French Dip "Cupcakes"

I don't know about you but I'm addicted to Pinterest; I spend endless hours pouring over pictures of food, fashion and funny quotes. While wasting time  perusing Pinterest I came upon this fun and quirky idea, mealtime cupcakes!! They looked so cute and sounded so yummy that I had to give them a try. They came together super quick and the smell in my kitchen while they were baking was divine!  If you are interested in finding me on Pinterest here's my link . 

Ingredients
12 oz deli roast beef, thinly sliced and chopped into pieces 
4 Laughing Cow Light Swiss wedges, chopped
1/3 c Au Jus gravy (I used Heinz which comes in a jar by the other gravy)
16 wonton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)
4 oz (1 cup) reduced fat 2% shredded mozzarella cheese


Directions
    Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 9 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
    In a microwavable bowl, combine the roast beef, cheese wedges and Au Jus sauce. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir to combine until cheese wedges are melted and roast beef mixture is fully coated with cheese and Au Jus sauce.
    Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the eight sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Spoon about half of the roast beef mixture evenly amongst the wonton wrappers. Sprinkle about half the mozzarella cheese evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.
   Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin. 

Ingredients

Meat, cheese and au jus ready to go into microwave

Heat for 2 minutes, stir

Place won ton wrappers into greased cupcake liner, fill with meat

After both layers are done, ready for the oven

Bake for 18-20 minutes

Enjoy! 

Source; Emily Bites

Strawberry and Cream Filled Crepes

When I was growing  up my mom would make us a treat on Sunday nights, Dutch pancakes, aka crepes. We would beg her to make these and then gobble them up so quickly, they were the perfect nighttime treat. We would put some butter and white sugar on ours and then roll them up and stuff them into our mouths. As an adult my tastes have changed just a bit, I prefer fresh fruit and cream in mine instead of granulated sugar, lol.

My daughter had a sleepover last night and I woke up to four hungry 15 year old girls, I was shocked that I had everything in the house to make these tasty treats for the girls. They loved them!

Ingredients 
1 1/2 c Flour
1 TBSP Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2 c Milk
2 TBSP butter, melted
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 eggs
Fresh Strawberries sliced and sprinkled with 1 tsp sugar
Whipping Cream

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Beat with hand mixer until smooth. Lightly butter 6-8 inch skillet; heat over medium heat until butter is bubbly. For each crepe pour a scant 1/4 c batter into the skillet; immediately rotate skillet until thin film covers bottom. Cook until light brown. Run wide spatula around the edge to loosen; turn and cook other side until light brown. Stack crepes with wax paper in-between each.

Place cooked crepe on a plate, spoon strawberry mixture on top, add whipped cream and roll.   Top with additional strawberries and cream. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Source; Betty Crocker's Cookbook

Crockpot Spanish Chicken

I've been trying to use my crock pot more and still make healthy tasty food; this recipe allows you to do both. I was able to throw this together in just minutes and was able to have a tasty meal! I added a cup of instant brown rice to my crock pot 4 hours into the cooking cycle and it came out great! 





  
 Ingredients 
  2 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed


     1 small onion, diced
       1 garlic clove, crushed
        1 bell pepper, chopped or sliced
        4 plum tomatoes
        2 TBSP  pitted spanish olives
         8 oz can tomato sauce
         1/4 tsp oregano
         1/4 tsp cumin
         salt to taste
          1-2 bay leaf
         1/4 cup chopped cilantro (plus 2 tbsp more for serving)
Directions
Place chicken, onion, garlic, pepper and tomatoes in the crock pot. Season with salt, cumin and oregano. Mix well so everything is seasoned.
Add tomato sauce, olives along with 1 tbsp of the brine, 1/2 cup water, bay leaf and cilantro. Mix well and set crock pot to HIGH 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours. When done, taste for salt and seasoning and adjust spices as needed. Add 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro and serve over rice. Serves 4



Ingredients 

Mix ingredients thoroughly and set crock pot for 6 hours.



Enjoy!














Source: Skinny Taste

Oatmeal Streusel Apple Pie

I am not a huge fruit dessert person, but this apple pie recipe tempted me into it, and I wasn't disappointed. The addition of the oatmeal cookie streusel topping added an additional dimension to this pie.

 I made this at the end of the summer and placed it uncooked into my freezer, I found it yesterday and was able to pop it frozen into a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, then I dropped the temp to 350 and baked it for an additional hour...amazing! 

Ingredients 
5 to 6 cups thinly sliced apples, a combination of varieties
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/4 c brown sugar, packed
1/4 c melted butter
3 TBSP flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 deep dish pie shell, unbaked

Topping
1/2 c flour
1/2 c granulated sugar
6 TBSP butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 rolled oats
1/4 c chopped pecans ( didn't add)

Toss sliced apples with lemon juice to coat well. Add 1/2 c sugar and the brown sugar, 1/4 c melted butter, flour and spices, stir until mixture is well blended. Prepare pie shell.

In a food processor, combine topping ingredients; pulse until mixture is crumbly. You can also use a pastry blender or forks to cut this mixture together.

Pour apple mixture into the prepared pie shell. Sprinkle topping mix evenly over the top of apples.

Place in preheated 375 oven. Bake for about 45-60 minutes, until apples are tender and topping is browned. Check after about 30 minutes to make sure the crust isn't getting too brown. Use a pie shield or ring of foil to protect the crust edge if necessary. Let cool before cutting.

Enjoy! 

Loaded Baked Potato Bake

Years ago we used to have  HUGE Super Bowl parties, amazing food and tons of friends. But for the past 10 years we've done a HUGE New Years party and so doing another HUGE party a month later seemed like overkill. My husband misses our Super Bowl parties so this year we decided to forgo the New Years party and instead are planning a HUGE Super Bowl party. The one  requirement for scoring a invite to our party is  that we ask our guests to bring the "one dish they are famous for". This insures fantastic food and it also means I don't have to cook everything...yay!!

 This potato recipe was being tested to see if it is better than my Ashley Potatoes recipe that Ashley brought to one of our Super Bowl parties years ago. Note: this recipe is a winner!!! 

Ingredients 

1 (16oz) container sour cream

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 (3oz) bag real bacon bits

1 packages Ranch Dip mix

roughly 15 oz bag frozen hash brown potatoes - shredded kind

This recipe can be doubled very easily for a bigger crowd.

Directions 

Combine first 4 ingredients, mix in hash browns.  Spread into a greased 9x13 pan or casserole dish.  Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes. 

Ingredients

Ready to mix

Before going in the oven 

Enjoy! 

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

I personally feel that bacon makes everything taste better, and I dare any person to disagree with me! I had these tasty veggies at a party and had to make them a part of our Christmas dinner; what a hit! Even our cousin who hates veggies thought these were awesome! They are super simple to make, and kid friendly. My 19 year old son and his friends put these together Christmas Eve and it only took them a short time. This is a picture of the buffet taken on Christmas Day.

Rice and Artichoke Salad, Mac and Cheese and Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Ingredients
2 cans green beans, regular cut (fresh beans and french cut don't work as well)
1 lb bacon
1 cup brown sugar, melted
1 stick butter
1 tsp garlic salt

Directions
Cut raw bacon in half and place 4-5 green beans on top. Roll bacon around beans and place cut side down in 9x13 baker. Once all beans are wrapped, take melted butter mixed with brown sugar and garlic salt and pour over bacon wrapped beans. Cover with foil and place in fridge overnight. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until bacon is cooked. Serve immediately.

Wrap bacon around beans

Of course the one picture I have has a kid trying to grab one :) 

Enjoy! 

Chicken, Avocado and Black Bean Salad with Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette

It's been very cold here in Florida the past few days, but today it finally got out of the 40's and 50's, so to celebrate I'm making a salad for dinner. This is a super easy salad with lots of fresh ingredients, I added chicken to mine to make it heartier (for my hubby and sons). 

Ingredients
2 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans Shoe-peg Corn, or frozen corn
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced shallots (you'll need one medium shallot) 
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
1 teaspoon lime zest (be sure to zest limes before juicing them)
½ cup chopped cilantro, plus more to garnish
2 Hass avocados, diced

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cooked, cooled and chopped

Directions
Combine all ingredients except avocados in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill for a few hours or overnight. Right before serving, add avocados and chicken and mix gently, being careful not to mash avocados. Garnish with a few springs of freshly chopped cilantro if desired.  Serve at room temperature.

Ingredients all chopped up and ready to be mixed

Ready to go into the fridge, I'll add the avocado and chicken right before serving

The avocados and chicken are added and it's ready to go!

Enjoy!

Rice and Artichoke Salad

I can't believe that it's January already, time has flown by so quickly. I apologize for being so lax on updating my food blog, this past year has been a year of change for me, and as of New Years Eve I've lost 70 pounds....yes you read that right! I've worked so hard and am so proud of myself; but the one thing that has suffered has been my food blog. I vow to post more recipes and not just fattening ones like the one listed below, lol. I had this at a holiday party and loved it so much I made it Christmas Day. It's super simple and is a delicious side for any meal. 


Ingredients
1 8 oz box Chicken Rice a Roni
1 6 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts (reserve the liquid)
2 1/2 cups mayo
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts
1 6 oz can ripe black olives chopped
1 bunch green onions chopped  


Cook rice in skillet per directions on the box-set aside.  Blend artichoke liquid in the mayo.  Combine rice, mayo mixture, artichoke hearts, olives and green onion.  Chill over night.

Enjoy!