Dear Martha Stewart

Back in my grad school days, I would come home for lunch to have a bit of a reprieve from the craziness. I usually watched the Martha Stewart show...can't really tell you why, maybe because it was good mindless entertainment at the time. I don't know that I would choose to watch it now. Anyhoo...

On one show, she said that if you burn a candle while you are chopping onions, the onions won't make you cry. Since I had lots of onions to chop tonight, I thought I would test it out...



Dear Martha Stewart, Maybe I need a bigger candle, or a different kind of fire because it didn't work...



*This pic was taken AFTER I could see enough to walk down the steps and retrieve the camera...there was one point that I was crying so much I completely soaked the left sleeve of my shirt trying to dry it up so I could see where I was going. Ignore the "sad eyes." Apparently they're the same as the "Oh my gosh my eyeballs are burning out of their sockets" eyes.

New recipe!

I subscribe to a daily recipe newsletter from www.allrecipes.com, and any that are 4+ stars and sound good to me, I save and try. (I really recommend you do this...it's give me some great ideas and recipes to add to my collection...and you can just delete the e-mail if you're not in the mood to read it...me? I'm always up for some good food!)

My goal is to make at least 1 new recipe each week. So far, so good! The recipe I made last night has been my favorite by far! Now, I know the name of it sounds gross, but give it a try if you like kielbasa and fried potatoes...it's wonderful! I starved myself all day in anticipation of the major calories I would take in with this, and it was SOOOOOO worth it! (Had I known you can buy turkey kielbasa, I wouldn't have starved myself because all the other ingredients are pretty healthy...next time...) Even my super-picky-will-only-eat-chicken-fingers-corndogs-and-pizza husband loved it! You have no idea how excited that makes me.

Here's the link to the original recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Day-Before-Payday-Kielbasa-and-Corn-Hash/Detail.aspx It makes 6 servings, so there's plenty for me to freeze and reheat later...yay!

"Day Before Payday" Kielbasa and Corn Hash

3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
4 large red potatoes, diced (the smaller the better!)
1 pound kielbasa sausage, diced (make sure they are bite size pieces or smaller)
1 (16 ounce) package frozen pepper and onion stir-fry blend (or you can use fresh pepper/onion)
1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt and black pepper to taste
6 eggs (optional)

Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the potatoes and kielbasa, and cook until the kielbasa is browned, and the potatoes are nearly tender, about 10 minutes. (I cooked it almost 15 until the potatoes and kielbasa were nice and brown.) Add the frozen pepper mix and corn; season with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes more (I cooked it almost 15 minutes more until the onions were soft and starting to get carmelized).

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, crack in the eggs, and cook to your desired degree of doneness, about 1 1/2 minutes per side for over-medium. Portion the kielbasa hash into 6 servings, and top each serving with a fried egg.

*I had mine with the egg and it was great! Josh did not want an egg on his, and he was very pleased with the recipe too. Next time I'll definitely use turkey kielbasa so I won't have to feel so guilty about eating so many calories....it was totally worth it though! It was my reward after doing plyometrics last night. Plyo is BY FAR my most hated workout of the week.

In other news, we're on day 17 of P90x and still going strong! We'll re-measure everything at the end of week 4, so I'm anxious to see what's changed. I definitely feel stronger though! (and I can tell I'm burning a ton of calories, because I'm much more hungry than I normally am! Keeping my calorie intake at a decent level has been the hardest part so far!)

New blog!

A friend of mine recently started a food blog as part of a college class assignment. Her first recipe is looking pretty tasty to me! So, go check out her blog and leave her some love!

Melissa's "Truly Epicurious"

p.s. I LOVE the title, don't you? :)

Jalapeno Popper Spread

So, here's the actual recipe we chose from the "Can dyed jalapenos" incident posted earlier. It is SUPER easy and oh-so-tasty!

To read the original recipe and reviews/suggestions...click here.

Jalapeno Popper Spread

2 (8 ounce) packages light cream cheese, softened
1 cup light mayonnaise
7 fresh jalapeno peppers (chopped, seeds and ribs removed)
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (divided, 1 cup each)...use the real stuff...don't buy the green bottle from Kraft or I promise you won't get the same effect!

Mix cream cheese and mayo together. Stir in chopped jalapenos and 1 cup parmesan cheese. Put in microwave safe bowl, and top with remaining Parmesan cheese.

Microwave on high until hot and cheese is melty (about 3-4 minutes).

*Um, seriously, that's it. Promise you'll love it! They say it's best with french bread, but since we didn't have any of that, I ate it with Ritz crackers. It was pretty tasty anyway!

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little obsessed with All Recipes. Why, you ask? Well, I've NEVER (seriously, never) found a 5 star recipe on there that I didn't absolutely love! Cakes, pies, appetizers, main course, crock pot meals, you name it....find it on there with 5 stars and lots of reviews, you can't go wrong! (There is an option to sort by rating on the top left of your search list). I hope you enjoy these two recipes as much as we did!

Zucchini Bread

I thought I would share a recipe for Zucchini bread that I made this weekend. It was superb! Even Josh ate it...and that's kind of like getting a picky 5 year old to eat something. So, it really is good. And, it tastes nothing like zucchini for all of you out there going, "YUCK!" Seriously, just give it a try!

This recipe was adapted from a recipe you can read here. Here's my version...

Zucchini Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon (give or take...I love me some cinnamon!)
1 teaspoon nutmeg (okay, who am I kidding? I didn't measure the nutmeg or cinnamon...)
3 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini (didn't really measure this either...2 large zucchinis = a little over 2 cups)

Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, nutmeg and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini until well combined.

Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

*I would post a picture, but...well, we already ate it all! (Okay, 1 loaf is in the freezer...but we devoured the other one!)

Jalapeno funny

We had some jalapenos from the garden that really needed to be used this weekend, so I asked Josh to go to All Recipes and search for "jalapeno," and let me know if he sees a recipe he will eat.

So, he's reading down through the recipes, and he says, "Can dyed jalapenos? What on earth is that?"

I reached around to turn the computer toward me and read, "Candied jalapenos." I started laughing, and all Josh could say...

"Go ahead and blog about that one."

LOL!

Guacamole

I love good food. You might have noticed from all my recipe postings. Publix had their avocados on sale this week, and I couldn’t resist! They were perfectly ripe when I bought them, so naturally the guacamole had to be made yesterday as soon as I got home from work. :) Well, here’s another super tasty recipe…if you like good guacamole. I LOVE it!

Guacamole

2 hass avocados, peeled, pitted and mashed
½ small onion, finely chopped
½ clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small ripe tomato, finely chopped
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together then salt and pepper to taste! It’s really that easy. You can vary the ratios of everything to make it how you like it. I’m a purist, so this works well for me. I made this recipe when I got home and proceeded to eat the ENTIRE batch. Trust me, it was totally worth it.

Some of you might be scared of avocados…I used to be. But they’re so easy! Cut all the way around the avocado, longways. Then you can twist the two halves apart. Take your knife and “karate chop” it into the pit (don’t be timid), then twist the pit to remove. Use a large spoon to scoop out the pulp. Some people like to score the avocado before scooping. That’s up to your personal preference. Once the pulp is scooped out, you can mash it with a fork to whatever consistency you like.

See? Easy. Enjoy!

Paula Deen's House Seasoning

This is the only part of the recipe I forgot to post on my recipe post below. Sorry!

Paula Deen's House Seasoning

1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix well and enjoy!

As Promised...

Here are a few tasty recipes I've discovered in the last few weeks. I thought I'd share with you!

Chicken Wild Rice Soup
(from my friend Stephanie)

5 2/3 cups water
1 package (4.3 ounces) long grain and wild rice mix (I used Rice A Roni)
*This contains the rice as well as a seasoning packet...you'll need both!
1 envelope chicken noodle soup mix
1 celery rib (chopped)
1 medium carrot (chopped)
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup cubed cooked chicken (I boiled a chicken breast then shredded it)

In large saucepan, combine the water, rice, rice seasoning packet and soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in celery, carrot and onion. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Stir in chicken soup and chicken. Cook 8 minutes longer or until the rice and vegetables are tender.

*So easy, and so tasty! I think this soup is even better the second day...or make a bunch and freeze it in individual servings to take for lunch.

Jessica Simpson's Chicken and Dumplings
(from the Rachel Ray Show via my friend Katie)

3 cans reduced fat crescent rolls
1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded and meat removed
1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1 cup low sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400. Roll out cans of crescent rolls and tear apart diamond shapes. Place a generous amount of rotisserie chicken into each diamond, fold over, and press edges together to make dumplings. Continue doing this until you fill the bottom of a 9x13 dish with one layer of dumplings. Take remaining crescent rolls and cut into thin strips.

Pour the cream of chicken over the dumplings, followed by the cream of mushroom and chicken broth. Place crescent roll strips in a criss-cross pattern on top and season with salt and pepper.

Bake ~30 minutes until the dumplings are tender and cooked through, and the top is bubbly and brown.

*This is no where near as good as my Nana's chicken and dumplings, but it's pretty good for a quick and easy meal!

Candy Bar Fudge
(From Vicki's open house)

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/3 c. baking cocoa
1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. milk
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
30 caramel candies, unwrapped
2 T. water
2 c. unsalted peanuts
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

Combine 1st 4 ingredients; microwave on high for 3 minutes or until boiling, stirring after 1 minute. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Pour into buttered 8x8 dish and set aside.

Heat caramels and water on high for 2 minutes or until melted, stirring after 1 minute. Stir in peanuts. Spread over chocolate mixture, set aside.

Microwave chocolate chips on high until melted. Pour evenly over caramel layer. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into squares.

*These are SOOOO much better than a Snicker's bar! And the whole thing can be done in the microwave...what's not to love? Tip from me: Line baking dish with parchment paper so you can lift the bars out before cutting them...it will make cutting them much easier!

Paula Deen's Pimento Cheese
(from Mrs. Paula Deen via my cousin Julie)

1/2 teaspoon Paula Deen's house seasoning (see recipe below)
1/2 c. mayonnaise (I used Hellman's light)
1 c. grated Monterey Jack Cheese
1 c. grated Cheddar Cheese
1-3 oz. package of cream cheese (I used low fat and the recipe was still yummy!)
2-3 Tablespoons pimentos, smashed or diced
1 teaspoon grated onion
Cracked black pepper

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

*This is so tasty on crackers, a sandwich, or on cut up veggies. It's best on the second day!

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I did! If you try them, let me know what you think. Happy eating!