Dessert Exchange

This week at work we have both a dessert exchange and a favorite things exchange. I am so excited about both.

Today is the dessert exchange with our larger team. I made my Coconut Marshmallows. The recipe links you to the plain vanilla marshmallows, just replace half the vanilla with coconut extract.

Yes, the picture is upside down. It won't change as much as I tried.

Then I made Salted Whiskey Caramels. They are two of my favorite treats to make. The caramels did not turn out well this year. The first batch stuck to the wax paper, so Steve decided to get them really cold to see of we could get the wax paper off that way. Nope, went to cut them and they shattered.

The next batch I made on greased parchment paper, well, I might have added a bit to much PAM spray to the paper. They are a bit greasy but, they taste great.

 

Next time I know not to put so much spray on the paper.

Now I am off to taste the treats from everyone else.

~ Cassi 

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Enchilada Bowl

This past week I had a small dental procedure that limited my diet to soft foods. With that I decided to try out a new recipe on the family, not that it is hard to talk them into anything Mexican. This meal fit both criteria of soft and tasty.

Ingredients:
1 lb. Ground Turkey

4-5 small sweet peppers

1/2 an onion

2 tbsp. Taco Seasoning

1 cup Rice

1 can Black Beans

1 can Enchilada Sauce

1 can Tomato and Chiles

1 cup Cheese

2 Avocados

Cilanto

It started with cooking up the ground turkey with the peppers and onion. Once the meat is cooked through, I stirred in the taco seasoning and let thicken.

To the turkey mixture add the can of black beans and tomatoes. Once heated through add the can of enchilada sauce and uncooked rice.

Leave on heat until rice is cooked through, stir often. Depending on your rice you may have to add water. Once rice is cooked stir in cheese.

I served it with diced avocado and cilantro.

We all really loved this meal. It was quick and easy too.

~ Cassi

Stuffed Chicken Enchilada Peppers

We love Mexican food! It is our go to menu item and restaurants. But you can only have tacos so many times in a row, so I am always on the lookout for new recipes. When I spotted this one on Pinterest, I had to give it a try.

I changed it up a bit not because I though the original recipe needed it but mostly because I never remember to buy all the ingredients on the list. Here is my version:

 INGREDIENTS:

olive oil, for sauteing

 3 cups cooked shredded chicken

1 cup cooked white rice

1 packed cup finely chopped fresh cilantro 

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

5 bell peppers

Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 can chicken broth

1 can Ro-tel diced green chiles and tomatoes

4 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

Cilantro and avocado for serving

INSTRUCTIONS:

Add a tablespoon olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Heat chicken through

Once the chicken is hot, remove to a large bowl and mix with the rice, cilantro and 1 cup of the cheese.

In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook, stirring often until golden. Whisk in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer 3 more minutes, stirring often.

Turn heat down to low and mix in the Ro-tel.

Add the cream cheese and sour cream whisk until it is completely combined. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a large roasting pan.

Wash the peppers and cut off the tops.

Remove the seeds and the white centers. Place in the roasting pan.

Mix about 1.5 cups of the sauce into the chicken mixture to start, adding more if needed, you want it to be well coated but not swimming in it.

Spoon the stuffing into the peppers. Top with the remaining cheese.

Spoon the remaining sauce into the bottom of the pan.

Bake 35 minutes until peppers are tender.

If the tops start to brown too much cover with aluminum foil.

To serve spoon sauce onto a plate or dish then top with a pepper and add avocado and sprinkle with cilantro

Chile Relleno Bake

My Mom and I's favorite dish when we go to Mexican restaurants is Chile Relleno. We both love the mix of pepper and gooey cheese. When surfing Pinterest one day I found this recipe for a Chile Relleno bake, I just had to try it.

The recipe was very pretty simple but did call for making your own enchilada sauce, which I did not. I used up some sauce I had from Trader Joe's.

 Here is how I made the recipe.

Ingredients:

Poblano Peppers, 5 or 6

Egg Whites, 4

1 C Milk

1/3 C Flour

1/2 bag of Shredded Cheddar

2/3 cup Enchilada Sauce

Preheat the broiler to high (My broiler doesn't have a temp setting). Prepare a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with non-stick spray (Liberally, I didn't do enough spray). Cut the top of the peppers off, removing the stems and seeds, then slice in half length wise. Place them skin side up on a baking sheet and stick them under the broiler for about 10 minutes or until they just begin to soften. Once out of the oven any parts that get to brown I pulled off the skin.

Whisk the egg whites, milk and flour together in a bowl.

Turn down the oven to 350. Place a single layer of peppers in the casserole dish, ladle one large spoonful of egg mixture over peppers.Sprinkle with 1/2 the cheese.

Repeat with a second layer. 

Pour the sauce over the top.

 Bake at 350 for about an hour, until it’s bubbly and the egg mixture is set.  

Mouse and I loved it. I served it topped with sour cream, avocados and cilantro. This was definitely easier than trying to make true Chile Rellenos.

~ Cassi

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Blistered Shishito Peppers

When we were in Orlando earlier this year, we tried shishito peppers at Emril's restaurant and loved them. But when we came back up to Minnesota we couldn't find them. Our local grocery stores didn't carry them. Thankfully Trader Joes came to the rescue!

All you need is extra-virgin olive oil, whole shishito peppers and sea salt

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Cook peppers, turning occasionally, until they begin to blister on all sides.

Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

Now be careful every now and then one of these babies can be hot!

The waiter at the restaurant told us to take just a nibble off the end of the pepper before taking a larger bite. We were very happy for this tip in the Trader Joe group. These ones had much more of a kick than the Orlando ones. None were the tears in the eyes hot but definitely kicky.  

I have to say even with the kick this time, I would still make them again.

~Cassi 

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Healthier Chile Relleno

 This past week I made what is now my favorite meal! I based my recipe mostly off of this Pinterest find. I love chile rellenos but deep frying is something I never do at home nor is it that healthy. So when I saw Naïve Cook Cooks recipe for stuffed Poblano peppers I knew I had to give it a try. But Naive's recipe called for a lot of things made from scratch and I just don't have the time on weeknight for that, so I modified it to be a mix of homemade and store bought.

Ingredients:

4 poblano peppers

1 can black beans,

1 tsp cumin powder

1 cup Mexican Cheese mix

2 cup rice

1 tsp Oil

1/2 Onion, diced

1 Corn, shucked from cob

2 tbsp. Salsa Verde

1 Avocado, diced

Handful Cilantro

Enchilada Sauce

Start with roasting the peppers. I like to roast mine in the oven at 400 for abut 10 minutes on each side (or until charred). This is just quicker and more even than trying to do then on the gas stove top. Once roasted through them in a ziplock bag for another 10 minutes or so. This will help loosen the skin for peeling.

While those are cooking, heat black bean mixed with cumin. I just through mine in a microwave bowl for a few minutes. Once they are cooked I start the rice, I have a microwave rice cooker.

I also started the corn and onions. In a non-stick skillet, I add the oil, corn and onions, stir occasionally until they start to caramelize (brown on the edges).

Once you have the peppers peeled, slit them down one side and remove the seeds. Place peppers back on cookie sheet used for roasting. Now fill center with black beans and top with cheese. Place these black in the oven under the broiler on high. Just until the cheese is melted.

The rice I mixed with the Salsa Verde. Spoon rice mix on to place and top with corn and onion mixture. Place stuffed pepper on top and sprinkle with avocado and cilantro. You can also drizzle with Enchilada sauce. We had mixed opinions on if that was necessary.

We had a neighbor girl over for dinner the night we made these and both her and Mouse said it was great. I know I can't wait to make them again.

~Cassi

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Zucchini and Sweet Corn Egg Bake

Last week during my juice detox we had a vegetarian meals. The best by far was this zucchini, mushroom and sweet corn egg bake. At first I was a bit worried I wouldn't like it due to the zucchini but I was proven wrong.

Ingredients

2 zucchini sliced thin

1/2 an onion diced

1 package of sliced mushrooms

1 package of frozen sweet corn

8 eggs

1/4 cup milk

3 tbsp Butter

1/2 package of shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400

Saute in butter zucchini, onion, mushroom and corn until soft and corn starts to caramelize.

 Combine eggs and milk in a large bowl and whisk till combined. Then added the cooked veggies.

In a 9 x 13 pan (sprayed with non-stick spray) pour egg mix, top with cheddar cheese

Bake for 30-40 minutes until cooked through.

This was seriously soo good! We love egg bakes and this one was so good. I can't wait to make it again.

~ Cassi

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Modified Juice Fast, Second Round

I really loved the juice fast  I did last year and thought I would give it another try. This month has been a lot of take out and restaurant food. The one area I do really bad in is ordering healthy food when we go out. Through the modified juice fast I can rebalance my health.

Again I will be doing a modified fast of four juices through out the day and then a vegetarian meal for dinner and a final juice before bed. My selection of juices will change from day to day, but each day I will have two greens focused juices, two citrus focused, one carrot focused and a final one for healthy fats of almond milk.

My first juice of the day:

2 handfuls of spinach

1/2 cucumber

2 celery stalks

2 apples

1/2 pineapple

1 banana

 

Second Juice of the day:

1 grapefruit

2 oranges

1 inch of ginger

water to finish jar

 

~ Cassi

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Pioneer Woman Mushroom Stew

 

At Christmas time, I made Pioneer Woman's Burgundy Mushrooms. Seriously, these things were soo good!! Everyone loved them. The recipe makes a lot and we have a small family so I had a bunch left over. So, I decided to make stew. 

 

Ingredients: 

2 cups Pioneer Burgundy Mushrooms, sliced in half

1.5 lbs. Stew Meat

4 cups Beef Broth

2 tsp Worchester Souce

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1 tsp Smoked Sea Salt

Pepper to taste

2 Bay Leaeves

2 Cups diced Potatoes

1/2 cup diced Carrots

1/2 cup diced Onion

2 tbsp of Corn Starch

 I placed all of these ingredients in a crock pot. I placed it on low for 6 hours.  If after 6 hours the meat is still too tough let it cook for another 2 hours. Once it is ready add the corn starch (mixed with a bit of cold water) and then wait for a bit till thickens.

 

  The stew turned out as good as the mushrooms. I think it was one of the best stews I have made in a long time. It wasn't  as thick as I normally make stew but it was still so great. I can't wait to make the mushrooms and the stew again.

 ~ Cassi

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Three Kinds of Sparkle and Some Cranberries too.

It's a little past Christmas but I still wanted to share recipes just the same. Cranberries was a bit of a theme for me this Christmas. First, I love them and second, they are so pretty. 

I started the theme when I saw this recipe on Pinterest and knew I had to try it. 

Then I made a few adjustments to it.  

I changed out the white grape juice for sparkling and the club soda for a Cava. I am so glad I made the changes. The bubbles were a great addition. The white sangria was so good and last to the next day. 

I also loved the sparkling rosemary used as a garnish. You can find how to do this at the end of the recipe above. My daughter ate the rosemary with sugar and said it was good. But I just loved the look of the rosemary. 

The final sparkle and the best snack we had at Christmas were these sugared cranberries.  I followed the recipe exactly on this one. And I will be making these again. Every one loved them and Mouse and I snacked on them for days. 

Hope you enjoyed some after Christmas sparkle. 

~Cassi

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Mini Apple Tarts

We are not really dessert people. I am much more of a give me salt! But, Steve's brother makes this great apple pie filling. He can can, pickle, preserve anything and he does it well! Every year he gives us a few jars of this thick spiced apple filling. It is so good. In the past we've made roasted pork with it and used it as ice cream sauce. This year I need a dessert for Christmas and turned to the sauce for inspiration.

I decided on mini tarts. I picked some puff pastry dough, pre-made I am not that adventurous in baking. You let it thaw for a while, then cut it into strips and then squares. The with each square take a pairing knife and draw a square around the edge. Make sure to leave room around the edge to make the well and don't go all the way through the layers, just score it.  Then in the center of your drawn a few square poke holes with a fork, this will keep the center from puffing up.

 

Transfer the dough squares to a parchment lined pan. I also sprayed the pan just to make sure they didn't stick. I then topped each center square with the pie mixture. Do a quick egg wash over the edge. Then place in a 350 degree oven to bake for until golden brown. This should be about 15 minutes. 

They turned out perfect. The edges puffed up making a well of gooey goodness. They lasted for days which made great breakfasts for after Christmas.  Now I know not all of you will have a brother-in-law that drops of jars of goodness, but this could be made with any jam or fillings. Now go try it out.

~ Cassi

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Roasted Head of Cauliflower

 

Welcome back! And hello to all of you in the new year. I am not one for New Year resolutions or word for the year. I love all those who can do those but I am just not one of them. Because once I may some kind of declaration like that I completely go against it. That means I am just better to slowly make changes verse big promises.

That means I am jumping back into blogging doing what you expect from this lifestyle blog, a little bit of everything that makes up our life.

Mouse is a huge fan of roasted cauliflower. It is probably her favorite vegetable. But sometimes I need a new recipe, there is just so many times I can eat roasted with cheese. This one looked like it would be a flavorful alternative and fun to serve.

Take a whole cauliflower trim it but leave it whole.

Then combine the below ingredients into a large sauce pan.

2 Cups Dry White Wine

⅓ Cup Olive Oil

1 Tbs Lemon Juice

3 Cloves Garlic - Whole

2 Tbs Butter

1 Bay Leaf

2 Scallions roughly chopped

Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes

Bring to a boil then add the cauliflower head.

Boil head till it just starts to soften. This took 20 minutes for me. I also had to keep flipping my cauliflower since my pan wasn't big enough to submerge. Once its tender remove from liquid with tongs and place on a lined baking sheet.

Bake the head in the over at 425 for 20 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. My oven got really smoky from this process, I would make sure you have your oven fan on.

I really liked the end result and the presentation was a fun as I thought it would be. But both my husband and daughter thought dry roasting it was better in flavor then this process. For the amount of work that went into this, I would have to agree.

 

~Cassi

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Award Winning Reuben Casserole

The recipe that won me the neighborhood casserole competition. OK, we don't have a annual casserole competition or anything but last year we did have one. And I won!! Which is highly unlikely because I am not a casserole fan. In fact I am not a fan of my food touching, this means casseroles are not my first choice for dinners.
So, when I do have to make a casserole I always turn to this as my go to recipe.
Reuben's are also one of my favorites sandwiches. This recipe takes the sandwich and lets you feed lots of people without the cook eating after everyone else.

Ingredients 

1 package of Corned Beef (chopped)

1 can Sour Kraut 

1. 5 cups Thousand Island Dressing

2 cups Swiss Cheese

6 slices of Pumpernickel Bread (chopped)

3 Tbsp of Butter (melted)

In a 9x13 casserole pan, layer the chopped corned beef, sour kraut and then Thousand Island dressing. We only put the sour kraut on half because Steve hates it. 

Then added the cheese to the top of that. Next you will layer on the cubed bread and drizzle the butter on the top. Then bake in an oven at 400 for 30 minutes or until bubbly. 

It is so good and you will have to trust me because once you take a chunk out of the casserole it doesn't really look good. The casserole just kind flattens all over the plate so I didn't post a picture of that. So trust me and try my award winning recipe. 

~ Cassi

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