Easy Salmon Packets and Green Bean Medley

I made a DELISH meal tonight! It was soooo good! It was the first time I've ever made salmon! It's now a favorite! I hope you enjoy this EASY meal! (The green bean side was AWESOME!)

Easy Salmon Packets for TWO

2 salmon fillets (4oz each)

2 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Place each fillet on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about a 12 inch square). top with mushrooms, tomato, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Fold foil around salmon and seal tightly. Place on a baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Open foil carefully; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

OMG this was amazing! I truly felt like I would eat this at a restaurant and it was so easy and GOOD FOR YOU TOO!

We had the following as a side dish...equally delish!

Green Bean Medley

1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed

1 small sweet red pepper, finely chopped

4 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Place beans in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 4-7 minutes or until crisp-tender.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, saute the red pepper, onions and mushrooms in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain beans; stir into vegetable mixture. Add the vinegar, basil, salt and pepper; heat through.

This was fantastic! I didn't have sherry vinegar so I just used some chicken stock I had on hand. VERY TASTY!

Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you try it!

Friday Night Chili

I got this recipe from a dear friend, Nicole Kinzler. I had tried many chili recipes and never found one that I just LOVED. But I LOVE this! Make it! All winter long!

Friday Night Chili

2lbs ground beef

2 large onions, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 (16oz) cans kidney beans, undrained

1 (16oz) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

2 cups water

2 TBLS chili powder

2 tsp garlic salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp ground red pepper

Cook meat, onions, and garlic in large saucepan. Add all other ingrediants and let it simmer for an hour.

*You can cut this recipe in half OR make the whole thing and freeze extra! Makes great leftovers too! And I just found out tonight...venison is great in it too! :-)

It's good to dream...

I have to say I haven't always been one to dream. And when I say, "dream," I mean dreaming about the future; of what could be; to aim for something, etc. You get the idea. Actually I know that in the past I've sometimes been quick to crush a dream. My sweet hubby might come talk to me about some dream of his and I'll quickly remind him of reality and how that is NOT going to happen. I'm sorry baby!

I'm learning that it's good to dream! Even if nothing comes of it..it's atleast fun and can be inspirational and motivating. Lately Brian and I have been dreaming together. Dreaming about the future, about what God might have planned for us, about our life together. It's been VERY fun!

One of the things I've been dreaming about is starting a baking business. Nothing huge...I don't want to own a bakery or anything like that. But I do love to bake and I know it makes people happy and if I could make money doing it...well who wouldn't love that?

So, with the encouragement of my hubby and a few friends...I thought I'd give it a whirl!It has been SO MUCH FUN creating a name/logo with my husband. We'll snuggle on the couch and Brian will take my ideas and make it happen on the computer. He's awesome! We'll turn on some music and just sit and dream and talk! LOVE IT.

So....here is my new logo for my baked goods...

I'm going to be selling my yummy sourdough bread, my infamous chocolate chip cookies, my banana bread, and pumpkin bread. I might sell cupcakes too....we'll see how this goes first. If any of my friends in the Austin area wants to buy anything...leave a comment with your email address and I'll email you the info!

Even if nothing comes of this and I don't sell a single item...it's atleast been fun to dream, to bake, to work alongside my hubby! But here's hoping!

Fruited Wild Rice Pilaf (and chicken)

So my sister first made this dish for me as a side. It was incredible! Then I decided to make it and add chicken for our entree. YUMMY! Either way you make it...I PROMISE you'll love it. I also altered the recipe a bit to make it must FASTER and EASIER! So I'll write how I altered it at the end of the post.

1 small onion

1 celery rib, chopped

1 small carrot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon butter

3/4 cup uncooked brown rice

1/3 cup uncooked wild rice

1 can (14 1/2 oz) reduced sodium beef broth or vegetable broth

1 1/4 cups water

3/4 cup golden raisins and cherries (instead of cherries I used dried cranberries)

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp rubbed sage

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

*3 cups cooked, cubed chicken~optional*

In a large saucepan, saute the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in butter until tender. Add brown rice and wild rice; stir to coat.

Stir in the broth, water, fruit, parsley, salt, thyme, sage and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

Remove from the heat; stir in pecans. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving. ENJOY!

***Okay here is how I made it faster and easier. I used the 90 second rice in a bag! One bag of brown rice and one bag of wild rice. I omitted the water and just added a splash of the beef broth (perhaps 1/8 cup or 1/4 cup)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Okay...how incredible do these look? Yeah...they taste even better! The cupcake is super yummy and rich. The icing...light and creamy. They totally compliment each other and it was incredible! Make them! And enjoy.

Cupcakes:

3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

Frosting:

3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, at room temp

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from the water and set aside to cool slightly.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the melted chocolate. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter. Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture looks creamy and the color has lightened slightly about 1 minute. Mix in the sour cream until no white streaks remain. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it. Mix in the water. Mix in the remaining flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth. *DO NOT OVER MIX!*

Position rack in the middle of the oven. preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 18 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

Fill each paper liner with a generous 1/4 cup batter, to about 1/3 inch from the top of liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pans on wire racks.

Carefully place a wire rack on top of pan of cupcakes. Protecting your hands with pot holders and holding the pan and rack together, invert them to release the cupcakes onto the wire rack. Turn the cupcakes top side up to cool completely. Repeat with the second pan of cupcakes.

Make the frosting: Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir the chocolate until it is melted and smooth. Remove from the water and set aside to cool slightly.

Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Add the butter, and using an electric mixer on low speed, beat until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes. At firs the mixture will look crumbly, but then it will form a smooth mass. Beat in the melted chocolate. Add the vanilla and cream, mixing to incorporate. On medium speed, beat the frosting for at least 3 minutes, until it looks smooth and creamy and the color lightens.

Using a small spatula, spread about 3 tablespoons of frosting on top of each cupcake, mounding the frosting in the center.

*I only put 2 TBLS frosting (although they were heaping) and that was a ton! I had quite a bit of frosting left over...delish! My uncle got mad at me for disposing of the extra frosting. Sorry Uncle Paul!*

As you can see we all enjoyed, enjoyed, and enjoyed some more!

Top -To-Bottom Crumb Cupcakes

Okay so these were DELISH! I had to send them to my hubby's work so I wouldn't eat them all! However I do, personally, think they should be called a muffin instead of a cupcake. I wanted to eat them for breakfast cause they tasted like amazing coffee cake! :-) Any time of day though...they are incredible.

Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola or corn oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

Topping:
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

Make the topping. In a large bowl, stir the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together, breaking up any large pieces of brown sugar. Add the butter. Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer on low speed, a pastry blender, or your fingertips, mix the ingredients together until crumbs form, the largest crumbs should be about 1/2 inch in size.

Make the cupcakes: Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg and yolk and sugar until thickened and lightened to a cream color, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. on low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended. Mix in the sour cream until no white streaks remain. mix in the flour mixture until it is Incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the crumbs into the bottom of each paper liner. Spoon about 2 1/2 tablespoons of batter into each liner. Spoon the remaining crumbs over the cupcakes, using about 1 1/2 tablespoons for each, the crumb topping will come to about 3/8 inch from the top of the liner.

Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pans on wire racks.

Carefully place a wire rack on top of the pan of cupcakes. Protecting your hands with pot holders and holding the pan and rack together, invert them to release the cupcakes onto the wire rack. turn the cupcakes top side up to cool completely. repeat with the second pan of cupcakes.

Dust the tops of the cupcakes with powdered sugar before serving.

Chicken Fettucini Alfredo

Okay so this was REALLY good! Got it from Light N Tasty! Hope you enjoy as much as my ENTIRE family did!

1 pkg (16oz)fettuccine (I used wheat spaghetti cause I couldn't find wheat fettuccine)

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 TBLS Italian seasoning

6 garlic cloves, minced, divided

3 TBLS reduced fat butter, divided

1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms

1 medium onion, chopped

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 cups fat free milk

1 cup half -and-half (I used fat free)

1 1/2 cups (6oz) shredded reduced fat Colby-Monteray jack cheese

3 plum tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

1/4 cup plus 3 TBLS shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chicken, Italian seasoning and 2 garlic cloves in 1 tbls butter until chicken is no longer pink; remove and keep warm.

In the same skillet, saute mushrooms and onion in remaining butter until tender. Add remaining garlic; saute 1-2 minutes longer. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended; gradually add milk and cream.

Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add the cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, 1/4 cup parm. cheese and reserved chicken; cook and stir until heated through.

Drain fettuccine; serve with sauce. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tsp of remaining parm. cheese.

*I think this meal would have been even better with a bit of fresh basil on top. FYI

Chinese BBQ Chicken Wraps

This recipe is so yummy! I saw Rachel Ray make it once and I've made it many times since. I actually don't know the name of the recipe so i'll call it "Chinese BBQ Chicken Wraps." Here is Rachel Ray's recipe:

2 cups, 4 handfuls, fresh shiitake mushrooms (I used white buttom mushrooms)

1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders

2 tablespoons light colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil

Coarse salt and coarse black pepper

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated, optional

1 orange, zested

1/2 red bell pepper, diced small

1 small tin, 6 to 8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped

3 scallions, chopped

3 tablespoons hoisin, Chinese barbecue sauce, available on Asian foods aisle of market

1/2 large head iceberg lettuce, core removed, head quartered

Wedges of navel orange -- platter garnish

Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean, Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken into small pieces. Preheat a large skillet or wok to high. Add oil to hot pan. Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or 2. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two. Add salt and pepper to season, then garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more. Grate zest into pan, add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture. Add hoisin Chinese barbecue sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly. Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken to serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish. To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings and squeeze an orange wedge over.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Glaze

Okay so one of my best friends got me this amazing cookbook full of cupcakes for my birthday one year! (THANK YOU REBECCA!) I love it! Here is one of my husband's favorite cupcakes. I made them for his CPA party.

Cupcakes:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 TBLS (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, at room temp

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk (any fat content)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar until smoothly blended and lightened in color, about 1 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in the egg. Add the vanilla and beat for 1 minute, or until the batter is smooth. On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing just until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

Fill each paper liner with a generous 1/4 cup of batter, to about 1/3 inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 22 minutes. There will be a few small cracks on top. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.

Carefully place the wire rack on top of the cupcakes in their pan. Protecting your hands with pot holders and holding the pan and rack together, invert them to release the cupcakes onto the wire rack. Turn the cupcakes top side up to cool completely.

Glaze:

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 TBLS unsalted butter

1 cup chopped milk chocolate or milk chocolate chips

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and butter over low heat until the c ream is hot and the butter has melted. The mixture should form tiny bubbles and measure about 175 degrees on a thermometer; do not let it boil. remove the pan from heat, add the milk chocolate, and let it sit in the hot cream for about 30 seconds to soften. Add the vanilla and whisk the glaze until it is smooth and all the chocolate has melted. (Return the glaze to low heat if necessary to melt the chocolate completely, whisking constantly.) The glaze should be thick enough to hold it's shape when spread over the cupcakes. If it is too liquid to spread, let it sit at room temperature for 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

Using a small spatula, spread 1 TBLS of the glaze over the top of each cupcake.

The cupcakes can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Dijon-Crusted Chicken Breasts

Well, obviously, I haven't kept up with my recipe blog. A little after my last post I found out I was pregnant. A huge praise in my life. I got really sick during this pregnancy and pretty much stopped cooking really good meals. I'm just now getting back into the swing of things and thought it was time to use my blog again. Plus my husband and I are starting a diet next week and I plan to do some yummy, healthy meals for us! So I'm hoping to post at least one recipe a week. Sometimes it won't be anything special, but hopefully it will, at least, give you some ideas for cooking for your family.

This recipe is SOOOO GOOD! My sister made it for me and I've made it twice since then. The original recipe calls for chicken, but we made it with Tilapia and it was INCREDIBLE! I think it would also be great with pork chops. It's from the Taste of Home Healthy Cooking magazine.

Dijon-Crusted Chicken (or tilapia)

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs

1 TBLS grated Parmesan Cheese

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz each)

2 TBLS Dijon mustard

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp reduced-fat margarine

Place the first 6 ingredients in a shallow bowl. Brush chicken with mustard; roll in crumb mixture.

In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil and margarine over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.