Chicken with warm tomato-corn salad

Back in the day when we use to have cable with all the fun channels like the Food Network,  I loved watching a healthy cooking show called "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger".  Watching her show made eating healthy look delicious and easy.  Everything she makes looks so good!  I knew she and I were on the same page when she said "As a born food lover I am driven by great taste, and it is the most important factor in everything I make." I feel the same.  I have the desire to eat food that will nourish my body but it has to taste good or I won't eat it. And she manages to combine both nutritious food and delicious flavors.  Man I miss the Food Network.

Luckily she has a couple cookbooks out (as well as lots of recipes on the Food Network's website), and when I was looking for healthy cookbooks at the library this weekend I was excited to find her cookbook "So Easy".  So many of the recipes sound amazing and I'm excited to try them out.  I planned the next week's worth of meals from Ellie's cookbook and I'm looking forward to them all.  Tonight I made one of those recipes and it turned out to be so delicious that I have to share it with you! You'll feel fancy just plating it up.  It's a simple but elegant dish and really healthy!  One of those meals that you can feel great about eating. (Just don't follow it with a big dessert like I did! Oops.)

Chicken with Warm Tomato-Corn Salad
1 1/4 pounds thin-cut skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 tsp. olive oil
4 scallions, white and green separated
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
2 c. corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 ripe avacado, pitted, peeled, sliced
3 TBSP fresh lime juice
3 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro (I forgot this on ours, but I'm sure it would be great)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken to the pan and cook until the chicken is browned and cooked through, about 3 mins. per side.  Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 tsp. of oil to the pan and heat over medium-high heat.  Add the scallion whites and cook stirring for 1 minute.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds more.  Add the tomatoes and corn to the pan and cook until they are softened but still retain their shape, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the scallion greens and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place about a cup of the vegetable mixture on each plate.  Top with a piece of chicken breast and slices of avocado.  Sprinkle with lime juice and cilantro and serve.

cake love

Seriously?! Some people are so creative. I love this heart centered cake, and I think I will attempt to make it for my sweetie this valentines day!

If you're feeling brave too & want to try it- here's the tutorial (including the recipes).

Cafe Rio Pork

Two nights in a row now I've made Cafe Rio style pulled pork from this recipe. (sorry I don't have a picture) It turned out so delicious! I can't wait to eat the leftovers. It's one of those recipes that takes all day in the crock pot, but if you plan ahead it's worth it. So good!

Oh, and just an update- the nutella brownies turned out to be really delicious too. They were super easy to make.

Oh my!

When my mom came to visit a couple weeks ago she left some nutella here that she'd bought. So when I stumbled upon this recipe today here, I got excited I found a perfect way to use it up! This looks, and sounds, heavenly!

NUTELLA CHEESECAKE BROWNIES

For the Brownie Layer

4 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cocoa powder

1/2 cup nutella

1/3 cup flour

For Nutella Cheesecake Layer:

8 ounce cream cheese

1/2 cup nutella

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

In one bowl, beat all the brownie ingredients together. In a separate bowl, beat together all of the Nutella Cheesecake ingredients. Scrape the brownie batter into the bottom of an 8×8 pan (yes! it will be quite full. These are thick brownies!) Spoon little plops of the nutella cheesecake all over the top of the brownie batter. Smooth the cheesecake carefully and completely over the brownie layer with a spatula. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees and bake for 50-55 minutes. The center of the brownies will be set, but if you poke a toothpick into them, it won’t come out dry. No worries! The cheesecake layer needs to cool completely to set up.

Cool, slice, bite, enjoy.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

This is a recipe that I got from my sister-in-law last summer and we quickly fell in love with it. It really does taste like an eclair! It's a cool, no bake dessert that's perfect for summer. You should definitely give it a try.

Chocolate Eclair Cake

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2 (3 oz) pkg. vanilla pudding (get the good brand)
• 3 C. milk
• 1 (8 oz) container of frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (16 oz) pkg of graham crackers

topping--------

• 1/2 C. milk
• 2/3 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 C. sugar
• 4 TBSP butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla

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Directions

1. In a large bowl combine 3 cups of milk and pudding. Fold in whipped topping and mix 2 minutes.
2. Butter a 9x13 in. baking dish and fill the bottom with a layer of graham crackers.
3. Spread half the pudding mixer over the layer of graham crackers. Place another layer of graham crackers and spread the rest of the pudding on top. Add a final layer of graham crackers on top.
4. To make the topping: in a sauce pan over medium heat combine milk, cocoa and sugar; allow to boil for one minute. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Mix well and cool slightly.
5. Pour over your top graham cracker layer.
6. Refrigerate until set. (best if made a day ahead but should be set in a couple hours.)

Many of my family's favorite recipes come from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine, which is where we found this incredibly delicious peach blueberry cobbler recipe. With berry season upon us I thought it'd be a good one to share.

Happy Baking!

Peach Blueberry Cobbler

Crumb Topping
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. packed light-brown sugar
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c. (2 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter,
cut into small pieces

1.In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt.
Using your hands, a pastry blender, or two forks, work in butter until
mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Squeeze to form large clumps.


2. Cover with plastic wrap or lid; freeze at least 30 minutes before using.

While you wait for your topping to get cold, you can start on the filling.

Filling

1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
2 cans (15 oz. each) sliced peaches in light syrup, drained
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 lb. frozen blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, and salt.
Fold in peaches, lemon juice and frozen blueberries.


2. Divide evenly between six 6oz. ramekins or custard cups.
(or you can bake it all in one big pan, like a 9x13"- it may just need a little longer to cook)


3. Sprinkle with cumble topping; enough to cover the entire top.

4. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet (in case the fruit boils over) and bake until the top is golden
and the fruit mixture is thick & bubbling; about 40 minutes. **Check it around 30 minutes to make sure
the tops aren't getting too dark. Depending on your oven it may be done before 40 minutes is up.

Enjoy!

Painted Sugar Cookies

Painting sugar cookies is something I've been excited to try with the kids for a while now. We finally did it this week and they turned out great! I don't always have the ingredients for frosting and this made decorating with more detailed designes much easier. Here's how we did it in case you'd like to try it too...

1. Start with a great sugar cookie recipe. (see below- this recipe makes super soft and very delicious cookies!) Don't bake them...yet.
2. While your dough is refrigerating make your "paint" with egg whites and some liquid food coloring. I used 2 egg whites distributed into 4 small bowls with about 6 drops of dye for each color. The egg whites give the finished picture a glazed look.
3. Roll out the dough and cut out your shapes.
4. Use paint brushes to paint your cookies how ever you like. I did a little landscape on one of mine, and the kids had fun painting all sorts of colors on their shapes. As long as you don't glob it on super thick you shouldn't taste the egg whites.
5. Bake your cookies.

Soft Sugar Cookies

-------------------------------------

cream until light and fluffy:

1 cup softened butter

1 1/4 cup sugar

Add and cream together:

1 egg

3/4 c sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

Combine and add to wet ingredients:

4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Mix everything together and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or 1 hour in the freezer.

Roll out the dough in flour about 1/4 inch thick

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes

The Best Pizza Dough Recipe EVER

Okay. As promised, here's the fantastic recipe I was given from a friend for pizza dough.

No rise pizza dough!

It tastes great and is so fast to make up you'll have no excuse to not make pizza at home. It does call for a couple ingredients I don't normally have on hand (bread flour and soy lecithin) but once you have them you'll be ready to whip up your pizza dough whenever you feel like it.

Ingredients

5 1/4 c. bread flour

1/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 TBSP quick rising yeast (like saf-instant yeast)

1/2 TBSP salt

1 1/2 TBSP soy lecithin

(found in the suppliment section of your health food store- comes in liquid form too but I used granules. If you use a liquid do 2 quarter size drops of it- don't measure by TBSP)

2 c. hot water (I just get my tap water as hot as it'll go)

Mix the first 4 ingredients, then add the soy lechithin and water and either knead by hand or in your mixer. I'm lucky enough to have a kitchen Aid and that makes kneading easy. I just let it mix with the dough hook for 3-5 mins. Just till it all comes together. If it seems dry add a little more water. It should be slightly sticky when it's done.

My kids love to watch....

Here's how it looks when it's done.

Divide it in half. It makes 2 pizzas. (or one pizza and a dessert pizza or bread sticks!)

Roll it out.

I'd now like to introduce to you my absolute must-have for pizza making...

the pizza grate!

(I have no idea if that's it's official name but that's what I call it.)

It was only $5 at our local restaurant supply store and was the best $5 I ever spent on a kitchen item. I have my dad to thank for this one; he introduced me to it. It cooks the bottom of your pizza perfectly so it's slightly crispy on the bottom. (my big problem with other pans/stones was not cooking evenly or enough underneath) Plus you can build your pizza right on the grate. (**Update! We use to put ours in the dish washer but found out it ruins the coating on it and our pizzas have been sticking badly to the pan. DON'T put it in the dishwasher.)

Please go buy one if you can!

You'll thank me. :)

So back to baking...

I transferred my dough to the pan and adding all my toppings.

(remember- we're not letting the dough rise)

**Update- I almost forgot to mention that when buying mozzarella cheese you should really go get the huge block at Costco. Nothing else I've tried compares quality (or price) wise. It's SO much creamier and delicious than any other brand I've tried. Other brands seem to almost break apart instead of being smooth and stringy like you'd want it to be (when warm). Trust me on this. We've never had a problem using it all up either. There's lots of great uses for mozzarella, so don't be put off by the size of the block. (I believe it's kirkland brand) Ok, I'm getting off my soap box.

And then after about 10 mins in the oven (at 400 deg.) voila!

Delicious pizza your family will beg you to make again.

Hope you enjoy!

Pie in a Jar

So remember how I said I was doing a handmade Christmas? Well I did, but when you make almost every gift it takes a lot longer to get things done. Especially with 2 small kids. Basically it meant I had to scale back my plans. I just didn't have time to do it all. One of the gifts I wanted to do that got scratched off the list were these fun individual "pie in a jar" pies. I finally got around to making them after Christmas and gave them to my in-laws for watching my kids overnight on New Years Eve. (It was great to have the night to ourselves!) I love how they turned out and I'm happy to say they are just as delicious as they are cute!

I got the idea and recipe here if you want to try making them yourself. They really were pretty easy & they'd make a great Valentines Day gift! I think I'll be making more; with cute labels next time.

Homemade Doughnuts

Today I made these beauties!

These homemade chocolate glazed doughnuts are just as delicious as they look and they weren't as much trouble as I thought they'd be. Time consuming- yes, hard- no. You can find the recipe here, one of my favorite baking blogs.

How to make applesauce

I've always heard applesauce is easy to make, but had just never made time to try it. Well this year I was determined to try it. So I put it on our activity tree and this week we did it. It really was as easy as I'd heard (and pretty tasty too)! If you haven't tried making it yet, now is the perfect time with it being apple picking season.

How to make applesauce

1. peel, core and dice your apples (I only used 5 gala apples because I didn't want to make a lot)
2. put diced apples in a pot with about 1/2 cup water and 1/4 c. sugar, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 20 mins. (or until soft)
3. take apples off the stove and smash them with a potato masher or blend them for a finer consistency.
4. put in a container and store it in the fridge until cool
5. enjoy!
   

the best mango salsa recipe

After getting lots of tomatoes from family and friends, a few weeks ago, I needed to find a way to use them up. My husband and I love chips and salsa so I decided to switch it up from the normal salsa and make mango salsa. I found this great recipe on allrecipes.com, and this is my slightly modified version of it. It's D-LISH and I love how colorful it is!

Avocado, Tomato and Mango Salsa

• 1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
• 4 medium tomatoes- diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

In a medium bowl, combine the mango, avocado, tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro, and garlic. Stir in the salt, lime juice, red onion, and vegetable oil. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.

the best granola recipe

My mom gave me this granola recipe and so far it's the best I've ever tasted! I love making granola because you can add what ever you like to it. I add banana chips, cranberries and flax seed to ours. My favorite way to use it is to eat it for breakfast like cereal with cold milk. My husband and kids love to just eat it dry by the handful for a snack. Any way you eat it this recipe is delicious!

*TIP- This recipe does make a lot (2 cookie sheets full- you'll need a very large bowl to stir it in), so if you don't want that much be sure and divide the measurements in half.

(if you like this recipe card you can buy your own set here)

Homemade Granola

Thank you all so much for the sweet comments about my paintings! In return I want to share with you a granola recipe I got from my mom. I made it for the first time yesterday and I'm in love! It's so good. Definitely the best recipe I've tried yet. I added walnuts instead of almonds and I also added banana chips. That's the fun part about granola though; you can make it with what ever you like. I had mine for breakfast with milk and it was great, but it also make a great snack. I hope you enjoy!

Homemade Granola

 Ingredients:

12 C rolled oats ½ C sesame seeds	2 ½ C whole wheat, or a combination of whole grain (corn, rice, soy, etc), flour
1 C raisins	1 C sunflower seeds
1 C dry milk powder	1 C coconut
1 T cinnamon	1 C chopped almonds

Mix the following ingredients together then add it to the dry mixture and stir:

1 C oil	1 C water
1-1½ C honey (according to desired sweetness)
1½ t. vanilla	2 t. salt

Spread on two cookie sheets and bake at 250 degrees for 1¼ hour, stirring occasionally. Cool. Store in refrigerator in airtight container.

I love Fall!

In the newspaper 2 sundays ago there was a section with a menu suggestion and recipes to make for conference weekend. I always love to try new recipes, so I scanned it for anything that sounded good and came across theses: (Yum! If I could give you one I would!)

They turned out to be delicious! They're a perfect fall treat. I highly recommend making them with the cupcake paper liners because my first batch didn't have them and even though I greased the pan they didn't want to come out. The result was a bowl of muffin crumbs! (The picture above is from my second attempt- much more successful.)

If you'd like to make them too here's the recipe...

Fluffy Walnut Apple Muffins

Serves 6-12

• 1/2 cup butter

• 11/4 cups white sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 cup milk

• 2 cups peeled, cored, diced apples

• 1/2 cup walnuts

Cinnamon Crumble:

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat top and insides of jumbo six-cup muffin pan or 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray, or line with muffin papers.

In large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at time. Mix together 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir in flour mixture alternately with milk, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in apples and walnuts. Scoop into muffin cups to fill 3/4 full. Lightly sprinkle tops with cinnamon crumble.

To make Cinnamon Crumble: In small bowl, combine 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons cubed butter. Mix together using pastry blender or two butter knives. The crumble topping should resemble small peas.

Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. If they are browning too quickly, cover with tin foil. Remove from pans, cool on wire rack.

ENJOY!

Play dough anyone?

Today I learned how to make play dough. I was pretty proud of myself! I've been wanting to do this for a while now but finally made the time today. Emma's long afternoon nap helped too! (Thank goodness for long naps.) I'm always trying to figure out what to do to entertain Aiden since we're couped up in the house everyday with Emma being so young and it being too cold to go outside. It's easy to go a little stir crazy!

It was Aiden's first play dough experience and I was so happy to see him enjoying it! He did try to eat it, as expected, but he quickly learned it's pretty salty and not so tasty. He had fun feeding his monkey ("hoohoo") food that I made out of the play dough, and squishing it between his little fingers. The dough turned out great. I'm definitely going to make more colors. Here's the recipe, in case you find yourself in the mood to sculpt too:

Play Dough
Mix in a medium pot:
1 cup white flour
1/4 cup salt
2 Tbsp. cream of tartar
Combine and add:
1 cup water
2 tsp. vegetable food coloring
1 Tbsp. oil
Cook over medium heat and stir (about 3-5 mins.). It will look like a "globby" mess and you'll be sure it's not turning out...but it will. When it forms a ball in the center of the pot, turn out and knead on a lightly floured surface. Store in an airtight container or plastic bag. I highly recommend this recipe - it turned out great!




After play dough Aiden had fun at the sink playing with the running water while I did dishes. He filled up his cup and dumped it out, then filled up his cup and dumped it out over and over again. This entertained him for quite a while! Of course it didn't always make it in the sink, so I had to put a towel down under his chair. Luckily he only missed the sink a couple times. Then he discovered the scrub brush and had fun helping me scrub pots. Isn't it great that little kids love to do chores? Some of his favorite things to do are sweep, vacuum, and now help wash dishes. I love it! :) I just hope it lasts.

This was a fun day... for both of us! (If Aiden's happy I'm happy!)