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Browsing category archives: whatscookin

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

This is a great recipe to use up any only bananas you might have in your freezer. My husband is not a normal fan of banana bread, but this recipe with the double chocolate kick made him change his mind!

1 cup of butter
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
6 brown bananas, mashed
3 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of dark chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour two bread loaf pans.
3. In large glass bowl, melt butter in microwave.
4. With mixer, mix sugar and eggs with butter until combined. Beat for a minute.
5. Mix in vanilla and brown mashed bananas.
6. In sifter, place flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift into bowl with liquid mixture. Stir with spoon until combined.
7. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips.
8. Pour into greased bread loaf pans and place in center rack of oven.
9. Bake for about 55-65 minutes until knife inserted in middle of each loaf comes out clean.
10. Let cool slightly before removing from pan. Enjoy!!

Makes two – 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaves

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Easy Crockpot Cheesy Potato Hamburger Casserole

I am not a casserole girl….. I use to be, but I think during college I ate so many of them that I just don’t enjoy them as much. Once in a while though, I will stumble across a super easy casserole recipe that I find it hard to resist trying and this is the case of this recipe. My husband really liked it, but requested less cheese the next time, so I pared down the cheese in this recipe. It’s easy to put together and goes right in the crockpot, so make early in the day and dinner is ready at night!  
Crockpot Cheesy Potato Hamburger Casserole

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped
1 box of Betty Crocker Cheddar & Bacon Scalloped Potatoes
1 can whole no salt kernel corn, undrained
1 can 98% fat free cream of celery soup
pepper to taste
4 slices of 2% American Cheese or 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat.
2. When beef is cooked, add in chopped onion and cook until translucent.
3. Drain the beef/onion mixture.
4. In crockpot, place scalloped potatoes in bottom and mix with powered cheese mixture.
5. Pour can of undrained corn onto potatoes.
6. Top with spoonfuls of cream of celery soup.
7. Place ground beef/onion mixture on top of the soup.
8. Sprinkle with pepper. You can salt this too, but I found with the soup, potatoes, and cheese that no salt was needed.
9. Top with cheese slices or shredded cheddar cheese.
10. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, depending on your crockpot. After a few hours, I stirred mine so the cheese would not burn on the sides.





Enjoy!

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Naked Potato Salad

This is not your normal potato salad recipe! This is a mayo or miracle whip free potato salad, which my husband will LOVE! I adopted this recipe from Giada at Home’s recipe Red Potato and Tomato Salad but thought hers was super bland so changed some of the ingredients! Enjoy!

1 pound baby red potatoes, halved
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
5 scallions, sliced
1 6 oz. can of pitted black olives, halved
1/3 cup chopped fresh italian parsley
1/4 cup of capers
3 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large lemon, zested
1 half of lemon juice
Salt and pepper

1. Boil potatoes until fork tender.
2. Drain potatoes and let them cool to room temperature.
3. In one bowl, mix together all ingredients: potatoes, tomatoes, scallions, olives, parsley, capers, thyme, olive oil, lemon zest, and juice from half of the lemon that was zested.
4. Toss gently until all the ingredients are coated.
5. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Depending on the saltiness of your olives and capers you might need to add more salt.
6. Refrigerate for a few hours before sevice and toss again before serving.

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Zuppa Toscana Soup

My cousin Nikki was raving about this soup recipe a few weeks ago and sent it to me. We have had a couple of cold rainy days lately so I made this for dinner the other night. It was a HUGE success! I loved the green the kale added to the recipe and overall it was great comfort food! Serve with some crusty bread on the side!

1 lb ground Italian sausage (I use 1 package of Johnsonville Spicy Italian Sausage, removed from casings)
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
1 large diced onion
1/4 cup turkey bacon pieces, crumbled small
2 teaspoons of garlic, minced
1 pound potatoes, or about 2 large potatoes, sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices
6 cups water
2 (14.58 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups of kale

1. Saute Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Remove from pan and drain excess fat. Keep warm.

2. In the same pan, saute bacon, onions and garlic for approxiamtly 15 mins. or until the onions are
soft.
3. Add in diced potatoes.
4. Add chicken broth and water to pot and stir.
5. Add sausage and bacon and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Simmer for another 10 minutes, to thicken the soup.
7. Turn to low and add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated.
8. Add kale just before serving. Delicious!

Makes: 6-8 servings

Thanks Nikki!

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Butter Chicken

I was inspired to make this for dinner tonight from my cousin’s facebook post. Sometimes you forget how good Indian food is!! I originally found this Butter Chicken recipe from foodnetwork.com, but I thought it might turn out to be too tomatoey tasting, so of course I adapted it to my liking!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 pound of chicken, cubed into 1 inch pieces
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes in juice
1/4 Greek yogurt
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon of sugar (optional)
Hot basmati rice, for serving
Pita bread (or if you have time, make my Naan recipe)

1. In large skillet heat vegetable oil until hot. Cut chicken into cubes while this is heating up.
2. Cook chicken in oil until no longer pink in the middle of the largest pieces, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove chicken and keep warm in a bowl.
4. Melt the butter in a same skillet used for chicken over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until brown, about 7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and minced ginger and cook for 1 minute.
6. Add in spices and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
7. Pour in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and the cooked chicken that has been set aside. Cover skillet and cook on low for 15 minutes.
8. Stir in yogurt and whipping cream. Reduce heat to very low and let simmer for 10 minutes. Stir often to prevent scorching.
9. Taste the sauce and see if you need to add the sugar. I usually add it if the tomatoes are too acidic. (As a side note, I did not have plain Greek yogurt, only strawberry Chobani. I just scooped the unmixed yogurt off the top and did not need to add any sugar. It gave a nice slight fruity flavor to the sauce, but not noticeable unless I pointed it out.)
10. Serve sauce over basmati rice and bread on the side.

Enjoy!!

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Chicken with Grapes, Thyme, and Wild Rice in a Chardonnay Sauce

The other day it was raining, so instead of doing our normal grilling I decided to use up what I had in the fridge. Namely chicken, grapes, and some old Chardonnay from a previous recipe. (Yep, my husband barely drinks wine, so if I can’t we can keep a bottle for months!)
Now grapes and chicken sound a little strange, but the sweetness in the grapes and the flavor of the thyme really bring a nice flavor to the chicken. At 383 calories per serving it’s healthy for you too!
For the recipe you will need:
1 1/2 cups wild rice blend
rice cooker
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds of chicken breasts
1/2 of a small purple onion, chopped 
1 tablespoon of garlic, minced
1 cup of seedless grapes
1 cups of a dry Chardonnay
dried thyme (I think fresh would be better, but I only had dried on hand)
salt and pepper 
To start, make your wild rice. I love my rice cooker. You can make it on the stove, but I just love I can pour  all the ingredients in and walk away. I used 1 1/2 cups of rice and 3 cups of water. Make sure you do this first because wild rice usually takes about 30 minutes to cook. 

Season up your chicken well! Very well. This dish has light flavors and you really need to have the salt and pepper bring them out. 
In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil till very hot and place your chicken in the pan. 
Brown both sides of the chicken but don’t cook them all the way through. 
Once both sides are browned, remove from pan. Place on a plate and keep them warm by covering them with a lid. 
In the same pan, heat the rest of the olive oil until hot. Add your purple onion and cook until caramelized. About 5-8 minutes. 
When the onions are nice and browned, add the garlic and cook for an extra 2 minutes. 
You should end up with a nice mixture of browned onion and garlic that looks like this:
Next, deglaze your pan with the chardonnay. I just poured it out of the bottle, but I think it was around a cup. 
Add your chicken back in bring mixture to a boil. 
Once boiling, reduce to low and add in your grapes. 
Sprinkle with thyme. I used a lot, probably a tablespoon. Cover and let simmer on low for 15-20 until chicken is cooked through. 
When you open your pan you will see many of the grapes have split open and lost their color a little. This is good, the split grapes add sweetness to the sauce!
Plate up your chicken on a bed of wild rice. Cover with onions, grapes, and some chardonnay sauce. 
Enjoy!!
The skinny: Serves 6 @ 383 calories

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Easy Easter Nest Cookies

Want an easy cookie to make for Easter? Well, look no further then these Easy Easter Nest Cookies. I found this recipe originally on the Fiber One website and decided to give it a try. This recipe is fast and very easy to make. Nest cookies are usually made with crispy chow mein noodles, but this recipe uses the original bran cereal. The cookies end up crunchy and a little healthier packing in 11% of your daily fiber needs in just one cookie! If that doesn’t give you a reason why you can eat more than one, I don’t know what will!

2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 3/4 cups Fiber One original bran cereal
Egg shaped candy (I used whoppers)

1. Line cookie sheets with waxed paper.
2. In double boiler, melt chocolate. Stir until smooth.
3. Add in peanut butter and stir until smooth.
4. Mix in cereal.
5. Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper.
6. Top with egg shaped candy for the look of a nest.
7. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm.
8. Enjoy!

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130 Calorie Sugar Free, Cranberry Orange Spice Bran Muffins

I know the title is super long, but I couldn’t think of any other way to describe these muffins. I have been going through my cupboards trying to use up old things and saw that I had almost a whole box of  bran cereal. 


source

No one is eating this cereal, so I decided to try to use it to make some muffins for breakfast. It’s a great way to add fiber to any muffin recipe without overpowering the muffins. I played around with a recipe I found online and came up with these muffins for breakfast. The muffins are sweetened with ripe bananas and Splenda, so not only do these muffins have extra fiber but are also sugar free! And for those of you counting calories, they are only 130 calories each! They were fast to make and the family LOVED them!

1 cup bran cereal
1 egg
3/4 cup skim milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of orange zest
2 medium mashed ripe bananas (I used really brown ones I had in my freezer.)
1/2 cup granulated Splenda
1 1/4 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Place muffin liners in a 12-cup muffin pan and spray muffin liners with some spray vegetable oil if you have it. (I use silicone ones that I wouldn’t trade for the world!)

2. In medium bowl combine egg, milk, oil, and orange zest with whisk. Add in very ripe soft bananas.

3. Stir in cereal and let stand a few minutes.

4. Stir in Splenda.

4. In a sifter, add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Sift into egg mixture.

5. Once combined, it will still be lumpy, stir in cranberries.

6. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

7. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown.

8. Enjoy!

The Skinny: Serves 12 @ 130 calories

Here is the nutrition breakdown:

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335 Calorie Mug Brownie!

My husband I were craving brownies the other night, but the problem is that when I make brownies we end up eating the whole pan. Now this may not sound like that bad of an idea (in fact, some people would say it sounds delicious!) but did you know that the average brownie mix baked is 3400 calories per pan! That’s an extra 3400 calories a week or almost a pound. (3500 calories = 1 pound)

Lately I have been seeing several versions of Mug Brownies pop up on Pinterest. In an effort to satisfy our sweet tooth and have brownies I thought I would give it a try. I changed ingredients (I always seem to when I cook) and made the calories as low calorie as I could without compromising taste.
This Mug Brownie is now 335 calories, which I know sounds like a lot, but compared to the alternative it’s really not that bad. This Mug Brownie gives you a nice sized portion, it’s super fast, and best of all there is no tempting leftovers hanging around! I hope you enjoy!
You will need:
2 tablespoons light butter
2 Tablespoons Splenda

4 Tablespoons Flour
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons Water

And these directions can’t be easier! First, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a mug.
Pour in 2 tablespoons of Splenda,
4 tablespoons flour,
2 tablespoons of sugar,
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder,
and 2 tablespoons of cold water.
Now stir until somewhat smooth.
Pop into microwave for 50 seconds.
Remove from microwave and enjoy your chocolatey bliss!
And for those of you wanting the nutrition information:



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Valentine’s Day Breakfast – Heart Shaped Pancakes & Frog In The Hole

I never use to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but for some reason as I have gotten older I have started too. Last year I planned out a dinner of heart shaped pizza, lovey labeled wines, and heart brownies (see post here.) This year I decided to make something different because my kiddo is now old enough to eat food. I decided on a loving breakfast of heart shaped pancakes and heart shaped frog in the hole.

The whole idea came about when I was at Walmart and saw these cookie cutters for $2.88.

Now I have seen these type of pancake makers at stores before, but always thought they would be something I wouldn’t break out very often. The cookie cutters could be used for a variety of functions and were super cheap!

My cookie cutters are metal and metal conducts heat, so I need a way to pick them up out of the pan and decided to use an old cork
I just cut a slit in it big enough to pick up the cutter from the pan.
I placed my cookie cutters in a pan with some oil and waited for them to heat up.
I mixed up some pancake batter.
I poured my batter in and waited for it to get super bubbly. (Notice my center from my frog in the hole.) When the pancakes had lots of bubbles, I used the cork to remove the hot cookie cutter.
Then I flipped each over and waited for the other side to cook.
After those two were cooked, I sprayed down the cookie cutters with some vegetable oil and started on the rest of the batter. I ended up with this beautiful stack of pancakes:
It was a pretty large stack, but my husband and son ate them up.
Well, I gave my son one of them. I am a little strange of a Mom and try to give my kiddo protein in the morning. I think having just carbohydrates and sugary syrup just isn’t the healthiest for a young kiddo. Breakfast #2 for my son was a frog in the hole. If you haven’t heard of these, it’s just a piece of bread with an egg in the middle.
I grabbed the middle size cookie cutter and cut my hole out of my bread.
Keep the inside part, it makes for cute toast on the side. I cooked this piece with the pancakes in the larger pan.
With a little bit of oil in the pan, I put the bread in a pan and
cracked an egg in the center. My son likes salt & pepper on his eggs so I added that.
Once the top of the egg has set, I flipped it over and let it cook until the yoke was hard.
Served with the toasted center, my kiddo ate it up!
Hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Valentine’s Day! Even if you don’t like/celebrate the holiday, just use it as an opportunity to do something nice for the ones you love.


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