Category Archives: Everybody Ate It

March 21, 2011 · 12:04 am

Pepita and Cranberry Rice Krispy Treats

I haven’t made these in forever, but they are SOOOO good! They’re like Rice Krispy treats for grown-ups.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1/2 cup raw green pumpkinseeds
1/4 cup butter
1 (8-ounce) package miniature marshmallows (about 5 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 cups oven-toasted rice cereal (such as Rice Krispies)
1 cup dried cranberries

Instructions:
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pumpkinseeds; cook 4 minutes or until seeds begin to pop and lightly brown, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; cool.

Lightly coat a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in marshmallows; cook 2 minutes or until smooth, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and salt. Stir in reserved seeds, cereal, and cranberries. Scrape mixture into prepared dish using a rubber spatula.

Lightly coat hands with cooking spray; press cereal mixture evenly into prepared dish. Cool completely.

Did I change anything? I threw a little wheat germ in there for good measure… about 2T.

What did the family think? Thumbs up from everyone!

from Cooking Light

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Filed under After School Snacks, Desserts, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Vegetarian

March 16, 2011 · 9:08 am

Nutella Waffle Bits

A smaller version of a recipe that’s in Food Network’s magazine this week….bite-sized yumminess.

Ingredients:
Mini-waffles
Nutella
Strawberries, thinly sliced (optional)
Cocoa powder (optional)

Instructions:
Toast waffles and let cool.

Spread Nutella on one waffle and place a strawberry slice on top. Top with a second waffle to make a sandwich. Dust with cocoa powder. Enjoy!

What did the family think? We tried these both with and without strawberries and they are both great!

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

March 15, 2011 · 11:15 am

Tacos

I took Jessica Seinfeld’s recipe and tweaked it a bit. These turned out great and everyone ate them! 🙂

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 14-oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes, with their juice
2 T cup sweet potato, carrot, or butternut squash puree (use baby food)
2 T wheat germ
1 packet taco seasoning
1 pkg. taco shells or flour tortillas
Garnish: cheese, sour cream, avocado, salsa…whatever you like on your tacos

Instructions:
Cook meat in large nonstick skillet. Drain fat.

Stir in the tomatoes and their juice, vegetable puree, wheat germ and seasoning mix.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the meat is no longer pink and the mixture begins to thicken, 8-10 minutes.

Fill the taco shells/tortillas with the meat mixture and add your favorite toppings.

Did I change anything? I added the wheat germ and reduced the amount of puree. We also always use flour tortillas, so I added that as an option.

What did the family think? It was a hit!

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Mexican

· 9:36 am

Itty Bitty Pies

Several, several years ago I made these with my nieces at Christmas. I hadn’t made them since and I have no idea why because they are ridiculously easy and crazy good.

Ingredients:
Cooking Spray
Your choice of pie filling (apple and cherry are what we’ve tried)
Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts…the kind you roll out

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray cookie sheet with cooking oil.

Let pie crust sit out for about five minutes before unrolling. You will use both crusts that are in the package.

Unroll pie crusts and use a wide-mouth glass to cut circles out. I use the Pampered Chef circle cutter, so you use that if you have one of those.

You should have about 12 circles when you are done depending on how big your circles are and how close together you cut them out.

Lay out one circle and put a dollop of pie filling in the center and cover with another circle. Use a fork to press edges together. Continue until you have used all your circles. If you have one circle left over you can put a little filling in it and just fold it in half.

Place pies on the cookie sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes or until they start to get golden brown.

What did the family think? These are so spectacularly awesome.

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

March 14, 2011 · 9:03 am

Mini Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches

I got this idea from this month’s Food Network magazine. They used the big waffles, but I thought that seemed like a little too much dessert and way too messy. Plus, if you use the little waffles you can have more than one and try a different ice cream flavor in each one.

Ingredients:
Mini waffles
Ice cream

Instructions:
Toast the waffles and let cool.

Scoop ice cream onto one waffle and top with another waffle. Voila! Dessert!

What did the family think? Yum!

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

March 9, 2011 · 11:55 am

Jessica Seinfeld’s Yellow Cake

I don’t like cake and I could eat this cake all day long. It is SOOOOOO good…moist and yummy! The icing is to die for as well and I don’t like icing either.

Cake
Ingredients:
nonstick cooking spray
18 ounces yellow cake mix, any brand (I used vanilla.)
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
6 ounces nonfat yogurt (lemon, banana, or vanilla flavored) *I used lemon.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your cakepan with non-stick spray and lightly flour.

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.

Pour batter into the cake pan. Bake about 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Did I change anything? The original recipe called for one additional egg white which I left out.

What did the family think? Super duper thumbs up! SOOO good!

Icing
Ingredients:
8 ounces whipped cream cheese (Buy the kind that is already whipped.)
1/2 cup pureed carrot (use baby food)
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate or the juice from 1/2 a medium orange
1-2 tsp powdered sugar (Do a taste test before you add it.)

Instructions:
Put the cream cheese in a microwaveable bowl. Put in the microwave for just a few seconds
(10-15 maybe?) just to soften it up a little bit.

Beat the carrots, cream cheese and orange juice until smooth in a medium bowl.

Spread on cake after cake has cooled.

Keeps at room temp for 2 days. This makes enough for a batch of 12 standard cupcakes.

Did I change anything? I left out the salt the recipe originally called for and I added about 1-2 tsp of powdered sugar. Taste yours before you add it, but I just thought it needed to be a little sweeter. I also used whipped cream cheese and I think it made the texture of the icing fantabulous.

What did the family think? Yummo!

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Everybody Ate It, Vegetarian

February 24, 2011 · 4:54 pm

Egg (and Bacon) Cups

We had a snow day today, so we celebrated with some yummy egg cups for breakfast (which was actually more like brunch).

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
4 6-inch whole-wheat tortillas
1 large egg
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup cauliflower puree
2 slices turkey bacon, chopped (optional)
4 tablespoons shredded lowfat cheddar cheese
Handful of chopped tomatoes and scallions (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a six-cup muffin tin, coat four of the cups with cooking spray.

Hold up a tortilla and make two pleats, folding it into a cup. Then gently press and fit it into one of the muffin cups. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Some of the tortilla should still be sticking up out over the top of the muffin cup.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, egg whites, and cauliflower puree until smooth. Distribute the egg mixture among the four tortillas.

Sprinkle with the bacon and cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered, for about 15 to 20
minutes or until the egg is cooked through and the cheese is lightly
browned.

Serve topped with chopped tomatoes and scallions, if desired.

Did I change anything? I made these with just the eggs, tortillas, cheese and cauliflower. I left out the bacon, tomatoes and scallions. I bet you could probably leave out the cauliflower too if you didn’t have any or didn’t want to mess with it. These took more than 20 minutes to cook. I would set the time for 15 minutes and then keep checking on them. You will know they are starting to get done because the eggs will start to puff up. Also, these are HOT when they come out of the oven, so be careful.

What did the family think? SUPER yum!!! These were so great! We all loved the cheesy eggs, but I think my favorite part was the crunchy part of the tortilla.

from Jessica Seinfeld

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Filed under After School Snacks, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Vegetarian

February 23, 2011 · 7:04 pm

Baked Ravioli

This was SO good…just about everyone was asking for seconds.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, oregano or Italian seasoning
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes with basil
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes with basil
2 pounds store-bought ravioli
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thyme and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with spoon, until sauce is thickened and reduced to about 5 1/2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted water just until they float to the top (pasta will continue to cook in oven). Drain pasta; return to pot.

Toss sauce with pasta. Pour pasta into a large gratin dish or 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with cheeses. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

We had this with Italian sausage links on the side.

Did I change anything? I used the canned tomatoes that have basil in them. I left out the salt and pepper and I used about 1/2 as much onion as listed.

What did the family think? Everyone LOVED this!

from Martha Stewart

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Lent, Vegetarian

February 20, 2011 · 8:36 pm

Sauteed Bok Choy and Broccoli

This was tasty and I think the first (maybe second) time I have ever cooked with bok choy.

Ingredients:
1 pound bok choy
1 pound broccoli
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Instructions:
Cut white stalks from bok choy; slice into 1-inch pieces. Coarsely chop green leaves.

Peel stalks from broccoli; slice 1/4 inch thick. Cut florets into bite-size pieces.

In a large skillet, boil 1/2 cup water. Add bok choy stalks and broccoli; cover. Simmer over medium-low until broccoli is bright green, 5 to 7 minutes. Uncover; cook on high until water evaporates, 2 to 4 minutes.

Add bok choy leaves, oil, and garlic. Cook, tossing often, until garlic is fragrant, 2 minutes.

Grate ginger into skillet. Stir in soy sauce.

We had this with Hoisin Salmon Steaks.

What did the family think? Everybody ate it! If you know my kids…that’s a small huge miracle.

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Filed under Everybody Ate It, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian

February 18, 2011 · 8:50 am

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

This chicken was so moist and yummy and it made the house smell terrific!

Ingredients:
Cooking spray, for baking sheet
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup buttermilk (shake first)
1 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce
Salt and pepper
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese (2 ½ ounces)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 pounds chicken parts, rinsed and patted dry

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together buttermilk, hot-pepper sauce, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.

In a separate bowl, mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan, thyme, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

Place the chicken in the buttermilk mixture, turning to coat evenly. Working with one piece at a time, remove chicken from buttermilk, letting excess drip back into bowl; dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat evenly. Place coated chicken pieces on prepared baking sheet leaving space between each piece of chicken so it can cook evenly.

Bake until chicken is golden brown, about 35 minutes.

We had this with green beans with lemon and butter and buttermilk biscuits.

What did the family think? Yum, yum and more yum.

from Martha Stewart

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It