Baconed Brussels Sprouts

I came across this recipe while reading a book I just got in the mail, Reshaping it All by Candace Cameron Bure, and for anyone who struggles regarding weight loss or getting healthier I would highly recommend reading it. She did a wonderful job of giving strong inspirations throughout the entire book but mostly she quotes a lot of scripture that just hammers home what she is trying to teach. I love it, I’m still reading it but so far I really have been enjoying it. I’ve gone back and re-read some chapters and highlighted good sections. Anyhow, enough about that, this recipe is completely yum. We really liked it. I used this as the main dish and am completely satisfied by it. Even Baby Cakes loved it, and he’s not much for veggies, sure he eats them but he would always rather have something else.

I did remake this recipe per say. I shrunk it a bit, basically halved the recipe and then omitted some of the bacon as well.

Baconed Brussels Sprouts
recipe lightly adapted from Reshaping it All by Candace Cameron Bure, pg. 62

10 thick slices bacon, large diced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
seasoning blend, your choice, to taste

In a large, deep skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat until browned, about 8 minutes; using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Pat off excess fat.

Add the onion and garlic to the skillet; reduce the heat to moderate and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the softened vegetables from the pan and set aside.

Add the Brussels sprouts in batches and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown on the outside. Add the reserved bacon and vegetables to the Brussels sprouts in the pan along with salt and pepper to taste.

Cover the skillet with a lid and cook, stirring occasionally, until sprouts are just tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

Now this skillet, as a main dish, made 4 servings at 336 calories each. At that amount you can still afford some side items as well.

We loved it! The carmelized sprouts and crispy bacon. Seriously yummy.

Greek Garbanzo Salad

If you’ve followed me for a length of time you will notice that I have spurts of healthy cooking, be it Weight Watchers, Cook This Not That, etc., but I always seem to go back to my norm of cookery, the unhealthy southern fare I grew up eating, heavy on the butter and cream. My only saving grace is I’ve only fried maybe 2 things in the last few years, eggs and salmon patties. What you can’t see are the meals my husband and I eat the rest of the time. He doesn’t need to watch his intake and count calories and I do, or did before now. I’ll spare you the nitty gritty but some factors in our private lives have made it imperative that I follow a certain diet plan, a Low Amylose Diet to be exact. So due to this for the time being the majority of post for the next say 6 months will be following this plan. Now that I’ve shared that let’s get started on the first recipe, shall we?

I needed a side dish that I could eat without guilt and that would fit the outdoor picnic occasion, so I made this salad based off of some ideas I had seen online of garbanzo bean salad, although I couldn’t tell you where or when.

This dish is the one to eat if you are seriously craving pasta. I loved it! So much so that I ate half of of dish, every single glorious flavorful bite.

Greek Garbanzo Salad

Dressing:

3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons of crushed oregano
1 teaspoon of salt
pinch of pepper

Put all ingredients into a mason jar, screw on the cap and shake until combined. Chill overnight or a minimum of 3 hours.

Salad:

16 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
½ cucumber, peeled and small diced
roma tomatoes, small dice
10 kalamata olives, sliced
¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons dressing, recipe above

Add all the salad ingredients except the feta cheese into a bowl and toss to combine. Chill for 2 plus hours. Just before serving stir in the feta cheese.

Makes 4 servings at 174 calories each or 6 servings at 116 calories each.

If you’re not following the Low Amylose Diet you could always add ½ a purple onion thinly sliced to the salad as well which will up the calorie count a bit.

Smothered Cabbage with Sausage

First and foremost, I’m back y’all! I had a lovely break, although I continued cooking to restock my posts, but even still it was a lovely little break from blogging. Now I can’t promise I won’t be having a few more of these throughout the summer due to real vacations and some other personal things, in fact, I am 100% sure I will be taking a couple more blogger breaks before this summer is over, just so you know. Grin.

It’s no secret I love sausage, although I know it’s not something I should be eating regularly, and cabbage? Forgetaboutit! In the Baby Cakes household we eat cabbage regularly and proudly. So when I came across this recipe on my reader I was all for it and wouldn’t you know it, I had everything on hand to make this delicious meal.

Smothered Cabbage with Sausage
recipe slightly adapted from thesouthernladycooks.com

1/2 stick butter
1 small head of cabbage, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb. pork link sausage, sliced into coins
1 teaspoon olive oil
15 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat; brown the sausage coins. Transfer to a paper towel lined dish and set aside.

Melt the butter in the same skillet; add the onion and green pepper and cook for about 5 minutes or until just softened. Stir in the cabbage and cook about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients, including the browned sausage; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Golly Gee this was good! Like seriously gonna want thirds good. Then again, anything cooked in butter is. I would, and will, totally be making this again, and again, and again in the very near future. Baby Cakes raved throughout his entire two helpings about how great it was.


1 serving has 336 calories.


Don’t you just love cabbage? It is so low in calories and yet is so filling. You would never guess that the entire bowl full of goodness has so few calories.    

Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli

There is a Mexican restaurant in the town over from ours that have the best roasted veggies; they use them in quesadillas, vegetable fajitas, and just as a side item when you order healthier fare. Well, I love them so much that I actually order them as my meal pretty often. Now before you think ‘Wow, she must eat pretty healthy’ I should probably point out that I get veggies because I am sooooo ordering dessert. Wink.

So, how to recreate these delicious caramelized veggies? Pretty easy really, the same way I make my roasted asparagus, in the oven, only on a higher heat. An easy side dish to serve along with fish sticks and mac and cheese, and yes Baby Cakes and I do get giddy over fish sticks and mac and cheese.


Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli

3 cups cauliflower and broccoli florets, cleaned and dried
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 450.

Spread out the vegetables on a baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables in the olive oil to coat them.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until a fork pierces them easily.


As I said above this is another super easy recipe for a side dish and the flavor payout is magnificent. Even Baby Cakes, my 'I only want a little' when it comes to veggies man ate seconds and raved about them. I cannot wait to make this recipe again. Whoever said that frozen or canned vegetables were the most convenient where mistaken when they left out roasting them.

Scalloped Potatoes

Have I ever shared Baby Cakes’ love for scalloped potatoes? He would request boxed scalloped potatoes every night of the week if he could. I’m not really one for boxed potato side dishes, snob I know, but the time they take to cook would be much better served cooking something fresh don’t you think?

Well, the other day while scoping out side dishes (for a few reasons, one being I love side dishes, hence why I order veggie plates a lot, and another reason being it’s almost summer here (feels like it already) so the hubby grills while I make the side items) I came across this recipe for scalloped potatoes. Now, I’m not going to lie, my Dad makes a mean scalloped potato dish, so good in fact that the caterer for our wedding actually used my Dad’s recipe (don’t worry I will one day share that recipe with the blogosphere). However, this recipe looked really good too so why not try it?

Right out of the gate this smells fantastic. The garlic and onion powder blooming in the butter really plays on your sense of smell. I couldn’t wait to try these. Yum-O (to quote Rachael Ray)! Baby Cakes ooh’d and ahh’d his way through more than half of the casserole dish, but then again so did I. Although, I must say, my Daddies recipe is much better! Grin.


Scalloped Potatoes
slightly adapted from Cooking Mimi

3 large baking potatoes, cleaned, and sliced thin
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried onion flakes
½ teaspoon ground mustard
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the baking dish(es) and set aside.

In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Mix together the flour, garlic powder, onion flakes, and ground mustard. Whisk the flour mixture into the melted butter and cook for about 3 minutes.

Slowly whisk in the milk and cream; whisk out any lumps. Reduce the heat and cook for about 5 minutes or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Take off heat and stir in the parsley, salt, and pepper.

Add the potatoes to the prepared baking dish(es) and pour the sauce over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the sauce is bubbling. Let rest out of the oven for about 15 minutes before serving to thicken the sauce as it cools.


A sidenote regarding the picture: I cooked them for 60 minutes, hence why they are a bit dark in color. I did change the cooking time in my recipe to be 45 minutes so that that doesn't happen to yours. Alright, carry on.

Now, if you’re feeding a smaller crowd you can easily freeze some for later. To do that simply split everything evenly into two smaller baking dishes, cook them both only let one dish cool completely on the counter; once cooled wrap tightly with aluminum foil and stick in the freezer. When you want to reheat it just pull it from the freezer the night before, let it thaw on the counter and cook, covered, for about 15-20 minutes on 350 degrees or until warmed through.

1/8 of the recipe equals 195 calories.

Would I serve these again? I sure would!

Cream Soda Glazed Carrots

I’m surprised that it’s taken me this long to share a carrot recipe with you all. First because this particular recipe is so good and secondly because I am a carrot junkie, we have carrots at least twice a week and I almost always order carrots as a side dish no matter what restaurant we go to. I love them and even if you don’t, or don’t know that you do, you will once you try them with this glaze.

Cream soda was on sale recently and because I love it I bought four 2 liters. As much as I would love to just drink a liter a day I am not really a soda drinker so I thought instead of just letting it sit there I should open one and cook with it. This is the first cream soda creation I came up with.

A side note: I remember the first time I ever had cream soda. When I was little, probably about 4 or 5, we lived in a home that my father built a living room addition onto. To get into the living room there were a few steps down from the old living room which they then used as a dining room. Well, my Mom would play games with us all the time. She would sit on the steps while my older brother, younger sister and I (the youngest three were not yet born) would play the games she created for us. For some reason I have never forgotten this particular day, we had just finished a guessing game in which my Mom put random little objects into a bag and had us feel the item without seeing it to guess what it was. There was always a treat once the game was over and when my Mom came back into the room with that days treat it was cream soda. I remember her bringing the bottle in and us just being so happy that we got to have soda. I loved it and have ever since. Strange what memories stick, isn’t it?

You can use ginger ale, sprite or the cream soda. I prefer the cream soda because it’s vanilla and I do love vanilla.


Cream Soda Glazed Carrots

2 lbs. baby carrots
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ tablespoon kosher salt
2 cups cream soda
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, reserved

In a 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat, combine the carrots, butter, salt and cream soda. Cover and bring to a simmer.

Once simmering, stir, and reduce the heat to low. Cover again and cook for 20 minutes or until a fork easily pierces a carrot.

Remove the lid, stir, and increase the heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cream soda is reduced to a glaze, about 5 minutes; stir in 2 more tablespoons butter until melted. Pour into a serving dish.

Serve immediately.


Everytime you lift the lid you get this whiff of fragrant vanilla, my mouth was watering the entire time I was cooking them!

As always it’s a wonderfully delicious recipe. I could have easily eaten the entire pan as my meal, and would have if not for my hungry hubby.

Sausage and Cabbage Skillet

It’s been awhile since I’ve shared anything featuring sausage. Strange because boar sausage and venison are always in abundant supply at our house; it’s time to use some up.

There isn't anything like a skillet meal. While going through recipes I am always pulled towards one pot, crock pot, and casseroles recipes. Perhaps it's the ease of cooking or maybe the ease of cleaning but I am always up for trying a skillet recipe.

This one just seemed like something I would make, don't you agree? It even has brown sugar. Cabbage, sausage and brown sugar. Yum!


Sausage and Cabbage Skillet
recipe adapted from Taste of Home, October/November 2005, p. 39

1 pound link sausage, cut into 1/2-inch coins
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium head cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 onion, chopped
24 ounces canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
20 ounce bag frozen county style hash browns, thawed and drained

In a Dutch oven, brown the sausage in the butter; remove and set aside. In the same pan, sauté the cabbage and onions in the remaining butter and drippings until the onions are tender.

In a small bowl, combine the tomato sauce, sugar and paprika; pour over the cabbage mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the potatoes and the reserved sausage. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.


It was so good! In fact, it's so good that from now on I am abandoning the old way I made stuffed cabbage casserole and using this sauce recipe. Oh, and I already have plans to try this recipe again only with hamburger meat in lieu of sausage. The sausage was good but I have bigger things for this recipe to evolve into.

Both Baby Cakes and I score this baby at a 10. You read that right a 10 across the board.

Now this recipes could have been made healthier, less brown sugar comes to mind, but even with all that brown sugar it equals a hearty helping with a fair amount of caloric heft. An 1/8 of the skillet equals 372 calories. Not exactly 'diet' friendly this is one of those times where flavor and health collide.

Grilled Mexican Style Corn

After the last Cook This Not That fail I was a little disenchanted by them, honestly speaking, but they have more than made up for it with this recipe. Who doesn’t love corn on the cob? Maybe people with dentures and babies without teeth yet but heck I love it so much I would probably just gum it to death. I know I’m not alone on this one.


Grilled Mexican Style Corn
recipe from Cook This Not That cookbook, pg. 296

4 ears of corn, husked
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
juice of 1 lime
½ tablespoon chili powder
finely grated parmesan cheese

Heat a grill until hot. While the grill is warming up, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the corn and salt. Boil for 5 to 7 minutes, until the corn is slightly tender, but not cooked all the way through. Drain the corn and transfer to the grill; lightly char the kernels.

Mix the mayonnaise and lime juice. Remove the corn from the grill; paint with a bit of the citrus mayonnaise, then dust with chili powder and parmesan cheese.


Oh my golly gee good you guys. Used to be I would drown corn in butter and black pepper but in the last year I have come to realize that good corn doesn’t need anything. Well, it may not “need” anything but it sure tasted great served this way too.

Company worthy recipe!

The cookbook shows a calorie count of 210 per ear but when I put the recipe into calorie count is came back showing 194 calories per ear. As usual use your own judgement here, but I always pick the higher caloric value just to be safe.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

I cannot tell you how many times we have had asparagus cooked this way at our house. It is so delicious and truth be told I often eat chopped asparagus cooked in an egg scramble. I love the flavor. This recipe was the first way I ever tried it and I am happy to say the reason that I am a convert.

The most recent time we had it was the other day with the Honey-Mustard Salmon.


Oven Roasted Asparagus

1 pound asparagus stalks
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat an oven to 400.

Prep the asparagus by breaking each stem where it naturally breaks when slightly bent. Discard the hard end, keeping the tops.

Place the asparagus on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat.

Roast in oven until just tender, 10 to 12 minutes.


I swear once you try it this way you’ll never make it differently again.

Calories for 1/4 of the pan is 64 calories. Whew, you can't beat that!

Sausage Broccoli Calzone

While searching through the newest Taste of Home Magazine the other night I came across this recipe, among many others, that looked too yummy not to try. I put the ingredients on my shopping list and counted the days until I could make it.

I wasn’t 100% sure that it would turn out that well seeing how I tend to get mixed reviews on the recipes I try from this, and other, magazine(s), but I was pleasantly surprised. The sausage gave it quite a bit of flavor. I didn’t season anything and turns out I didn’t need to. The only thing I did differently was add onions, use sage sausage, and up the amount and modify from just broccoli to a broccoli and cauliflower mix.

This would make a great Super Bowl snack and I know that because Baby Cake hinted that I should make it for just that.


Sausage Broccoli Calzone
adapted from Taste of Home Magazine, February/March 2012, p37

12 ounces bulk sage pork sausage
½ onion, diced
1 tube refrigerated crusty french loaf
3 cups frozen chopped broccoli and cauliflower, thawed and drained
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cook the sausage and onion in a skillet over medium heat until no longer pink and onions are translucent; drain.

On an ungreased baking sheet, unroll dough starting at the seam; pat into a 14-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Spoon the sausage lengthwise across the center of dough. Sprinkle with broccoli/cauliflower and cheeses. Bring the long sides of dough to the center over the filling; pinch seams to seal. Turn calzone seam side down.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.


Oh, we will be making this again and again and again. It was soooo good!

In the magazine it says that this makes 6 servings and that the calories per serving are 369 calories. I however, made it into 4 servings making the calorie count per serving 520 calories. No guilt though. It was totally worth it.

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

I didn’t grow up in a household that served much in the way of vegetables. While other kids were being forced to eat asparagus, cabbage or brussels sprouts we were complaining about green peas. Finally, when I was a bit older I remember asking my Mom if we could try something new. She brought home and cooked frozen brussels sprouts, and they were terrible. That incident pretty much made me hesitant to try another unknown vegetable until I met my hubby. His family introduced me to cabbage and since that moment I have intentionally tried so many new vegetables, and fruits for that matter. I had fresh blueberries for the first time about a month ago. Love.

When I saw this package in the store I knew this was the perfect time to finally reintroduce myself to these tiny little green bundles of flavor. Sure I’ve cooked with them before, and I think doing so is the main reason I felt brave enough to try them alone, but how to cook them without being disguised in cream? That was the million dollar question. I searched recipes and finally decided to make them the same way I make my fried cabbage. They turned out wonderful and will making their way to our table as regularly as cabbage does, and cabbage does a lot.


Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

1 carton brussels sprouts, bottoms trimmed and halved
4 tablespoons non-salted butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
½ onion, diced
1-2 tablespoons seasoning blend, your choice

Over medium heat in a large skillet sauté the chopped onions in the butter and canola oil until done and/or translucent.

Add the brussels sprouts and seasoning to the skillet, stir and cook until caramelized. You can cover it with a lid and continue cooking over low heat for 25-45 minutes or until they become completely soft.


They seriously turned out fabulous. No joke, I am a brussels sprout convert. Yum.

Stuffed Cabbage Stoup

I was hoping to make a few more soups before “winter” was over in my neck of the woods, but the last few days have been in the 70’s here in Southern Texas, not exactly soup weather. Luckily though, a cold snap came in today with temperatures in the 50’s. I’ll take it and run with it!

Lately, I have been trying to make smarter food choices. Not only am I trying to lose weight but I am also trying to make sure I am meeting the nutrients that I need daily. For some reason I have been super interested in that as of late. Once upon a time I was incredibly fit. I did yoga daily and was a vegetarian (early 20’s) and then slowly I have neglected myself to the point of having gained weight and now just walking a mile burns my calf muscles. (Just trying to keep it real here folks.) Now, I did say that this wouldn’t become a weight loss blog, or did I say that to myself? Either way, it won’t become one, I guess I just want to share that this recipe is healthy and sometimes I am long winded about saying something simple. So the short version: This stoup is one of the better recipes on this blog, as of now.

It reminds me a lot of the Stuffed Cabbage Casserole I have made a dozen or so times in the past and although I will continues to make it in the future I will rotate it, when the weather is right, with this stoup.

Baby Cakes ate a bowl full and really enjoyed it. He didn’t score it but I did. I give it two thumbs up or on our regular scale a 10. I ate two full bowls of it and felt no guilt because ¼ of the pot (or two bowls as the case may be) is only 535 calories! Rock on! Big thanks to Rachel Ray!


Stuffed Cabbage Stoup
recipe slightly adapted from Rachel Ray

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
32 ounces chicken stock
1 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced
28 ounce can diced tomatoes
8 ounce can tomato sauce
Handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons dill, finely chopped

Heat a deep pot over medium high heat. Add the extra-virgin olive oil, once hot add meat, allspice, paprika, salt and pepper, and begin to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the bay leaf, onions, garlic and carrots. Cook veggies 2 to 3 minutes to begin to soften them, and then add cabbage and wilt it down a bit, about 10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and the chicken stock; cover the pot.

Raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Stir in parsley and dill, and serve.


We had ours with rice served on top. Normally I would use brown rice (healthier) but I had leftover rice pilaf from the night before that I used instead. I just added ¼ cup to the top of each bowl.

This stoup really is amazing! I loved it, so much so that I am having it for dinner again tonight. Yum.

Happily shared over at Newlyweds Recipe Linky.

In the words of Rachel Ray, Yum-O,

New Year’s Good Luck Spinach Dip

Let’s talk dip cause’ I love me some dip. (Should I be alarmed that in that sentence the only spell check alert I received was for the word cause’? Hmm.)

Instead of cabbage for New Years I chose to make a different leafy green recipe. I know that everyone makes cabbage, well, maybe not everyone but in my neck of the woods it’s cabbage, but in all honesty you can use any green that you want. Greens symbolize money in regards to New Year tradition so any green can do. I chose spinach. I couldn’t be happier with that decision.

This dip is so flavorful. I was trepidatious about using fat free and low fat dairies but you honestly can’t tell at all. Even Baby Cakes loved it. He is not a veggie eater by the way.


New Year’s Good Luck Spinach Dip
recipe adapted from Ezra Pound Cake

2 slices bacon
1 small sweet onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 red sweet pepper, seeded and chopped (3/4 cup)
10 ounce bag of fresh spinach
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 8-ounce package reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), cubed and softened
1/2 cup (2 ounces) low-fat Monterey Jack or Parmesan, shredded
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Drain the bacon on paper towels. Set aside.

Discard all but 2 teaspoons of bacon drippings from skillet. Add onion and sweet pepper to skillet, and cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the spinach and garlic; cover and cook until wilted, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir in the cream cheese, cheese, sour cream, salt and red pepper flakes into the spinach mixture, stirring until combined.

Crumble the bacon and stir into spinach mixture.

Spread the mixture in a small casserole dish and bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

I served this along with sliced cucumber and pita chips. Amazing!


I will be making this again, and not just for New Years. Seriously, that good.

XOXO,

Potato Kielbasa Skillet‏

Get your taste buds ready y’all, this dish is wonderful.

Until this recipe came along I was quite unhappy with the quality of Taste of Homes’ Simple & Delicious recipes. Their ideas were good, or I wouldn’t have made them in the first place, but they left a lot to be desired in way of taste. My opinion has officially changed and this recipe is to thank for that.

In the original recipe it only called for half of the sauce but regarding my love of flavor I doubled it. I am glad I did. It cooks down to a glaze of sorts and was fantastic. And one more small change, I used processed wild hog link sausage courtesy of my Father in Law's hog last season.

Baby Cakes and I both polished off the entire skillets worth. Yes, I admit to being a total oinker, that’s just how good this was.


Potato Kielbasa Skillet‏
recipe from Simple & Delicious, November/December 2008, p9

1 pound red potatoes, cubed
3 tablespoons water
3/4 pound smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 cups fresh baby spinach
5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Place potatoes and water in a microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until tender; drain.

In a large skillet, sauté kielbasa and onion in oil until onion is tender. Add potatoes; sauté 3-5 minutes longer or until kielbasa and potatoes are lightly browned.

Combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, thyme and pepper; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Add spinach and bacon; cook and stir until spinach is wilted.


This meal will be served again and again in the Bennett household.

XOXO,

Crock Pot Pumpkin Puree

So this year I have seen a ton of other bloggers making their own pumpkin puree and I decided I wanted to jump on that hay ride, for a couple of reasons. The top reason being flavor, I wanted to see for myself if fresh pumpkin puree was better than canned. The second reason being that canned pumpkin can get pricey at certain times of the year, although I do typically stock up during the sales. In regards to fresh pumpkin, stores are currently having sales on their pie pumpkins which is the type you want to cook with.


Crock Pot Pumpkin Puree
recipe from The Nourishing Gourmet

1 pie pumpkin, small enough to fit into your slow cooker

Wash the outside of the pumpkin; dry. Poke the pumpkin a few times with a fork and place in the slow cooker. (If your pumpkin doesn’t fit cut in half or quarters.)

Cook on low for 8 hours, or until the flesh easily pulls away from the skin; let cool.

Remove from the slow cooker and let cool.

Once cooled, scoop out the seeds and discard or roast, scoop out the pumpkin flesh and puree in a food processor or blender until well blended.

Measure by the cup full and store in plastic food storage bags. You can store in a freezer for up to 1 year, in a freezer storage bag. Use in recipes as desired.


After making it I am not sure that I'll make this my regular method as in homemade versus canned. It only made 2 cups worth of pumpkin puree, which is about a can and a half. The crock pot part was easy, the scooping, scraping and pureeing not so much. It wasn’t a headache per say but being all about convenience; well it’s harder than opening a can. However, ask me again once I use it to make pumpkin butter (don’t worry, I’ll post the recipe).

XOXO,

Broccoli and Cheese Noodle Casserole

What do we say to me posting a side dish today? The other day when I made the Crock Pot Baked Chicken I served this along with it. It is another Win at Weight Loss Cookbook recipe.

Baby Cakes loved it but for some odd reason I am not really a fan of any type of Mac and Cheese other than Kraft. I know, it’s a travesty but one that I freely admit. Although I didn’t gobble it up doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of trying after all it did make its way to a cookbook, not to mention this blog.


Broccoli and Cheese Noodle Casserole
adapted from Betty Crocker Win at Weight Loss Cookbook, pg. 187

4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
14 ounce bag broccoli florets
1 cup sour cream
½ cup fat free milk
2 cups mexican cheese blend
2 tablespoons seasoning blend
½ cup crushed crackers
6 butter pats, about a teaspoon each
Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Cook the noodles as directed on the package, adding the broccoli for last 4 minutes of cooking time. Drain the noodles and broccoli in colander. Dump back into pan.
In the same saucepan, stir in the milk, sour cream, cheese and seasoning blend until smooth. Spoon the mixture into the casserole dish.

Sprinkle with the crushed crackers and top with butter pats.
Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and the top is golden brown.


I know above I made it seem as if I didn't even like it, not even a little bit, but I would eat it again in the future. Just wanted to clarify that.

XOXO,

Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip

We all know it’s hot outside, how many times am I going to point that out you ask? Well, until it’s no longer in the 100’s. I once again want cool and creamy for lunch. I found cool and creamy.

Have you ever had Greek Yogurt? From what I can tell a lot of people don’t care for it but I have always liked it. It’s tart like sour cream and thicker than normal yogurt. In the past I’ve always bought the full fat version and with fruit mixed in but for this recipe I bought the low fat plain version. After tasting it I realize that it could easy sub in for sour cream.


Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip
courtesy of my MIL's WW Coach

½ cup low fat greek yogurt
1 tbs. dry ranch dressing mix
pinch of pepper

In a small bowl mix the above ingredients until well combined.

Serve cold with fresh vegetables or chips.

Serving Size: 1/4 cup
Weight Watchers Points Plus Points: 2


Cool and creamy with a ton of kick to it. I plan on playing around with this to see what else I can create in the near future. Yum.

XOXO,

Glazed Carrots

Have you ever walked past or through a candy store making fresh pralines? If you have then you know the scent I am about to describe. And yes I am in reference to carrots.

You might know from a recent post that Baby Cakes claims to only like glazed carrots and I might or might not have shared the fact that I am a carrot junky, every time I go out to eat I always get carrots as a side dish, sometimes carrots for both side dishes. My co-worker Sherry always teases me about it. What can I say, I love carrots. I wonder if it’s true what my Mom used to tell me, carrots make your eye sight better.

With is being so hot right now I am having to force myself to cook dinner, the most Baby Cakes is getting is grilled meats and some side dishes, although I must admit it makes my job easy peasy.

So like I hinted at above when you’re cooking these carrots the scent is amazing, buttery and caramelized. I loved them!


Glazed Carrots

2 pounds baby carrots
1 stick butter
1/3 cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoons salt
3 cups water

In a large saucepan bring the water to a boil and add the carrots. Boil for 10 minutes, drain and set aside.

Over medium heat melt the butter, sugar, honey and salt. Stir in the carrots and cook for 25-30 minutes, occasionally stirring, until the butter and sugar mixture is cooked down.

Serve warm.


These are amazing, sweet and buttery. A new favorite!

Love me some carrots,

Squash & Carrot Saute

I want quick cooking on a Friday night. The last thing I want to do is spend the evening cooking. If it weren’t for us working toward a goal (one that requires a lot of money) believe you me we would be out and dining somewhere, anywhere, other than at my house on a friday night. This recipe is a wonderful side dish for a quick steak not to mention that it is just plain old wonderful.

It's buttery and the carrots are tender crisp. I'll be making this more often. Much more often.

By the way, Baby Cakes does not like squash at all, funny because he ate almost the entire dish of it. lol.


Squash & Carrot Saute
adapted from Simple & Delicious February/March 2011, p28

2 medium carrots, sliced
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
3 yellow summer squash, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a large skillet, saute carrots in oil and butter until crisp-tender. Add the remaining ingredients; saute 10-15 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender.


Yum-ee,

Crock Pot Baked Sweet Potatoes

This recipe proves to me that there really isn’t anything that can’t be cooked in a crockpot. Who would have thought to cook a baked potato or in my case a sweet potato in the crockpot? I wouldn’t have but am I ever so glad I came across someone who did.


They are airy and fluffy, just perfect. So much better than a microwaved potato and I didn’t even have to turn the oven on (Hallelujah!).


Crock Pot Baked Sweet Potatoes
recipe adapted from Coleen's Recipes

sweet potatoes
olive oil
foil
assorted toppings**

Scrub the potatoes clean and then dry them and rub them with olive oil. Wrap them individually in aluminum foil and set in a single layer in the crockpot.

Cook in crockpot on high anywhere between 2 to 5 hours depending on the size of the potatoes and the amount that are being cooked*, when you are able to pierce with a fork easily they are done.

Remove the aluminum foil and top with anything that you would like**.



*I cooked 2 very large sweet potatoes and it took 5 hours.
**We topped ours with butter and cinnamon sugar.

This was an incredibly good side dish with practically no work. I swung by the Food Basket and picked up a roasted chicken, a bag of romaine lettuce and dinner was served.

I am certain this will become a staple recipe in our house.

XOXO,