Beef Enchiladas

6 servings (2 enchiladas per serving)

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups diced onion
12 flour tortillas
2 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, canned or homemade (homemade recipe shown below)
3 cups shredded cheese

Serve as desired with: shredded lettuce, avocado, cilantro, sour cream

Directions:

Homemade Enchilada Sauce 

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (I used pasta sauce)
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

 Heat oil in a large skillet to medium heat. Whisk in flour and chili powder. Reduce heat to medium and continue to whisk until lightly browned. Gradually whisk in tomato sauce, chicken broth, cumin, garlic powder, onion salt and salt. Stir until smooth, and continue simmering over medium heat about 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

Enchiladas

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.

2. Heat a large skillet. Add ground beef; break apart with a spoon or spatula to crumble the meat. Saute the meat on medium heat until browned (about 5 minutes).

3. Add onion. Saute until just softened, 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Add 1/2 cup of sauce to the prepared pan. Spread it around so it coats the entire bottom of the pan.

5. Assemble the enchiladas: Place tortilla on a work surface. Spoon 1/4 cup of the meat mixture down the middle. Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of cheese on top of the meat. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon of sauce on top. Wrap the tortilla around the filling tightly and place it seam-side-down in the pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling until you have finished filling 12 tortillas. Place the tortillas side-by-side in the pan- it's okay if they are all snuggled in there tightly.

6. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the stuffed enchiladas. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

7. Remove pan from the oven and take off the foil. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top; return to the oven and let the cheese melt (about 5 minutes).

8. Serve immediately with desired condiments.

Girl Scout Thin Mint Brownies

Trent and I still have some Girl Scout cookies and I wanted to know if there was something I could make with them. So I did. I've never made good brownies, until I made these!

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used bittersweet chocolate)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 sleeve Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, chopped. (16 cookies)

NOTE: I also added chocolate frosting but that's because I used unsweetened chocolate instead of semisweet, so it was really bitter.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Spray 9 x 9 square pan with Pam with flour (that's my method). In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. Place butter and semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove bowl from heat. 
4. Add sugar; mix to combine. 
5. Add eggs one at a time, and mix to combine. 
6. Add flour mixture; mix just until moistened (do not overmix). 
7. Fold in chopped Girl Scout Thin Mints. 
8. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top.
9. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 40 minutes. 
10. Cool in pan for 30 minutes.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 sleeve buttery round crackers (like Ritz), crushed
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds, or more if desired
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Place the chicken breasts into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the chicken breasts are no longer pink in the center, about 20 minutes. Drain the water, then shred the chicken.
2. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine the butter, crackers, and poppy seeds in a bowl; set aside.
3. Blend the sour cream and cream of chicken soup in a bowl; pour half of the soup mixture into a 9x9-inch baking dish. Add the shredded chicken, then pour the remaining half of the soup mixture on top. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese, then top with the cracker mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes.

Snickerdoodles

Yay for me being a good American cook!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 8 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix the butter, sugar, and eggs until creamy. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Blend the wet with the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon until well-blended.
3. Roll the dough into the size of small walnuts.
4. Prepare the cinnamon and sugar mixture by mixing the cinnamon and sugar.
5. Roll the cookie dough into the cinnamon and sugar mixture until coated and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 5-6 minutes watching to make sure they don't burn. They should be very lightly brown and still soft looking on top. When they cool, they will crack a little on top.

Argentine Ñoquis

I made ñoquis for a cultural potluck we had in my class. It was a lot of fun! For pictures and other information about ñoqui traditions in Argentina, read the post on my family blog.

Here's the recipe I used, as well as some tips about making ñoquis:

RICOTTA ÑOQUIS

Adapted from Choly Berreteaga's Pasta y Pizzas. On Ñoquis Night in Houston, the ñoquis were served with additional grated Parmesan cheese and a choice of Alfredo, pesto, Bolognese or Bolognese-cream sauce. Berreteaga instructs her readers to roll the ñoquis with the palms of their hands, but Lucy Marzeniuk used her fingers. Ñoquis can be made ahead of time and frozen. Boil them just before you plan to eat them. Toy Brando Halsey says ricotta ñoquis are the easiest to make. If the cheese is very wet, you can drain it in a mesh strainer or cheesecloth.

• 1 pound regular ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Salt to taste
• Ground black pepper to taste
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 to 11/3 cups all-purpose flour, as necessary
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Combine the ricotta, egg, salt, pepper, nutmeg and Parmesan. Gradually add flour until you have a nice, soft dough that does not stick to your fingers.

Flour your hands and a very clean counter. Divide the dough into several balls. Using the palms of your hands, shape each ball into a log of dough about 8 inches long and about the width of a medium cigar. Cut each log into ¾-inch nuggets.

Roll individual ñoquis with your thumb or index finger, pressing lightly against the tines of a fork to form a concave dent on one side and grooves on the other.

When you are ready to eat, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the oil. Thump the ñoquis lightly to get rid of excess flour. Drop a handful at a time into the pot. When they float to the surface, which will take just a few minutes, they are done. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon. Drain. Repeat with the remaining ñoquis.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.

ÑOQUIS KNOW-HOW

• Cooking: When making potato ñoquis, bake the potatoes rather than boiling them. They will be drier, requiring less flour, which is the key to light ñoquis.

• Doneness: If you boil the potatoes, do not poke them continually with a fork to test if they are done, or they will become waterlogged.

• Texture: Rice the potatoes instead of mashing them. If you don't have a ricer, use a fork or potato masher, or put them through a food mill. Never use a food processor, which will make them gummy.

• Flour: Add the flour gradually and with restraint, or the ñoquis will be pasty. The dough should feel slightly sticky.

• Testing: Place a single ñoqui in boiling water. If it falls apart, add more flour to the dough.

• Cheese: If you are making ricotta ñoquis and the cheese is very wet, drain it for a few hours in a mesh strainer or cheesecloth before you start.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/food/side/4210966.html#ixzz1UK5CobwT

Eggs in a Basket

I got this idea from my friend's blog- http://blog.livingourdreamlife.com/2011/02/romantic-breakfast-idea.html.

It's a super easy and fast thing to make for breakfast.

Take a piece of bread and cut a circle (or any shape) out of the middle with a cookie cutter or a knife or whatever you want. Then butter both sides of the bread.

Spray an already heated frying pan with cooking spray. Place the bread on the pan and then crack an egg into the shape's opening. Salt and pepper the egg to taste. (Oh, and if you want the egg to be hard style, break the yoke. Otherwise just leave it.)

After a 3 or 4 minutes or so, flip the toast and egg over and cook the other side for the same amount of time.

(This side doesn't look very good because I forgot to spray the pan with cooking spray.)

And when it's done, enjoy it! When I made it this time, I melted a little bit of shredded cheese on top, but you don't have to. Do whatever you want!

Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole

I'm trying to be more American and I'm trying to make more American foods.

Trent really liked this and I like cheese.

• 1 1/3 cups uncooked white rice
• 2 2/3 cups water
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups mild salsa
• 1 bouillon cube

1. Place rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. (Or use a rice cooker)
2. Meanwhile, place chicken breast halves into a large saucepan, and fill the pan with water and a bouillon cube. Bring to a boil, and cook for 20 minutes, or until done. Remove chicken from water. When cool enough to handle, cut meat into bite-size pieces.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, combine Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses.
5. Brown the chopped onion.
6. In a separate bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, onion, and salsa.
7. Layer 1/2 of the rice, 1/2 of the chicken, 1/2 of the soup and salsa mixture, and 1/2 of the cheese mixture in prepared dish. Repeat layers, ending with cheese.
8. Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until bubbly.

Cowboy Casserole (A Despain Family Favorite!)

I should give you some back story on this delicious meal:

Back when J.J. and I were dating, he told me about Cowboy Casserole and how it was one of his favorite meals growing up. When he was getting ready to come home from his mission from Argentina, he was hoping to have Cowboy Casserole as his first meal home. That ended up not happening and since he left for BYU almost immediately, didn't get to have Cowboy Casserole at all.

Once he told me that story, I decided to be sneaky, but extremely thoughtful, girlfriend and surprise him by making this for dinner. I emailed his sister Kandis (who I still hadn't met) for the recipe. While he was at work, I slaved all day making this for him. (Just kidding...it's really easy to make.)

And he was so surprised! He loved it. :) And he still brings up this story as one of the reasons why I'm the perfect girl for him. :) :) :) (This is the part where all of you "aww..." at how sweet this story is.)

Anyway, now for the recipe!

2 lbs ground beef (I've only ever used 1 lb of beef, but I think if I was making this for more than 2 or 3 people, I'd do more beef.)

1/4 cup chopped onion

1- 10 oz can refrigerated biscuits (The biscuits are our favorite part, so I usually use a little more than one can of biscuits.)

1 cup BBQ sauce

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1- 16 oz can baked beans (I will sometimes use more baked beans just because we like them.)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (Like I've said before, we're big cheese fans, so I use more than a 1/2 cup of cheese.)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In skillet, brown ground beef and onion. Drain. Stir in BBQ sauce, brown sugar and beans. Heat until bubbly. Pour into 2-1/2 qt casserole. Separate dough into biscuits. Cut each biscuit in half crosswise. Place biscuits cut-side down over hot meat mixture in spoke fashion around the edge of casserole. Sprinkle cheese over biscuits. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

Note: If you want to double the recipe, use a 5-qt casserole. Don't double the amount of ground beef and more than double the baked beans.

And this is what the finished product looks like- so yummy!

Texas Casserole

The other day, for some reason I really wanted to eat rice and potatoes. But I didn't know what to make with both ingredients since usually I only use one or the other. So I turned to google for help! And I found two recipes that both looked good, so I decided to combine them. Here's what the recipe:

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 large potatoes (I might have used more than that because I really like potatoes)

1 cup uncooked rice

2 cups boiling water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 can diced Rotel tomatoes (I used the store brand version of the original Rotel, but I think it might have still been too spicy. Next time I'll try using the mild Rotel to see if that helps.)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Lightly grease a 2-quart casserole dish. Brown beef, onions, garlic and green pepper in a large skillet until green pepper is softened. Slice potatoes in thin round pieces and place in casserole dish. Put beef mixture on top of the potatoes, then sprinkle the uncooked rice over beef. Boil 2 cups of water and add bouillon cubes. Once bouillon is dissolved, add Rotel tomatoes and mushroom soup. Stir until blended, then pour over rice. Cover and bake in oven at 375 degrees until rice is done, about 1 hour.

Add potatoes to casserole dish first

Then the beef

Uncooked rice

Chicken broth, Rotel, and mushroom soup mixture- stir til blended

Add the soup mixture to the top

Cover and bake!

J.J. and I really liked this casserole, but like I said, it ended up being pretty spicy. Almost too spicy for me, and I really like spicy food. So I think I'll do some tweaking on this recipe to figure out how to make it less spicy. Stay tuned!

Quesadilla Casserole

I've made this recipe twice and both times it's turned out great! Most recently, I made it last week for a bunch of family- my mom and brothers, my mom-in-law, and my youngest brother-in-law. Almost everyone really liked it and took second (and third) helpings. And that's saying a lot, because my brothers and brother-in-law are fairly picky eaters. The only one who didn't like it a lot was my youngest brother, and his only complaint was that it was too spicy. So if you're not a fan of spicy food, you can just decrease the amount of spices.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic (I probably used a little more garlic because I like garlic.)
2 cans (8 oz each) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (8-3/4 oz) whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can (4-1/2 oz) chopped green chilies, undrained
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp oregano leaves
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional) (This is what you can leave out or decrease in order to make the casserole less spicy)
6 flour tortillas (8-inch)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I probably used more cheese because we really like cheese)


Brown beef, onion and garlic in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Add tomato sauce, beans, corn and green chilies; mix well. Stir in all of the spices except red pepper. Bring to boil Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes. Add red pepper to taste, if desired.

Spread 1/2 cup of the beef mixture on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Top with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as needed. Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas, beef mixture and cheese.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Beef Stroganoff

The recipe I have of beef stroganoff is super easy to make and very yummy! And to make it even better, even Alli likes it!

Recipe:

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 lb ground beef or round steak (I've only ever used ground beef)

1/4 cup butter

2 Tbsp flour

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 small can mushrooms (I omit this- J.J. doesn't like mushrooms that much)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 tsp parsley

1 cup sour cream

Brown onion, garlic and beef in butter. Add flour, salt, pepper and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes. Add soups. Simmer for awhile. Add sour cream; heat thoroughly. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve over rice or noodles.

Note: If meat has enough grease, do not add any butter. (I've never added butter to this recipe, even when I use lean ground beef.)

Cheesy Chicken Pepper Pasta

This is a really good recipe. And surprisingly easy but oh so yummy. Give me pasta and I will be happy.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips

2 red bell peppers, sliced

2 cups milk

1/2 cup butter

16 ounces shredded Muenster cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 pound bow tie pasta

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm olive oil and add chicken; saute until it begins to turn golden brown. Add red bell peppers and cook until they become limp; cover and simmer.

2. In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine milk, butter, cheese and garlic; stir constantly for about 10 minutes to avoid burning. Sauce should now have a thickened sauce-like consistency; if not, add cornstarch in 1 teaspoon increments until desired consistency is reached.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

4. Once the sauce is complete, combine it with the chicken and peppers mixture; add garlic powder to taste. Also, you could add parmesan cheese if desired.

5. Mix sauce and pasta. Yummy!!

Nadia's Meatloaf

Trent loves my meatloaf. And I'm honestly really proud of it because it's the first American food I have mastered. It's so easy and so good.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg
1 onion, chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
2. Sautee the onion with some garlic powder.
3. In a large bowl, combine the beef, egg, onion, milk and bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and the Worcestershire sauce.
4. Place in a 5x9 inch loaf pan lined with foil.
5. In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and ketchup. Mix well and pour over the meatloaf.
6. Bake at 350 F degrees for an hour.

Chicken Avocado Salad

So I'm trying to be healthy, right? I made this salad that I was not so sure about but Trent and I ended up loving it!

Ingredients

2 avocados - peeled, pitted and diced
1 Chicken Breast, shredded and sauteed
1/4 sweet onion, chopped
Green bell pepper, chopped (as much as you want)
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Lime juice to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

In a bowl, mix everything and season with salt and pepper.

Peruvian Causa

AKA "Yellow Potatoes with Chicken Salad"

Ingredients

• 8 potatoes. (Preferably Idaho Potatoes)
• Yellow Pepper Sauce to taste (You can get it at Latin Stores. If you live in Provo, you can get it at La Pequenita store at 1102 S. State Street. Orem, UT 84097)

• Lime Juice to taste
• Shredded Chicken (About 2 boneless chicken breasts)
• Mayonnaise to taste
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Boil the potatoes (unpeeled) until they're soft.
2. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher.
3. Add yellow pepper sauce, salt & pepper and lime juice to taste.
4. In a bowl, mix chicken, salt, mayo and lime juice to taste.
5. In a Pyrex, put one layer of potatoes, then a layer of chicken.
6. Do as many layers as you want. It's usually only 2 layers of potatoes and one of chicken though.

An Oxymoronic Post

First off, Nadia and I were talking the other day about how we could use this blog as a motivator to help us lose weight. I've been trying to lose weight (unsuccessfully) since the baby was born. But I've been doing pretty well since the beginning of January. (I'm actually keeping a New Years Resolution! Whoa!) I didn't really have a specific deadline for my weight loss, that is until Trent and Nadia decided to get married. Since I'm going to be immortalized in pictures from their wedding (haha), I want to look good! It's been a pretty strong motivator. Nadia is trying to lose some weight too (although she looks great and definitely doesn't need to!), which means we have the same "deadline" (June 25).


I've lost 21 pounds since January 1st!


And I'm finally started to feel a difference. My jeans are a lot looser and my pre-pregnancy jeans mostly fit! (They're still a little bit too tight though.) I feel better about myself too. Sometimes it's frustrating that losing weight isn't a huge overnight transformation, so I just have to remind myself that it's a slow process and that I'm progressing.


I posted these pictures on my family blog, but I'll put them here too and get y'all's opinion as well. Can you see a difference between these pictures? (If you can't, I promise I won't be offended. I'll just try even harder to make the difference more pronounced next time I post pictures.)

Taken beginning of January

Taken April 10th

And now for the "oxymoronic" portion of this post:


Dinner tonight was oh so yummy! (And oh so unhealthy!) We had jalapeño popper pizza. If you click on the link, you can find the recipe. The website (Lauren's Latest) was created by Lauren Brennan, the wife of one of J.J.'s good friends from Oregon. Her recipes are amazing! I wish I had the time to try them all. I'll also post the recipe here, for convenience. But you really should check out her website, 'k?


1 lb. pizza dough (I used pizza crust from the store instead)
1 cup prepared alfredo sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 large jalapeño, seeded and sliced
1-1/2 cups prepared breaded chicken, cubed (I used chicken nuggets from the frozen section)
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 lb grated mozzarella cheese 
1/4 lb grated cheddar cheese
(I'm not sure if I actually used this much cheese. I might have, but I'm sure you don't have it. But as J.J. would say, "The more cheese, the better!")


Sauté the onions and jalapeños in the olive oil for about ten minutes or until you think they're done. Spread the alfredo sauce on the pizza crust. Spread the onions and jalapeños on the pizza. Add the chicken and bacon. Place pieces of cream cheese on the pizza. Add the cheese.

Bake in oven at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly. (If you're using pizza crust and not dough like I did, I would follow those baking directions. It doesn't usually take as long to cook the crust.)

This recipe is really yummy and really easy. Just be careful not to eat too much of it! Oh, and if you're worried about it being too spicy, it's not. Especially if you make sure to seed the jalapeños really well. And apparently, the longer you cook the jalapeños, the less hot (as in spicy) they are. I've made this pizza two times and I don't think either time has been spicy at all.

Before baking in the oven

Dinner is ready! Doesn't that look so yummy?
I think I gained 10 pounds just by looking at this picture!

I did a okay job portion control-wise. I only ate two small pizzas.
(My plate is the one on the right.)
I probably should've only eaten one though, but it was so tasty!

My cute husband enjoying Sunday dinner. :)

Yummy Clam Chowder!

Okay, this is seriously one of my favorite things to make. I LOVE clam chowder! (And not to brag, but I'm really good at making this!)

Ingredients:
2 6oz. cans minced clams*
1 cup onion, chopped finely
1 cup celery, chopped finely
2 cups potatoes, chopped finely**
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 qt half & half
1 tsp vinegar
1-2 tsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp salt
Few grains pepper

* Make sure to get minced clams, not chopped. Well, I supposed you could get chopped, but only do that if you really like clams. I'm not a huge fan of the texture of clams, so I liked minced better.
** I don't chop the potatoes finely because I like chunks of potato, but that's just me. And also, because I just love potatoes, I use a lot more than just 2 cups. I'm not sure how much I use. I basically just eyeball it.

Instructions:

Drain juice from clams and pour over vegetables in medium saucepan.
(But don't include the clams in this step- just the juice!)
Add enough water to barely cover vegetables. 

Simmer, uncovered over medium heat,
until potatoes are barely tender, about 20 minutes.

(After cooking the vegetables, you can let them sit in the pan until you're ready to finish cooking the soup.)

At mealtime, melt butter, add flour and blend and cook a minute or two.

Add cream and cook and stir until smooth and thick, using a wire whisk to blend.
(This can sometimes take awhile. Just make sure it's thick before moving on to the next step.)

This step is critical: Have a very cute baby "assist" you in the kitchen.

My little chef's assistant. :)

Add undrained vegetables and clams. Heat through.
Season with salt, sugar, vinegar and pepper.

Enjoy!

A word of warning: I've been eating really well the last few days, but I couldn't help but eat a huge bowl of this soup. So be aware. It's that yummy!

Tres Leches Cake

 

This is the best cake ever.

So I'm sharing it with you.

Because it's easy and so good!

Ingredients

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1 can whole milk or evaporated milk
1 little carton whipping cream
1 container Betty Crocker Whipped fluffy white frosting

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease and flour or spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan.
2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 29 to 35 minutes or until edges are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Poke top of hot cake every 1/2 inch with long-tined fork, wiping fork occasionally to reduce sticking.
4. In large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and whipping cream. Carefully pour evenly over top of cake. Cover; refrigerate about 1 hour or until mixture is absorbed into cake. Frost with frosting.

Makes 15 servings

~ Chicken Noodle Soup ~

~ Chicken Noodle Soup ~
So easy, a college freshman can make it!

Thanks to Nadia for adding me to the blog!

So, today, Trent and Nadia were sick. So sick that Trent couldn't make it to our math-date. We'll see how this next test goes for both of us... we're so behind.

Anyways, Nadia put something on facebook about wishing her mom was there to make her some chicken noodle soup. Now, I am by no means an expert, but I can put chicken and noodles together and make someone happy! So I did. After doing great on a test, and enjoying the fantastic spring weather we've been having, I was in the mood to do something productive and helpful. Here ya go!

Chicken Noodle Soup (a la Angela)

Ingredients:
One package of Egg Noodles
3 Boneless Chicken Breasts
4 cups of water
4 cubes of Chicken Bouillon

Prepare the noodles according to directions. While the water is boiling, chop chicken breasts into roughly 1 cm cubes. Fry these cubes in a frying pan, until large chunks can be cut in half and be white all the way through. Drain the water from the noodles and set aside. Prepare 4 cubes of chicken bouillon according to directions, using the 4 cups of water. Combine the noodles, broth, and chicken. Voila!

Note: This recipe is easy to manipulate. For example, I use Ramen seasoning packets instead of bouillon, and I add it directly to the pasta water, without draining the noodles. You can also add vegetables to the mix.

Tortellini Salad

I've made it a goal to cook more  for the next couple of weeks. I even made a menu and bought all the ingredients I'll need!

I'm also trying to lose weight and eat healthier, so tonight for dinner I made something really healthy, easy to make, and yummy.

(Sorry that the picture quality isn't too great. I don't best camera for these types of pictures.)

Tortellini Salad

1 package cheese-filled tortellini

1 bag Caesar salad mix

1/4 cup bacon bits

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 tsp pepper
1 small can olives
Salad dressing (either Caesar or Italian is best)

Cook and drain tortellini, as directed on package. Rinse with cold water. Toss tortellini, salad mix, tomato, bacon bits, olives and pepper. Serve immediately.
Serves 6.

Notes:
I didn't use olives because we didn't have any on hand and my husband doesn't particularly like olives. I like olives a lot, so if we had some at home, I would've put them in anyway and made him pick the olives out. ;)
I personally like Italian dressing better, and since I'm trying to eat better, I used fat free Italian dressing.

When my husband came home for dinner (I actually had dinner ready and waiting for him! Go me!), I had to make a joke that he might need to eat something more "manly" later after eating this "rabbit" food, as he would call it. I guess that's why we have ice cream in the freezer, right?

Oreo Cupcakes

(Makes 12 cupcakes) 

Cupcakes
1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/8 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
A little bit less than a cup sugar (I recommend brown sugar)
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 pkg Oreo Cookies (or about 26 cookies)


Preheat over to 350F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan. Twist apart 12 Oreos. Place the wafer with filling on it, filling side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Cut the wafers with no filling in half. Save 12 halves to put in mixture later. Crush the other 12 wafer halves, also for garnishing.
Cut the remaining Oreo cookies into quarters with a sharp knife.

In a large bowl cream the butter. Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until integrated. Stir in sugar. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites. Beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in the quartered cookies.

Fill the cupcake lines three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

 

Frosting
Use Betty Crocker Fluffy White Frosting and sprinkle crushed Oreos on top.

 

This is the goodness of the cupcake on the inside!