Snails anyone?!

So, after our surprise ultrasound I suddenly realized that David and I were both there and both knew what the gender was for our sweet baby.  That meant no gender reveal!  Boo!  (Though David was probably glad about that...he didn't want to do ANYTHING!)  Then I realized that my parents were coming for Easter and decided I'd do a reveal for them.  David's family couldn't make it but we did a FaceTime reveal for them.  So, then I had to come up with HOW to reveal.  At first, I was just going to incorporate it into our Easter meal but David wanted breakfast pie and I didn't want more bready stuff with that (meaning muffins).  I figured I could get a bunch of Easter candy since colors for that are usually pink, blue, and yellow...and just use the color I needed.  Then I found a fun little idea and went with it.  So, just before we had brunch with my family, we had everyone sit in the den while I brought out the reveal "board."

It's a BOY!  I made little snail "pigs in a blanket;" though I think that EVERYONE thought it was something else. 

How embarrassing!  I also made puppy dog tails (just pretzels dipped in chocolate).  It was fun!

We are really excited!  I thought it was a boy...and apparently everyone else did too.  I'm glad that we will now have a girl and a boy.  K will be a great big sister and is actually excited about her baby "brudder."  Now we just have to come up with a name.  Hopefully we'll agree on one soon.  :-)

For the SNAILS:
1 can of crescent rolls
cocktail sausages

Preheat oven as instructed on rolls.  Press a rectangle of crescents together (this would be two triangles with the seams pressed).  Cut into 4 strips lengthwise.  Place a sausage at one end, half on half off and roll about halfway down the strip.  From the other end, roll the dough up like you would a crescent roll.  When you get to the sausage, turn the dough so that it faces out and looks like the shell of a snail.  Place on baking pan.  Repeat for all the dough. Bake until browning.  Enjoy!  I got 16 snails.

Cooking the Alphabet: D and E

We have had such fun cooking through the alphabet as K learns new letters at school.  We started on letter "C" and have done most other letters so far.  I think the only ones we've skipped have been "F" (because K was gone), "I" (because it was Italian ice...not really great for October!), and "K" (this week...because it was kabobs and it just didn't fit our menu).  Way back on "E" week we did the recipes for "D" and "E."

 "D" was just "Delicious Deviled Eggs."  I let K stir the egg mixture (which I basically reverse the ratio of may to mustard) but really did most of this one (very quickly) myself.  In the process, K discovered that she likes deviled eggs. 

Yay for boiled eggs.  :-) 

The "E" recipe was SUPER fun and we shared it with K's class the next day.  It was "elephant ear cookies."  Not the same elephant ears that we get at the fair each year; those are more like really big beignets with cinnamon sugar instead of powdered sugar. 

No, these cookies are the sugar cookies that are rolled up with cinnamon sugar between the layers.  Really fun.  K loved them. But then again, she loves ANY food, especially treats. 

This was a bit difficult to roll.  If we made them again, I would probably refrigerate the dough for a little while before rolling. 

She didn't come home with any leftovers, so I guess all the kids (and teachers) liked them!  Thanks, again, Uncle Philip and Aunt Kenna for this awesome present!

*adult steps for both recipes
Delicious Deviled Eggs
6 eggs
1 T mayo
2 T mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Place eggs in large pot and cover with water.  Boil for 12 minutes.  Then remove the eggs and refrigerate until they are cold.*
2. Peel the eggs. (not listed as an adult step but depending on the age of the child...this could be difficult)
3. Cut eggs in half and remove the yolk.*  Put yolks in small bowl and lace the egg whites on a platter.
4. Add mayo, mustard, and salt to bowl with yolks and mix together with a fork.
5. Using a small spoon, fill the hollows of the egg whites with the yolk mixture.

Elegant Elephant Ears
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 T cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 425. 
1. In bowl, pour flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Mix with a fork.
2. Mix 1/4 cup of melted butter with milk and pour into flour.  Knead with your hands to form a ball of dough. (This could be started with a spoon to make less messy)
3. In a small bowl, mix together remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon.
4. Sprinkle counter with flour, sprinkle rolling pin with flour.  Place dough on flour surface and roll into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick (good step for adult help)

 5. Brush dough with remaining 1/4 cup melted butter and sprinkle with half of cinnamon sugar.

 6. Roll up dought like a carpet, starting on one of the long sides
7. Cut the roll into 1/2 inch slices.*
8. Place each slice on baking stone or sheet.  Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.
9. Place sheet in oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. *
10. Remove and allow to cool. *

Food for a Fiesta

So, this post is a long time in coming...I made this in July!!  Before Katie got married, I helped put together a Bachelorette shower for her.  It was fun but I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off making the food.  We had cake balls, muffaletta rolls, spinach salad, and this yummy Mexican layered dip.

  I think it's a pretty standard party dish but often it is made with full fat ingredients.  Guess what!!!  You can make this with ingredients that actually make it (almost) healthy!  Just substitute fat free refried beans, Greek yogurt for the sour cream, go light on the cheese, and make your own guacamole (though, like I said, I was a chicken with my head cut off...so I purchased the guacamole!).  Then you just layer everything.  SOOooooo good!

Mexican Layered Dip
1 can (or two depending on how thick you want the layer or how big your plate is) fat free, refried beans
guacamole
8-10 oz Greek yogurt
tomatoes, chopped (probably 2-3)
green onions, sliced (3-4)
black olives, chopped (1 small can)
cheddar cheese, shredded (use what you want - 1/2-1cup)

Get a large rimmed plate or a pie plate.  Open the beans and place them on the bottom of the plate.

  On top of the beans put a layer of guacamole.

 Top this with a layer of Greek yogurt. 

Sprinkle the onions, olives, and tomatoes on top of the yogurt. 

Top it all with some cheddar cheese.  Serve with dippers such as tortilla chips, carrots, bell peppers, and celery.  I've even used it as a topper to salad!  Enjoy!!!

Cheeeeese!

 Two weeks from now, I will be at my parents' house and we will have celebrated Thanksgiving with my dad's entire family...around 25 people.  One of the most favorite appetizers is cheese.  As soon as the first relative arrives someone pulls out the cheese.

We don't usually MAKE any special appetizers, but if you do like to make a special appetizer and have someone who likes cheese these would fit the bill!  It is a recipe from my mom's family cookbook and is from my Aunt Jean.  My dad's mom, my Granny!, had a similar recipe but for cheese sticks instead of rounds.

  I made these for one of those many baby showers we've been having at work...and everyone loved them.  The expectant mom even went back for more at the end of the shower!  So, pull these out at your Thanksgiving celebration and enjoy!

Cheese Rounds
1 stick butter
2 cups grated sharp cheese (I used cheddar)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
Tabasco to taste (I think I used Tony's instead)
Pecan halves (optional)

Blend ingredients together in a bowl.  Next shape.  There are two options.  If you have time, divide the dough into two large balls, then work each into a long roll 1 inch thick.  Wrap this in waxed paper or cling wrap and chill.  When ready to use, slice into thin discs.  Place pecan half on top of each disc.

Other shaping option if you don't have much time (this is obviously the one I used!) if to form the dough in to small balls 1/2-1 inch in size depending on how big you want your cheese rounds. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place your discs or rounds onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.  Enjoy!

Baby Food

Back in March we had a baby shower for one of the other residents.  She has since had the baby and is back to work...that shows how delayed I am in posting this!  I decided to take one of the most typical but enjoyed shower foods...baby quiche.  (Obviously the theme was baby!).  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it was really good.  The pictures are lack-luster, so you'll just have to trust me! 

Mini Cheese Quiches 
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup AP flour
1 cup shredded white cheese (suggested Monterey Jack)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Cream butter and cream cheese.  Add flour and beat until blended.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  (The recipe suggests pre-dividing into 24 balls)  Press balls into the bottom and up the sides of mini-muffin tins.  Sprinkle a teaspoon of cheese on the bottom.  Meanwhile, beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Spoon this mixture over the cheese using a tablespoon.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden.  Allow to stand for five minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Fishy Stuff

I was going to post a modification of one of my cookie recipes yesterday, but I haven't gotten the picutres yet, so that will have to come later. Friday we had my dad's pizza...and it turns out that it was pizza pie day! Apparently we celebrated and didn't even know. It had pineapple, canadian bacon, mushrooms, black olives, and mozzarella. Yum!

Last week I cooked NONE...tests consumed me, so I lived on eggs and fish. Nothing fancy. However, this dish, that I made two weeks ago was a little fancier. It is a baked salmon recipe that I found on My Kitchen in Half Cups. It is really a pretty dish, quite colorful, and tastes great! The only "problem" to my tastes was, once again, crunch veggies. Maybe I would start roasting the veggies a little earlier than putting the fish on. I served this with roasted sweet potatoes...I actually ate some of them. Because of all the veggies, this is my entry to Sweetnick's ARF.

Baked Salmon
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 red/purple onion, chopped
several carrots, diced

3 ribs of celery, chopped
salmon filets (I used frozen - 1 bag from kroger)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place prepared veggies in the bottom of a baking dish. Place salmon on top of veggies. Bake for 40 minutes. I pulled it out about 30 minutes in a seasoned the fish.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes
sweet potatoes
seasoning

Peel potatoes and slice into 1/4 slices. Put in a single (as best you can) layer in the bottom of an oven safe dish. Spray with cooking spray or some olive oil. Season to your liking. I cooked this with the fish for 40 mintes and it worked well. If alone, I cook at 400-450 degrees F for 15 minutes or until fork tender.

I'm Popeye, the Sailor Man

One of my friends has an annual Christmas party. I decided that instead of taking something sweet, I'd take something savory. I decided to try Sweetnick's mom's spinach cheese squares. These were SO good! I didn't go home with any and could have taken more. I decided to change the cheese a bit (like Cate did this year) and used some swiss. This was a fast and easy recipe with lots of antioxidants. SO, I'm submitting it for ARF day at Sweetnicks. I hope Cate doesn't mind someone submitting one of her own recipes! :-)

Spinach Cheese Bites

2 tablespoons butter (I admit, I didn't use this; my stoneware provided enough crisp)

3 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 pound shredded Cheddar cheese (I used half cheddar and half swiss, 1 cup of each - is that 1 pound?)

2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach (I used one 16 oz bag)

1 tablespoon minced onion

Preheat oven to 350F. Place butter or margarine in a 9x13 inch baking dish and melt butter in oven. Remove when melted, approximately 3 minutes. In large mixing bowl, beat eggs well. Mix in flour, milk and baking powder. When the dough is well combined, mix in cheese, spinach, and onion. Spoon mixture into the baking dish with melted butter. Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool 45 minutes then cut into bite-size squares.

Kissed by a Goat

I went to a Christmas party tonight with the girls in my prayer group from medical school. We had a lot of fun! It started at 7 and I didn't leave until 10:30. We played dirty Santa, which was TONS of fun! The girl who got the gift I brought loved it and tried to hide it from people so that they couldn't steal it! I got a really cute necklace from my FAVORITE store (Ann Taylor LOFT) and it went perfectly with the outfit I had on! YAY!

We had chicken and deer sausage gumbo. It was really good. For dessert there was a pecan pie cake. Decadent! There were also appetizers of stuffed mushrooms (Super yum), cheese dip, topped crackers, Martha Washington candies, and more.

I decided to take a new appetizer called Goat Cheese Kisses. It was on the back of a real estate postcard my mom had. The recipe is from Eating Well. In the middle of goat cheese you put apricots. This took me back to my time in Kyrgyzstan. We used to get dried apricots all the time...I must say that those apricots we better than these store bought ones, but you can't beat fresh!

Anyway, I thought these "kisses" were different and tasted pretty good. The combination of goat cheese and apricots was pleasing and the nuts added a nice texture. The only drawback was that they were a bit hard to put together. When I tried to spread the cheese around the apricot, it stuck to my fingers rather than moving around the apricot. I don't know if maybe I would have had more success if I wet my fingers (like you would if making biscotti) or not. All in all these were good but I don't know if I'd make them again...my crown doesn't really have such "elegant" palates!

Goat Cheese Kisses

6 oz. goat cheese (I had 5 oz and this was plenty)

6 dried apricots, quartered (I used more than this)

3 Tablespoonts chopped pistachios or macadamia nuts

Scoop our a heaping 1/2 teaspoon* cheese. Form around a quarter of apricot. Roll in nuts.

*I stopped measuring and just used what I needed to cover the apricot. I'm sure it was MORE than 1/2 teaspoon!

Cheese, cheese, good for the heart...maybe only in small amounts!

As I mentioned in my last post, my roomie and I threw a surprise party last week. It was a lot of fun and we will be doing get togethers more often. Because we got the b-day boy here by inviting him to "dinner," we asked him what he wanted. Being the flexible guy (Hint: if someone asks you what you want and you have a preference, let them know!) he is, he said he didn't care...anything we make will be better than what he would have at his house. So, I pinned him down to a category...Mexican, Italian, American...He chose Mexican. So we decided to do tacos. We did beef and chicken. I had never had chicken with taco seasoning on it, but it was SO good! I highly recommend it!

Now on to the cheese dip. When asking what he wanted for dinner, I discovered that J's "favorite food" is cheese. So, I figured that this dip would be the perfect thing to make. I had to e-mail my mom to get the recipe. It's from a lady at our church who would always bring it to the VBS teachers' snack room. As you can imagine, it was gone fairly quickly unless of course people were on diets! :-) Mama warned me, and I will warn you, that just looking at the recipe may give you a heart attack! That is why this is ONLY for special occasions when there will be MANY people to sample the goods! I'll have to poast again tomorrow because I don't think that this will work for Sweetnick's ARF Tuesday post!!!

Amy's Cheese Dip
2 8 oz. cream cheese*
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise *

Mix and put in 8 X 12 baking dish (surely 9 X 13 will be OK, but watch so it doesn't burn)

Top with 1 cup crushed ritz crackers and 1 jar bacon pieces. (I didn't measure either of these but just covered the top. I KNOW that I did not use 1 cup bacon pieces!)

Bake @ 350 'til bubbly or 20 minutes

*EDIT: I didn't mention this, but I NEVER use full fat cream cheese. I usually use the 1/3 less fat stuff. Also, I usually use light mayo. This time, however, because roomie bought the groceries we have regular mayo (let me tell you, that stuff is nasty looking!). SO, I used one 1/3 less fat cream cheese and one fat free. There were no adverse side effects and I don't think anyone knew the difference!

Study Treats take 3

The M1's had tests this week, so last week I made them study treats. This time I decided to do something salty instead of sweet. So, I put together a trail mix. I knew that I didn't have enough stuff to do a traditional trail mix, so I put together my own version. I think it turned out just right. It's a little better for you than the other kind as well since I used canola oil instead of butter/margarine.

Tomorrow, my roomie and I have a get together with some friends, so look for pictures and food later on! Okay, I'm off to study parasympathomimetic drugs...doesn't that sound like fun?

Trail Mix
4 cups corn cereal
3 cups wheat cereal
1 cup almonds
1 1/2 cups wheat thins
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Nature's Seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons Season All
Candy Corn

Preheat oven to 250 F. Stir together cereals, almonds, and wheat thins. In a separate bowl, stir together oil and seasonings through Season All*. Pour over cereal mixture and stir to cover. Place on a roasting pan and bake for about an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool for a bit. Add candy corn to the mix and enjoy!

*I didn't write down the seasoning measurements, but I'm pretty sure this is what I used! I know, I need better habits when making recipes.

Another Salsa

When we went to the Farmer's Market, I decided that I wanted to make salsa. This time, I used a recipe given to us by a neighbor in our first neighborhood. This recipe has an immediate spicyness to it rather than a lingering punch, which I prefer. I'd rather taste the spice, not live with it!

As tomatoes have lycopene, they are great for you! This is my entry for Sweetnicks ARF Tuesday! Check her site for other healthy recipes. Load up on this salsa. It's great on meats, salads, veggies, and, of course, chips!

Salsa
1 14.5 oz can Del-Monte tomatoes Mexican recipe (I used 3 chopped fresh tomatoes!)
1 10 oz. can of Rotel
1/2 medium onion
1/4 bunch cilantro, take the leaves off the stem, it will blend better
1 T garlic (I used 3- cloves, minced)
1 t salt, pepper (I didn't have black, so I used 1/3 teaspoon Cayenne)
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (ESSENTIAL!)

Put all ingredients into food processor and blend! Put salsa into a jar and refrigerate...or enjoy right away!

Tomato Salsa

Remember those beautiful homegrown tomatoes from earlier? I decided to try a salsa recipe that we had received from an old (and greatly missed) neighbor. This is really more of a pico de gallo recipe. For me, it didn't have enough spice to be called "salsa" but it is still good with chips. I put it on my squash, which I got from one of the nurses at work.

What is the deal with REALLY big vegetables? The biggest one is the one I used for dinner, so it's not in the picture.

I think the salsa is definitely something that you need homegrown tomatoes for since the major flavor comes from the tomatoes. This salsa would be great in soup, on chips, on bruschetta, in an omlette (mmm), the possibilities are endless.

Fresh Tomato Salsa
3 cups (about 3 large) tomatoes
1 green bell pepper
4 green onions
1 jalapeno pepper
3-4 tablespoons lime juice (I used lemon, as that is what I had on hand)
2 tablespoons cilantro
salt and pepper, to taste

Chop the tomatoes in very small pieces. Chop pepper in small pieces. Cut onions. Combine these ingredients together in a mixing bowl (Pampered Chef batter bowl is great for this). Chop the jalapeno pepper and add to the mixture. Add juice to the vegetables and stir. Add salt to taste. Enjoy with the desired dipper or dish. Refrigerate.

This is my entry for Sweetnick's ARF Tuesday. Peek at her site and check out the other entries, which are bound to be wonderful.

When I was little, we would get sandwiches from Sal and Phil's that were SOOOO good. Little did I know that this was the classic muffuletta. Fast forward 20 years and I have to turn in some recipes for a Mortar Board smorgasboard cookbook. I decided that I wanted to make something different. My idea...a muffuletta pinwheel. So, my loving mother finds an olive salad recipe, and I use that as the filling of the pinwheel. Today, the clinic I am working in had a farewell party for a nurse, so I decided to take these; however, I didn't have all the ingredients I needed, so I modified the recipe. This is a better recipe and more my own. If you need a simple, delicious appetizer and like muffulettas, this is for you!

Muffuletta Pinwheels

2 packs of cressent rolls
1 10 oz. bottle of spanish (green) olives
1 10 oz. bottle of black olives
5 garlic cloves, minced
a dash garlic powder
~1/4 cup olive oil (I didn't measure this. Just put enough that it looks "right" to you)
8 sliced deli ham
4 slices provolone cheese
5 cheese Italian blend (if desired)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Chop the olives (both). Mix with garlic, garlic powder, and olive oil. Open the crescent rolls (there are four "rectangles" per package). Press down each rectangle until slightly larger than it started. On one long side place the ham (torn in half). The ham should cover the long side. Take half a slice of cheese and place of the ham (this is torn in half as well). Spoon some olive salad over this. I didn't measure how much, but if there is too much you'll know; it won't roll! Sprinkle the extra cheese on this if using it. Roll from the stuffed side toward the other. Use a serrated knife to cut the pinwheels. Place in a greased round cake pan (as you would place cinnamon rolls) almost touching. Bake for around 11 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove and enjoy!