Monday Menu ~ Breakfast Omelet Muffins

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Jackie

I’m a big fan of breakfast foods; pancakes, french toast, eggs & fried potatoes, any of it really. Breakfast foods aren’t just for breakfast either! We often have breakfast for dinner and it’s one of my kids favorites.

Recently I asked Stephanie from The Scoop on Poop and My Write Side if she wanted to guest post, she agreed, and then sent me the most amazing recipe! It’s an omelet and muffin combined into one rather delicious breakfast treat. I love how easy & versatile this recipe is. You can use any cheese you like, crumbled bacon or any other meat you want, or no meat at all, any veggies you want (spring onions taste divine and give a sweet touch of color too), and you could even let the kids help! Let them make their own Breakfast Muffin to help encourage them to eat their veggies!

These are so good, your whole family will want more than one!

Ingredients
1 pound Pork Sausage, diced
1 cup broccoli florets (or other veggie)
8 large eggs
1/4 cup cheese
1/4 cup milk (or half and half depending on how you’re feeling that day)
1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. baking powder (out of baking powder? Use 1-1.5 tsp. flour)
salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese as needed

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In a large sauté pan, over medium high heat, brown Italian Sausage for about 5 minutes, or until the
sausage is no longer pink. Remove from heat and stir in broccoli.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk, oil, cheese, and baking powder. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly spray a 12-cupcake pan with oil. Spoon out the sausage and broccoli mixture evenly into each
cupcake.
5. Ladle the egg mixture over sausage and broccoli.
6. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

If your out and about the internets go check out some of Stephanie’s incredible fiction writing over at My Write Side…. you won’t be disappointed.

Monday Menu ~ The Cake Fail

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Jackie

I had high hopes and they were totally squashed.

Last week I shared the incredible Lemon Ice Box Cake with you and because it used 12 egg whites I was left with 12 egg yolks that I didn’t want to just throw away. Like any other foodie I went in search of recipes that my family would like and I was happy when I found a cake that could use all of the yolks. I was pretty surprised too! It sounded delicious…. Daffodil Chiffon Cake.

I followed the directions to the letter and the batter was beautiful. Light, fluffy, and the palest yellow color.

I baked the cake according to the directions… 1 hour in a 350 degree oven. I’m pretty sure that an hour was to long because I took the cake out about 7 minutes early and it was done. I’m thinking that I could have taken it out probably 10 or more minutes early and it would have been a lot better.

I let the cake sit upside down while it cooled and when I pulled it out of the pan disappointment set in. It was to dark in color and very crumby…. I brushed off the excess and was hoping that it’d be alright once I frosted it.

Maybe you can help me. Here are the ingredients and instructions that I have for the cake, but there has to be something that can be done to make it better.

12 egg yolks
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. boiling water
1 1/2 c. sifted cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon flavor

Beat egg yolks until very thick and lemon colored. Add sugar in small amounts and keep beating. Add boiling water and beat 30 seconds, add sifted dry ingredients gradually, then add flavorings, beat all well (about 5 minutes). Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour in an ungreased 10″ or 12″ angel food pan. Cool upside down before removing.

While it was baking it smelled like scrambled eggs were cooking…. it was kind of gross. I checked the cake and it looked fine but there was a definite egg smell that I feared wasn’t going to go away once it was done.

There was one thing that did save the cake and that was the strawberry buttercream frosting that I made. It was wonderful and would have been even better if it were on a good cake.

3 sticks of softened butter

4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon milk – I left this out because the strawberry puree was enough

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 tablespoons strawberry puree (if you want the frosting seed-free, you can put the puree through a sieve before adding to frosting)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed. The butter will become very pale & creamy.

Add remaining ingredients, except strawberry puree, and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 6 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy, and fluffy and then add in the strawberry puree and mix until incorporated.

I will say that the cake, once frosted, look half way decent.

Of course after adding the strawberries on the top it looked even better.

So tell me what I did wrong!!

Monday Menu ~ Death by Chocolate Cupcakes

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Jackie

In following through with my cupcake theme around here this week I have something that just about everyone will love and if you don’t then …. well, we’ll have to talk later.

Chocolate. That is the theme this week.

Lots and lots of delicious chocolate.

I’ve been watching the Food Network and Cooking Channel for a while now and they both seem to feature bakeries and and more specifically ones that feature cupcakes. I’ve never seen so many amazing desserts and I’ve been inspired to create some of my own tasty treats.

Death by Chocolate! This recipe was one that I came up with after thinking what could I combine together to make the best ever cupcake. Well, cupcakes and truffles. Pure genius, right?

The recipe is really simple but is a bit more time consuming than your regular cupcake, but it’s really worth it. So lets get to it.

Ingredients

Truffles

10 oz bag of Toll House dark chocolate chips
5 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp heavy cream

Melt the chocolate chips and the butter together until smooth and then stir in the heavy cream. Let cool for about an hour in the fridge.

Cake

Chocolate cake mix – any flavor you like is fine
Ingredients for the cake
Instant chocolate pudding mix

Make the cake per the recipe on the box and then stir in the pudding mix.

Frosting

1/2 cup shortening – I used Crisco
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cocoa powder – I used Hershey’s Special Dark
4 cups of powdered sugar
3 – 4 tbsp heavy cream – I used close to half of a pint

Whip the butter & shortening together and then add in the cocoa powder and vanilla and mix till combined. Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix well then add in the cream until it’s light and fluffy.

Method

Once the truffle mixture is ready prepare your cupcake pan with papers or cooking spray.

Fill the cupcake paper about halfway and make a little dent in the middle.

Scoop up a truffle and place it in the middle of the cupcake and then fill the remainder with batter, making sure that it’s fully covered.

I made mine using a large cupcake pan (ignore how yucky it looks) and they took about 30 minutes to bake. But I think that if you used a regular pan then it’d take closer to 20 minutes. Just a note… using the toothpick method to test these won’t work because of the truffle in the middle.

Once they’re cool you are ready to frost them!

I have to say that these were pretty good, but not exactly perfect. I was expecting the truffle filling to be softer than it was, but it still tasted really good! Next time I will add more heavy cream to the mixture so it’s softer.

They do require a tall glass of milk and a fork to eat! But it’s worth every single bite!

Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!

Do you have suggestions for a flavor of cupcakes to be features here? I’d love your suggestions.

Monday Menu ~ Cupcakes

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Jackie

Who doesn’t love cupcakes? I know that I do… little bites of delicate cake that you can make miniature, big, or just regular sized. Filled or frosted or even both are absolutely delicious and who can resist one of those tasty treats. And with that thought I decided to try and come up with some unique and delicious cupcakes that I can share with all of you.

This could be a lot of fun because one of my passions is baking and coming up with tasty treats to share with friends and family. Although a new flavor of cupcakes every week could lead me shopping at the local tent & awning store for my clothing… chances are many of them will end up at the office!

This week my inspiration is coconut and chocolate… two of my favorite things and similar to a Mounds Bar I suppose. Really, it started with a quick bread mix that I found at Target and using the alternate directions on the back of the box and and the thought that I could make them better than just plain cupcakes.

Ingredients

Coconut quick bread mix
1/2 cup of water
1 stick of butter melted
1 egg
12 dark chocolate Hershey Kisses

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place 12 cupcake papers in a cupcake pan.

Mix all of the ingredients together except for the kisses.

Using a small scoop – I used my Pampered Chef scoop – and put one level scoop into each cupcake paper. Now here comes the fun part… in the middle of each place one Hershey Kiss and then top with another level scoop of batter.

Bake for about 25 minutes. When they’re done resist the temptation to eat one and let them cool on a rack until they’re completely cooled and then frost.

Frosting

1/2 cup shortening – I used Crisco

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cocoa powder – I used Hershey’s Special Dark

4 cups of powdered sugar

3 – 4 tbsp milk – you can use more or less depending on the consistency you want.

Whip the butter & shortening together and then add in the cocoa powder and vanilla and mix till combined. Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix well then add in the milk until it’s the consistency you want.

These cupcakes are incredible for something that came from a box mix! The cupcake itself was moist and full of coconut flakes while the frosting…. oh the dark chocolate frosting is… mmmmm…. delicious!

Now, if you can’t find this mix at your Target you can use a white cake mix and add some coconut flakes and coconut extract and get the same results.

OH… and here’s the biggest surprise of them all! I used my DSLR for all the pictures this time instead of my iPhone!

So back to cupcakes… what flavor would you like to see me create? Do you have a favorite flavor?

Monday Menu ~ Fail or not?

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Jackie

I don’t know what happened this week but I guess I didn’t make anything that was really worth writing about and of course that leaves me without something awesome to share with you. Don’t get me wrong… I did feed my family but it was all pretty lame stuff… taco salad, leftovers, and stuff like that. We may have even gone out once too.

So, I failed. But I didn’t want to not post something because there are a few things that I made this week I can share with you that were tasty but they were from a mix or a recipe from someone else.

This tasty thing you see above is a banana chocolate chip monkey bread! It’s a mix that I picked up at Target while there a couple weeks ago and let me tell ya… totally worth it! It was warm, gooey, sweet, and perfect for a weekend breakfast with a large glass of milk (because without it you can’t get through a couple bites).

Is your mouth watering yet?

The one thing that I did make this week that was mostly homemade was a spinach and Gruyere cheese quiche. I have to say that it was pretty amazing, but then again how can you mess up a quiche? I mean it’s eggs in a pie crust and if you’re lazy like I am you buy the crusts pre-made and egg beaters to make it simple.

Andrew really loved it… can you tell? He helped me make it by pouring the eggs and stirring it again and again once it was in the pan. I only wish that he would have actually eaten some for dinner… he didn’t even touch it.

Brownies! I love chocolate (who doesn’t?) and brownies, but because I hadn’t gone shopping last week I didn’t have eggs which we all know are key to making just about anything. Well, I found an incredible brownie recipe that doesn’t require eggs.

These brownies are fudgy and are just like something that you can make from one of those box mixes. The only changes that I made were that I left out the honey, used all white sugar, and threw in some chocolate chips for good measure. Oh! And if it weren’t for my brownie craving I wouldn’t have found the chocolate cake recipe to end all other recipes! Seriously… check out the Chocolate Wasted Cake!

What you see above is the most wonderful meatloaf ever and a huge thanks goes out to the Pioneer Woman for creating this. What is better than meatloaf that is totally wrapped in bacon and then smothered in a sauce that is better than plain ketchup any day of the week? Nothing. The only thing I did different was add onion and garlic because they need to be in just about everything that I make but other than that I did nothing else… I even bought plain old white bread because that’s what the Pioneer Woman said to use! Try it and you’ll love it too!

Did you make anything this week that was awesome?

What do you think… was my week a recipe fail or not?

Monday Menu ~ Easy Chicken & Rice

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Jackie

Every once in a while a meal pops into my head and sounds so good that I just have to make it as soon as possible. Not that long ago in the middle of a work week I decided that I wanted chicken and rice with broccoli. Go ahead and laugh… I know it takes time to prepare that and after a busy day at work how was I going to get it done?

Well, I waved my magic wand and…. TADA… dinner!

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that easy but I was able to get it to the oven in about 30 minutes and then to the table in another 30 – 45 minutes. I call that a win for a homemade dinner.

The ingredients are super simple.

2 boxes of Uncle Ben’s Broccoli Rice au Gratin

1 can of cream soup – any kind you like. I used cream of celery because it’s what I had and I hate cream of mushrooms or mushrooms of any kind.

10 oz bag of frozen broccoli & cheese. The one you see in the picture I got at Kroger and it is incredible!

1 lb or so of boneless, skinless chicken. Get the tenders if you want… they’re faster to cut up.

1 cup of shredded cheese

The Ingredients

Now here is the method to the madness.

Cook the rice and while that is cooking cut up the chicken into bite size pieces and and brown them. The chicken doesn’t have to be fully cooked, just get it started.

Toss the bag of broccoli in the microwave for a couple minutes to soften it up a bit, again it doesn’t have to be done.

Alright, here comes the dump and mix part….. mix the rice (this doesn’t have to be all the way done), chicken, broccoli, and soup together. Don’t worry if it looks all soupy… it should look that way. Pour all of this into a 13×9 pan and top with the shredded cheese, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 45 minutes. Take the foil off for the last 15 minutes or so.

There you have it… easy peasy right!

Now if you want to really make it an amazing meal you need to make the Beer Bread recipe from Kludgy Mom! The bread is really good and ever since I haven’t been able to find the Paula Deen beer bread mix in the stores for a while I was excited to find this recipe. Try it and you’ll love it too.

What is your go to quick meal for a work night?

Are you looking for more great recipes? Check out the Monday Menu page!

Monday Menu ~ Arborio Rice Pudding

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Jackie

One of my favorite desserts or breakfasts is rice pudding… baked or not… I just love it. But I got to thinking that I could make it better…. you know creamier & richer. How you ask? Well, by using my favorite rice…. arborio. Risotto is also another favorite dish of mine, creamy rice with onions, garlic, cheese, and white wine. What could be better?

I remember eating this when I was little with my mom or grandma and it was so rich and creamy that I didn’t think that there was anything better… other than the rice pudding without the raisins because I don’t like them.

Rice pudding is one of those timeless dishes that fills us up heart, soul, and stomach.

Last weekend I went to work and created my own recipe for a creamy, rich rice pudding. The recipe is versatile, easy and can adapted in many ways. Once you try rice pudding this way you will never go back to making it any other way.

Ingredients

1/2 cup arborio (I added a bit more)
3 Tbsp butter
4 cups milk – whole, 2%, or skim will work
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

In a heavy bottom pan place the butter and let it melt and then add in the rice and sugar and stir for a couple minutes. Slowly pour in the milk and bring it to a gentle boil, then simmer 30 minutes or so stirring frequently.

Check to make sure that it’s done (taste it!); it should be soft and plump. When it’s done remove it from the heat, and stir in the extract. You may serve at room temperature or warmed.

Optional Ingredients

Raisins
Dried cranberries
Almond extract instead of vanilla
Vanilla bean
Chopped nuts

When it’s done you can let it sit to thicken up a little and then serve it warm with a little extra cream or even better whipped topping. Me? I topped mine with a bit of homemade strawberry jam.

YUM!

Okay… are going to make it tonight for your family?

Are you looking for more great recipes? Check out the Monday Menu page!

Monday Menu – Crab Stuffed Fried Jalapenos

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Jackie

A few weeks ago when I heard that Julie from MamaMash was taking a little break from blogging I was sad! I loved reading her posts and especially her Monday Meals… she had so many wonderful recipes to try. When she sent out the tweet that she’d be around and would guest post if asked I immediately jumped at that and asked if she would share one of her recipes with me here on the Monday Menu.

Please give Julie a warm & magical welcome!

Thanks to Jackie for pulling me back to the blog world for a bit to share a recipe. I miss my online community and hope to return to you soon!

I married a sports guy. I swear I didn’t know he was a sports guy when I accepted his proposal – I thought he was a musician.

Turns out the two aren’t mutually exclusive (who knew) and not only are my weekends filled with the otherworldly noises emanating from his synth rig upstairs, I can also count on a dull roar of fandom as heard through surround sound downstairs.

Lucky me.

Over the last few years, I’ve developed a bit of Stockholm Syndrome and I’m often found flopped on the couch riveted to the game along with my husband. We live in Kansas City, so it’s usually a depressing experience.

I’m not about to make a sad situation worse by tossing out some Fritos and bean dip, so I insist we eat good food on game day.

So, one week we watched the Chiefs lose and ate some pretty serious 5 alarm chili.

The next week we watched the Chiefs lose and had grilled Gruyere sandwiches and tomato basil soup.

This coming Sunday, even though the Chiefs aren’t in the Superbowl (I know, I’m shocked) we’ll still be sprawled out in front of the flat screen anyway. We’re going to see large, overpaid men compete for bragging rights and a sparkly piece of jewelry, and I’m gonna make my mama’s fried stuffed peppers.

(Technically, these aren’t my mama’s. A lovely former co-worker of ours used to bring these peppers to the teacher’s lounge on special days. If we knew in advance she was coming, we’d lurk around the corner so as to pile our share of peppers on a plate and sneak them into our classrooms for later. If you waited til lunch for a pepper, well, you’d be licking the crumbs off the paper towels is all I’m sayin’.)

Crab-stuffed Fried Jalapenos

1 box Stovetop Stuffing

1 can crab meat

1 large can whole jalapeno peppers

1 cup flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup breadcrumbs

vegetable oil for frying

Slice the jalapenos in half lengthwise, rinse and dry well with paper towels. If you’re a sensitive-skinned type, wear gloves. Better yet, make someone else do this part.

Prepare the stuffing as directed and set aside.

Open and drain the crabmeat well. Combine with the stuffing then stuff each pepper, leaving a nice rounded mound.

Refrigerate the stuffed peppers anywhere from two hours to overnight. You’ll probably want to cover them tightly as milk tends to taste funny when it absorbs a pepper/shellfish smell.

When you’re ready to serve them, set out a plate of flour, a bowl of buttermilk and a plate of breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil to between 350 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Roll each pepper through the flour, dip in the buttermilk and roll through the bread crumbs, then slide into the oil.

Cook the peppers until they’re slightly browned and transfer to a wire rack with paper towels underneath.

Hide two or three for yourself, then plate and send out to the crowd.

You can also check Julie out on her blog, Facebook, and of course Twitter!

Are you looking for more great recipes? Check out the Monday Menu page!

Monday Menu ~ Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Jackie

One of my dishes is stuffed cabbage rolls, but they are a lot of work and take so much time that I rarely make them. Instead of the traditional cabbage rolls I’ve been making stuffed cabbage casserole! It’s just as delicious and it takes half the time which means that I can still make it after work during the week. I won’t say that this is one of those 30 minute meals though… it does take a little time.

Ingredients

1 -2 lbs of hamburger or ground turkey if you prefer

1 large onion – chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp or more chopped garlic

1 -2 cups of uncooked instant rice – white or brown

2 14oz cans of beef broth

1 head of cabbage chopped

28oz can of stewed diced tomatoes or sauce, whichever you prefer (I used tomatoes that I cooked & froze over the summer)

Salt & pepper to taste

Spices – Now you can use just about any spice that you want I think. Thyme, oregano, basil, savory, or rosemary are all fine it all depends on the flavor that you want.

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the meat and when it’s almost done add in the onion, garlic, and bay leaf.

Once the onion is cooked, it’ll look translucent, add in the rice, broth, and seasonings and stir until it is combined and then add in the cabbage. You will need to make sure that you have a large pan to fit everything in!

Stir this up and then add in the tomatoes. It will seem a little soupy but don’t worry because it will all be soaked into the rice and cabbage.

Once you have everything combined pour it into a 13×9 pan and cover tightly with foil.

Bake for about an hour, uncover and stir, and then bake for another 15 – 30 minutes. When it’s done remove it from the oven and enjoy with fresh bread and a salad!

What are some of your favorite go to casseroles for dinner?

Monday Menu ~ Edible Cookie Dough

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Jackie

It’s Monday! And if you hadn’t caught on yet (I’m sure you have though) it’s another post featuring a tasty recipe! And this one… is great and it’s from my sister, as a matter of fact she’s back again guest posting this week! So please give her a warm welcome and enjoy the recipe.

So this is not an original recipe of mine. I was on a quest (and still am) to eat healthier and provide something a little better for the family. I know what you are thinking, Cookie Dough Balls, healthy?? Not really, but everyone needs a treat now and then.

So, I was searching and came across the Peas and Thank You website. MaMa Pea, the curator and mastermind behind it had the cookie dough ball recipe right there in shining lights, screaming, make me, make me, make me. So, weak as I am for peanut butter and chocolate, I did it…. I made them. And let me tell you, they are goooooooooooood. In fact, to me, they were close my eyes, smile, and tune out, “Mommy, Mommy, Mom”. I couldn’t quite tune out the, THWACK sound and the crying that followed though. My youngest hit the oldest. Boys… oy vay.

Anywho, my kids love cookie dough (psst.. me too), but I am always leery to give it to them because of the eggs and possibility of salmonella (I’m still trying to get nominated for mom of the year award here). This is a great alternative and my boys don’t know any different. They are always asking to make, “cookie balls”. Yes, I let them help even with craziness.

Edible Cookie Dough Balls

Makes 12-18 dough balls
• 1/2 c. non-dairy margarine (i.e. Earth Balance) ( I did use butter once and they turned out delectable)
• 3/4 c. natural peanut butter (I use smooth, but the crunchy variety is fine too)
• 1/2 c. organic brown sugar
• 3/4 c. organic powdered sugar ( I cut the sugar down to ½ c.)
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 3/4 t. salt
• 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 c. unbleached organic flour
• 1/2 c. natural peanut butter chips
• 1/2 c. non-dairy chocolate chips ( I used reg choc chips )

Using a stand mixer, beat margarine, peanut butter, sugars and vanilla until fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, combine baking powder, baking soda, salt and flours.Add dry mixture to the mixer bowl a little at a time. Add dry mixture to the mixer bowl a little at a time. Add your chips. There’s no need for exact measurements here. I won’t tell. Combine and chill dough for 30 minutes.

Andrew loved it!

Did you see??? With Just a Bit of Magic is the blog of the week over at Social Moms!! How great is that? Social Moms is a great community so check it out if you haven’t been over there yet.

Are you looking for more great recipes? Check out the Monday Menu page!