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Congrats to my bubby!

May 26, 2008 at 2:07 pm | In Cookies, Fun, salads | 6 Comments

This past Friday night my “little” brother graduated from high school – I can’t believe he is old enough to graduate! It makes me feel slightly old. : ) I am so proud of all that he has already accomplished – last summer he graduated from Basic training and joined the National Guard at age 17. Although I was not thrilled (to say the least) about that decision at first, I have come to be just a proud big sister rather than one who is thinking, “What is the HELL is he thinking?!” Congrats to my bubby!!!

On Saturday we held Luke and his friend Dante’s graduation party at a local park. The weather was perfect and it was such a fun day. In honor of my newfound love of cooking and baking I offered to bring several things to help my mom out. One thing I knew that I had to make was sugar cookies – I used my best friend’s recipe of course. They are the best EVER. I even used my Wilton cake decorating set and piped words onto them – pretty fancy for me! HA! These went like hot cakes as usual when I make them. They just sooo good!

I also made this bean salad/dip that a friend had made for a Superbowl party. It is SOOO good. Don’t be scared by the mixture of a lot of ingredients. It’s really easy and really good. I was asked for this recipe by so many people at Luke’s party on Saturday.

Black Bean Dip Recipe (from The Food Network)

2 cans black beans, drained, about 30 ounces
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced green onions
1/4 cup diced pineapple
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lime
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch ground cumin

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Recreating my fave Cheesecake Factory salad

May 14, 2008 at 1:25 am | In Chicken, cheesecake, salads | 4 Comments

One of my favorite restaurants is Cheesecake Factory. I love the food & I adore the cheesecake. Really. What is better than that many choices of amazing cheesecake?! Not much in my book!

Unfortunately, we do not have one near us – the closest one is about 2.5 hours away. When we go to a city that has one, we always go even if just for dessert. We went to Indianapolis two weekends ago to visit my grandpa in the hospital and we got to Indy pretty late but we had to eat. I of course wanted to go to Cheesecake Factory since it was only about 5 minutes from our hotel. I knew what I would eat before I even got there. Cheesecake of course, but I mean for dinner. : ) (Of course, I had a huge piece of chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake to take back to the hotel too…don’t let me fool you into thinking I ALWAYS eat healthy…)

Their Grilled Chicken Tostada Salad is my absolute fave. Now, those of you who know Cheesecake Factory know that the portions are enough to feed about 3 people with just one dish. This salad is no different. It comes out on a plate in two huge mounds and the size is insane. Here is the description of the salad from their menu:

“Crisp Corn Tortillas Topped with Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast and Black Beans Piled High with Mixed Greens, Fresh Corn, Green Onions and Cilantro All Tossed in Our Vinaigrette and Garnished with Avocado Cream, Salsa and Sour Cream”

You want it now too right?? It’s so incredibly good. My husband is in Japan for 10 days (ugh) and I always try new veggie dishes while he is out as I am the veggie fan, not him so much. I decided to try to recreate this dish tonight for dinner. This was also my first time using avocados in food so I was proud of myself for branching out a bit and making this avocado cream for the topping.

There really isn’t much of a recipe per se for this salad – I just copied it off of their menu basically using all of those ingredients. This salad was YUMMMMMY!!!! Of course everything tastes better when you don’t fix it yourself so the Cheesecake Factory version is better, but this is still pretty darn good made at home. I’ll definitely be making it again!!

Taco Dip

December 29, 2007 at 9:46 pm | In Mexican food, appetizer | Leave a Comment

I was asked to bring some appetizers for Christmas at my grandmother’s house. In my mind, you can never go wrong with bringing a taco dip somewhere. Nearly everyone likes it and I personally could eat an entire pan by myself. I’m sure of it. : ) So, any excuse to make it and I will.

Again…no picture unfortunately. It wouldn’t have been very pretty anyway since I just made it in a 9×13 pan. : ) I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com. You can pretty much not go wrong with a taco dip, but this is a good starter recipe – you can add or take away whatever you want from it.

Ingredients
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
1 large tomato, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 small head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

In a medium bowl, blend the taco seasoning mix and refried beans. Spread the mixture onto a large serving platter.
Mix the sour cream and cream cheese in a medium bowl. Spread over the refried beans.
Top the layers with salsa. Place a layer of tomato, green bell pepper, green onions and lettuce over the salsa, and top with Cheddar cheese. Garnish with black olives.

Tip: Several people added this tip on the review and I agree – do not add the salsa until last or just serve it on the side. It tends to make the dip kind of runny.

Pig Rating: The pig liked this one okay. He isn’t a huge taco dip fan (can you believe this?!). He would rather just have chips and salsa. I worry about him sometimes…. : )

Mrs. Pig Rating: I love this. I could eat it until I am sick. Oh wait, I think I did. : ) This is a yummy one and easy to make. Great for parties.

Recipe from www.allrecipes.com

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

October 29, 2007 at 11:52 pm | In Chicken, Mexican food, appetizer, football food | Leave a Comment

Some of my friends have raved about this crockpot salsa chicken recipe that has been floating around. I loved the sound of it because I love to use the crockpot and we really like Mexican food so I thought this would be a winner. And it is beyond easy. It smelled SOOO good when I got home from work today. YUM! : )

This is taken from my friend Nikki’s blog…I believe she got it from Sparkpeople.

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts – put in frozen if you’re worried about overcooking

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning

1 16 oz jar salsa

1 can corn (I didn’t use corn)

1 can rinsed and drained black beans

1 cup reduced fat sour cream

PS – this recipe makes a ton. I will half it next time.

Directions

Mix soup, salsa, and taco seasoning together and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Before serving, shred the chicken, add corn, beans, and sour cream. Cook for a few more minutes until everything is heated through. Serve with tortilla chips or in a tortilla.

Pig Rating: He said it was good but it wasn’t something that he will crave. He said it was a little too Tex Mex for him. He says that a lot lately – all that is in this is taco seasoning and he likes regular tacos, so who knows. : ) Anyway, he thought it was okay but he likes my chicken nachos way better.

Mrs. Pig Rating: Super easy recipe which is always good. I liked this one pretty well, but I probably won’t make it again for awhile. Not my favorite, but I didn’t hate it either. I am still getting used to chicken in Mexican food so maybe that was why I wasn’t in love with it.

Recipe from Nikki’s blog, picture from my kitchen

Smothered Pork Chops

October 3, 2007 at 12:40 am | In Pork | 5 Comments

Tonight I made smothered pork chops – my first time cooking pork chops actually! This was Tommy’s favorite meal that I have cooked so far. He LOVED these pork chops and he can be a tough critic sometimes ; ) He said he could have eaten about 5 more. HA! These will definitely become a regular on our menus.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 pork chops, 3/4-inch thick, bone-in

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions

Put the flour in a shallow platter and add the onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels to remove any moisture and then dredge them in the seasoned flour; shaking off the excess.

Heat a large saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat and coat with the oil. When the oil is nice and hot, lay the pork chops in the pan in a single layer and fry for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove the pork chops from the pan and add a little sprinkle of seasoned flour to the pan drippings. Mix the flour into the fat to dissolve and then pour in the chicken broth in. Let the liquid cook down for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly. Stir in the buttermilk to make a creamy gravy and return the pork chops to the pan, covering them with the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes until the pork is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

I served these with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. Super yummy meal!

Recipe from Tyler Florence; Food Network, Picture from my kitchen!

Southern Style Green Beans

September 27, 2007 at 10:45 pm | In Yummy Veggies, side dishes, slow cooker | Leave a Comment

Tonight I am trying out a tradtional style dinner for my husband and I – baked ham (complete with pineapple slices!), mashed potatoes, and southern style slow cooker green beans. To us, this is the only way to cook green beans so it was only fitting that I find a good recipe to try them out. : ) It isn’t time for dinner yet but I have had a taste of the green beans and they are pretty good! Love the smell of food in a slow cooker when I get home from work….mmm….

Ingredients

4 cups water
2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 ham hock
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Place the water in a large pot, and mix in the green beans, ham hock, onion, garlic, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and cook 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to low, and simmer 4 hours. Remove the ham hock, and slice the meat into small pieces. Return meat to the beans, and serve.

NOTE: I followed the recipe except that instead of cooking stovetop, I put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker on low for 7 hours. YUM! Also, I did NOT use a ham hock. Instead, I used some slices of ham from a ham that I baked and let that simmer in the crock pot all day. Much healthier than a ham hock. : )

Recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/. Picture from my kitchen

5-Minute Southwest Layered Salad

September 27, 2007 at 12:06 am | In salads | Leave a Comment

Recipe from www.kraftfoods.com

I like to make my own lunch on most days instead of going out to eat – much cheaper and much healthier. Right now I am craving my favorite salad that I found in Kraft Foods “Food & Family” magazine. This salad is super easy, super yummy, and has a touch of one of my fave things – Mexican food. Mmmm…..

Ingredients

6 cups torn romaine lettuce
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed, drained
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
3/4 cup salsa of your choice
1/2 cup Mexican Style Shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese
1/4 cup Ranch Dressing (I use light)
1 cup tortilla chips, broken (I use Baked Tostitos)

Directions

ARRANGE lettuce in bottom of glass serving bowl or on serving plate. (I just throw it all in a big bowl when I am at home by myself eating it

LAYER beans, corn, salsa and cheese evenly over top.

DRIZZLE with dressing; sprinkle with chips.

Makes 4 servings, 1 1/2 cups each