Dump Cake

While the name is not all that appealing, this cake is soooo delicious! I'm sure you've had it before, it has 5 ingredients and you basically just dump them all in a pan and bake away! Easy peasy and oh so yummy. Yesterday, while nursing a hangover, Kurt turned to me and asked me to make Dump Cake. Since my husband is not really a dessert guy, and even less of a cake guy, I was stunned and very excited....I had an excuse to make cake! So we took a family trip to the grocery store, picked up the ingredients for the cake and for dinner and hurried home. I was not only excited to make this cake because I love cake, I was also excited because I knew it would make my house smell divine! Well, we ended up going to a friend's house for a cookout (first one of the year...let the grilling begin!) and didn't get home until 9pm so we couldn't make the cake. So first thing this morning I assembed and started baking it. My house smells warm and wonderful and the cake tastes even better!

Dump Cake
Source: Mother-In-Law (not sure where she got it)

Ingredients
1 can crushed pineapple in 100% pineapple juice
1 can cherry pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
2 sticks of butter
(I said it was delicious, not healthy)

Directions
1) In a 9x13 pan, layer and spread out the crushed pineapple and the cherry pie filling.
2) Sprinkle the yellow cake mix on top of the fruit then sprinkle the nuts on top of the cake mix.
3) Slice the butter and lay it out on top of the nuts.
4) bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve and enjoy!

~~It tastes best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
~~If you have made this cake and have a different name for it I'd love to know what you call it, Dump Cake is not very appetizing. ;)

Clearly this was a winner!

White Fish Tacos



It's that time of year again, time to start eating healthy so I can fit into my bathing suit (that I haven't worn for 2 years!). While breastfeeding did help me lose the initial weight, things are still a little.......soft :/. To combat this "softness" I started working out last weekend. Sadly, since it's been so long since I last worked out, I was sore from Sunday through Wednesday, completely preventing me from working out. I actually did so may push-ups that my elbows were so sore I couldn't straighten my arms! What?! I didn't even know that your elbows could hurt as bad as mine did!

Anyhoo, if I'm not going to be working out, I should probably start eating healthy. Enter fish tacos! Last week Friday I was craving some fish. We didn't want to get a fish fry (fry? that is not on the health food menu) so I suggested making fish tacos. Plus, I saw a few recipes that looked awesome. I decided to try this one from Annie's Eats, she hasn't let me down yet so I knew they'd be delicious!

White Fish Tacos

Source: Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

For the fish:

2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
3 tbsp. minced cilantro
¼ tsp. cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 lb. white fish (halibut, cod, tilapia, etc.)
Salt
(I'd personally add a few more spices before cooking the fish to give it more flavor)

For the cilantro cream sauce:
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp. cilantro, minced
6 oz. nonfat greek yogurt (sour cream is fine too)
1 clove garlic, minced
Pepper, to taste


For serving:
Cherry tomatoes, quartered
Green onions, chopped (I omitted)
Red cabbage, shredded (I used lettuce)
(Or whatever sounds good to you!)
6-inch flour tortillas

Directions:
1) Combine the lime juice, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, cilantro, cumin, and garlic in a pie plate or shallow dish. Whisk together until well blended. Place the fish in the mixture, turning to coat. Let marinate 15-30 minutes.


2) Meanwhile, prepare the cilantro cream sauce. Combine the lime juice, cilantro, greek yogurt, garlic and pepper in a small bowl. Mix until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3)Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the fish in the pan and cook without disturbing, 3 minutes. Flip the fish and cook on the second side 2-3 minutes more. Remove to a plate, season with salt as desired, and let rest for a few minutes. Shred the fish into bite-sized pieces with two forks.


4)Assemble tacos on flour tortillas with shredded fish, cilantro cream sauce and toppings as desired.

Penne Pasta Bake

My sister-in-law, Sara, lived with me and Kurt while she was pregnant (we were pregnant actually) and in between apartments. One of the perks of having Sara live with us was that she is a clean freak. She is not only good at cleaning but she loves to do it! It actually worked out well because she likes to clean and I like to cook, so I'd make dinner and she'd clean it up. Sara was never very good at cooking, and by that I mean she was not good at all (sorry Sara, you know I still love you!). Well, Sara is now living on her own and has a beautiful 9 (almost 10) month old daughter so she is sort of forced to cook for herself if she wants a good meal. I am happy to say that Sara has been trying all sorts of new dishes...and they are actually turning out and tasting delicious!! I couldn't be more proud that she has put herself out there and taught herself how to cook!

Last Saturday, Sara invited Riglee and I over to play with her daughter and made us this dish for dinner. She got this recipe from her mom who just sort of threw it together one night. Well, it turned out delicious...and easy...and there are leftovers! It was hot, cheesy, comforting, and oh-so-yummy!!

Penne Pasta Bake

Source: Sara

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground beef

1 lb of mini penne noodles
1 24 oz jar of Newmans own Sockarooni pasta sauce
1 24 oz jar of Prego traditional sauce
1 bag of mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Boil noodles and brown ground beef.
2. Pour both into a big bowl and add both jars of pasta sauce. Stir.
3. Pour half of the pasta mixture into a dish and sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese and some parmesan on top.
4. Pour in the remaining pasta mixture and sprinkle the rest the mozzarella on the pasta and top with parmesan cheese.
5. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
 
~~~~ I would add some italian spices or some crushed red pepper flake to kick it up a notch.

Crockpot Chicken Chili

Make this. Now. No, I'm not even kidding. This is super super super easy and delicious!! I thought this would be fairly bland since there are not many ingredients but it was sooooo flavorful and yummy! And did I mention it was easy?!? I wish I had more to say about this but....just make it.

Crockpot Chicken Chili

Source: Michelle, my daycare provider

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless chicken breasts

1 jar black bean & corn salsa (I suggest Neuman's Own)

1 can white beans

1 jar of water (use empty salsa jar)

White cheese, about 2 cups

Optional add-ins: corn, spinach, more beans, mushrooms, etc (I added extra corn)

Directions:

Place chicken breasts in the crock pot. Pour salsa, white beans, and water over chicken and stir. Cook on high 4-5 hours (or low about 8). Shred chicken then add cheese (and any other add-ins) and cook for another 30-60 minutes.

~~~~~~~~~

This makes a very thick chili so add more water if you want a more soupy chili.

Champagne Chicken

Since becoming a mom I have not had much time to go out and par-tay with my friends. I have actually become very good at drinking at home (usually by myself but that is a whole other story). I love to have a couple glasses of wine while catching up on my DVR'd shows or watching a movie. I made this dish after Christmas as we had half a bottle of champagne leftover (yes, I was the one who drank the other half by myself). I hated wasting all that delicious bubbly and found this recipe on Food.com and I am really glad I tried it. The sauce was a little thin so next time I will add some cornstarch to thicken it. I also think it could have used some veggies in it, mushrooms, onions and peas would be delicious with the sauce. Again, it passed the husband test (which is the true test in my household) so it's definitely worth trying!!

Champagne Chicken

Source: Food.com

Ingredients

8 (8oz) pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (I had 1.2lbs of chicken breasts)

1 package sliced mushrooms

Frozen peas (maybe 1 cup)

1 onion, chopped

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp white pepper (I just used regular pepper)

1/4 cup butter

2 tsp olive oil 

1 1/2 cups champagne

1 cup whipping cream (I used half and half)

1 tsp ground rosemary

Cornstarch

1 tsp chopped parsely (I omitted b/c I didn't have it)

Directions
1. Flatten chicken and dust with flour, salt, and pepper (I just sliced the breasts in half horizonatally). In a very large skillet melt butter and olive oil together over medium heat.

2. Add the chicken, mushrooms and onions and saute 5 minutes, turn chicken over and add the champagne and cook for another 12-15 minutes.

3. Add the peas, cream, rosemary, and cornstarch and cook until thickened. Serve over noodles or rice.

Sausage, Mushroom & Pasta Skillet

I actually made this yummy dish tonight and liked it so much I had to blog about it right away! This recipe was really supposed to be Sausage with Peppers and Pasta however the hubs doesn't like cooked peppers so I had to make some subsitutions. I took out the peppers and added onion and mushrooms and added some extra italian seasoning and red pepper flake for a kick. Honestly, this dish was so easy to whip up and was very flavorful! It was a nice change of pace from the basic spaghetti with meat sauce (althought I love that dish too!). As always, I don't really measure but I used the recipe as a measurement guideline.

Sausage, Mushroom & Pasta Skillet

Adapted from Kraftfoods.com

3 cups rigatoni pasta, uncooked

1 lb. Italian sausage links

1 onion, chopped

Packaged sliced mushrooms

1 can (14.5 oz) Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 sm. can tomato

Italian seasoning

Crushed red pepper flake

1 each green, red, and yellow pepper (optional)

Parmesean cheese

1. Cook pasta as directed on package, just shy of al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of the starchy cooking water.

2. Meanwhile, remove sausage from casings and cook in a large skillet on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add onions and mushrooms (and peppers) and cook until soft. Add italian seasonings and crushed red pepper flake. Add can of diced tomatoes, can of tomato sauce, and about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Cook about 3 minutes or until heated through.

3. Add pasta to sausage mixture and mix well. Let pasta cook about 5 more minutes to absorb the sauce. Serve and top with parmesan cheese.

Sloppy Joe Biscuit Cups

The picture is not that attractive but trust me on the taste...Delicousness!

Kurt is my faithful taste-tester for all new things that I try. For the most part it's a pretty good gig (I am a pretty good cook after all!), but every now and again I try something that is not so delicious. Luckily, this was not one of those days!!

I have been craving a Sloppy Joe for quite some time. I grew up on Sloppy Joes and they always have a special place in my heart, filed under "comfort food." Now that I'm a parent I like them for the sheer fact that they are easy to make and don't take very long. Kurt, on the other hand, is a big fan of Sloppy Otto's (instead of a red sauce you use sour cream and sour kraut). For the past year or two when I say that I am going to make Sloppy Joe's for dinner, Kurt sort of grumbles that he'd rather have Sloppy Otto's. And me, being the most amazing wife in the world, makes Sloppy Otto's (again, they are easy and quick) and makes my husband happy.

Well I saw this receipe online at http://www.pillsbury.com/ and thought that it was such a cute idea I knew I had to try it. So tonight I just made the Sloppy Joe's I've been craving so long. When they were done I actually had to give Riglee her bath and put her to bed so I told Kurt to go ahead and eat. 10 minutes later he barged into the bathroom and practically screamed that he LOVED these Sloppy Joe's! I thought he was making fun of me but he was absolutely right....these 'lil suckers are scrumptious!! Easy...check. Quick...check. Delicious...check! I mean, what's not to like here?

Sloppy Joe Biscuit Cups
Source: Pillsbury.com
I made some changes which are listed as well

Ingredients:
3/4 lb. lean ground beef (I used a pound)
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I just used about a teaspoon of minced garlic)
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper (I omitted)
1/4 cup ketchup (I probably used 1/3-1/2 cup)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
(2 tbsp BBQ sauce)
1/8 tsp pepper
(1/2 tsp red pepper flakes)
1 tbsp brown sugar (I probably used a little less)
1 can (16.3oz) Pillsbury Grands Homestyle Buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

Directions:
1. Heat overn to 375 degrees.
2. In a 10 inch skillet cook beef, onion, garlic, and bell pepper over medium-high heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, drain. Return to pan and stir in ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, red pepper flakes, BBQ sauce, and brown sugar.
3. In the meantime, separate dough into 8 biscuits. Flatten out each biscuits and place in an ungreased regular-size muffin cup. Firmly press dough in bottom and up sides of each cup, forming a 1/4 inch rim.
4. Spoon about 1/3 cup beef mixture into dough-lined cups. Sprinkle each biscuit with 1 tbsp shredded cheese.
5. Bake 17-20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and cheese is melted.

Venus de Milo Soup

I've been dying to make soups this winter and for some reason they seem so daunting to me. I found this one on Food.com and thought it was easy enough and a good place to get my feet wet in the world of making soups. The soup was pretty good but lacked some seasonings which I would definitely add more of next time. I also used a few cartons chicken broth instead of the condensed broth and water. I served it with flakey biscuits which I definitely did not make from scratch (thank you Pillsbury)! It made a huge batch so I was able to freeze enough for a couple lunches later on.

Venus de Milo Soup

Source: Food.com

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

2 (14oz) cans condensed chicken broth

2 (14oz) cans water (use empty chicken broth cans)

4 cups of water

1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope Lipton French Onion soup mix

1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes (I used 2 cans of petite diced tomatoes with italian seasoning)

1 (12-16oz) bag frozen vegetables

1/2 cup small pasta (shells, orzo, etc - I used dried tortellinis)

Seasonings (I added salt and pepper and a bay leaf)

Directions

1. In a large pot brown ground beef stirring to break it up. Drain well.
2. Add broth, onion soup mix, water and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add frozen veggies and seasonings and simmer 10 more minutes.
3. Stir in pasta and cook about 8 minutes more until pasta is done (I partially cooked my tortellini before adding to the soup).

Lamb Lollipops?!



So on December 26th my brothers, David and Mikey, came over for a little family dinner! David has been working for the UW system directly under one of their head chefs. He's always wanted to be a chef and always makes delicious food. Obviously he is the one who gets stuck cooking for all of us. David decided dinner would be lamb and potatoes and I was in charge of the veggie. Now, lamb would probably not be on my top 3 choice of meals (they would probably be pasta, pasta, then beef......with pasta) but this lamb was ahhh-mazing! I don't know exactly what he put on it but he had some sort of panko/herb crust and it was cooked perfectly and was very tender. I mean, this lamb was really really good, even Kurt loved it!

And ohmygoodness the homemade mashed red potatoes with a cream and pea sauce. David just heated up some cream and added frozen peas with salt and lots of pepper. This was so incredibly simple but added so much flavor and depth to the meal....why didn't I think of this before?! I know I don't have any recipes for this meal but I just had to show it off!!

Christmas Munching...

This pretty much explains the excitement we feel about eating on Christmas. For the past 11 years we have been enjoying Christmas up north with our families, namely Kurt's family. Christmas Eve his parents put on a surf 'n' turf dinner and Christmas day is filled with gorging on appetizers and desserts (all while we are in our pajamas of course, we need the expandable waistlines). Since we now have our own child, we want to start making Christmas as special for her as our parents have made it for us. This means we opted to stay home for Christmas this year and spend it as our own little family.

Christmas Eve we did a nice dinner of steak, baked potato, corn, and salad. It was delicious and traditional for a nice dinner. Now Christmas day is where it is at!! We also decided to stick with the appetizer theme and just did a whole lot of eating. Here is our Christmas 2010 menu:

More importantly, here is the food (recipes to come later)!



The spread



Crackers with brie and apricot jelly

Shrimp cocktail (what is Christmas without shrimp cocktail)

BBQ little wienies & sweet and sour meatballs

Veggies & dip



Velveeta sausage dip

Cream cheese & salsa dip



Christmas cookies provided by Kurt's mom



Strawberry swirl cheesecake



I made Kurt wait to eat until I took pictures, he was obviously too excited to listen!