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The boys and I have made this Homemade Pizza Dough recipe twice now in the past few weeks. They have had a blast making their own pizzas. One day, they even got their Daddy to show them his expertise. He worked at Little Caesar's for a few years when we were in high school.
The second time we made it, I substituted some whole wheat flour for the regular flour. I wanted to make it just a bit healthier. It turned out great both times, and it is super easy! Thanks for stopping by!
I don't know why I was on a Greek kick last week when I made up my menu for this week, but it sounded so appetizing to me. Greek food is usually so light, and it just sounded tasty to me.
After having Pitas on Saturday, we had these Feta-Stuffed Turkey Burgers for lunch on Sunday. They were great--especially with some of the Tzatziki I told you about yesterday on them! (I skipped the sauce in this recipe since I had already made the Tzatziki.) Thanks for stopping by!
The recipe I shared with you on Monday for Greek Steak Pitas was great, but I added a sauce that wasn't called for which made them even better. The August issue of Cooking Light has a recipe for Tzatziki, which is a Greek condiment. I made a batch of this for us to have with our pitas. Then, we used it again on some Feta-Stuffed Turkey Burgers that I'll tell you about tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!
Now that school has started, we're getting back into a normal routine. I pulled out some summer issues of Cooking Light that I hadn't had a chance to really look through over the summer. So this weekend while we were home without a lot on our schedule, I tried some new recipes.
This Greek Steak Pita recipe was a nice light meal on a warm summer evening. Well, it wasn't exactly warm here this weekend, but it was a nice light meal for the summertime! Instead of pitas, I tried a new product I found at the grocery store, Aunt Millie's Slimwiches. They were really good, and we all really enjoyed them. I also omitted the onion, because none of us are big fans of raw onion.
The recipe also calls for Greek seasoning, which I didn't have, but I found a recipe online for making your own. I'll share that with you tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!
I made this Pasta with Zucchini and Toasted Almonds from the June Cooking Light as a side dish with some grilled chicken breasts for dinner. It was great! The almonds and cheese at the end really make the dish. I was curious to see what adding fresh mint to a savory dish would be like, and it was wonderful. I didn't add the extra mint at the end as a garnish, because I didn't want it to be overpowering. This was a great summertime dish. Thanks for stopping by!
The December issue of Cooking Light had oodles of cookie recipes in it. I don't make hoards of cookies at Christmas time, because it's just us here most of the time, and I don't want to sit and eat them all day myself. (I have no will power when it comes to cookies, cakes, muffins, etc.) I do make some for gifts, but I'm always reluctant to try a new recipe for a gift just in case it doesn't turn out well.
My December issue is covered in flagged pages of new cookie recipes that I want to try. So, for my stamping workshop last week, I made a new recipe, Lemon Cornmeal Cookies. I'm happy to say they turned out well, and I will be adding this recipe to my box of favorites. (I should tell you though that I also made a batch of chocolate chip just in case!) Thanks for stopping by!
I made this for lunch Sunday after we got home from church. Jim always makes the rice for me whenever we have anything with rice. We have a microwave cooker, and can you believe, with all the cooking I do, I can't seem to get rice to come out right when I make it?!? So Jim is the official rice cooker in our household.
Anyway, the Chicken, Cashew, and Red Pepper Stir-Fry was pretty good. If you like your stir fry with a lot of sauce, then you probably won't like this. We thought it was pretty tasty, and very light on your stomach. I added more peppers than it called for, used ground ginger instead of fresh, and didn't have any sherry, so I skipped that. Cashews can be expensive, so I'm sure it would be good with peanuts too. I happened to find some on sale, so I did use cashews. Don't ever by afraid to alter a recipe a little to use what you have on hand! Thanks for stopping by!
Yesterday for dinner, I made this quick and easy shrimp recipe. I know it's a little unusual to make seafood for a family meal in Central Indiana, but consider it occasionally. You can get some great deals on frozen shrimp. It's not as good as having it fresh at the beach, but a nice change of pace every now and then.
Last evening for dinner, I made this Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi for us. It was nice and light and perfect with a salad on the side.
Be careful when you're using precooked shrimp, which is what I usually use. I like to get them precooked, deveined, and sometimes all they have left on them are the tails. Be sure to thaw your shrimp and then only cook them for a minute or two, literally, until they are heated through. They get tough if you let them go any longer than that. Thanks for stopping by!
I've been on a new-recipe-trying kick lately. I made these Sausage-Stuffed Manicotti over the weekend. These were ok, probably not our favorite, but certainly not bad. I like trying new recipes, and some make it into my recipe box as a family favorite and some don't. I haven't decided yet on this one. Give it a try and see what you think! Thanks for stopping by!
Saturday was a gorgeous day here, and we were all outside most of the day mowing grass, washing cars, bathing the dog, etc. I was inside long enough to whip us up a lunch of Mediterranean Turkey Burgers. I haven't ever cooked with ground turkey, but it was on sale at Kroger recently, and I got some. I am really liking the dishes I've made with it so far.
These burgers were fantastic! I really liked them, but then I really like Greek food. My youngest, who is 2 years old, thought they were great too. He wolfed them down like a champ! Oh, and as usual, I didn't use the exact ingredients. I didn't have Japanese panko bread crumbs, so I used plain old bread crumbs. Instead of arugula, I used spinach. Thanks for stopping by!
There's a dish I make occasionally called Paprika Chicken that we really like. It's a Hungarian dish, and Jim's family is Hungarian. When I saw this Paprika Pork recipe in the Cooking Light magazine, it reminded me of the chicken recipe, so I thought we'd give it a try. I made it Friday evening, and it wasn't bad. I think we still enjoy the chicken paprika recipe a little better, and I'll share it with you sometime. Thanks for stopping by!
Even though I just made regular pizza-style strombolis earlier this week, I tried this recipe for Tex-Mex Calzones too. I've never used ground turkey before, but it wasn't bad. It's definitely an alternative to ground beef or sausage if you're looking for something with less fat.
I'm not sure these will become one of my favorites, but they were something I will probably make again. Next time, I will probably try using regular salsa instead of salsa verde. Thanks for stopping by!
I made Spiced Pork Chops with Apple Chutney Monday night for dinner. I got a new grill pan for my birthday back in February, and it was perfect for making these. Jim commented that they were very good done on the stove instead of baking them in the oven, which is what I usually do. I really enjoyed the apple chutney on them too. As shown in the picture, I even made green beans to go with them. It was yummy! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, Everyone! Sorry I've been delinquent for so long. I lost a month of my life due to a sickie bug I just couldn't shake. It started in mid-March, and I am just now getting back into the swing of things. Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood to try new recipes while I was sick. I stuck to my old favorite comfort food recipes!
Late last week while making up this week's menu, I decided to dig out my Cooking Light magazines from the past two months. I hadn't had much of a chance to peruse them, so I grabbed them and picked a few recipes to try in the coming weeks.
Over the weekend, I made Broccoli and Chicken Noodle Soup. I have accumulated quite a collection of soup recipes, and I think I shall add this one to it. We enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by!
Here's another soup recipe I received in a Family Fun weekly cooking email. It looked like it made a lot, so I made the recipe with 1 lb. of hot sausage and cut the rest of the recipe down to 2/3 as well. It made enough for us to have dinner and then leftovers for Jim to have for lunch.
Lasagna Soup is an interesting recipe, unlike most other soup recipes I have made. Jim really liked it. The boys and I weren't blown away by it, but it was ok. It was something different, which is what I was looking for. We're all getting bored with being cooped up in the house for winter. The boys and I will be glad when spring is here! Thanks for stopping by!
Back in October 2004 we had dinner with some friends of ours. They had recently moved away, and we had gone to visit them. They made dinner for us, and Cider-Roasted Pork Loin is what they made for the main course. Matt and Kathy are probably the ones who first introduced me to Cooking Light magazine.
This is a delicious recipe to try. I have made it frequently for our family ever since. I make it more often with boneless pork chops instead of a full pork loin roast. When I do that, I reduce the amount of salt to 2 T. and use 2 c. of apple cider and 1 c. of water. I have started buying apple cider on sale in the fall and then freezing it in pint freezer boxes to be used all year long just for this recipe.
Also, I rarely make the cider reduction sauce/glaze. Jim's not big on the sweet sauce over his pork, and I think the pork is flavored just as well without it. Thanks for stopping by!
Every now and again, I'll make a dish with shrimp for dinner. Seafood can be expensive, but Meijer had 2-lb. bags of precooked, deveined frozen shrimp for $8. That's a pretty good deal, so we bought some. I also used these shrimp for the shrimp and grits recipes I posted about previously. Recipes for shrimp often call for raw shrimp, so I adjust the recipe to account for the fact that the shrimp are precooked. I just cook them enough to get heated through, because shrimp get tough if they are overcooked.
In the current Cooking Light magazine, there is a collection of recipes that are lighter, healthier versions of popular restaurant foods. I decided to try this recipe for Shrimp and Broccoli Fried Rice with Toasted Almonds. I thought it turned out pretty well, and we liked it. I may try it again, but use chicken instead of shrimp for a cheaper version. Thanks for stopping by!
I have never made popovers before, so I don't know what they're supposed to be like. I don't have popover pans, so I used muffin pans for a substitute like the Fresh Thyme Popovers recipe states. I baked them 5 min. less just as it said, but I don't think they baked long enough. They seemed too doughy or dense when we ate them, and they dropped pretty badly when I took them out of the oven. They weren't hard to make at all, but I don't do well with finicky recipes! You must have to do something special to keep them from falling once you take them out of the oven. If any of you out there can clue me in, please do so!
The flavor of these was ok, but honestly, I probably won't make them again. When I try new recipes, I always ask Jim, "Is this a 'make again' recipe?" I either never make the recipe again, or I print/copy it and put it into my recipe box to become one of my staples to use over and over again. My recipe box has gotten pretty full over the past few years, and I need to clean it out and organize it. Thanks for stopping by!
After making the Hominy Spoonbread previously (scroll down for yesterday's post), I didn't know about trying another corn casserole recipe. However, this Colonial Corn Pudding recipe seemed closer to the simple corn casserole recipe I already make sometimes, so I thought I'd take the risk and try it. I'm not a big fan of white pepper, and I didn't like that nuance of flavor in it. Otherwise, this dish wasn't too bad.
I still really like my simple corn casserole recipe better though, so I will probably stick with that old faithful recipe. My cousin, Shelly, made it for a family get-together a few years ago, and that's where I got it originally. I've seen other variations, some including cheese, but I have always liked this one the best. Thanks for stopping by!
Baked Corn Casserole
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can sweet creamed corn
2 eggs, beaten
1 stick butter, melted
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 small box of Jiffy corn muffin mix
Mix all ingredients together and pour into an ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes, or until golden brown on top and cake-like.
There was an article in the December Cooking Light magazine with rustic Wild West recipes. "A hearty menu by a roaring fire is a welcome offering for a snowy Wyoming Christmas" was the sub-title to the article. I decided to try two of the recipes, Whiskey Marinated Tenderloins and Hominy Spoonbread.
The Hominy Spoonbread was a real disappointment. I thought it would have a much different texture than it did. It had a texture much like a soft scrambled egg. None of us liked it. I usually have something good to say about most everything I try to make, but I don't for this. I would much prefer my recipe for good old corn casserole with Jiffy corn muffin mix in it.
I really enjoyed the Whiskey Marinated Tenderloins. I did use some tenderloin steaks I had in the freezer, although they weren't cut exactly like the recipe calls for. No, I don't have whiskey on hand at my house, but I had Jim stop at the liquor store next to our dentist's office when he was there last week to pick up a mini bottle of it. That's all I needed for the marinade. Jim stood outside in freezing temperatures to grill the steaks on our propane grill on the back patio. I thought they were really good with a terrific flavor. Our boys both wolfed them down too, and getting them to eat red meat is like pulling teeth! Jim was the only one who didn't like them, but he's really picky about his steak. Thanks for stopping by!
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