Merry Christmas 2011

As you may recall, every year I make my Christmas cookies and last year I tried to make ginger bread men as my fourth variety. Lesson learned. This year I decided to add truffles to the mix. Not my famous oreo balls but something a little different.

You will need:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2.5 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips + 1 cup semi sweeet bakers chocolate, melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 package white chocolate melted, 1 package semi sweet chocolate melted for dipping

In a large bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Add in sugar until blended. Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla until no streaks remain. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Shape into 1 inch balls and dip in the melted chocolate or vanilla. Sprinkle with crushed pecans, coconut flakes, or colored sprinkles to decorate. Refrigerate or freeze for 1 hour or until set.
I like to decorate with the opposite melted chocolate. I put melted white chocolate in a zip lock baggie and cut a small tip off of the corner. Squeeze over the truffles to create a pattern.

These looked very pretty on a holiday platter as my contribution to the party. I am told and also believe that they taste quite good, too.

Merry Christmas!

Griffin Wallace (right) with his friend Baxter Batson (left)

Would you like a hot apple pie with that?

I'm back! And I brought with me this delicious apple pie! I am so proud of this creation. This was my first ever pie and it turned out so pretty, and it tasted good too. I brought this to Thanksgiving where I was in charge of desserts. I made something else too, but it obviously isn't as important.

I'd like to thank Grandma Ople (?) and allrecipes.com for this one. I did make some modifications. I cheated on the crust and went store bought, same for the lattice work topping.
Here's what I did:

• 1 store bought 9 inch pie crust
• 1 box of frozen pastry, thawed and cut into strips using pizza cutter
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced - I actually got 1.5 pies out of this many apples

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
• Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. 

 

• Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft. 
• Enjoy!

You can see why I say 1.5 pies, the second one was not very full but was very tasty

 For a first try, I think it looks pretty good.
 

Chicken Enchilada Pockets by Dashing Dish

This is a recipe that I got from one of my favorite "lite" cooking blogs, Dashing Dish. The author of this blog does a great job turning some of your staple dishes into a more figure-friendly version. I recommend visiting her site and following her blog for some great new recipes.

This particular recipe is for Chicken Enchilada Pockets. You can view her easy step by step instructions by clicking here. Since this isn't my recipe I am not going to go into details here.  I did make just a few modifications and observations.

1. Next time I make these I will pull the chicken instead of cubing it. I think it will make the mixture easier to spread on the triangles.
2. I added cilantro, one of our favorites!
3. The sauce mixture would make a great dip if you don't feel like going to the trouble of putting it in the pockets. We had some leftover sauce and ate it with tortilla chips and it was very good.

Make sure to enjoy all that Dashing Dish has to offer!

*Photo courtesy of dashingdish.com

September update

I love September and I really enjoy fall: getting out all the decorations, changing up the wardrobe, red wine, college football, memories of tailgating, its all so lovely. The only part I dont like is what's coming later but I'm in denial and ignoring that for now.  So its been a little quiet on the ol' blog lately, I owe you an explanation. I have been knocked down by the plague/black lung/bronchitis/insert awful illness here. Technically I guess its been called bronchitis but its been a long, slow recovery. Im feeling a little more spunky tonight after a weekend full of couchin' it. Maybe Im on the upswing. All that said, I have not really been interested in preparing foods for my loved ones the past couple of weeks. Coughing germs into a meal sounds less than appealing. So instead I have done some surfing on the internet - have you heard of or visited Pintrest? Don't do it unless you have an hour to spare. This site is wonderful! I really enjoy and I am collecting a lot of great ideas.

The one thing I did prepare was a Jalapeno Popper Dip Mishap. It was quite good I am told but I don't care to look at a jalapeno for a very long time. A friend at work has a garden and brought in some goodies so I took 3 jalapenos and then it took me a week to figure out what to do with them. I settled on making a version of a dip I read about on allrecipes. Here's what I did:

3 fresh jalapenos, diced (next time I will use a 4 oz can)
1 can diced green chiles (4 oz)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayo
Parmesan Cheese
Combine all ingredients except the Parmesan in a bowl and stir. Pour into an oven safe dish, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake at 350* for 20 minutes (or so). Serve with crackers or pita bread.

So why do I call this a mishap? Well, I was being very careful chopping the peppers but because I had this unpredictable illness my nose began to run. I picked up a paper towel from the counter to wipe my nose and continue. Turns out the paper towel had jalapeno seeds on it. Ouch. Awful awful pain in my nose. And on my hands. This lasted about one hour. I had to stop my preparations and have Josh Google ways to remove jalapeno oil while I held ice to my face. Turns out the home remedies include rubbing alcohol, olive oil, or lemon juice. Not at the same time. Im generally much more graceful than this. I will blame the illness for my inability to think clearly. Ive had a few other moments I'm not proud of in the last week or so, that is why I stayed close to home this weekend. I was unable to capture a photo because getting out the camera was the last thing on my mind.

Give the dip a try, be more careful than I was!

Another thing to love about September?  ArtPrize!

Ramen Noodle Coleslaw Salad

Happy Labor Day! I hope everybody had a wonderful weekend. We spent ours up north at Columbus Beach in Indian River with the Shaull family. You probably know how much I love Northern Michigan by now and this weekend did not disappoint despite the rain and 60* weather. Saturday we planned to play golf but it was raining so we postponed that until Sunday and instead got into a heated game of Monopoly. Aunt Terri cleaned up. I didn't lose. That's all I have to say about that. Then we went to lunch and by the time we came back the sun was shining so we headed out for a pontoon boat ride. We came home and made a delicious dinner - burgers on the grill, sweet corn, coleslaw salad, and all the fixins. I've made this coleslaw salad a few times this summer. It generally goes over pretty well and its really easy to make.

You'll need:
1-2 packages of coleslaw
1/2 package of cabbage (purple) - this is my secret, it adds color and makes it look prettier. Use full package if you use 2 packages of coleslaw
2-3 bunches of green onion (3 bunches if you use 2 packages of coleslaw)
1 cup Oil - I do 1/2 canola, 1/2 olive
1/2 cup Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds
3 packages Ramen Noodles Chicken Flavor

Combine the seasoning packets from the Ramen Noodles (I use 1-2 packets), sugar, oil, and cider vinegar in a bowl. Whip until fluffy. Mix the Sunflower seeds, coleslaw, onion and cabbage in a large bowl. Combine the wet & dry ingredients. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Just before serving crush up the Ramen Noodles (I do 1.5 packets but you could do up to 3 if you used all of the coleslaw and cabbage). What I have found as Ive made this a time or two is that if you use too much oil it can create a pool underneath the colelsaw, and if you use too many ramen noodles it becomes more about the noodles and less about the salad. You can make this to fit your taste. There are many variations to this recipe. I like this version best of course.

On Sunday morning we went golfing and had lunch at the course. Then we packed up and headed home. Monday we spent doing chores and yard work. We are ready for fall! I can't believe I just said that.

Sorry I do not have a photo of this one... I'll snap one the next time I make it. Enjoy!

Girls Weekend in Chicago: Recipe for Fun!

This is a break from regularly scheduled programming to bring you a post about girls weekend! Last weekend I spent 4 days in Chicago with three of my favorite girls: Mom, Aunt Rita, and Madison.

We picked the girls up at Midway Thursday morning and headed into downtown. We stayed at the Conrad Hilton (very nice).

Our first adventure was the Wendella Architecture Tour which was very fun and informative. Perfect sunny day activity. Actually our first stop was Bandera for some lunch on Michigan Ave, then the boat tour.

Naturally we did plenty of shopping!

On Friday we spent the day in Lincoln Park and did more shopping and a lot of walking! We had brunch at Nookies (highly recommend, all fresh and delicious) and then shopped on Armitage, and then walked all the way to the zoo and saw some of these guys:

For dinner we went to Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinders, so very good. It is located across the street from the location of the St. Valentines Day Massacre.

On Saturday we went up to Nick and Nicole's new home in Buena Park and then had lunch with them in their neighborhood. Afterwards we came back and assaulted Water Tower Place. Success! Back to school clothes, a homecoming dress, and some jeans.

We began most mornings with girl talk in our room over coffee and muffins, we rounded most nights out with girl talk over dinner and dessert. There is something therapeutic about spending time with dear friends. I had a great time, thanks for making the trip girls!

Cream Cheese & Pesto Stuffed Chicken Breast

This is a recipe I heard about from a friend at work. She tried it a few weeks ago and said it was definitely worth a try. It comes from eatingwell.com so I have the nutrition facts below. I made a modification which is instead of using the egg white, I made buttermilk (milk and lemon juice). Here is what you need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, (1-1 1/4 pounds total)
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cream Cheese-Pesto Filling:

• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese, (Neufchatel)
• 1 tablespoon basil pesto, (store-bought or homemade)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Combine cream cheese, pesto and pepper in a small bowl with a fork.
3. Cut a horizontal slit along the thin, long edge of a chicken breast half, nearly through to the opposite side. Open up each breast and place one-fourth of the filling in the center. Close the breast over the filling, pressing the edges firmly together to seal. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and filling.
4. Lightly beat egg white with a fork in a medium bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow glass dish. Hold each chicken breast half together and dip in the egg white, then dredge in the breadcrumbs. (Discard leftovers.)
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts; cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Place the chicken, browned-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center or until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F, about 20 minutes.

 

Nutrition
233 calories; 9 g fat ( 4 g sat , 3 g mono ); 81 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrates; 33 g protein; 1 g fiber; 379 mg sodium; 351 mg potassium.

I served this with pasta with a little pesto mixed in. It was pretty good! Josh liked it, too. A little rich because of the cream cheese. This was prepared and we had eaten within an hour.

Warm Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

These little sandwiches are the perfect size and recipe for a gathering. They are just the right amount of sandwich, taste great and are easy to prepare. They offer something a little different than cold cuts and bread. I'm a big fan.

 Warm Ham and Cheese Sandwiches  (makes 24)

2 packages "brown and serve" rolls

1 1/2 lb. sliced ham

1/2-3/4  pound swiss cheese-sliced

2 sticks margarine or butter

2 TBSP. Worcestershire Sauce

2 TBSP. prepared mustard

2 TBSP. poppyseeds

4 TBSP.  brown sugar


Prepare sandwiches and place in large baking pan(s)

Next, melt butter and add the next 4 ingredients. Bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and pour the hot sauce over the sandwiches.

Let set for 2 hours (I did overnight and debated if they should be refrigerated or not, they went in the fridge).

Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes until bubbly.

I had great reviews at the Fathers Day party. The Shaull family is really a bunch of small people who don't eat a lot so maybe thats why it worked so well. I wondered as I was pouring the sauce over if I should have made more of it, but they tasted great with this amount. If I think of it next time, I will probably make extra. I didn't get a picture of the final product, but they looked great stacked on my Wilton Armatele platter!

Thanks to Katie for passing along this little gem! Katie and Pete by the way have the cutest new addition to their family. Meet Cosmo.

Oreo Truffles with a Twist

A new twist on oreo balls. We're preparing for a baby shower this weekend, these will be the favors. Final photo to come along with all the other preparations and finished products.

These were pretty simple, we made oreo truffles and then put some white chocolate colored with a drop of blue food coloring in a ziplock baggie, cut off the corner and made fun designs.

Texas Caviar

This one comes from my Uncle Jim and Aunt Terri. We had everybody over for Fathers Day and this was one of their contributions. It is very good and makes a nice alternative or addition to salsa. I did a bit of research and it doesn't appear this is so bad for you either.

Texas Caviar
Drain and rinse one 16 oz. can black beans
Drain and rinse one 16 oz. can pinto beans
1 can of white or yellow corn
1 sm. jar of pimientos diced
Dice:
1 c. green peppers
1 c. yellow peppers
1 c. celery
1/2 c. red peppers
Then:
Mix and boil (bring to boil/cool) the following:
1 c. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt and pepper
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. olive oil
Pour over vegetables and marinate overnight.
Drain in colander after marinating.
This is best served with scoops. Enjoy!

Summer time in Northern Michigan

I have been M.I.A. for an embarassingly long time. I have a few new recipes to share, those will come soon. In the mean time, what have we been up to the past 6 weeks or so? Well, since you asked...

We still don't have a/c and we've had a couple scorchers this summer. We have a ways to go, last year we hit 95 I believe.

 We have been enjoying our new dishwasher... sometimes squeaky fish needs a bath, too.

 We've been battling injuries. This happens to be a mis-diagnosed foot problem. Initially believed to be a hip or knee problem. The cone does not go over well hence the sad face.

 We watched our god-baby take her first steps (read: we taught her how to walk).

 We went to a USA vs. Canada soccer game at Ford Field. USA!

 We did some boating on Grandpa Bill's boat

 And some boating on Grandpa Al's boat. Griffin took his first dive in the water which was a bit of a shock. Thank goodness for his life jacket...

 We went to a graduation party with the Peters fam

 And we went to a baptism

All in all, its been a pretty busy summer! 4th of July was awesome - we had perfect weather up north. We still have a lot to look forward to including wedding showers, birthday parties, a trip to Chicago for girls weekend, a trip to Tampa for our anniversary, another trip up north, and a few weddings! Sorry for my lack of sharing. Don't worry, I'll be back.

P.S. I started a new job, too. I now work for Amway as a project manager managing the development of new products. Its really fun! I'm about a month in. I miss my friends at Crowe for those of you reading. This is a great opportunity and I'm really enjoying it! I can't wait until Im a few more months in and know what Im doing :)

Happy summer!

Oreo Truffles

This is a hiatus from blogs about the kitchen remodel. Everything was finally functional so I wanted to take the opportunity to make our friend Pete a treat for his birthday since we had dinner club* tonight.

I had gotten the recipe from a fellow bowling league member but promptly lost the paper she wrote it down on. I had to turn to my go-to, allrecipes.com. Sure enough, it was there.

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
• 1 (8 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 2 (8 ounce) packages BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

Directions

1. Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter.
2. Dip balls in chocolate; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.
3. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator. 

I did make a couple of modifications. Instead of using 1 package of the same type of Oreo I used half of a box of regulars and half of a box of mints. I cut the cream cheese in half and mixed in separate bowls. I used 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate for the regular Oreos and I used 8 ounces of white chocolate for the mint Oreos. You could probably mix and match for whatever suits your fancy. To dip these I dropped them in a bowl and scoop them out with a fork. The toothpick method did not work. I also did not do the crushed Oreo garnish. And a tip I picked up from Barefoot Contessa - when melting chocolate in the microwave, only melt the chocolate part way and then stir it until it all becomes melted. This will keep the chocolate looking shiny once it dries instead of that frosty look.

These are rather sweet and rich for a treat but are pretty good! I gave some to Pete for his birthday and kept some in the freezer for a last minute get together. Easy!

*Dinner club is our weekly (at least we try to do weekly) get together with a group of friends. We rotate weeks, when it is your week you get to choose the place. Dinner club began with 4 members and has morphed over time. We also began with a rule that we couldn't go back to somewhere we had been and we couldn't choose a chain. We ran out of options quick so the rules have changed. We have been doing dinner club for 4 or 5 years now? I'd have to ask Katie she remembers everything. Many, if not most people who attend ski weekend have been dinner club members at some point in time.

It's been a while, what's the latest?

This will be quick. We made some progress over the last week. We officially have a fully functioning kitchen! I haven't cooked anything yet though.

We still have a lot of details to tend to. Such as the ends of the countertops, finishing the floor near the cabinets, light switches, trim. We made progress last night on the backsplash... we picked out a few and brought them home. I believe this one is the winner:

That's all for now. Once we're all done I'll do the final reveal!

Can you tell what we did last night??

If you said "added hardware" then you are very observant.

Kitchen update: What day is it?

I can't remember where I left off. As of Thursday we had everything torn out. Friday after work we began our painting. We did a coat of primer, went to the hardware store (for the 468th time), had some dinner, and then painted our first coat of Milk Toast on the walls.

Somewhere around 12:30 or 1am we went to bed. Saturday morning we woke up around 7:30 and got ready for Uncle Sean who is the brains behind this operation.

After some careful planning, moving electrical outlets, and 2-3 trips to the hardware store the cabinets started going in!

Then more cabinets and counter tops...

This is where we stopped on Saturday.

Sunday was Mother's Day and we needed to get Griffin in Lansing. He spent the week at Grandma and Grandpa Brunmeier's (where he had an awesome time, he is still sleeping it off). We needed to do some other chores too: grocery shopping, mow the lawn, etc. Today is Monday, I took the day off to be available for Uncle Sean to stop by. He put in the last cabinet (we had 1 cabinet delivered in the wrong size so I had to pick up the proper cabinet today), worked on our sink and drain, put our fridge in place, and mudded some holes in the walls. More progress! Tonight we are hoping to get the hardware on, install some shelves in the tall cabinet, and finish painting. We're getting closer!

Dining room progress