Salmon & Vegetable Skewers

I'm not a big fish person. In fact, to be honest, I am not a fish person at all. Eli loves fish and I feel guilty sometimes for not making it, so I made this dinner. This salmon was so tasty! I barely remembered that it was actually fish I was eating. Yum!

Ingredients:
2 c brown rice
1 lb wild-caught salmon fillets, cubed
1 white onion cut into square pieces
1 zucchini, sliced
8 oz whole white mushrooms
olive oil cooking spray
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
fresh parsley, for garnish

metal or wooden skewers (if using wooden, soak in water for 20 minutes before using)

Directions:
Cook rice according to package directions. Set aside

Preheat broiler to high. Thread salmon and veggies onto separate skewers, filling 4 skewers of each). Mist salmon and veggies with cooking spray, then brush with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley.

Broil skewers at least 2 to 4 inches from heat source for 3 minutes. Flip skewers over and broil for another 3 minutes or until just tender. To serve place 1 salmon skewer and 1 veggie skewer over 1/2 cup of rice.

*Tip: I placed tin foil under the skewers because some of the veggies dropped and some of the fish juice fell off. Even though these were yummy, I did not like the smell of fish every time I turned on the oven.

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

This is a recipe that Brian and I tried when we were first married from the back of the bisquick box. The recipe is actually just for the dumplings and you just add them to whatever soup you want (with a chicken broth base). We love this recipe, especially during the winter (which seems to be ending here...maybe).

Ingredients:

2 cups bisquick
2/3 cup milk
chicken broth soup

Directions:
Mix bisquick and milk until combined. Drop heaping spoonfuls of dough into boiling broth, reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes uncovered and then 10 more minutes covered.

This is how I make our chicken soup base:
Bring however many cups of water to boil you are going to need (about 10). Add boulion cubes (one for each cup of water). When dissolved add chopped onions, carrots, celery and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes then add shredded chicken. At this point I add the dumpling dough.

*If you're making this for a small crowd like I usually am do half of this recipe. Half this recipe would feed about 2-3 people. And just so you know, leftovers of this aren't the best so make what you think you'll eat.

* We've found that really small dumplings don't cook as well. They don't fluff and cook through. Weird, but true.

Creamy One Pot Pasta

I made this recipe recently when my family was in town and everyone went back for seconds. So yummy, but also very basic and healthy. The sauce is very light and flavorful and mixes great with the veggies. It's also nice to have another meatless meal (since most of the meals I make have meat in them and that gets expensive at times). I got this recipe from my sister-in-law and I believe she got it from the pampered chef website or something like that.

Ingredients:
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 jar of sun dried tomatoes*
3 cans (5 and 1/4 cups) chicken broth
1 lb. uncooked pasta (I used bow tie)*
1 head broccoli (2 cups)
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
grated parmesan

Directions:
Cook garlic in 1 tbsp. oil in stockpot for a couple minutes. Add broth, cover, and bring to boil. Stir in pasta, cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, chop broccoli and carrots and slice tomatoes. Cut cream cheese into cubes. Add veggies, cheese, salt and pepper to pot. and stir until cream cheese is melted (do not drain pasta). Reduce heat, cover and cook 4-5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

* Sun dried tomatoes are pretty pricey ($6 a jar at my store)...so I substituted chopped red pepper and I loved how it turned out. I think you can use pretty much whatever veggies you feel like.
* The recipe actually calls for penne or ziti, but I used bow tie pasta because that's what my sister-in-law used the time she made it and I really liked it with that kind of pasta. So I altered the amount of time to cook the pasta (penne would take longer).
* If you like your pasta more on the firm side, I would put the veggies in a bit sooner so they have time to get tender before the pasta gets too soft.

Meatballs with Cream Sauce

I made this recipe a couple months ago and it was a hit! It had good flavor and was a fun change from the normal meatball recipe I use. And the sauce was flavorful and creamy, but light. I will definitely make it again. I found this recipe at my kitchen cafe. I really do like basically everything I try from this website.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 T. ketchup
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup quick oats
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
3 T. flour

Cream Sauce:
2 T. butter
3 1/2 T. flour
1/4 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
14 oz. can chicken broth (If you want your sauce thicker, cut down the chicken broth to 1 cup)
2/3 cup milk
2 T. minced fresh parsley

In a bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients except the beef and flour. Add beef and mix well. Shape into balls. Roll in flour, shaking off excess (I actually forgot to do this step and mine turned out great). Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet and bake, uncovered, at 400 for 10 minutes. Turn meatballs, bake 8-10 minutes longer or until no longer pink. Meanwhile, for the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, thyme, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add broth and milk; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. If using the full can of chicken broth, the sauce doesn’t thicken overly much, but it is delicious that way. If you want it slightly thicker, cut down the chicken broth to 1 cup. Drain meatballs on paper towels; transfer to a serving dish. Top with sauce and parsley. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

So good!

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

I thought these wraps were very tasty! The recipe made six wraps, so I had the leftovers for dinner while Paul was out of town. I heated them up in the oven so that they'd be crispy instead of soggy. I'll definitely make these again (though not as often as I'd like because for some reason Paul gets headaches from flour tortillas :( ). James even liked them...well, he opened them up and picked out the insides, but still!

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:

1 c. rice, cooked (I actually made 1 1/2 cups because we like rice ;) )

1 c. cooked, shredded chicken (just boil the chicken until it's done and then shred it with two forks)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 green onion, chopped (use whole onion, I actually used two)

1/2 red or green bell pepper, diced

1/4 c. fresh cilantro, finely chopped

juice of 1 lime

1/2 T. chili powder

1 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. garlic salt

2 c. shredded cheese (I probably used way more than this...oops)

sour cream (optional)

6 burrito-sized flour tortillas

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together rice, chili powder, cumin, and garlic salt. Add chicken, beans, onion, bell pepper, cilantro and lime juice.

Preheat skillet or griddle (I actually used my griddle and it was perfect!) to medium heat. Assemble wraps by sprinkling cheese on a tortilla leaving a one-inch margin (it's important to spread the cheese out because as it melts, the cheese holds it all together). Place a generous amount of rice/chicken mixture in the middle. If desired (you'd be crazy not to ;) ), dot the mixture with sour cream. Tuck in edges and roll up tortilla.

Spray the outside of the tortilla with cooking spray, and place seam-side down on heated skillet or griddle. Cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side.

A couple notes: If you are pretty sure you're going to have leftovers, don't add sour cream to the extra ones. The sour cream kinda dries out and doesn't do very well for reheating. Then, after you reheat them, you can put sour cream on top. Also, it may be nice to have some salsa to dip them in or spread on top. They verge on a tad dry otherwise.

This is yet another great recipe from My Kitchen Cafe! Here's a link to the original recipe: Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps.

Sweet and Spicy Pineapple Pork

First of all, wow, Mandy! You've sure been busy this weekend! I'm impressed with all the recipes you posted. I'm always looking for new vegetarian recipes, so I'm excited to try them out.

This was my first recipe out of my Rachel Ray cookbook (Book of Ten). It was flavorful, and it was probably quite healthy with all the veggies in it. I would definitely change a couple things if I were to make it again, though. First, I think I would choose thin sliced pork chops instead of thick like the recipe called for. The ratio of veggies and rice to meat just wasn't high enough for me. The other thing I might do next time is somehow marinate the pork chops before cooking them. They were only seasoned with salt and pepper this time with the sauce poured on top right before serving, so the flavor of the sauce didn't penetrate the meat like I would prefer.

There were a lot of things about the recipe I liked, so I decided to post it in spite of the things I would change about it.

Sweet and Spicy Pineapple Pork

Ingredients:

3 T. olive oil

4 thick (1 1/2 inch) boneless pork chops (but I will use thin cut next time)

salt and pepper

1 large red onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1 can (8 oz) pineapple chunks in juice

1/2 c. chicken broth

1/4 c. fresh flat leaf parsley leaves

Directions:
Don't forget to start rice cooking before you start everything else. :)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper. Sear each side of the pork chops in the skillet for about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a rimmed cookie sheet and finish cooking (8-12 minutes depending on thickness). When finished, remove pork chops to a plate and cover with foil until ready.

Meanwhile, return the skillet to medium-high heat with the additional tablespoon of olive oil. Add onions, garlic, bell peppers, jalapeno, salt, and pepper, and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until onions begin to be tender. Add the pineapple with its juice and the chicken broth and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. Add the parsley, stir to combine, and then serve over rice and pork.

Italian Spaghetti Squash

Delicious! I think I could eat this all day! I considered using a marinara sauce, but I'm glad I did it this way. It was perfect with a salad. It would be tasty with chicken.

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 medium onion, finely diced

1/2 medium zucchini, sliced & quartered

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground pepper

1/4 c. reduced fat parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Place the squash halves, cut sides down, in a glass baking dish. Add 1/8 cup water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 8-10 minutes until tender; cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the onion and cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the zucchini and cook for 4-5 minutes until the zucchini begins to brown. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat; simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Using a fork, scrape the squash strands into a bowl. Toss with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Mound the squash in the center of 4 pasta bowls and spoon the vegetable mixture around the squash. Drizzle with more oil, if desired, and garnish with Parmesan cheese, if using.

Cilantro Lime Rice (Cafe Rio)

We ate well in the Peterson household last night. Oh yes. We had Cafe Rio salads! I'm going to post each recipe that I used separately, and then I'll post a complete recipe with links to the individual recipes so that they can be easily found and accessed in the future.

And believe me, you will want to access these recipes in the future. ;)

So, here's the recipe for the rice. I got it from Favorite Family Recipes, but adapted it to use my rice cooker (she cooks the rice on the stove). If you don't have a rice cooker feel free to follow her recipe, which can be found here: Cilantro Lime Rice.

Cilantro Lime Rice (Cafe Rio)

Ingredients:

2 c. (the smaller cup used specifically for our rice cooker) uncooked rice - we used Calrose, because that's what we always have, but her recipe specifies long grain

1/2 T. butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. fresh lime juice

1 can chicken broth (14 oz)

1 T. fresh lime juice

3 T. fresh chopped cilantro

2 t. sugar

If needed: water

Directions:

Rinse rice in rice cooker. Add chicken broth, garlic, 1 t. lime juice, and butter. If needed, fill to 2 c. line with water (the chicken broth filled our rice cooker right to the 2 c. line, so I didn't need to add water). Push the 'cook' button and walk away. (Oh, how I love my rice cooker!) Once the rice is done cooking, combine the remaining lime juice with the cilantro and sugar. Pour over the cooked rice and fluff it to combine.

Brownie Trifle

We tried this recipe when some of my family was in town way back in April. It was a big hit! Very very easy (seems like the theme of the recipes I post) and very delicious.

Ingredients:
9X13 pan brownies, cut into bite size pieces
1 large or 2 small boxes of chocolate pudding (made)
1 large container of Cool Whip
1 package crushed toffee bits (I used a bag of crushed Skor)

Directions:
In a trifle bowl layer half brownies, half pudding, half Cool Whip and then half toffee bits. Repeat layers using remaining of the ingredients. That's it! Yum! I want to have some now.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

My sister-in-law posted this recipe on her blog and I was way curious about it.  I really like the broccoli casserole that my family makes, but I was fascinated enough that I tried this recipe.  It was really good!  I will be making it again! 

Directions:
Layer the following top (1) to bottom (5):
1. 1" buttered cubes of French bread (about 1/2 loaf)
2. 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3. sauce (see below)
4. 2 cups cooked cubed chicken breast
5. 2 cups steamed broccoli
Sauce:
2 cans cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp lemon juice
-Mix sauce ingredients together before adding to casserole layer.
-Layer ingredients in a greased 9X13 glass dish. Bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes.  Bread will be toasted and cheese will be bubbly.

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Lasagna

Now, I've tried a few different recipes for vegetarian lasagna, and I like them all for different reasons. I knew I had to try this one when I read the ingredients and it had hard boiled eggs in it. Talk about interesting! It's another one from the Home Ec teacher's Italian cookbook. I loved it, and so did Paul. And Paul's not usually a big fan of eggs, so that's saying something. The eggs and spinach gave it a very distinctive flavor.

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Lasagna


Ingredients:
1 jar spaghetti sauce with vegetables
1 package lasagna noodles, cooked*
1 package frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
8 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
2 (5 oz) packages mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

*I keep getting the lasagna noodles that you don't need to boil beforehand. They are way convenient; however, the top noodles always end up crunchy. I haven't figured out a way to make them soft. Let me know if you know of a way! Otherwise, if crunchy top noodles sound awful to you, you should probably use regular lasagna noodles.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour enough sauce to cover the bottom of an 11x13 baking dish. Line with one row of noodles. Top with a layer of sauce, spinach, eggs, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers two more times (three layers total). Finish with a layer of noodles, sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Suzie's Italian Chicken

Here's another one from Paul's Italian cookbook (the one with recipes from Home Ec teachers). I don't know who Suzie is, but it's a good recipe! :)

Suzie's Italian Chicken


Ingredients:
1/2 c. bacon, chopped
1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts*
4 to 6 Roma tomatoes, seeded, chopped**
1/2 c. chicken broth (it also said you could use cooking sherry for this, but I don't have any on hand)
1 T. dry Italian seasoning
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 lb. fettuccine (the recipe calls for a pound, but we found that the ratio of pasta to sauce was off)
1 T. butter
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

*I used thighs...but I don't recommend it! I saw that they were cheaper at the store and didn't know why I never bought them. Now I know. There is a huge difference that is most definitely not worth the dollar or two in savings. They are fatty and greasy. Gross!

**I was a little scared that it asked you to seed the tomatoes because I had never done it, but it wasn't bad at all. I just cut the tomatoes in quarters the long way and scraped out the seeds before chopping them up. I didn't worry about getting every last seed, and it only took a minute or two.

Directions:
Cook pasta according to directions given. Meanwhile, in large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Discard all but about 1 tablespoon bacon grease. Add chicken and cook, stirring until done. Remove chicken. Add tomatoes, broth, seasonings, and garlic. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Return chicken to pan, stirring until heated through. Toss pasta with butter. Serve pasta topped with sauce, bacon, and Parmesan cheese.

One Dish Chicken

Brian combined a recipe from his mom and someone on his mission to get his recipe. We actually call it Stuffing Chicken, but it is also commonly called one dish chicken. It is surprisingly very easy and quite yummy.

Ingredients:

1 box chicken flavored stuffing
2-4 chicken breasts (basically as much as you want)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
Either prepare the stuffing according to the box, or you can do what Brian does. He just puts the mix in a bowl with a couple Tbs. of softened margarine and enough hot water to make the stuffing all moist (always more water than I think, probably about a cup). Then he lets it sit while he gets the other parts ready. I would say follow the box if you want to make sure it turns out right. Put the chicken breasts in a glass baking dish and top with soup and sour cream (I cut my chicken in smaller pieces so that it cooks faster). Put prepared stuffing on top of that and pop in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees or until the chicken is cooked through.

*When cooking for the two of us, I use a 8x8 pyrex and it has a bit extra stuffing. If you are cooking for more than four people, I would use a 9x13 pan. You just put in as much chicken according to how many people you are serving and then use two cans of soup. One box of stuffing is plenty for a 9x13 pan as well.

*You may have noticed that ours has carrots in the picture above. Sometimes I like to add carrots around the chicken, but it takes longer to cook if you do it that way. I have decided I like to cook them separately, as they cook more efficiently that way. I'm sure other veggies would be yummy in it if you want to experiment :).

Potato Soup

I'm not sure where my parents got this recipe, but it's a delicious, creamy soup. I have always loved this soup. The recipe is actually a clam chowder recipe, but I don't really like clams (especially when I'm pregnant), and it's cheaper without them. But, this is a very versatile soup. You can add corn for a corn chowder and ham for a ham chowder. It's also good as just a potato soup.

Potato Soup

Ingredients:
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 cup finely chopped potatoes
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 qt. half and half
1 tsp salt
pepper
1/2 tsp sugar

Directions:
Put chopped vegetables and onions in pot with enough water to barely cover. Simmer, covered over medium heat until potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes). In the meantime, in a medium pot, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook a minute or two. Add cream; cook and stir until smooth and thick, using a wire whisk to blend (it always takes longer to thicken then I think it's going to...it gets pretty thick). Add to undrained vegetables and heat.

* We usually serve it with what we call toasties. Butter bread on both sides, cut in four strips and bake on cookie sheet until brown (flip once).

Basic Chili

I know that you all have different chili recipes. I decided I would post this one though because it's way simple and so delicious. My Dad took a recipe from the checkerboard cookbook and made some little changes. It's a very good basic chili recipe and is one that Brian requests during the cold season.

Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
1 small can of diced green chiles
2 to 3 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried basil, crushed
dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:
Cook beef, onions, and garlic until beef is brown and onions are tender. Drain fat. Stir together with all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer (covered) for 20 minutes.

*I forgot the sizes for the tomato paste and green chiles, but they're the smallest sized cans.
*Is delicious served with cheddar cheese and sour cream on top. We also love corn bread with our chili.

Hansen Family Hamburger Stroganoff

This recipe is almost exactly like the one Mandy posted the other day. I almost decided not to post it, but this one is just a tad simpler, so if you are in a hurry, this is a great recipe!



Hamburger Stroganoff
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. sour cream
1 T. flour
garlic salt, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Sautee onions in a little bit of butter (I actually just used some olive oil because it's easier to me, but my family uses butter). Add ground beef and cook until meat is done. Drain. Add flour and season with garlic salt and salt and pepper. Add cream of mushroom soup and mix well. Mixture will be quite thick. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. This is a good time to cook your noodles (if you're serving it with rice, you should have started cooking it a while ago ;) ). At the very end, add sour cream and mix well. Heat through, but don't bring to a boil. My dad says it tastes better when you add the sour cream at the end and don't bring it back to a boil. Serve over noodles or rice!

I don't know why, but this really hit the spot when I made it on Friday. It was quite tasty!

Broccoli Corn Chowder

Well, my success with making my planned dinners goes up and down. This week's meals have gotten all flipped around and some have been missed entirely. Here's one that was very delicious, though (aside from the fact that I made it at like 8:30pm...bad Jennie!). Once again, thanks to Chef Britta for her amazing recipes!

The night I made this soup I was very frazzled (because of how late it was...I was trying to hurry). I kept messing up and doing things in the wrong order. So, the directions I will write here will represent what I should have done. ;)


Broccoli Corn Chowder
Ingredients:
4 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) chicken broth (or 3 1/2 cups of broth made from bouillon powder or cubes...which is what I did)
1 large baking potato, peeled and diced
1 head broccoli, cut into bite-size florets, stalks peeled and thinly sliced (I was trying to hurry, so I didn't use the stalks. I probably will next time.)
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
1/2 t. dried thyme
1 c. whole milk
shredded cheddar cheese, for serving

Directions:
In a large pot (this part is important, it's going to be the pot you use to make the soup in), cook bacon over medium-low heat until crisp, about 8-10 minutes. (If you are making chicken broth using bouillon, it would be an excellent idea to start start water boiling for that while the bacon is cooking. ;) ) Meanwhile, chop your onion. Once bacon is crisp, remove from pot with a slotted spoon and place on a plate covered with a paper towel. Increase heat to medium. Add onion and cook until onion starts to become tender, about 6-8 minutes. While the onion is cooking, chop your potato. Add flour, stirring constantly, and cook for about 30 seconds. Add broth and potato, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until potato is tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut your broccoli. Once the potato is done, add broccoli, corn, milk, and thyme. Cook until broccoli is done, about 8-10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper (although the bacon gives it enough salt for my taste). Serve topped with cheese and bacon.

Like I said, this was a really yummy recipe. I could have made my own traditional recipe for potato soup and added broccoli and corn (and taken out the celery), but I thought I'd try this new one. Paula and Amanda (and anyone else who has had my family's recipe for potato soup)- This recipe tastes different. It's not as thick, and the thyme gives it a very distinctive flavor. I liked it!

Here's a link to Chef Britta's recipe: Broccoli Corn Chowder.

Hayashi Rice

Yes, after three weeks on the menu, we finally had our Hayashi Rice! Now, after all this anticipation, I hope you aren't let down by this "recipe". I asked Paul how to make it so that I could type up the recipe, and he said, "Just like the curry recipe except with hayashi rice mix instead of curry." I said, "Exactly like that?" And he said, "Yep." So there you have it. If you want to try hayashi rice (and I highly recommend it), just buy an onion, a couple carrots, a large potato, some thinly sliced beef or some chicken, and a box of hayashi rice mix, and follow this recipe.


You may be wondering, "What is hayashi rice, and why should I try it?" Well, in consistency and taste, it's a lot like curry. It's not spicy like curry, though. It has a much milder taste. In Japan, hayashi rice is considered "kid food" (much like we consider mac and cheese kid food). It is quite delicious! In Japan it would be made only with meat and onions (the carrots and potatoes are Paul's addition). So, if you can get your hands on hayashi rice mix (you may have to go to an Asian grocery store to find it...it would be next to the curry mix), I highly recommend it!

French Breakfast Puffs!

I decided I wanted to bake something yummy for breakfast this morning. :) I really wanted to make these, but I didn't have the vanilla yogurt they called for, so I couldn't. (By the way, check out that blog (Baked Perfection)! She has baked some really delicious looking things. I'm going to try a lot of them.) When I found out I couldn't make the recipe I wanted, I went to allrecipes.com to search for something similar and found this recipe.

French Breakfast Puffs


Ingredients:

Muffins:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup butter (the recipe called for shortening, but I used butter and they were very good)
1 egg
1/2 capful of vanilla (not in the original recipe, but almost every baked good can use a bit of vanilla for flavor :) )
1/2 cup milk

Topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons margarine, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners (or grease 12 muffin cups). The original recipe calls for you to mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg) together in a separate bowl, but I'm always too lazy to do this. ;) Cream together butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. (Since I don't mix mine separately, I added the small ones first (baking powder, salt, and nutmeg), then half the flour, then the milk, and then the last half of flour.) Spoon batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes. While the muffins are baking, melt the butter for the topping in one bowl and mix together the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. When the muffins are done, remove them from the pan and immediately dip the top of each one in the butter and then the cinnamon-sugar. (They're really hot, so be careful.) Serve warm.

They were very fluffy and quite tasty! I would definitely make them again. In case you prefer official wording or just want the original recipe, you can find it here.

Tamale Pie

4- Tamale's
1 can -Corn
1lb. Ground beef
1can- diced tomatoes mixed with green chilies (you can buy it separate, but it comes in one can)
2 cups- Mexican cheese-(you can also use cheddar cheese)
Olives-(optional)- topping

Brown Ground beef and Microwave Tamales. Mix 1 cup of cheese, corn, diced tomatoes, and green chilies in separate bowl. Chop up tamales into small pieces. Add both ground beef and tamales into mixture. Pour into a 13x9 dish. Top with 1 cup of cheese and olives.
Bake- 350 degrees for 30-45 mins.

note- I like to eat it with tortilla chips.