Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Chicken Pesto Pizza


I am IN LOVE with this Recipe. Well 3 recipes in one. Please try it NOW. So- delish. And guess where it came from... ya... the Sisters. They rock, huh? I think I may be their biggest fan. :)
They suggest you marinade the chicken and make the pesto the night before.This helps and makes it pretty simple to assemble this delicious dish.

Preheat Pizza Stone in 400° oven.  (NOTE: My pizza stone cracked, sad day! So... I used just a cookie sheet and it rocked. )
Roll out dough on pizza stone and layer pizza in this order:
Pizza
1) Pesto (LIBERALLY spread pesto over the pizza, so you can’t see the dough through it, and up on top the edges so the crusts will have pesto on them as well.)
2) Feta cheese (about 4 oz)
3) Red onion slivers (about 1/3 onion)
4) Chicken pieces (about 1 1/2 Grilled Lemon marinated breasts, petite diced and cooked)
5) Tomato slices (1-2 tomatoes, bite-sized slices)
6) Mozzarella cheese (to your liking)
7) Pine nuts (sprinkle over top)

Bake in 400° oven for 18-20 minutes.
Pesto from Barefoot Contessa.
I agree with the Sisters, decrease the olive oil to 1 cup to 1 1/4 cup olive for best results.

¼ c. walnuts
¼ c. pignolis (pine nuts- I found mine at Costco)
3 T. diced garlic (9 cloves)
5 c. fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ c. good olive oil
1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese

Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely pureed. Add the parmesan and puree for a minute. (I added extra because I ♥ Parmesan) Serve, or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top. Makes 4 cups.
Pizza Dough
1 c warm water, divided
1 tsp sugar
1/4 oz package active dry yeast
3 Tbsp oil (olive oil or canola)
2 ½ c flour
1 tsp salt

Put warm water in bowl, mix in sugar & yeast and let proof until bubbly (about 10 mintues.) Stir in rest
of ingredients. Mix until a ball, knead 10 minutes. Put additional oil in bowl and let rise in oil bowl for 1 ½ hours.

Lemon Delish Chicken
Juice of one lemon (3 Tb lemon juice)
3 Tb oil
1 tsp minced garlic ( 2 medium-large cloves)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper (fresh of course!)
½ tsp oregano
1 lb chicken breasts

Marinate chicken overnight. I dice it really small and then just pan-grilled it. It was delish just like the name I gave it! :)

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Bountiful Baskets

I posted this on my other blog, but wanted you guys to know about it too!

Hello all.
I know that I am probably the last person to have tried this, but I finally tried a Bountiful Basket! Have you heard of them? They are AWESOME! It is a food co-op thingy that lets you get fresh produce for cheap! I got a laundry basket full of produce for only 16.50. There are tons of these things around the state. I feel sheepish because it took me so long to try it out. Check it out HERE

Main Basket:


Cheeries & Plums

String Beans

Tomatoes & Bananas

Broccoli
Can you believe all this loot? I got some more stuff, but we had already put it in the fridge! Wowzers. That is at least $50.00 worth of produce.
I know there are lots of options lately for fresh produce, but I love the surprise that this option gives you. It kind of makes you learn how to cook with stuff if you haven't before. My friend Rachel likes this because she is a foodie and gets to try new recipes with her "surprise" ingredients. I think they gave out Bok Choy & Brussel Sprouts last week.
I am just so excited to save money on healthy things for once. I know that couponing can save you TONS of money, but often I find that the coupons are for stuff that we don't eat because it is so processed. So...Yay for saving money and for eating healthy!
Try it out and let me know what you think. Oh.. and make sure you check it out before Monday because Monday is typically the day that they "place orders" and the slots go quick.
Happy Weekend. Anyone else going to see Toy Story 3?

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Peanut Butta Cups

Hey, it's me again. Natster. :) Here is a lovely recipe that rocked the Holidays. Seriously, everyone that tried these LOVED them. Hope they rock your world.

I found this lovely recipe over at Chow. Head over there for the recipe.
I made a few substitutions so that the filling would be a little thicker (more graham cracker, more PB.)
They were great and we liked them the longer they sat. Enjoy! (note...as I am NOT a self-proclaimed food photographer, I am pretty proud of this one! :) yay! )

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Lemon Bars


I originally found this recipe here at Bakerella. I made some changes that seem to work better for me, you can find those below!

Lemon Bars
Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar (plus more for dusting)
Topping:
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice (I recommend a lovely combo of lemon and lime juice!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan
Crust:
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and confectioner’s sugar
  • Cut in butter until combined and crumbly.
  • Press mixture into bottom of pan.
  • Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden.
Topping:
  • While crust is baking, prepare topping.
  • In a larger bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder.
  • Then add eggs and lemon juice.
  • Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes.
  • When cool, dust with confectioner’s sugar and refrigerate.
I, like Bakerella, LOVE them cold. YAY for lemon!
♥ Nat

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Molasses Crinckles (aka Gingersnaps)


I got this recipe from Lisa Bearnson (scrapbooker extraordinare). I love them. The trick is to take them out of the oven as soon as they "crack" on top and then don't let them sit on the hot pan. Take them off quick! Enjoy!

Molasses Cookies

Cream together for two minutes:
1 cup shortening
1 cup butter
2 eggs

Add slowly and cream for five minutes:
2 cups sugar

Add to above mixture:
1/2 cup molasses
1 t. salt
4 t. soda
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. ginger
2 t. ground cloves
4 cups flour

Roll in balls, then in sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. These are light and fluffy. Warning: You can't eat just one!Lisa Bearnson

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Kinda Homemade Doughnuts


The General Conference after Daniel and I were married, Daniel teased me and said that Elder Nelson's wife always makes them Spudnuts while they are gone at Priesthood Session. So I decided that I would always have a delicious dessert waiting for him when he got home so we could sit and he could tell me about the Priesthood session. Since we've been in Washington I've made these Kinda Homemade Doughnuts, he doesn't know how easy they are and I'm going to keep it that way as long as I can. Here is the recipe:

1 pkg of Pilsbury Biscuits
Oil
Fill frying pan half way with oil and set to medium heat. With the top of a water bottle or bottle with a skinny neck make the doughnut holes in the biscuits. Fry the biscuits on medium until a golden color. Let the doughnuts sit on a paper towel to collect extra grease and then glaze while they are still warm.

We tried a chocolate glaze this time and it was delicious!! You can add sprinkles or whatever you want on your doughnuts.

Chocolate Glaze
1 C. powdered sugar
1/4 t. vanilla
1 T. milk
2 T. cocoa powder
Mix well, apply immediately.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Valentine Fun

We had the missionaries over for Valentines Dinner. I didn't go all out with craziness, but I did try to find things that were pink, red or white for dinner. Below is our Menu, links to any recipes and one extra little goodie.

Appetizer

Yummy Oreo Truffles by bakerella. Go here to see the recipe! I went a little larger though and used pink frosting and sprinkles on the tops! Then I just did small balls for the little kiddos.

Photobucket

Photobucket

Dinner



White Chicken & Pink Garlic Roasted Shrimp
I just cut the chicken in cubes and marinated in a small bit of oil and garlic Salt.
Shrimp I put in a zip lock baggie with about 1/2 Tbsp of oil and some garlic Salt.
both roasted on a pan at about 375 for approx 20 minutes. The shrimp will cook a lot faster than the chicken so if you want them to finish at the same time just start with the chicken then add the shrimp after about 10 minutes.



Red Roasted Potatoes
Similar to the chicken and Shrimp I just cube, throw into a gallon zip lock baggie, about 1 Tbsp of oil for about 5 potatoes and I also added about 1/2 Tbsp of Oregano. Potatoes I roast same as the chicken about 375-400 for 20-30 minutes.

Cauliflower & Red Pepper Hearts with pink ranch dip

Photobucket

If you cut the peppers right, put two of them together and it looks like a heart! It was about the only veggie I could think of to totally get creative with! My favorite ranch dip is light sour cream, hidden valley ranch packet and this time of course we added pink food coloring! Just recently at my moms I added a little extra minced onion and garlic to the ranch and it was wonderful!

Goodie Bag Treats!

this was the fun part! I got a few little party favors from wal-mart...super cheap and very entertaining....but then their treats were Peppermint heart Lollipops! You make these from your leftover mini candy canes and white chocolate. I found many variations online but here is mine.

Photobucket

Line your pan with foil then lay two mini candy canes to make a heart shape. Place a sucker stick inbetween the bottoms. Fill with melted white Chocolate and sprinkle! Let cool completely but not in the refrigerator or the candy canes will sweat and get sticky!

Melting white chocolate in a zip lock:
I only used about 1/4 cup of chocolate chips for the 2 lollipops that I made and it was more than enough. I didn't make more as I already had used the rest of my candy canes. Place chips in the zip lock and microwave for 30 seconds. Moosh around then zap for another 30 seconds. Moosh again and continue until chocolate is melted. Careful not to overcook you chocolate or it gets icky! Cut a small hole at the corner of your baggie and just squeeze into the centers of your candy canes!

A few places I found some candy cane treats

http://theidearoom.blogspot.com/2009/02/candy-cane-heart-suckers.html

http://theidearoom.blogspot.com/2010/02/heart-suckers-and-heart-candies.html

http://www.megacrafty.com/2010/02/chocolate-candy-cane-hearts.html

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Fairy Dust Lollipops

So, gotta go over here and check out this!

We made some really fun lollipops you just gotta check out at my blog. I posted basic directions, but if you needed more specific info feel free to ask! Or buy the book here for less than $5.00 (just on your first one) and free shipping! Just search for Barbara Beery and you will find all 6 of her darling books!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Lasagna Spinach Soup




So this soup is SO dang yummy I have made it twice this week! I found it on the website that I sited before Kitchen Parade. But I specifically found this recipe on her Veggie Venture blog. With her recipe she has it listed as 3 weight watcher points. I LOVED the broth and Spinach so much I altered it a bit and the way I have the recipe listed here is only 2 Weight Watcher points.

Ingredients

1/4-1/3 pound ground Turkey orhamburger (I prefer it with less, but she used 1 lb. I also used the 95% lean hamburger)

1 large chopped Onion
2 Tbsp minced Garlic
2 tsp basil
2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp anise seed
Salt & Pepper to Taste

15 oz can diced tomatoes
15 oz canned tomato sauce

(Today I actually just used 2 Heaping Tbsp of an italian seasoning mix since i wasn't about to spend the $7 for that tiny bottle of anise! NOt to mention that was much easier!)


6 Cups chicken Broth (I used Boullion)
3 OZ Lasagna (About 3 long strips)
Lots of Fresh Spinach! (about 12 ounces?)


In a large Pan or POt cook your hamburger until done. Add all seasonings and the onion. Cook thoroughly. Add the tomatoes, Sauce and Broth and bring to boil. Pretty much at this point you can add the lasagna, but just remember the longer it's in there the soggier it gets so if you aren't serving for awhile I would wait to add it. But...let's say we are ready to serve soon! Add the noodles and cook medium for about 15-20 minutes. Just before serving add the spinach for 1-2 miutes then serve. Today I just dished up my soup without the spinach, then added my own HUGE handful on the top, stirred then let sit in my bowl for a few minutes.


The original recipe suggests chopping the spinach, but I LOVE it so much It doesn't matter to me! Changes I also made from the original:

2 cups more broth, 1 oz more pasta, and lots more spinach. HEr recipe is also for 8 1 cup servings at 3 points each. Today I split mine into 6 servings (obviously more than 1 cup becuase I used more broth) and it was only 2 points per serving. You could certainly go for 8 servings and it would only be about 1 point as my 2 point figureation was actually rounded up!

Enjoy and sorry I blab so much!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Contest Giveaway

I just had to get on here and share with you about a fabulous new website I just found! Great Recipes, healthy and tasty! But first I'm posting about a Giveaway they are having! I am a Weight Watchers fan, love their products, but mostly love the program, so when I saw I could win a WW scale I had to enter! SEe the contest here
the Kitchen Parade has all kinds of recipes and tips and suggestions and I SUGGEST you go there! But don't forget to peek over here too.