Quick Pigs in a Blanket Casserole

My mother-in-law made this for Alison and Doug's wedding weekend. It was a big hit, and gives all the flavor in a traditional "pigs in a blanket" but is much easier. I made a big batch for dinner last night, and since it was just Ian and I, we have lots of leftovers.

Ingredients
3 cups chopped cabbage
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons uncooked rice
1 can tomato soup
1 can water
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

Brown ground beef and onion with salt and pepper. Add tomato soup, rice, Worcestershire Sauce, sugar and water. Simmer 10 minutes. Pour over cabbage in a 2-quart casserole. Don't stir. Cover; bake covered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Super Salsa

My Super Salsa kit from Good Apples was still packaged in the fridge. It was the perfect snack to make for the game. The kit had all the ingredients to make fresh salsa as well as an easy to follow recipe.

Ingredients:
1 Lime, juiced
4 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
1 seeded and minced Jalapeno Pepper
1 Red Onion, fine chopped
1 Bunch Cilantro (1 oz), fine chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste


Prepare all ingredients and combine in bowl. Enjoy with chips!

The fresh jalapeno pepper and garlic made this a very flavorful and spicy dip. I made a lighter version for the game by draining the water from non-fat yogurt, adding a few tablespoons of this salsa and some italian seasonings. Both dips were a big hit with Ian.

Fresh Produce = Wedge Salad

Our company just launched the Good Apples Program: a virtual farmers market that delivers grocery to our company on a weekly basis. My first order was only $30 for a ton of produce.

Baby Bella Mushrooms $1.99

Sweet Corn (8) $3.49

Boston Lettuce $1.27

Green Beans $1.69

Local Toamtoes $2.39

Hot Banana Peppers $2.99

Iceberg Lettuce $1.69

Red Beets $2.59

Blue Cheese $5.00

Shallots $1.69

Super Salsa Kit $5.99

4 big bags contained all these ingredients and everything looked incredibly fresh. I knew when I order the blue cheese I would be making a wedge salad. It is something that I rarely make but always love. Ian hates the blue cheese, but I just give him an extra spoonful of bacon.

Ingredients
1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into quarters
Low-Fat Ranch dressing
1 tomato, minced
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 cup cooked bacon, crumbled

Directions
On each salad plate, place 1 wedge of lettuce turned on its side. Pour ranch dressing on wedge. Sprinkle with tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese, and crumbled bacon.

I used two quarters of the lettuce for each portion, since this was all we had for dinner. It was wonderful and I'm already excited for next week to see what additional local produce I can get through Good Apples for my cooking inspirations!

Vegetables - Stuffed Mushrooms

I'm getting a little tired of vegetables. You can only have so many salads before they start getting boring. Our diet is working but I have to stay consistent and try to fill the majority of my plate with vegetables. In my attempt to create a more exciting vegetable side I created these stuffed mushrooms.

Spicy Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 med white mushrooms
1/4 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 C Low Fat Ricotta Cheese
3 T Franks Red Hot

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Pull stems from mushroom caps (to create space for stuffing) and finely chop stems. Put mushroom caps, stemmed sides down, in a lightly oiled large shallow baking pan and bake until mushrooms exude liquid, about 10 minutes, then remove from oven.

While mushroom caps are baking, heat 1 T of oil over med heat, then sauté chopped stems, stirring for 1 minutes. Add onion, celery, and garlic, season with salt and pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Cool vegetables slightly add Franks Red Hot and Ricotta Cheese.

Turn mushroom caps over, then mound mushroom filling in mushroom caps, pressing gently (there will be some filling left over). Bake until mushrooms are tender and stuffing is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Ian wasn't in the mood for spicy food, so I was able to eat all the mushrooms myself. They were very yummy!

5 Years + Vegetable Lasagna

The first week of our diet has been difficult. We decided to start with a phase 1 of limited carbs, no alcohol and no sugars. Inevitably once we were no longer allowed to have these things we wanted them. I was craving chocolate. Ian was craving everything else; pasta, french fries, hamburgers, ice-cream, beer... the list could go on. Some of us were getting more and more cranky as the diet continued. Our weight loss results were immediate. I lost 5 pounds in the first 5 days and Ian lost even more. It is the kick start we need for the competition.

Friday August 13th was our 5 year anniversary. Ian said it was appropriate to be Friday the 13th since it was the scariest day of his life. I'm assuming he was joking (mostly!). We have had a good five years. Our relationship is not perfect but we have fun, learn from each other and love each other. I appreciate Ian and could not imagine a life without him. He is my better half.

I wanted to plan a nice evening for us while sticking to our diet and our budget. Without any wine, I had to make sure the food was even more memorable. Since I could not fill most of his cravings, I decided to try and work toward the "pasta" one. I made a Vegetable Lasagna and a low-carb Chicken Parmesan. It actually turned out even better than I expected. It was a nice way to celebrate our anniversary and Ian did allow me to have a small bowl of ice-cream for desert which broke all my diet rules, but was much enjoyed and appreciated.

Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients
4 T olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried basil
1 t dried parsley
24 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
4 sun dried tomatoes, diced
1/4 t salt
1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 roasted Red Peppers, diced
3 cups fresh Spinach
1/2 C low-fat Ricotta cheese
1 C reduced-shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 C low-frat grated Parmesan

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare tomato sauce: Heat 2 T olive oil in non-stick sauce pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add 4 cloves minced garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add dried oregano, basil, and parsley and stir. Add crushed tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes and salt. Simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Brush sliced zucchini with olive oil and salt. Place zucchini on a sheet pan and bake until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Saute Spinach in olive oil and garlic and set aside.

Line bottom of a casserole dish (I used a glass 8inch square) with the baked zucchini slices. Add half of the spinach mixture. Top with 1/3 of the tomato sauce and then spread all the ricotta cheese over. Top with the roasted red peppers and sprinkled with 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Add the remaining spinach mixture. Line another row with the zucchini slices. Spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce over top. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and all the Parmesan. Bake until the cheese is melted and brown, about 40 minutes. Let stand at least 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

I found a similar recipe for this vegetable lasagna that called for yellow squash, eggplant and mushrooms. I only had the zucchini, spinach and roasted red peppers so I made it work. I think as long as you have a squash to use as the "noodle" layers you could use any veggie fillings that are in the house.

Healthy Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients
1 C tomato sauce (from vegetable lasagna recipe)
1/2 C almonds, finely chopped
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese
1/2 t Italian Dressing seasoning
1 chicken breast
2 T olive oil
1/2 C low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
Mix Parmesan, chopped nuts, and Italian seasoning in small bowl. Pound chicken breast into thinner piece and cut into 4 cutlets. Coat both sides of each cutlet with cheese/nut mixture.

Heat olive oil in non-stick pan over medium heat. Cook cutlets until golden brown and juices run clear, about 4 minutes on each side.

Place cutlets on a baking pan. Pour 1 T of sauce on each cutlet and top with mozzarella cheese. Broil until cheese melts, about 30-60 seconds. Serve with additional sauce on plates.

The original recipe I found called for pine nuts which I didn't have. I thought the almonds added a more rich flavor to the chicken. I would definitely make both these recipes again. Although the preparation did take some time, the end result was definitely worth it. It was the perfect meal to enjoy with my loving husband and celebrate our five year anniversary. As Ian would say, 5 years down only 45 more years to go!

Healthy 4 Life Contest

My friends and family have started a bit of a contest to motivate each other toward a healthier lifestyle.

Healthy 4 Life Competition - 2 month weight loss competition
Entry Fee: $20
Start Date: Monday, August 9th
End Date: Monday October 4th

Rules: Winner will be the person who loses the most percentage of body weight. Calculation will be Starting weight divided by weight loss. Weight must be measured on the same scale and same time of day for starting and ending weight.
1st place Prize: 75% of entry fees
2nd place Price: 25% of entry fees

Ian and I will be implementing a healthier diet and exercising more. We are following a bit of the Sonoma Diet which encourages portion control and healthy eating. The first 10 days will include no alcohol which should drastically decrease our calorie intake.

My sister Sheena explained to me that losing weight is a simple math equation. Calculate number of calories for your ideal body weight. Track what you eat and the exercise to determine total calories of each day. Ian would never track the calories per day, so our portion control menus should work in a similar way. Hopefully we will see the results.

Tips to Lose Weight and encourage a healthy lifestyle:

1. Drink 8 glasses of water each day: cut out calorie rich drinks, such as soda and fancy coffees.
2. Downsize your dinner plates: Studies find that the less food put in front of you, the less food you'll eat
3. Snack on vegetables during the day rather than chips or pretzels
4. Join the "walk far" program. When running errands, park your car farther away from the entrance. Park on the 5th floor of the parking garage and walk down the stairs, rather than using the elevator.

All Berry Pie

Ian and I do the majority of our shopping at Sam's Club in bulk, which is normally great savings, unless we buy too much produce and allow it to go to waste. We had a lot of extra fruit leftover from our fruit pizza, so I decided to make a Berry Pie.

I'm not a huge baker. I love cooking because you can just throw ingredients together and add more based on taste. Baking seems to be more of a precise science, with exact measurements. I tend to cheat a bit when baking is involved and my sister Sheena would consider it unacceptable as she is a wonderful baker and enjoys making things from scratch. For this recipe I already had a frozen pie crust, which made the prep time quick and easy; always a good thing for a weeknight.

Ingredients

1 cup fresh strawberries, halved
2 Tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups Blackberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 frozen Pie Crust
1/2 recipe Fruit Pizza Orange Glaze

Topping
1 package oatmeal
1 Tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar and cornstarch and Fruit Glaze. Add strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries; gently toss until berries are coated.
2. Prepare Frozen Pie Crust per instructions on package. Stir berry mixture, and transfer to the pie crust. Top with oatmeal, sugar, and cinnamon. To prevent overbrowning, cover the edge of the pie with foil.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for an additional 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees F. Cool on a wire rack.

I have been enjoying a piece each morning for breakfast. Since there is so much fresh fruit in the recipe, I'm thinking it must be healthy!

Stuffed Peppers

During the week it is difficult to plan dinner after a long work day. I love when I am able to use leftovers to make a new meal. Two nights ago Ian and I made Italian Sausage, Peppers and Onions Subs. Last night I used the leftover sausage to make stuffed green peppers. Having the pre-cooked filling ready left very minimal prep work which is always nice!

Ingredients
3 pre-cooked minced Sweet Italian Sausage links
1/2 C minced cooked onions
1/2 C minced cooked green peppers
2 T garlic
2 Whole Green Peppers
1 Jar "Uncle Rob's" Salsa
2 T tomato Paste
1 C quick Rice
1/2 C mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Cut Bell Peppers in half, clean and discard seeds
3. Boil Water, and place Bell Peppers in boiling water for 3 minutes
4. Mix sausage, onions, minced peppers, garlic, 1/2 jar of salsa and rice together to make filling
5. Mix remaining 1/2 jar of salsa and tomato paste into bottom of glass baking dish
6. Place Pepper halves in glass baking dish on top of tomato mixture
7. Stuff Peppers with filling, cover with foil
8. Bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven, basting with sauce every 15 minutes, until the peppers are tender
9. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 more minutes

I sauteed some cabbage and carrots in garlic and oil for plating under the peppers. It added some additional veggies to our meal and created great texture for the peppers.

Fruit Pizza

We celebrated a co-worker's birthday this morning which means "food day" at work. Everyone brings in snacks to help continue the celebration all day. Since this is the summer season I made a fruit pizza which everyone enjoyed for breakfast and an afternoon snack.

This is the perfect treat for the summer and always looks beautiful.

Ingredients:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Assorted fruit (such as kiwi fruit, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, blueberries, any other of your favorite fruits)

GLAZE:
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 c. orange juice

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place thawed dough on lightly floured surface and roll out to a 13 inch circle. Transfer to a 12 inch pizza pan. Bake 20 minutes or until golden; let cool.
Blend cream cheese, vanilla extract and sugar together until smooth; gently spread over pastry. Arrange fruit over cream cheese mixture.

FOR GLAZE: Boil the ingredients for one minute. Brush over fruit, especially bananas.
Chill for 2 to 3 hours. Serves 8.

Salmon with Lemon, Capers, and Rosemary

Heather and Dave hosted a lovely dinner last night. It was an opportunity for me to pick up all the garage sale items, drop off the ladder for them to paint the entry way, play time for Lily and Penny and of-course hang out with family and friends.

They made these awesome little Salmon packets. Seemed pretty easy since it was all cooked in foil and the flavor was amazing. They served them with rice and veggies which was the perfect combination.

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/2 cup Marsala wine (or white wine)
4 teaspoons capers
4 pieces of aluminum foil

Directions
Brush top and bottom of salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place each piece of seasoned salmon on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal. Top the each piece of salmon with 2 lemon slices, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of wine, and 1 teaspoon of capers. Wrap up salmon tightly in the foil packets.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Place the foil packets on the hot grill and cook for 10 minutes for a 1-inch thick piece of salmon. Serve in the foil packets.

Rotisserie Chicken

This weekend was crazy busy with our successful garage sale on Saturday, family time in Butler, and then having 15 yards of mulch delivered on Sunday. We only got about 1/2 the mulch spread and did not have time for our weekly grocery shopping.

On the way home last night we stopped at Sam's club. I did not have dinner planned so we picked up a Rotisserie Chicken. $5.00 for over two nights of food. Can't beat the price and flavor is great, but is it really bad for us? It has to be high in sodium, but is it really high in fat also? Ian informed me that it is just like grilling, but I don't think so. It tastes so good that it must be bad for us.

It is a really easy dinner to pick up. Throw some steamfresh veggies in the microwave and dinner is ready in 5 minutes. We don't have it all the time, but about once a month it'll be our easy dinner during a crazy week. I don't know if I can recommend to others or not as I'm unsure of the nutritional facts.

Wedding Shower

Last night I attended a wedding shower for Lara, my co-worker. The event was hosted in our event room at work in the new 19 Hot Metal building. It is a perfect location for an event. I think that as a company we should rent out the space for small external events. The room is lined with windows overlooking an outdoor patio near the river. On a nice summer day the event could easily spill out onto the patio and the green grass.

Our cafeteria catered the event and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and quantity. They had asian chicken skewers, mini black bean burgers, veggies, antipasta plater, and bruschetta. I liked the idea of the black bean burgers and thought I could serve them at my next summer party with a side of guacomole and pico de gallo.

Mini Black Bean Burgers

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a
baking sheet. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into twelve patties. Place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes, flip and cook for 5 more minutes.

Garage Sale Preparation

My sister Heather and I are having a garage sale. I love garage sales and I love preparing for one. It gives you an opportunity to clean house and maybe make a little bit of cash. Last night rather than having our typical Tuesday Night Dinner we held a Garage Sale Preparation Party. We combined all our "junk" to prepare for this Saturday. We have a lot of good items, but invited my mother over to comb through all our sale-ables to make sure we were not selling any family heirlooms.

Our family has a tendency to keep a lot of things, which was great for us as we were growing up and starting our own homes. When we first bought our house, after just one weekend of gathering things from my mom, grandparents, aunts and uncles we had almost enough furniture to fill our three bedroom house.

Now that we our more settled we are starting to replace some of the furniture, but noone wants to get rid of it just yet, because someone else might need to fill another house one day... so the attics start filling up with chairs, coffee tables and lamps. Every sale there are inevitably a few pieces that we decide our ready to go that our mom thinks there may be another purpose for. (normally she is right!)

Dave was our chef for the evening. While the girls were busy going through boxes in the garage Dave was at the grill preparing twice baked potatoes and chicken kabobs. Quite a gourmet meal for a garage sale party! I will have to get his recipes to post.

Country Style Chicken Kiev

I made my favorite go-to recipe last night for Ian and I to enjoy.

My mom introduced me to this recipe for my first dinner to entertain co-workers. It is very easy to make and always impresses the guests. You can bread the chicken ahead of time, and then just pop in the oven when guests arrive while you are enjoying a glass of wine and appetizers.

COUNTRY STYLE CHICKEN KIEV

1/2 c. bread crumbs - seasoned
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, Cut in 1/2
2/3 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. white wine or apple juice
1/4 c. green onion
1/4 c. parsley

Combine first 5 ingredients. Dip chicken in butter, and roll in bread crumb mixture. Set remaining butter aside. Place in 1 1/2 quart shallow casserole. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. To leftover butter, add remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken. Bake 2 to 3 minutes more.

Ian and I enjoyed this dinner last night while we were watching one of our favorite TV shows, Chuck! We always think of Sheena and Jon when we hear the opening credits. They have an awesome dance routine to the theme song. Maybe I can get a video of it to post later!

Mother's Day

All our prepartion for mother's day paid off. The meal came together seamlessly. I will need to get the recipe for the Salmon, Quiche and Soup from Sheena. Heather and Dave provided the drinks and created a champagne one that was the perfect way to start the event. It was a wonderful day to celebrate our mom and spend time with the family.

The weekend became even better as Sheena and Jon welcomed the newest member of our family, Elly. Although our mother would love to have grandbabies, for now she is content with three beautiful grand-puppies. Heather's dog is Lily, a white bichon frise. Our dog is Penny Lane, a cavachon. Elly is a blue great dane and is the smallest (for now). Elly is 8 weeks old and will grow very quickly. Penny and Lily were very hesitant playing with her this weekend, but as they spend more time together we hope that all three become best friends.

Mother's Day Dessert: Balsamic Glazed Strawberries

I love Balsamic Vinegar. I love the smell of it when we are cooking. I love the bitter-sweet taste. I love the dark color it adds to a meal. My husband on the other hand doesn't love it. He doesn't hate it per say, but if I cook too much with it I can start to feel his dislike grow. He does however love desserts... so I found the perfect recipe where I can combine both of our loves.

We tried this out the other night in a test run for mother's day and think it will be the perfect end to our luncheon. A healthy yet rich dessert.

Balsamic Glazed Strawberries

6 large ripe strawberries
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Clean strawberries and cut into wedges. In a small heavy saucepan heat vinegar and sugar over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and simmer 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and add strawberries, tossing to coat.

Serve with ice-cream and/or sugar cookies.

Mother's Day Appetizer: Fresh Grapes with Sea Salt

The appetizer for our mother's day luncheon will be Grapes with Olive Oil and Sea Salt. I would never have believed this would be good if I had not tried them myself. My sister, Sheena, and her husband, Jon, found this amazing appetizer on the cheese tray at The Naked Grape wine bar in Sewickley. They invited us back to the bar to taste the amazing delicacy but we discovered that the cheese tray is always changing depending on what is at the market. It is a fun little bistro and we would highly recommend a visit there for anyone looking for a relaxing atmosphere. It does get busy on weekends, so call ahead for a reservation.

We have created our own version of the recipe at home and hope that you enjoy.

Fresh Grapes with Sea Salt

1 bunch of seedless black, green or red grapes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt

Wash Grapes and air dry. Add several tablespoons of olive oil to slightly coat grapes. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with toothpicks.

Mother's Day Prepration

This Sunday is a very important day. I don't think the celebration of our mother's should be left for only one day a year, but I do appreciate planning something special for our mom. This year we are coordinating a luncheon feast hosted at my younger sister, Sheena's house. The menu has already been planned and sounds amazing. Appetizers: Grapes with oil and salt First Course: quiche on top of a field green salad and a side of butternut squash soup Second Course: Broiled Salmon, noodles, and a side of snowpeas and carrots Dessert: balsamic glazed strawberries with sugar cookies For Ian's mom we are hosting a late dinner at our house around 6pm. I still need to plan the menu for this, but am thinking of my fall-back recipe for country style chicken kiev. It is super-simple to make and tastes amazing.

Why Tuesday Night Dinner?

It all started when I graduated college in 2003. My older sister and I decided to rent an apartment together close to the city of Pittsburgh. Although we lived together we quickly found out that our lives were very busy and we didn’t seem to see each other. We decided to make official plans to spend time at the apartment. Every Tuesday we would have dinner together. As most sibling relationships go, this turned into a bit of a competition; who could plan and cook the best dinner. We made 4 course meals, tried new recipes and experimented with different cuisines. It was exciting and gave us something to look forward to each week. We began to invite more family and friends and turned it into an event.

Although I’m now married and living happily with my husband, I do miss these weekly dinners and spending time with my sisters. We have started the tradition again on a monthly basis and included our younger sister and her husband who are living back in the area.

The Tuesday Night Dinner is still a bit of a competition amongst us siblings, although it is more about spending time with family and creating new memories together.