Something on a Stick Day

Here's to celebrating "something on a stick" day.

Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce


What is your favorite "something on a stick?"

Colorburst Cupcakes

I'm alive, no worries. Things have been a little hectic here in our house. Our little one celebrated her 4th birthday last Tuesday. I was in denial that she's growing up...I mean, wasn't she just born last year?!?!?! We also lost my husband's grandmother last week, so I have been helping with her house.

Back to Madeline's birthday... I made a batch of colorburst cupcakes for her to take into school. I made them last year for her birthday party but changed up the colors this year. I went with pink and purple - her two favorite colors! They are very easy to make and are SO moist!

1 box of white cake mix
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients with a hand mixer. Once incorporated, mix on medium-high for 2 minutes.

Divide batter into smaller bowls according to how many colors your cupcakes will be. I did 3 - pink, purple and white. For 3 colors, it ended up being about 2.5 cups each.

Color batter with food coloring until the desired color is achieved. Line 2 muffin pans with paper lines.

To get a layered look, place a spoonful of each color until the cups. The batter is very thick. A little tip - fill a small cup with warm water. Dip your finger into the water and then spread the batter around the paper liner. Continue until all colors are used.

Bake according to the package instructions.

Frost with your favorite icing recipe.

Source: Our Best Bites

Chicken and Cheese Taquitos

One of the moms on my online mommy board shared this recipe for chicken and cheese taquitos and gave it rave reviews. I was a little hesitant to try it but after more and more people made it and posted how delicious it was…I knew it was time for me to try it. And they were right! This is a great way to use leftover cooked chicken when you’re tired of chicken salad sandwiches or grilled chicken over a salad. The recipe makes about 16 taquitos which gave us enough for dinner and lunch the next day for me and my husband.

1 bar lowfat cream cheese, softened
½ cup green enchilada sauce
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
4 green onions, sliced
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 package flour tortillas

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, enchilada sauce, lime juice, spices, garlic and green onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in the cheese, chicken and cilantro and mix well.

Warm up the tortillas according to the package to make more pliable. Place a few tablespoons of the filling in the tortilla and tightly roll up. Place the taquito seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. Continue this process until all the filling is used. Spray the tops of the taquitos lightly with cooking spray.

Bake for 10 minutes or until tortillas are brown and crispy and filling is warmed. Enjoy!

Source: Baked Bree

Oatmeal Cookie Day

Did you know March 18th is Oatmeal Cookie Day? I didn't and it got me thinking. There has to be many different "food holidays" that I don't know about. So I did a little searching online and found several lists for all the food holidays in each month.

I'm planning to highlight several days each month with my favorite recipes. Here's the first one....Oatmeal Cookie Day.

This is my favorite oatmeal cookie and of course I need to add raisins to it!

Click for the recipe: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Orange Teriyaki Beef with Noodles

I have been making a lot of recipes with chicken lately and it's getting a little boring. I love chicken and try to eat that more often than red meat, but sometimes I just need some beef. This recipe definitely fit the bill along with my craving for some Chinese food. I've been wanting to do takeout from our favorite Chinese/Japanese restaurant, but I think they're closed due to a fire the other night. I was driving home and noticed a couple fire trucks outside the restaurant and tonight, the lights were off and a sign was on the door. Hopefully they'll be back in business soon, they have the best sushi and singapore noodles!

This recipe was the perfect thing to make on a busy weeknight and even better, it's made in one pot. That's something my husband likes....only one pot instead of three. LOL! We made a deal, I cook and he does dishes. I think it's working out just fine. :)

1/2 lb boneless sirloin, cut into thin strips
15 oz can reduced-sodium beef broth
4 Tbsp teriyaki stir-fry sauce
2 Tbsp orange marmalade
dash of cayenne pepper
3/4 cup uncooked whole wheat egg noodles

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef in the skillet for 2 to 4 minutes. Stir occasionally until beef is browned. Remove from skillet and set aside in a bowl tented with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Add the broth, stir fry sauce, marmalade and cayenne pepper to the skillet. Heat to boiling. Add the noodles and reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until noodles are tender. The original recipe calls to also add sugar snap peas with the noodles, but I couldn't find them at the store.

Stir in the beef. Cook uncovered for 2 more minutes until sauce has slightly thickened.

Orzo with Meatballs

My husband is not a big fan of spaghetti, so I thought I would be tricky and use orzo instead. It worked! This was a simple recipe to make, but full of flavor. I loved the addition of spinach to the meatballs and the sauce was perfect with the addition of red peppers. This is definitely a recipe I will be making over and over again - but with double the meatballs!

1/2 lb lean ground beef
5 oz package thawed chopped spinach, drained and squeezed dry
1 egg
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large red bell peppers, silvered
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup water
1 can (28 oz) fire-roasted tomatoes
8 oz orzo

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with alumnium foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the beef, spinach, egg, bread crumbs, parmesan, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp black pepper unitil well combined. Shape into bite-sized meatballs.

Place the meatballs on the baking sheet and bake turning once for 12 to 15 minutes or until no longer pink and cooked through.

In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a stock pot over high heat. Saute the red pepper and garlic for one minute. Reduce heat to medium and add the water, remaining oregano, black pepper. Cook until the peppers until tender.

Add the tomatoes to the pepper mixture and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs and reduce heat the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently for 10 minutes to incorporate the flavors.

While the sauce and meatballs are cooking, bring a pot of water to boiling and cook the orzo according to the package instructions. Drain and transfer to a bowl. Spoon the meatballs and sauce over the pasta.

Recipe slightly adapted from: The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook

Cooking Disaster

Things always don't goes as planned.   WHOOPS!

I was planning to make an quiche last week, but had some issues. I overfilled the pie crust and my baking sheet warmed in the oven and moved...resulting in what you see above. Needless to say, we ordered pizzas.  I'm going to make attempt making it again next weekend.

What have been some of your cooking disasters?

Honey-Lemon Muffins

I was in the mood to bake last week. Yes, I haven't had a chance to post anything new for a couple days, things have been busy around here. I also caught a virus on our home computer and it's out for repair, so luckily I brought my home my laptop from work, otherwise we would have been disconnected all weekend! I don't think we would have been handle to that.

So that's an update on us. These muffins are so full of lemon flavor! They are also pretty healthy especially if you don't add the drizzle to them. I couldn't resist. I was worried they might be a little dry, but they were the complete opposite. They're a dense muffin, but really moist.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel

Drizzle
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
additional grated lemon peel (I used dried lemon peel)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 10 paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, honey, lemon juice, butter and lemon peel. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined.

Fill the muffin cups one-half full with batter. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling on a wire rack.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over warm muffins and sprinkle with the additional lemon zest.

Source: Taste of Home Healthy Cooking Magazine

Crunchy Whole-Grain Chicken Bites

Madeline is a big fan of chicken nuggets but I hate relying on prepackaged foods, but need something in a pinch when we're running late or short on time. These chicken bites were tasty and super moist! You could definitely change the flavor up with different chips or adding hot sauce and bleu cheese for buffalo style bites.

1 lb chicken tenders
dry ranch dressing mix packet
1 egg white
6 cups whole-grain chips (I used regular Sun Chips)
1/4 tsp paprika
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the chicken tenders into 1 - 1 1/2 inch pieces. Whisk together 1 Tbsp of dressing mix and the egg white in a large bowl.

In a gallon sized resealable plastic bag, crush the chips into small pieces. Add the remaining dressing mix and paprika and shake well.

Add the chicken to the egg mixture and mix well to coat. Add half of the coated chicken to the chips and shake to coat with crumbs and arrange on a single layer on a baking stone. Repeat with the remaining coated chicken and chips.

Spray chicken generously with cooking spray. Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and center is no longer pink.

Source: Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner cookbook

Roasted Vegetable Flatbreads

I am trying to get back into eating meatless once a week for both health reasons and finanically. Have you seen the prices of meat lately? It's been outrageous and I think it's only going to get worse before it gets better.

I picked up a pack of Arnold's flatbreads while at Walmart last week and they were perfect for this recipe. Pita bread or english muffins would work great too.The flatbreads are new product and are hard to find right now, but they are work it! I can't wait to try other recipes with them.  I used veggies that I had on hand but these can be catered to whatever you have in your produce bin.

1 small zucchini, sliced thin
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
nonstick cooking spray
salt & pepper
3-4 flatbreads
4 tsp reduced-caloried italian salad dressing
shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up. Place the cut vegetables on the baking sheet and coat with cooking spray. Roast for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange vegetables on the flatbreads. Drizzle each with 1 teaspoon of italian dressing. Divide cheese among flatbreads.

Place flatbreads on a clean baking sheet or warmed baking stone and return to oven. Bake for an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted and flatbread starts to crisp.

Recipe adapted from Fitness Magazine

Baked Sausage and Mushroom Risotto

I'm finally finding some time on this Saturday afternoon to do a little blogging. Needless to say, this week has been crazy with work, family life and a few other secretive things I've been working on. I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow's rainy day, I could use it to just relax and lounge around the house in hopes of recharging for another crazy week at work.

Now back to the real reason you've stopped by...FOOD. I love risotto but unfortunely my husband is not a big fan of it. He describes it as mushy rice, I just don't think he's ever had good risotto. This recipe is less time consuming than the traditional way of making risotto on the stovetop - it's baked! To make it even better, I was lucky to have a coworker give me some vension sausage from his freezer - thanks George!

3/4 lb sausage, casings removed
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cup arborio rice
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth, warmed
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
fresh chopped parsley
salt & black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degress. In a dutch oven or large ovenproof pot with a lid, cook the sausage over medium heat, stirring to break it up. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes until browned. Spoon sausage onto a paper-towel lined plate and drain fat from pot.

Return pot to heat and add olive oil. Add onion and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook until onion is soft and mushroom juices evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour in 1/2 cup of warmed chicken broth, stirring to release any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in rice and cook for 3 minutes. Add 3 more cups of broth and stir to combine.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Stir in parmesan cheese, reserved sausage meat and the remaining chicken stock. Cover and return to the oven. Bake until rice is tender but not mushy, about 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired.

Adapted from All You Magazine, February 2011

Let's Celebrate Peanuts!

Did you know that March is National Peanut Month? I had no idea until I saw another food blogger post about it today. Our family is HUGE fans of peanut butter and we go through big jars of it too quickly!

Here's some fun facts about peanuts:

• National Peanut Month had its beginnings as National Peanut Week in 1941 and was expanded to a month-long celebration in 1974.
• Americans eat 3 pounds of peanut butter per person every year. I think my husband eats way more than that!
• One acre of peanuts will make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.

Now to share some of my favorite recipes that feature peanuts/peanut butter.

 Peanut Butter Chewy Granola Bars

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce

Thai Chicken Broccoli Wraps

And always...just a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich!