Mini corn dogs

Feeding a toddler can be a difficult thing.  (Is a 3 year old still considered a toddler?  For the sake of this post, lets go with yes.)

I know that Miss A would eat macaroni and cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I would let her..... and some days, she comes pretty close to that.  I now buy the Kraft veggie macaroni, so at least she gets some veggies that way.  But other than mac and cheese, I can always count on cottage cheese, fruit and some veggies to make their way into her tummy.  Meat has now become the kicker.  Other than CFA nuggets and chicken fajita meat, she is not a huge fan, so I am trying to come up with creative things for her dinners. 

Last night I made her mini "corn dogs" and she gobbled them right up. I used canned biscuits and mini turkey sausages and baked according to the biscuit directions.  It made about 20, so I have plenty for the next couple of days.  This would even be a fast thing for a breakfast on the go. 

What are some things your toddler loves to eat?  Give me some new ideas!

Hey Good Lookin', What Ya' Got Cookin

Over Labor Day weekend we had some friends over and decided to have an assortment of panini sandwiches for dinner. I gathered the ingredients for one sandwich and our friends brought the stuff for a different type of sandwich. (This would be such a fun idea for a larger party - multiple panini stations setup with various ingredients....)

The two different types of sandwiches were:

Prosciutto, raspberry jam and Boursin on sourdough bread


Rotisserie chicken, pesto and monterey jack cheese on sourdough bread

Both were tasty, but the raspberry jam one is what had everyone asking for seconds.


Next time, I think we should made a dessert panini - Banana slices and Nutella on challah bread. Yum.

Hey Good Lookin', What Ya' Got Cookin

Last night I made a Mexican pizza for dinner. We had had grilled chicken salads the night before, so it was a great way to use the rest of the ingredients.

I had in mind a corn crust, but could not find the Pillsbury tube of corn twists.... so, I just substituted crescent rolls. I rolled them out and made a rectangular crust, and then baked it for a couple of minutes. While that was baking, I mixed together some black beans and a can of Rotel, to use as the pizza sauce.

After baking the crust for a couple of minutes, I spread the beans all over the crescent rolls and then topped it with the cilantro lime chicken, bell pepper, purple onion and cheese.

I served it with sliced avocado and a side of Spanish rice. I made it up as I went along, just using ingredients we had on hand and it was a keeper of a recipe!

Hey Good Lookin', Whatcha Got Cookin'

Yesterday was the Mr's birthday! I asked him what he wanted me to make for his birthday dinner and he said steak. Eek. I am not that great with cooking steak, but it was his birthday so I could not argue with him. I knew that I could not necessarily guarantee a great steak, but I could give him a wonderful cake, so I made his favorite - Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake.

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

1 small box vanilla instant pudding

3/4 cup oil

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup Hershey's chocolate syrup

Mix the first 6 ingredients. Put 1/3 of the batter into a separate bowl. Add the chocolate chips and chocolate to the larger portion. Put the chocolate layer into a greased bundt pan and then add vanilla portion. Swirl together.

Bake at 350 for 50 min - 1 hour.

And as you can see, the cake was well received.

Here the the rest of the birthday meal: steak (not pictured), twice baked potatoes, green beans, red wine sauteed mushrooms and cheese biscuits.

Hey Good Lookin', What Ya' Got Cooking

Pizza with San Marzano Tomato Sauce

Last week we made homemade pizza..... this is something we often do, but this time I made homemade pizza sauce. Whenever I watch cooking shows they always talk about San Marzano tomatoes.... they are so sweet... they are perfect for cooking... they are available at every grocery store.... yada yada yada.

Well, first of all.... they are not that easy to find. Well, at least in Dallas and where I grocery shop. But, when I do find them I try to buy a can or two. And second, they are about twice as expensive as other canned tomatoes. BUT - they are good and worth it.


All I did was puree the entire can of tomatoes and then simmer over medium heat. I tossed in some chopped garlic, chopped basil, salt and pepper. I probably should have drained out some of the liquid before I pureed the tomatoes - the sauce was a little too thin for my liking. But that was an easy fix - pour the sauce over a strainer and toss some of the excess liquid.

Homemade dough. I normally buy the packets of Betty Crocker pizza crust... it is easy to keep in the pantry, plus all it needs it water. I normally add chopped basil or italian seasoning or garlic powder or dried red bell pepper into the dough to give it a little more zest.

I topped one of the pizzas with mozzarella, prosciutto and sliced tomatoes.

The other one was topped with a little bit of pesto sauce and mozzarella.

The prosciutto one was my favorite. The tomatoes did not turn out like I had envisioned, but it was delish. We used the extra sauce as a dipping sauce. Yum.

Hey Good Lookin', Whatcha' Got Cookin

School mornings in our house are pretty hectic. Breakfast, bows, shoes, backpacks.... we are usually rushing out the door and I am always grabbing something to eat as I drive Miss A to school.

I made these breakfast cups today, hoping that we can all eat these and mornings will be a little less rushed. I am planning on freezing them and then pulling them out on an as needed basis.

Breakfast Cups

6 eggs

shredded cheddar cheese (I used about half of the block)

ham (or bacon, sausage, canadian bacon...) (used about half of what is below)

canned biscuits (2 cans of 10)

Scramble the eggs and allow them to cool for a couple of minutes. Mix with the shredded cheese and the chopped ham.

Use a rolling pin to roll out the individual biscuits and then stuff with the meat/egg/cheese filling. Do as best as you can to close the cups - I pulled each corner up and twisted it in the middle.

Line a muffin pan with liners and spray with cooking spray. Place each cup inside a liner.

Bake according to the biscuit directions. Enjoy!

Enjoy!

Hey Good Lookin.... What ya' got cookin?

Girl Scout cookie season is now upon us. Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Do Si Dos... yum!

If Thin Mints are your favorite, then you are in luck. With this recipe, you can make the chocolaty minty goodness all year long.

Miss A and I made a batch of these last night to take over to Mojito Maven's house. I am not sure how many I took over there, but I am certain we polished off ALL of them.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/3 cup of oil

1 box devil's food cake mix

Andes mint pieces

Mix the eggs and oil into the cake mix and then stir in the mint pieces. Sometimes you need to add an additional tb or so of oil and I usually use 3/4 of the bag of mint pieces.

Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 9 minutes.

When you take the cookies out of the oven, they may not look done. But, they are. Promise. If you like soft cookies, you have to not cook them any longer.

Enjoy!

Hey Good Lookin.... What ya' got cookin

Tonight for dinner we had one of the best soups I have ever made - chicken tortilla soup. It was better than any restaurant, plus we have enough leftovers for dinner tomorrow. Seriously - it was soo good that I don't mind eating it two days in a row.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 chipotle chile en adobo, minced
1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp kosher salt

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup corn (fresh or frozen and thawed)

1 ripe tomato, chopped

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

tortilla chips, crushed

cheddar cheese

avocado

1. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. All the onion, garlic, chipotle, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and salt and cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add the corn and cook for 5 minutes more.

2. Pull the pan from the heat and stir in the tomato, chicken, cilantro, and lime juice.

3. Serve on top of crushed chips and garnish with cheddar cheese, avocado and lime wedge.

4. Go back for seconds.

Hey Good Lookin.... Whatcha' Got Cookin

What exactly is it about truffles that make them so darn tasty? Seriously, these little mushroom type things cost as much as diamonds, yet make any dish taste perfect.

The other day I was watching my pal Ina and she whipped up this perfect white truffle pasta dish. I immediately made a trip to Whole Foods to pick up the magic ingredients and dinner was served.

All you have to do is heat up 1/2 c of heavy cream and the little container of liquid gold white truffle butter. Add a pinch of black pepper and stir until the butter melts. While this is going on, prepare some pasta. Ina used tagliatelle, but my Whole Foods did not have any, so I substituted linguine. Mix the cooked pasta into the truffle sauce and serve. Top with shaved cheese - parmesan, pecorino romano, etc and then devour.

And in the words of Ina, "how easy was that?"

Hey Good Lookin.... What Ya' Got Cookin

Miss A and I made some yummy Halloween treats for her Preschool teachers and Sunday school teachers. This bark recipe has been floating around the blogosphere so we decided to give it a shot. I am not the biggest fan of candy corn, so I made one tray with candy corn and another with Reece's Pieces instead of candy corn. And then I sprinkled sprinkles all over the top.




Doesn't this make your mouth water?

The recipe is super easy - sprinkle Oreo pieces, pretzels, candy corn/Reece's Pieces/M&M's, etc all over a cookie sheet and then cover everything with melted while almond bark. If you want, you can then top the bark with a little more candy and sprinkles. Let harden and then break up into pieces.

And now onto the main course.

Creamy Pesto Bow Tie Pasta

I have to admit, I completely stole this recipe off the back of a Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup can. It was fast, easy and pretty tasty. I used my homemade pesto, but the store bought stuff would also be great. The next time I make this I am going to toss in some red pepper flakes to give it a little kick. Also, I baked the chicken insteasd of cooking it in the skillet.

2 tablespoons butter
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound), cut into cubes
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup pesto sauce
1/2 cup milk
3 cups bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

1.Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until well browned, stirring often.

2.Stir the soup, pesto sauce and milk in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the pasta and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

**New pictures on Baby M**

Chocolate and Bribery

I think that the people that take care of your children should be treated wonderfully. Thank you notes, treats, flowers, baked goods, Starbucks, etc. An extra thank you never hurt anyone - right? Plus, I think that the sooner you butter up the teacher, the better your child will be treated.

Some people may disagree with this theory, but I have been doing it for the past 18 months and have had not had one single complaint from Miss A's church nursery workers. (A similar theory goes for traveling with babies/toddlers/kids - dress them super cute and you are less likely to get those glares from other passengers)

And now that Miss A is about to start preschool, I now have 2 sets of teachers to bribe/woo with treats. Luckily, I love to pretend that I am Martha so this is super fun and easy for me. Miss A's meet the teacher night at her preschool is coming up and I am making homemade chocolate chip cookies for her teachers.

Every holiday will be met with an appropriate treat - pumpkin bread, cranberry muffins, a basket of bloomimg mums, etc. Other mom's in the class might hate me for doing this, but such is life.

Oh yeah - you better believe she is going to be dressed like a little doll baby on her first day of school. A camel gingham smocked dress with brightly colored scissors in the collar and a bright red bow.

Hey Good Lookin, What Ya Got Cookin

Everyone having a good summer? I can hardly believe that it is already August. Lately, time just seems to be flying by and I have to stop and remind myself to take it all in. I feel really old talking like that..... plus, I just bought some stuff from Talbots, so I am definitely an adult. (Talbots is awesome lately. I am in love with their fall collection.... now, I just need to wait for it to go on sale.)

Anyway, when we are experiencing temps of 107, I like to keep the cooking to a minimum and NOT turn on the oven. Last night we had the best summer salad. I have always had this as a side salad, but since I was making it the main dish, I decided to add some grilled chicken to the mix and call it a meal.

I really think the dressing is the kicker... I am sure you could use a store bought vinaigrette, but this is easy to whip up and is delish.

Dressing:

2 tb vinegar

2 tb oil

2 tb honey

1/2 tsp paprika

s/p to taste

Salad:

Mixed greens

Sliced strawberries

Goat cheese

Sliced almonds

Diced purple onion

Grilled chicken

(The dressing recipe makes enough for 2 large salad portions.....)

Hey Good Lookin, What Ya Got Cookin

My dad's birthday was last week and I tried out a new recipe for his birthday dinner!

Chicken Tomatillo Enchiladas

I make mexican crock pot chicken all the time, so I used my chicken recipe and then Tyler Florence's recipe for the tomatillo salsa. We all loved it.... this tomatillo salsa is definitely a keeper.

Mexican Crock Pot Chicken

*** these are not exact measurements. I just sort of throw some stuff in there and it always comes out perfect. Adjust amounts based on the amount of chicken. Just make sure the chicken is pretty well covered with the juice and "other stuff."

• Chicken Breasts (I usually use 3 large breasts. They can either be frozen or thawed out.)
• 1 can of chicken broth of chicken stock
• 1 jar of salsa (I usually use medium and it is great. Miss A can eat it, it does not get too spicy)
• Optional - taco seasoning. If I have it, I use it. If not, then oh well.

Put chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot and cover with the rest of the good stuff. Stir together to incorporate everything. Cover and cook! Low for 7-8 hrs. I then shred the chicken with a fork and let it sit in the juices while I am getting the rest of the meal prepared. This is wonderful on top of salads, in tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, etc.

And here is the recipe for the tomatillo salsa.

Yum Yum Yum.

Tomatillos, garlic, onion and jalapeno prior to roasting

Mexican crock pot chicken

Completed tomatillo salsa

The enchilada filling

And in case you were wondering what my sink looks like after I prepare a birthday meal like this: