Healthy smoothie

Orange-Banana Smoothie

Made: November 8, 2013

Ingredients
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 small, ripe banana
- 1/4 cup instant non-fat milk powder
- 1/3 cup ice cubes
- 1/4 cup club soda

Directions
- In blender, process orange juice, banana, milk powder and ice cubes until mixture is thick and ice cubes are crushed
- Add club soda, stir and serve immediately

At work, I joined an 8-week program called "Lose and Win" where we learn about making healthier choices and creating a healthier lifestyle for the longrun. For this week, my group was picked to pick a recipe to make. So I got the smoothie. We had to post the nutrition facts as we're learning how to count calories and balance our energy levels. So this makes 2 servings of 130 calories each. But it tasted pretty good, although the banana really packs a flavor punch.

(Recipe used: unitedheathcare.com)

Amish Apples

Apple Crisp

Made: November 3, 2013

Ingredients:
Filling
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sliced & peeled apples (mix of courtland and golden delicious)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Sift together sugar, flour, salt and cinnamon and combine with sliced apples
- Mix well
- Place in a greased 9x9in pan
- Combine oatmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder and brown sugar
- Add in butter and mix together until it crumbles
- Put on top of apple mixture
- Bake for 35-40 minutes

For the apples, I used Red Delicious and Granny Smith, since they happened to be on sale. (Trying to be frugal) I also used a 9in pie pan.

First attempt, I sliced the apples and didn't melt the butter. I liked it, but I felt like it wanted to be more of an apple pie. Second attempt, I cut the apples into small pieces. And for the crumbles, I melted butter and then added all the dry ingredients to that. I think it was easier to eat (especially when you use a crappy plastic fork at work!)

My second attempt

Both ways tasted super delicious and had just enough sweetness with the tart. I didn't peel the apples on either attempt, but I think it adds to the flavor.

(Recipe used: theliterarfairy.com - tweaked from Amish Recipe)

Purple Cabbage

German Red Cabbage

Made: July 20, 2013

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 5 cups shredded red cabbage
- 1 cup sliced green apples
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions
- Place butter, cabbage, apples, and sugar into a large pot
- Pour in the vinegar and water, and season with salt, pepper and clove
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until the cabbage is tender for 1 1/2 - 2 hours

I used 1 apple (with the skin still on) and about 1/2 a head of cabbage. It's really sweet and juicy.

(Recipe used: allrecipes.com)

Sweet Southern Oven Frying

Baked Chicken and Pineapple Casserole

Made: February 18, 2013

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2-2 1/2 pounds whole chicken legs (thigh & drumstick)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 2 cans crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 1 cup crushed Ritz or Saltine crackers
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Grease a 13x9 baking dish or coat with cooking spray
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat
- Lightly season the chicken all over with salt and pepper
- In batches (if necessary), place the chicken in the hot oil and cook, turning once, until golden brown (about 8 minutes)
- Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to drain
- In a small bowl, toss toghet the pineapple and hot sauce
- Spread evenly on the bottom of the prepared baking dish
- Place the chicken on top of the pineapple
- In a small bowl, combine the ccrackers, butter anc cheese
- Scatter the mixture over time the chicken and pineapple
- Bake until topping is melted and golden and the chicken is just cooked through (about 45 minutes)

I only made a small portion, so I used 1 can of pineapple and I didn't drain so the juice could soak into the chicken. I made 2 quarters total and opted against the hot sauce. I also served this with spinach & a pasta side. It was quite flavorful, but I cooked the chicken for about an hour since my chicken wasn't done in 45 minutes.

(Recipe used: Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible)

Fruity cake

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Made: February 1, 2013

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 9 slices pineapple in juice, drained
- 9 maraschino cherries without stems
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 egg

Directions
- Heat oven to 350 F
- In 9-inch square pan, melt butter in oven
- Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter
- Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar
- Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice
- In medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly
- Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally
- Pour batter over pineapple and cherries
- Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
- Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over
- Leave pan over cake a few minutes so brown sugar mixture can drizzle over cake; remove pan
- Serve cake warm
- Store loosely covered

It's a little darker than I expected, but my pan only fit 6 pineapple slices instead of 9, but the taste is really good! Even though the batter tasted odd before I baked it.

(Recipe used: Pillsbury)

Fall Harvest Cupcakes

School Days Applesauce Cupcakes

Made: November 2, 2012

Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 box Yellow Cake mix (or your favorite recipe)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 eggs

Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions
Cupcakes
- Heat oven to 350 F

- In a large bowl, beat cupcake ingredients with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds
- Beat on medium speed about 2 minutes
- Divide the batter evenly among the cups
- Bake 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
- Cool for10 minutes
- Remove cupcakes to cooling racks to cool completely

Frosting
- In a 2 qt saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat
- Stir in brown sugar, heat to boiling, stirring constantly
- Stir in the milk, return to boil
- Remove from heat
- Beat in the powdered sugar with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth
- Frost the cupcakes

I followed this one to a tee, minus that I used cinnamon flavored applesauce since my unsweetened one went bad on me. Oops! But I called them my Fall Harvest cupcakes since I took them to a bowling alley and not a school haha Plus, Apples are best in the fall :)

(Recipe used: Best of Betty Crocker 2013)

Breakfast for Dinner

Cinnamon French Toast Casserole

Made: September 5, 2012

Ingredients

- 1 large French Baguette, cut into 1 1/2 inch slices
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6-8 medium baking apples (McIntosh or Cortland), peeled and sliced
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Place bread into a greased 13x9 baking or casserole dish
- Whisk milk, eggs, 1 cup sugar, vanilla and salt in a large bowl until well combined
- Pour half of the mixture over the bread
- Layer apple slices over bread
- Pour remaining half of egg mixture over apples
- Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl, sprinkle on top
- Bake uncovered for 1 hour or until casserole is heated through and eggs are set

I made breakfast for dinner tonight. It came out really good and flavorful. :) You can make this ahead at night and bake it in the morning; just cover it while refrigerating casserole.

(Recipe used: Country Casseroles)

Just Peachy Ham

Slow Cooker Peach-Glazed Ham

Made: April 8, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 fully cooked smoked bone-in ham (7 lb)
- 3/4 cup peach preserves
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup white cranberry and peach juice
- Fresh peach slices, if desired

Directions

- Spray 7-quart oval slow cooker with cooking spray
- Remove excess fat from ham
- Make cuts about 1/2 inch apart and 1/4 inch deep in diamond pattern around top and sides of ham
- Place ham in slow cooker
- In small bowl, mix preserves, brown sugar, mustard and cranberry juice until smooth
- Spread or brush mixture over ham in slow cooker
- Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 hours or until meat thermometer reads 140 F
- Remove ham from slow cooker; cover with foil and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before carving
- Meanwhile, pour juices from slow cooker into 2-quart saucepan
- Heat to simmering; cook until slightly thickened
- Serve ham with sauce
- Garnish serving platter with peach slices.

Since it was only 3 of us, we used a baby 2 pound ham, so we cut the recipe down by thirds. We also didn't simmer the sauce or cover the ham in foil ... but we drizzled the ham with the sauce from the slow cooker. Overall, it was really juicy, moist and delish!

(Recipe used: Pillsbury)

Sweet Stuffing

Apple-Cranberry Stuffing

Made: November 24, 2011

Ingredients
- 1 stick butter
- 2 cups diced onion
- 2 cups diced celery
- 2 cups diced apple
- 2 cups dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon sage
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 3 cups turkey stock
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 2 cups cubed stuffing
- salt
- pepper
- spreadable butter

Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat
- Add onions, celery, apple & dried cranberry, sage, time, salt & pepper
- Cook for 5 minutes
- Add broth and bring to a simmer
- Beat eggs with parsley in large bowl; add in stuffing.
- Pour vegetable mixture over top and toss/mix.
- Transfer to buttered baking dish & dot with butter
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes, uncover and bake 30 more minutes until golden.

The only difference I did was to exclude the onions. :D Everyone enjoyed this one so much, I didn't have any leftovers :(

 I did have to cook this one backwards. I put the stuffing in the pan with the veggies as my bowl wasn't big enough to hold everything. But I feel like I could mix it easier that way too :)

(Recipe from: Food Network)

Cheesy and pineappley goodness

Pineapple-Black Bean Enchiladas

Made: May 10, 2011

I've always wanted to make something other than soup and tacos; so I saw this recipe in my e-mail and it sounded really yummy! So I decided to take a chance :)

Ingredients

- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits in juice, drained (keep 1/3 juice on reserve)
- 1 can (15 oz) Progresso black beans, drained & rinsed
- 1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso chopped green chiles
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 can (10 oz) Old El Paso mild enchilada sauce
- 8 whole wheat flour tortillas (8 or 9 in)
- 1/3 cup sour crean
- 8 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Spray 13x9 in baking dish with cooking spray
- In 12in non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium heat; add onion and bell pepper - cook 4-5 minutes or until softened.
- Stir in pineapple, beans, green chiles & salt; cook & stir until thoroughly heated - remove from heat.
- Stir in 1/2 cup cilantro & 2 cups of the cheese
- Spoon & spread 1 tablesppon enchilada suace onto each tortilla.
- Spoon about 3/4 cup vegetable mixture over sauce on each.
- Roll up tortilla; place seam side down in baking dish.
- In small bowl, mix reserved 1/3 cup pineapple juice & remaining enchilada sauce; pour over entire surface of enchiladas in dish.
- Sprint with remaining 1 cup cheese.
- Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray (large enough to cover the dish); place sprayed side down over baking dish & seal tightly.
- Bake 35-40 min; removing foil during last 5-10 minutes of baking until cheese is melted & sauce is bubbly.
- Top each baked enchilada with 1 tablespoon south cream & 1 teaspoon cilantro.

I overstuffed & the first one is always the hardest to get out!

I edited the recipe a smidgen since Mom isn't a big fan of cilantro; so I didn't add any at all. Also, I used Giant brand black beans. :) Side note; if you can't find tidbit sized pineapple ... used crushed. Cubed/Sliced was too big and hard to chop down for me. :/ Other than that, it was a quite delish dish :D

An attempt to roll a cake

Cake roll with berries

Made April 23/24, 2011

For Easter, I decided to be adventurous and attempt a cake roll. They always look so pretty in the stores. I found a decent recipe and took a chance. Unfortunately, I didn't completely succeed and my cake broke on one side. I also had quite a few issues along the way as well. :/ But you learn from mistakes and mishaps ... so when I attempt again, I hope it comes out better :)

Ingredients

Cake:

- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar

Filling/Frosting:
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup butter (softened)
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

- Line a greased 15in x 10in baking pan with wax paper and grease the paper; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- In a large bowl, beat eggs on high speed for 3 minutes.
- Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture becomes thick and lemon colored.
- Beat in water and vanilla.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt & fold into egg mixture until no dry ingredients are seen.
- Spread batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.
- Cool for 5 minutes.
- Invert onto a kitchen towel dusted with powdered sugar & gently peel off the wax paper.
- Roll up cake in the towel jelly-roll style, starting with the short side.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.

- For the filling - combine the flour & milk in a small saucepan until smooth.
- Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes more.
- Transfer to a bowl; press wax paper onto surface of mixture.
- Cool completely.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in vanilla and salt.
- Gradually beat in milk mixture; beat for 5 minutes or until filling is light and fluffy.

- Unroll cake; spread filling over cake to within 1/2 in of edges.
- Roll up again, seam side should be face down.
- Refrigerate cake for 1 hour before serving.

Ready for serving

I seemed to have an issue with the towel and the rolling where parts of my cake stuck to the towel itself. So even though I thought I put a lot of powdered sugar on the towel, it didn't seem to help. Reading other cake roll recipes, they used wax paper or parchment paper instead; so I'll have to keep that in mind for the next time I try this. I also didn't like the taste of the filling as much; I feel like my flour and milk mixture didn't turn out like the book wanted. So I added in some puraied strawberries and the icing had more of a light flavor. Since my cake fell apart, I put the icing on top of my cake as well; you don't have to. It was just something that was a last minute thing for me. I also topped it with some strawberries for an added decorative touch :D

Even though the cake looked unappealing, the taste was there. So that's all that matters yes? :) Hope you guys had a lovely Easter!

(Recipe used: Taste of home)

Lemony surprise

Lemon Frosted Lemon Cake

Made: April 22, 2011

Ingredents:

Cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs (large)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup lemon juice

Frosting:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Grease a 9in pan and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fully and pale in color (about 3 minutes)
- Add the eggs one at a time; mixing well after each egg.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to the batter along with the lemon juice.
- Mix only until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing with a spatual.
- Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Place on a wire rack to cool.

Frosting:

- In a bowl, combine the sifted powdered sugar and lemon juice. You want the icing to be thicker than a glaze but still thing enough that it will just run over the sides of the cake.
- Adjust if needed.
- Pour the frosting over the top of the cake, allowing the icing to drip down the sides.
- Let the icing dry before covering and storing.

I didn't use parchment paper ... I didn't think it needed it. I also only cooked the cake for about 35 minutes as the sides were starting to brown. The middle was also clear when I stuck a knife in the middle. :) The icing I made still seemed too thin ... I wanted it to taste lemony and it just never got there for my liking ... so I'll have to play around with that part. :) Enjoy!

(Recipe used: Joy of baking)