Asian Broccoli Slaw Salad

This is a fabulous, filling salad that I often make for dinner (about once a month) that my husband enjoys. It's delicious! My favorite part is the homemade dressing. I also like making a lot of it so I can eat leftovers for lunch the next day and the rest of the week.


Ingredients:
6 oz cooked, grilled chicken, shredded
1 container of Broccoli slaw (you may be able to find some in bags by the lettuce, but Darrenkamp's sells them in pre-packaged containers by the pre-diced onions)
8 green onions, diced (i love green onions)
1.5 cups of celery, diced (Darrenkamp's also sells these pre-chopped)
1/2 cup peanuts
1 small can of chow mein noodles
1 package oriental ramen noodles, broken up (set aside the seasoning packet)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup peanut oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp thai peanut sauce


Directions:
Mix chicken, slaw, green onions, celery,  peanuts, noodles, and ramen noodles in a medium bowl.
Mix sugar, vinegar, oil, soy sauce, and half of the ramen noodle seasoning in a jar with lid. 
Shake well and pour over slaw/salad.
Top with peanut sauce, making sure it gets mostly on the chicken. 


What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Baked Turkey Croquettes

I shouldn't be posting this in the spring time because it's ideally the perfect post-Thanksgiving meal to use with your leftover turkey & mashed potatoes. So bookmark this and bust it out in November, please.

Ingredients:
3/4 lb of turkey (cooked & shredded thin)
3 potatoes, peeled, cooked, & mashed
3/4 cup fat free chicken broth
2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
salt & pepper, to taste
fat free olive oil spray
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Mash potatoes in with 1/4 cup of the broth.
Add salt & pepper.
In a medium sauce pan, heat oil on low heat. 
Saute garlic & onions for a few minutes. Add parsley, more salt & pepper, and cook until soft for a few more minutes. Add turkey and remaining broth.
Mix well, then remove from heat.
Then add the turkey to the mashed potatoes. 
Use your hands to mix them together.
Add more salt if needed.
Scoop out the mixture, 1/4 cup at a time and form the oval croquettes.
Place each on waxed paper. 
Meanwhile, break & whisk egg and dip each croquette into the egg wash. From there dip into the breadcrumbs that are placed in a shallow dish.
Then place on a lined cookie sheet (parchment or tin foil). Spray with olive oil spray generously. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.


What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Irish Beef Pies

I love Martha Stewart freezer recipes. I think all of her recipes are great, but they are always so involved, so when a good/simple one comes along, I embrace it. These Irish Beef Pies are easy to make ahead and serve for dinner during the week. There are great ways to enhance this recipe by adding garlic or paprika. But this is the traditional "Irish" pie recipe. I also would want to add onions or corn. Maybe some other veggies like carrots or celery but that's your call. Great recipe, makes 8 at a time. 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 head of cabbage (won't need all of it)

1 lb ground beef sirloin

1/2 lb red potatoes

1 tbsp of tomato paste (you can use more, but i'm not a fan)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup of water

1/2 tsp thyme

salt & pepper

2 pie crusts 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Shred the cabbage and cut the potatoes into tiny cubes.

In a sauce pan heat oil over medium heat.

Add cabbage & potatoes.

Cook for about 8 minutes until brown.

Then add beef and break up while cooking.

When they are no longer pink stir in tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, thyme, & water.

Cover, lower heat, and cook for about 15 minutes.

The potatoes need to be soft enough to mash.

After mashing with a fork season with salt & pepper.

Meanwhile, stretch out the pie crusts and split into 4 sections (use a pizza cutter).

Ideally you would want to make it more of a square then a circle, but I don't have time for that.

Place about 1/2 a cup of the filling on each square and seal up.

Crimp edges with a fork (if you're talented).

To Eat Now: Transfer pies to rimmed baking sheet (lined with foil) and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. You can rotate the pies after 5 minutes for even cooking.

To Freeze: After the insides cool, wrap in tin foil and place in freezer bags. I kept them in my freezer for about a month and used them regularly. No defrosting needed. 

To Eat From Freezer: Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.

BEFORE BAKING:

 AFTER BAKING:

Nutritional Information:

Carbs: 7.5

Calories: 362

Fat: 20

Points: 8.6

Points Plus+: 10

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Sausage Spaghetti Pie

Sausage Spaghetti Pie is a recipe I found in Freezer Pleasers. I was able to make 3 at one time to save in my freezer. They say you can keep them in the freezer for up to 1 month, but I'll be honest and admit I did it for longer than that and nothing bad happened to me after I ate the Spaghetti Pie. What can I say, I walk on the wild side.


Ingredients:
1 package of spaghetti
4 eggs
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I get the light kind, but there really isn't much of a difference between that kind and the regular kind that you can find in the pasta aisle)
1 cup onion, diced 1/4 cup butter (i use olive oil cooking spray instead)
2 cups sour cream (I have to use fat free)
1 - 2 lbs. sausage, casings removed
2 tsp Italian seasoning (i'm sure I actually used more than that)

2 cups water 12 oz tomato paste (I despise tomato paste, I use it sparingly, so I'm sure I only did about 3 oz)
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Cook spaghetti according to package.
Meanwhile, beat eggs lightly and add them to the pasta after it has been drained.
Add parmesan cheese.
Mix it all together. 
Transfer to greased pie plates (can divide among 3 pie plates)
Press mixture into the bottom of the pie plates and up sides to form the crust of your pie (use hands)
Meanwhile, cook onion in butter until tender.
Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream and italian seasoning. 
Spoon over crusts.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook sausage over medium heat until brown.
Stir in water & tomato paste after draining out any grease.
Bring to a boil. 
Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
Once it thickens spoon the mixture over each of the pies.
Top with mozzarella & cheddar cheese. 


To Eat Now: Cover & bake pie at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.


To Freeze: Cover & Freeze for up to 1 month (or more!)


To Eat From Frozen: Thaw in fridge overnight. Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.



Nutritional Information (based on ¼ of a pie)

Carbs:	Calories:	Fat:	Points:	Points Plus+:
7.4	451	20.6	10	11.7

 What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Wasabi Guinness Chilli

As previously posted, cooking with beer is amazing. It really enhances the flavor of every dish you can think of. From veggies to dessert, it is YUMMY. I enjoy experimenting with chili, I make it often and never make it the same way twice. Found this awesome recipe from AllRecipes.com that I used to inspire my chili dish for cooking club at the end of last year. It was so so so so so so good. I can't stop raving about it. Secret Ingredient? Not the beer (though that was great), not the wasabi powder, (thought that made it kickin!) It was COFFEE!!!  All the crazy ingredients together make for a flavorful, exotic meal with a lot of kick. I dare you to use it for any chili kick-off you compete in.

I know that picture isn't that classy, but trust me...this dish was FANTASTIC.

Ingredients:
1-2 cups of diced onion
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb of ground beef, extra lean
1 lb of spicy Italian sausage (remove from casing)
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bottle (12 oz) of Guiness (or other dark beer)
1 cup of brewed coffee (I used some fancy Jack Daniels brew)
1 can beef broth
1/2 cup hot sauce
1/4 cup chili powder (or more)
1.5 tbsp wasabi powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp coriander (or ground coriander)
1 tsp salt
1 can kidney beans, dark red
1 can kidney beans, light red
1 or 2  chile peppers or 1 jalapeno peppers, chopped (don't rub your eyes!)


Directions:
Cook onions, garlic, beef, and sausage over medium heat until browned and tender.
Pour tomatoes, beer, coffee, broth, and hot sauce.
Add chili powder, wasabi powder, paprika, cayenne, cumin, sugar, oregano, coriander, and salt.
Stir in beans & peppers, bring to a boil.
Then reduce heat, cover and simmer.
Cook for 2 to 3 hours.

Serve with cornbread & biscuits!

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Golf-Themed 30th Birthday Party

My husband turned 30 in the past year and I threw him a golf-themed surprise party. It was actually a wine & cheese party with golf decor, so it was the the best of both worlds. We have thrown a wine & cheese party before and they are fab. Invite all your friends...all the ladies bring a bottle of wine and all the gentleman bring a block of cheese (encourage uniqueness) then supply plenty of pairings for the wine and cheese such as olives, dark chocolate, honey, jam, crackers, pretzels, fruit, etc. You'll be enjoying the delicious flavors all night. Special shout out to all my friends & family for their help. It was a great night and he was totally surprised. 

Check out all the details...

Tic Tac Favors & Powdered Donut Holes to serve as golf balls for the driving range.

Pretzel rods that serve as hole flags (all for hole 30!) & blue gatorade that serve as water hazards. A nice alternative would be to serve "trash cans". 

My mother made all the decorations (she's amazing)...this is a funny gift for any friends who turn 30. Though I don't think it's really true...30 is the new 20!!!

Cute center piece idea stolen from a friend. These are split peas to match the green & black color scheme. I bought the cheap bags in the Goya aisle. 

Awesome spread!

I made little pre-laminated cards so the guests could label the type of cheese (or wine) that they brought.

There was lots of wine & lots of wine glasses, so I used these cute animal glass markers that "sit" on the lip of your wine glass and help you keep track of who's glass is whose.  [Warning: Sometimes they just fall into the glass.]

Here is the AWESEOME circular fondant Titlelist golf ball cake that Byers Butterflake Bakery made!  SOOO COOL!

No Birthday party thrown by yours truly would ever be complete without CAKE POPS! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)