch greased and floured loaf pans. 
5. Bake in preheated 350°F oven 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. 
6. Cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Allrecipes Honey Grilled Shrimp

It's still honey week and I just got back from a two day trip to Atlanta. Cooking is one of the last things on my mind as I came home to find 56 quarts of harvested honey on my kitchen counter and the whole house was in a general state of chaos. (How it can go from reasonably tidy to a disaster in 53 hours - is beyond me!) On the plus side, my husband said to me last night (without any prompting), "Thank you for all you do. I appreciate it."

That made up for the mess I get to clean up later today. :)

Here's a fairly easy recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons Italian-style salad dressing
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails attached
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• skewers

Preparations:

1. In a large bowl, mix together garlic powder, black pepper, 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce, wine, and salad dressing; add shrimp, and toss to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
2. Preheat grill for high heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade.
3. In a small bowl, stir together honey, melted butter, and remaining 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce. Set aside for basting.
4. Lightly oil grill grate. Grill shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque. Baste occasionally with the honey-butter sauce while grilling.

Cinnamon and Honey Hot Drink - for the common cold

Ever since I had KC, I'm constantly getting colds. He gets sick so then I get sick and every other week this little guy has a cold. I had one so bad in August that even Theraflu couldn't touch it. A dear friend mentioned that drinking hot cinnamon and honey can help. I drank it several times a day for three days and the cold was gone. It worked far better than over-the-counter medicine.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 1 1/2 cups water

Preparations:

1. Pour water into pot. Turn on medium heat. Add cinnamon stick.
2. Let cinnamon stick cook in water for 15 minutes or until water looks brown.
3. Pour water into cup. Add honey. 
4. Drink while warm.

Honey & Ginger Marinated Flank Steak

When I was in labor, my husband got the bright idea to purchase bees and set up beehives in the backyard. He asked me if it was okay when my contractions were about two minutes apart. Seriously - who is going to say no when they are completely focused on surviving ridiculous back labor and contractions?

Needless to say, I spent this past weekend in a warm garage helping to harvest honey. In honor of the honey that's sitting on my kitchen counter - this will be a week of honey-based recipes.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons ginger, freshly grated
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 lbs flank steak

Preparations:

1. Combine soy sauce, honey, vinegar, garlic powder, ginger and oil. Mix well.
2. Make light diagonal slashes on each side of the flank steak in a diamond pattern.
3. Place meat in shallow baking dish and pour marinade over it. Cover and refrigerate for four hours.
4. Grill steak for 6 to 8 minutes on each side. 
5. Let steak rest five minutes before serving.

Kraft's Chicken Almond Stir-fry

Here's a recipe that's both easy and healthy. I recommend it if you're sleep deprived and have cranky kids. :)

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp.  cornstarch
1/2 cup KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing, divided
1 pkg.  (16 oz.) frozen oriental mixed vegetables, thawed
1/2 cup PLANTERS Sliced Almonds, toasted
2 cups  hot cooked brown rice


Preparations:

1. Mix chicken with cornstarch and 1 Tbsp. dressing; cover. Refrigerate 15 min.
2. Heat large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 min. or until chicken is done, stirring frequently. Add vegetables and remaining dressing; cook 5 min. or until heated through. Stir in nuts.
3. Serve over rice.

Makes 4 servings

Better Homes and Garden Fruit Bars

I'm hiding from my baby as I write this. The house is warm and he is one cranky little man. If he was old enough to eat, I'd give him a taste of this fruit bar in the hopes that he'd stop fussing. He's not crying. He's just really annoyed because it's bedtime.

I messed up on this recipe. You are supposed to use a 9x9 and I used a 9x11. Use a smaller pan because the fruit filling won't cover a bigger spread.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 21-ounce can of fruit filling (I chose peach.)

Preparations:

1. Combine flour, oats, sugar and baking soda. 
2. Cut butter into flour mixture until it's crumbly. Spread all but 1/2 cup of it in the bottom of an ungreased 9x9 pan. 
3. Pour fruit filling over the top.
4. Drop reserved 1/2 cup of flour mixture over the top.
5. Bake at 250 for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Sun Maid's Classic Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick or old fashioned oats
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Preparations:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat butter, sugars, milk, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy.
3. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in separate bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture; mix well. Stir in oats, raisins and walnuts. 
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Sun Maid's Banana Raisin Bread

Did you know there are websites out there devoted to letting people know how to get free stuff? This recipe comes from a paper back type cook book that was free. The only issue I had with this recipe is that it was NOT done after being baked for 60 minutes at 350 degrees. Try baking it at 375 and checking it at 45 minutes and then every ten until it's done.

This bread did not slice well and was still a little undercooked in the middle.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 medium bananas, mashed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven.
2. Mix butter,  sugar and eggs. Blend in banana and milk.
3. Combine separately - flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 
4. Mix both sets of ingredients. Add raisins and nuts. 
5. Bake in loaf pan at 375 for 45 minutes or until you can poke the center with a spaghetti noodle and it comes out clean.

Easy Portobello Mushroom Saute from Allrecipes.com

When I paid $5.99 per pound (ouch!) for these mushrooms, I had the intention of making portobello mushroom burgers. When that recipe didn't come together, I went for this one. It's easy, non-time consuming but the cheese really makes it. As Ken and the kids say - "Cheese makes everything better."

Ingredients:

•  3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic flavored olive oil
• 1/4 onion, cut into chunks
• 2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced
• salt and black pepper to taste
• freshly grated Parmesan
• freshly grated Asiago cheese

Preparations:

1. Warm 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic flavored olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. 
2. Stir in onions and mushrooms; reduce heat to low, and cook until the mushrooms are soft and blackened and the onions are black around the edges. (Add additional olive oil as needed.) 
3. Turn the heat off, drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. 
4. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan and Asiago cheeses.

Kraft's Healthy Living Recipes for Kids

There are some really great advantages to using product brand recipes.

1. The recipes are generally one big short cut.
2. You don't have to buy the brand product included in the recipe. Just buy the same item but the generic or next cheaper brand.
3. If it sucks, you can email the company and tell them so. They might just send you coupons for something else as a result.

So if you are running short on time (seriously - who isn't?) and want to feed the kids something on the healthier side, check out Kraft's Health Living Recipes for Kids.

Martha Stewart's Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair Pasta

I told Ken that before he ate this dish, he had to take a picture of it with our digital camera. He says the pictures I've taken with my phone - suck so I have to use the camera. That would have been fine except the "re-chargeable" batteries in the camera failed and the pictures he thought he took are non-existent. Sometimes, technology is just super annoying.

Martha Stewart recipes are usually time consuming but this one isn't and if you love artichokes and don't mind the $3+ per can - I say make this one! It was very easy.

Check out Martha's Site

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 8 thin chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts packed in water, rinsed, drained, and quartered
• 2 tablespoons rinsed and drained capers
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces angel-hair pasta
• 1/2 cup parsley leaves

Preparations:

1. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Place flour in a shallow dish, and season with salt and pepper. Dredge cutlets, shaking off excess. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Cook chicken in batches, adding remaining oil as needed, until light golden, 1 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to a dish.
   
2. Add broth to skillet, and bring to a boil; cook until reduced by half. Add artichokes, capers, and the chicken with any juices. Gently swirl to combine, and bring just to a boil. Remove skillet from heat. Swirl in butter, and cover to keep warm.
   
3. Add pasta to boiling water. Cook until al dente; drain. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta, topped with parsley.
   

Romaine Salad with Bacon and Feta Cheese

No story here. Just needed a new way to make a green salad. Still like the other green salad with cranberries and feta cheese better. This is still good though.

Ingredients:

• 1 head of Romaine lettuce, washed, drained and torn into pieces
• 2 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup of Feta cheese
• 1/2 cup of dried cranberries
• 2 teaspoons Balsamic vinaigrette
• 2 tablespoons of Olive oil

Preparations:

1. Mix oil and Balsamic vinaigrette. 
2. Pour over clean lettuce. Mix well. 
3. Add cheese, cranberries and bacon. Stir thoroughly. 
4. Serve immediately.

I saved money when I got the cashier to stop flirting and do her job.

What's the point of having a blog if you can't share some lovely experiences? KC woke up at 5:15 a.m. on Saturday morning. (Because this kid is an eating machine!) Unfortunately after he ate 6 ounces of formula, he had zero desire to go back to sleep. So I figured why not head to Smith's grocery store (which should be empty at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning) and use my coupons. I had a huge stack of coupons for buy one, get one free and $1.00 off two. I wanted to use them on toiletries and dish soap. I figure why not buy a five year supply if I can get if for $20?

So I bought all the items they still had and when I got to the checkout, I realized that the only lines they had open were the self check out lines. I took note of the young female cashier "supervising" at the head of the area and began to ring up my items. KC and I had been there for a while so I tried to do it quickly because I knew he was about to get vocal. When I was done, I asked the cashier what I should do about the coupons. She said "Hit the coupon button." I stared at the screen and said "There is no button." "Oh, you have to hit the pay now."

Yeah, that chick tore herself away from flirting with a teenage boy for a whole five seconds to help me with that! After I hit the button, I gave her my big stack of coupons. I heard the sound of her scanning hem while all the while - staring at the boy nearby. When she was done, I noticed the total only showed $3 of coupons. I asked her about it because my total was $43.69 and she replied that she scanned them in. I thought that if I hit the pay now, maybe the screen would adjust itself and ran my card. No adjustment! Just a much bigger total than I expected.

When the receipt printed, I checked the coupon total and found it really was only $3 off. At that point, KC began to make noise. Not to be undone by a six-month-old, I interrupted the cashier and showed her my receipt. It took me at least two minutes to convince her that the coupons hadn't been entered right. Then she said "I'm about to get off shift in five minutes." Very politely I asked if someone else could help then. She said no, but still had to get the cashier that was coming on shift because she didn't know how to undo her mistake. Ten minutes later, I got a refund that brought my new total for all of the below - to $22.23.

In all fairness, the kid apologized and I resisted the urge to point out that if she had listened to me in the first place, she would have gotten off shift on time. :)

Banana Carrot Pecan Bread

There's no story here except that I like to bake for the gals that take care of KC and bananas seem to ripen before they can be eaten. I wish fruit had a longer shelf live.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preparations:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine oil and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. 
2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; gradually add to the creamed mixture alternately with bananas. Stir in carrots and pecans. Transfer to a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. 
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 
4. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.